Lindsey grew up on the London to Brighton commuter line and ended up in the capital by academic misadventure. 
Her favourite London things include Sadlers Wells, Waterloo Bridge, artsy fringe happenings, the 341 bus and the fact you'll never run out of pubs to go to. She spends her time herding cats, writing words and juggling an ungainly portfolio of freelance commitments. Lindsey sidestepped into Londonist with a dance preview in 2007 and has been addicted ever since.

Game for most things, she’s fond of a drink and very partial to cheese. 




Dean hails from a small outpost due south of the River Thames, an 
unmapped speck of greater London famed for a bowling alley, a Sixties
 office block and little else. His lifelong dream is to buy a farm in 
Patagonia and raise pygmy goats, but until that happens he can be
found hovering around Hackney telling any poor fool in earshot about 
the holistic benefits of swimming in London Fields lido on a cold
winter's morning.




 

Sally originally hails from Southend-on-Sea in Essex, but seems to be largely unscathed by this fact. For the last 12 years or so she has been living in Peckham, and sings its praises with all the fervour of the newly converted.

Sally thinks London's bestest bit is the South Bank: its worstest bit is anywhere near the North Circular - she comes out in a rash just thinking about it.

In between researching her second book and being a Londonista, she runs a shop and helps with her husband's import business.

Her hobbies include her cat, planning ambitious outings which never happen, and Body Balance (which is a sort of yoga for wimps). Her icons are Silent Bob and Modesty Blaise.

Sally's specialist subjects are South London, 'multi-culturalism', food and nature.




Hazel was born and raised in London (Zone 1) and, apart from a distressing three year enforced exile to a university town, has lived in London all her life. Along with many rambling, incoherent tales of her early days as an irregular food, arts and news contributor for Londonist before becoming an Editor in May 2007, she has a long and varied tale of growing up in London following theatre, art, culture and anything with obscenities in the title, or naked people painted purple doing improvised dance. 



With a day job at a national newspaper and an inability to turn down the chance to be on TV, she is all media, all the time, and usually available for comment but not before the first of two strong coffees in the morning.

Her main interests are experimental performing arts, live art, art installations, cultural festivals, unusual food and craft activities.






Currently residing in the East End (but avoiding turning into one of those eastenders who think it's really cool to dress like its 1947), Talia has been part of the team here at Londonist since 2005. Heading up the music & nightlife sections of the site, she's one of those people who's handy to have on speed-dial if you're short of things to do that evening and really need a good boogie.

Outside of Londonist she spends her time making radio shows, writing about music, encouraging people to dance with resident DJ slots at Popstarz and Ghetto, geeking out on the internet and interviewing popstars before committing the uber sin of asking for a photo with them. She also pretends to be ahead of the game.

Check her personal blog at Karinski.net for tales of djing, Scandanavian pop and the hotness of band members who look like monsters / Billie Piper. 




Chris would like to tell people that he hails from London, but his American accent would betray such a flagrant lie. However, when he first moved here in 2001, he felt disconcertingly at home. Currently residing at the western front of the East End (otherwise known as Clerkenwell) Chris enjoys foraging for new lunch spots and trying to keep track of the bewildering London art scene. Learn more.






Rachel was born and raised in Leeds but made a break for the capital at the dawn of the millennium. She's lived in Ealing, Golders Green, Chalk Farm, Muswell Hill and now resides with her diabetic cat in Hither Green. London transport fascinates her, she worships the British Museum and believes nothing compares to an afternoon's meander in Greenwich.



She drinks pretentious European lager and blond "ales", has a permanent backlog of unread books and is justifiably proud of her butternut squash and spinach risotto. She also spends far too much time on the internet.



Rachel specialises in bookshops, the arts and anything that offends her left-leaning sensibilities.




After moving to London from the much-maligned West Midlands, Dave lived on the Isle of Dogs for more than a decade. However, having recently moved to Clerkenwell, he no longer feels the need to fiercely defend the capital's most distinctive peninsula and its myriad transport challenges, preferring instead to bore his victims with unimportant (and mostly likely incorrect) trivia concerning his new habitat. 



As well as Clerkenwell, his favourite parts of London include Greenwich Park, the South Bank, Holland Park and the British Library – forming between them the four corners of an irregular concave inner-London quadrilateral. 



He enjoys many normal pastimes such as drinking, sleeping and eating, as well as more unusual ones such as geekiness, pedantry, casual exploration and pretending to be able to skate. He sometimes dreams of a life unencumbered by delays and frustration. Dave actually grew up in one of the southernmost suburbs of London, but he doesn't like to admit it.



Dave is not around much during the week, but takes custody of Londonist at weekends.




Natalie once bought a plane ticket to London from the other side of the world and knew that the rest would fall into place. A city with more than a million opportunities, she's not afraid to try every single one. As a photographer for Londonist, she contributes to the STYLEist series and will cover any type of event, the quirkier the better. It's been 6 years since she bought her plane ticket to London and while she still doesn't know how long she'll be here, she knows that she can find a flat white (coffee) in more than one place and that living within the Notting Carnival area does have its advantages. When she is not stalking people with her camera on the streets she enjoys hanging out in Hyde Park and trying her best to improve her freestyle slalom skating. 



CRAiG loved London from his first visit as a child, transfixed by a St James Park pelican busily drowning a pigeon.



He moved here to work in Downing Street a decade ago, and has never wanted to live beyond Zone 2 since (or 3, tops). Except, that is, when the rain just won't stop, the Jubilee line doesn't work flawlessly or people seem to forget they're sharing the city with 8 million others. Whenever in need of reminding why London is indeed the greatest city on earth, CRAiG often finds himself dancing at the world's finest gay clubs or running up our city's hillier bits to see the view. If you spot him speeding up Greenwich Park, Primrose Hill or past Brockwell Park cafe then the only thing that makes him stop is a skinny Americano (with an extra shot). He lives in South London with his boy, who is similarly addicted to running and coffee.



CRAiG likes to write about news, London politics, sport and gay stuff.








Before moving to London, Zoe tried living in Liverpool, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Rome and Madrid. Just to make sure. She's pretty sure she's in the right place now, but still misses the ready availability of a proper Italian latte.



Part popular culture nerd, part history geek, Zoe cried a tiny bit the first time she saw the inside of Shakespeare's Globe. And she'll never tire of the post-theatre dash from the bright lights of the West End to the Strand, down into the darkness of Villiers Street, and across the quiet stillness of Golden Jubilee Bridge to get the train home from Waterloo and start writing about what she's seen.



She's been writing sporadically for londonist since 2006, and has recently started her own blog.



Aside from being with her brilliant boyfriend, family and friends, Zoe is probably happiest in a quiet auditorium (theatre, cinema, whatever) when the lights have gone down, and the show is yet to start. In that moment, she believes anything can happen.




Amanda is another transplanted American. She last called Brooklyn home, but now lives at Mornington Crescent, mostly so she can make jokes about getting to Mornington Crescent. A writer by trade and a photographer by way of a hobby that got out of hand, she also enjoys really loud music, really pretty music, Primrose Hill, cardigan sweaters, and tea. She is also likely to mention her website, but generally in a context of aggravation.




Alice moved to the lovely city of London from Canada in 2001, planning to only stay for a year. But the opportunity to be laughed at every time she says "tomato" or "pants" proved far too tempting and she's been here ever since. She works in TV, which isn't as glamorous as it sounds, but does mean she gets to call watching television "research".

After four years in North London (in Chalk Farm, Hampstead, Queens Park and then finally Tufnell Park), she braved a move south to Balham and is now a committed South Londoner. She likes London architecture, the lack of cold snowy winters and the ready availability of pubs. She dislikes the Northern Line, Marmite, and when people think she's American.



Alice has a blog where she writes about her cats and her garden amongst other things, and another where she collects the complete works of Steve Guttenberg. It's a long story. 



Alice is especially interested in anything to do with film & TV in London.




Neil Arnold is a folklorist from Kent. He is the author of MONSTER! THE A-Z OF ZOOFORM PHENOMENA, which he describes as 'Marc Bolan meets National Geographic'. He also runs KENT BIG CAT RESEARCH, and the blogs BEASTS OF LONDON and MONSTERS OF KENT. 



Neil has a fascination with swingin' '60s London, glam rock and psychedelic music, Twin Peaks, Italian football and The Banana Splits. He lives opposite a haunted castle in historic Rochester with his vampire go-go girlfriend Jemma, but spends most of his time in London, purchasing hairspray, eye-liner, and vinyl. Neil believes in monsters more than he does himself. 




Chloe grew up in a nondescript Thameside town in Oxfordshire, and may
have languished there forevermore as an employee in a soft furnishings
shop were it not for a drunken house viewing in Camden in 2006.
During her first week in London someone flashed at her on the Circle
Line, but it's been plain sailing ever since.

Now she lives in Tufnell Park with her best friend and the occasional
 company of next door's cat, whom they tempted in with a Sainsburys
 Taste the Difference chorizo and mozzarella sausage. Her favourite 
things in the capital are gigs, galleries, the ICA, Rough Trade East 
and knitwear. Buying her a gig ticket or a jumper is thus the way to
 her heart.




Beth started her grown-up life in Oxfordshire and spent several years
edging closer to London, finally arriving in 2000. After shuffling back and
 forth a bit between north and east London, she discovered the outer reaches 
of the Central Line and alighted somewhere near Epping Forest.



News, current affairs and motoring are the things she writes about most and 
she strenuously denies rumours that she is really Jeremy Clarkson in drag.
 Her favourite London bits are the City, Fleet Street and Embankment seen
from a convertible at night. Her least favourite bits are the A13 and Oxford Street.


Beth spends her free time writing stuff and likes cars, the seaside, films 
and reading books. When she grows up she'd quite like to be a war
 correspondent or an international spy. She pretends to like going to the
 gym but would much prefer to be in the garden with a G&T fiddling about
 with her website.



Jaz grew up between London and Brighton, with Londoner parents who she often berated for having dragged her to the sticks. After a few years in the North West, she finally made it to London and after trying Shepherds Bush and Brixton she's settled on the always entertaining Brick Lane. Being a childhood country mouse, she thinks London's copius transport is amazing and occupys herself between buses with pretty mainstream pursuits of parks, pubs, walking, eating and more pubs. 

A big fan of Londonist, she mainly cheats around actually writing articles, and instead runs the London Blogger Interviews - always up for suggestions/volunteers! You can also find her on twitter lots and occasionally her blog.



Caroline has lived in quite a few places around the globe and is never quite sure how to answer the question of where she’s from. However, she’s had a long-standing relationship with London and has recently adopted it as home base. 



When she’s not too busy studying history in libraries and coffee shops, she can be found exercising in Hyde Park or sidestepping past tourists in Notting Hill.



Although she pretends to be fairly sensible at times by heading to the opera or free lectures, deep down she is a true lover of mischief, adventure, and trying anything at least once.




In his job as an online copywriter, John gets to write about riveting subjects. Like computers. And the law. To keep things varied, he fills gaps in his day covering music for Londonist - a much more interesting topic.

A resident of the commuter belt, John seems to spend an unfeasible amount of time on trains. Every long ride home after a gig serves as a reminder that he's just too far from the action, so he's plotting a move to The Smoke proper just as soon as it's practical.




Patrick followed a girl from Sydney to London back in 2007, and predictably it didn't work out. But as they fell out of love, he fell for London. So far avoiding the Australian ghettos, he has always lived North of the river, and is constantly amazed that he can get home at 4am after a night out in Clapham. Refusing to stand on the right for philosophical reasons, he is now a firm believer that the only way to get around London is by bike (despite two thefts and one knock-down).

With a day job moving numbers around in excel spreadsheets (no, not for a bank), writing for Londonist keeps him sane and up to speed on all the wonderfully random things going on in the city. His favourite haunts include The Swan for the view, Emirates for the football, Epping Forest for the tranquility, and any pub but a Walkabout for a drink.



Nicolas arrived from his native France (the bit where they make wine and mustard) in July 2000, as part of the ongoing colonising effort started in 1066. Although well aware that English is little more than badly pronounced French, he had taken the precaution of studying the language at university before getting himself kicked out of the country (mostly for being by far too unFrench).

The sad and corny truth is that Nicolas fell in love with London a few years before his migration after spending a week walking the streets of this hallowed city. It was like coming home. And so it passed that sarf London became home. During the intervening years, Nicolas has been singing with the London Gay Men's Chorus and has flexed is political muscle by getting involved with his local LGBT network and LGBT History Month. He has also accrued an extensive online presence (read: he doesn't have a life and spends too much time online) centred around his blog.

Nicolas likes taking pictures and reviewing things.




After emerging from a village in Somerset James was packed off to
 the city for university, setting up home in pre-Olympic Stratford. He
 scraped his way into Zone 1 a couple of years ago and has no plans to 
leave. In 2009 he crossed the river - the jury is still out.

Being one of the few people in the world interested in economic history 
James joined Londonist when the credit crunch kicked off - the chance
 to blog the UK's first recession was, he thought, too great to miss.

James enjoys, cycling, watching, eating and listening. A fun weekend out is a 
trip to to an unusual council estate and he pushes children out of the 
way to sit at the front of the DLR.



Neither orange nor a vegetable, Caroline picked the pen name Carrot in a moment of drunken inspiration based on a childhood nickname. When she's not masquerading as edible produce, she enjoys exploring the capital and trying the weird and wonderful things that it offers. Particularly interested in history, literature and anything food/drink related, she's a regular at shooting clubs across London, loves slam poetry nights and has been to every single pub in WC2. Her favourite London moments have been flying down the Thames in a helicopter, seeing 20,000 semi naked women heckle soldiers at the Chelsea barracks and rowing around a sea of punch on a giant rubber garnish. Living amongst the tourist hordes in central London, she is involved in a number of charitable projects and secretly harbours the unfeasible aspiration of someday being able to write full time.

A reformed country bumpkin who's lived on both sides of the river - in The Rye, The 'ditch and thelondonboroughofbrightonandhoveactually - Ruth has a geekily all-consuming passion for comedy, hoarding 7" vinyl and anything bookish, and is on a one-woman quest to find the best scotch egg in London. She's happiest anywhere in the Barbican, on the Southbank, or whiling away entire afternoons pottering about the British Museum, and still gets a little overawed when crossing one of the city's many bridges at night.



'Johnny Fox' studied Theatre at Lancaster University and Journalism at City before realising there was no money in either profession and concentrating instead on interior design for investment banks.  He lived and worked in other cities including Singapore, New York, and Moscow but has been a committed adoptive Londoner for thirty years.  Living in Docklands is a perpetual anticipation that some infrastructure will eventually emerge or that the Jubilee Line and DLR will work one day, but the bend of the river seen on approach into London City Airport still gladdens his heart.  

His urban passions include theatre, singing, consumer terrorism, wine, architecture and London's dark underbelly, and he's written for everything from The Pink Paper to The Architects Journal. Here's his personal blog.



Jonathan loves sandwiches more than life itself. He's made it his mission to find London's best sandwich since sliced bread. He lives in Brixton and works on Baker Street. He is the Sandwichist. So if you come across an amazing sandwich you must let him know as a matter of the most extreme urgency.

Jonathan also writes a food blog called Around Britain with a Paunch

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