Moving to a new city can be daunting.
When I moved across the country to Merseyside I wondered if I'd fit in, but five months later it's quickly becoming my home.
Here's a list of my Top 5 favourite things about Liverpool.
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1. The kindness of Scousers to strangers
My absolute favourite thing about the city struck me about 30 seconds after arriving in it, weighed down by a suitcase outside Lime Street Station, probably looking flustered.
"Are you lost?" asked a stranger.
I've lived in a fair few cities but I've never known a group of people so eager to help you find your destination than Scousers. It's as though they have some sort of sixth sense for noticing lost people and go out of their way to help.
I've had directions yelled from scaffolding, over walls and discussed by a group of teenage friends.
People of all backgrounds have morphed into enthusiastic and knowledgeable tour guides in front of me and it's a beautiful sight. A far cry for the last time I asked for directions in London.
Whether or not this graciousness comes from a history of having people arriving in its port after a tough voyage ( which might also explain the city's reputation for supporting refugees ) there's nothing that makes me love Liverpool more.
2. Bold Street fashion
If you ask me, Paris, Milan or New York have nothing on Bold Street when it comes to fashion sense. People-watchers like me can easily pass an hour on the ever-bustling thoroughfare just looking at the array of colours and styles that seem to jump back and forth through the decades.
Photographer Dave Knight - known on Instagram as Bold Street Guy, has spent years documenting the style and personalities of strangers walking down the iconic stretch of road between the The Bombed Out Church and Hanover Street.
Having taken several thousand portraits over the last five years there, the 62-year-old told The ECHO : "I've often described Bold Street as a tidal flow of cool people entering town. If I miss them going in I often catch them coming out.
"It's just fabulous, I love the diversity of looks and styles."
3. Merseyrail
This might be a boring one to some people, and Merseyside's railway system has its critics but a train every 20 minutes, that consistently leaves on time to the minute has been nothing short of a blessing to me.
4. Meaningful Street Art
Not only do Scousers wear their heart on their sleeve, they paint their heroes on their walls.
Between artist Paul Curtis' portraits of the city's football legends and his tribute to community heroes such as Hillsborough campaigner Anne Williams in Anfield, notable Scousers and talented local artists have surely left their mark on the city. The murals are a reminder of the power of the human spirit and regional pride.
5. Protests and trade union membership
Scousers have a reputation for standing up for themselves and their beliefs, as demonstrated by the various protests that take part in the city centre.
Just last week (February 12) hundreds of Liverpudlians marched down Bold Street to protest soaring energy prices.
According to government data, in 2020 Merseyside had the highest proportion of workers in trade unions in the country at 34.5%.
Activism in the city is nothing new, the legacy of mass transport strikes in Liverpool in 1890 and 1911 strengthened the concept of trade unions in British society forever.
David Isserman, a PHD student at Edge Hill University studying the history of trade unions in Liverpool said community activism is built into the region's identity.
He said "a history of labour unrest and the deep inroads made into the community by socialist groups and trade unions" contributed most to the region's "radical" reputation.
He added: "The working-class of Liverpool historically, and at present, often bare the brunt of whatever it is the rest of the country wants to implement whether its austerity measures or privatisation of industry.
"For many people in the city, even people who are not necessarily on the left, the right to demonstrate when faced with injustice is a natural response."
I suppose I could summarise this list by saying my favourite thing about Liverpool is Liverpudlians and I'm grateful for the welcome they've shown me over the past few months.
