Welcome to Liverpool! To those of you are new to Liverpool, welcome to the biggest local community in the world: a place where everyone’s your mate, religions are either red or blue, and a fearsome flock of seagulls rules the skies. To those of you who know the city inside out, sorry I didn’t reply to your text. I’ve been dead busy. So, fancy a pint ?
Well, Liverpool is so much more for me then just travel destination. It is my second hometown by now, place which will be always close to my heart and so very special indeed. Why and how this happened, you may ask? Well, it have started in fall of 2008, when I got new work contract there. Before that, I spent some (luckily short) time working and living in Leicester. The difference could not be more visible. It is everything and anything. Leicester, despite its past medieval glory, just is not interesting place nowadays at all. No soul my friend, I am afraid. There was just two intersecting streets with clock, Weatherspoon dance club, and empty and completely dead streets by 5pm every day. I do not want to offend anyone from there, and it probably got better over there by now. However, like I said earlier, Liverpool is different beast altogether.
In 2008, it was voted as European city of culture, together with Stavanger in Norway. It was proud moment for the city and whole Merseyside, but it meant much more then that. It was a start of rapid boom and upswing of the city. In 2008 and before, even in the middle of the city centre, there were tons of unused parcels, shady corners, rundown warehouses and unused former factories slowly falling apart. By now, new boutique hotels in old buildings, hip and hipster coffees, restaurants and bars are emerging every day at ever increasing pace. Competition is fierce. Even if place starts strong, just a brief moment of lower standards and lower attention and crowds are off elsewhere.
The whole process of revitalization of city may have started a bit sooner, maybe even at the end of 198os, when closed and rundown Albert Dock was reconstructed as a major tourist attraction. You may ask, revitalization, what´s he talking about? Liverpool, this is Beatles and Titanic, Cunard and White Star Line, mighty and wealthy port and whatnot. Well, sure, it is and it was all of that. However, sad fact is from 1970s on the city was really on steep downslope. Economic decline, closing of docks and ports, not catching up with container transport at all, losing a lot of jobs in factories
and manufactures. All that led to sad fact that by 1980s, Liverpool was one of the poorest regions in the whole United Kingdom, with high unemployment rate, civil unrest, riots and high crime rate. Now over 75 millions of visitors are enjoying the city every single year and whole tourism industry replaced former steer to docking, shipping and manufacturing. What drive all those crowds there? Well there is really a huge bit for everyone and anyone.
You are a sports fan? There are three of the oldest and two of the most successful football clubs in the whole country. Liverpool FC if your heart beats red and You’ll Never Walk Alone, or Everton for those who fancy people’s club and a bit of an underdog attitude, very much like I do. Come On You Blues!
If you live over the river Mersey on Wirral peninsula, good chance you still fancy Tranmere Rovers, despite they sank into National League, which is 5th level in UK system, and first when players are not fully professional. There is Grand National steeplechase held in Aintree each year, started in 1839. Probably biggest event of its kind, not only in England, but in the world. You for sure don’t have to be hardcore horse racing fan to enjoy it. There is a rugby nearby, as well, of course.
You hate sports and all those noisy football hooligans? Music, right? Those four lads which changed pop music forever – Beatles! Cavern Club gig But it was not just them. All the Merseybeat sound and every gig in town, even latest dive bar open mic night on Monday still showing endless pool of talent and sheer passion for music.
Higher art fan? Sure – Liverpool Philharmonics, few super theatres, stand-up comedians and so on. There are world class museums as well.
There is world class architecture, UNESCO heritage waterfront. Mighty Port buildings, Three Graces, symbols of the city. Old docks and brick warehouses, from whose, beautifully renovated Albert Dock now hosts museums, restaurants, bars and second best Tate Modern gallery. Liverpool has second highest number of grade A buildings in after London and more Georgian buildings then Bath. Two mighty cathedrals at the both ends of amply named street – Hope Street. Anglican designed by Catholic and Catholic designed by Anglican. First one is the longest and fifth largest cathedral in the world.
So you’re a foodie.
Spending more time taking pictures of your meal and putting it on Instagram then actually eating it? Despite a bit sad fact that British cuisine is not very good indeed or barely exists at all. Of course, except fish and chips, shepherds pie and that is about it.
But in Liverpool you can get any cuisine of the world in great quality as well. Spanish Tapas, Italian, Indian, Japanese, Thai, Fusion, pub grub, gourmet ribs and burger, you name it, they have it.
But what is the best essence of all that? Well none of the above, it is the people of Liverpool, the Liverpudlians or just the Scousers. People who treat a stranger like a friend they haven’t yet met. People who are friendly. 
People with great sense of humour. People who know how to party hard and still somehow show up for work or study next morning. People who will love you and you love them, eventually.
I want to end this with very loose version of verse I read somewhere, most probably from some famous English poet. Apologizing that I do not remember exact words, but the meaning is much more important for me.
I had roamed all the world wide, but my heart always belongs to the Merseyside.