Living in Islamabad means you become so spoilt that wherever else you move to, no city will ever come closer to what Islamabad means to you.  It might be not as lively as other cities, but you get every single facility and the people are just way too cool. But not everything is perfect and it doesn’t even have to be, same is with the life in Islamabad.

These are just a few things which annoy the hell out of you if you live in Islamabad:

1. Being called burger or mummy daddy bachay is possibly the most annoying thing for every Islamabadi

All you want to do is act a little sweet and use nice English words while conversing with someone or maybe you need to ask your parents for permission to do anything because laawaaris nai hain aap. And people would call you mama’s pets. When you don’t go to places that have literally got “unhygienic” written all over them, people assume you have burger standards. Islamabadis ko burger khanay pasand hai par hum burger nahi hain.

2. The unnecessarily high prices for everything are a pain but an Islamabadi knows all the hacks

This is so unfair that Islamabadis have to pay more than other cities for everything we buy in Islamabad. Let it be sabzi from any thailey wala, or those high street brands for clothes, they all have a different price for Islamabad. There are so many people who are still struggling to get through a day to put food in their family’s plates, kuch toh rehm karo Islamabadi dukaandaaro.

3. Traffic jams at the highway are the bane of existence of every Islamabadi

Nothing says a bad day like being stuck at the highway in horrible traffic. Almost everyone has been stuck there at some point in their life. Though, it is located a little far from the actual city, it is a gateway to Islamabad and that’s why after a long tiring day, everything is ruined due to this road.

4. The answer to vacation plans for every Islamabadi always ends up being Murree

You plan out this amazing vacation trip way before the summers even start and all you could think of is getting nice clothes for the trip, a SUV on rent maybe, and gather around people with whom you can actually enjoy but when summers come, and it is time for the life changing vacation you always end up in Murree and if you get lucky you may spend a day at Nathiagali or Ayubia as well. Every. Single. Time.

5. The empty parks

Islamabad has a lot of parks. These parks were basically built for the citizens to have a better and healthier lifestyle. But most of them are left abandoned because no one would come out to play or take a walk. Only some of the “famous ones” have a few people roaming around or just lying down. Kids would rather play in the streets and risk their lives than go to parks that are built to play in.

6. Crowd at Centaurus

You try to think it’s alright to have everyone in Pindi visit your city’s mall but deep down yoou know it annoys the hell out of you when you have to stand in the line to get through the security check and then when it is so crowded and people wont move any faster because they are too busy in taking selfies or looking at the shops.

7. Having to visit Pindi

It is a well-known fact that people from Islamabad need to visit Pindi whenever it is a necessity. It’s not about the city as much as it is about the traffic and how the climate is so different there even though it is attached to Islamabad. And you will cancel every plan for the next day if you knew that you are going to Pindi. Your answer to every one asking about your schedule will be yaar Pindi jana hai, as if daamad ko susral jana ho.

8. The fact that trends come to Islamabad later than the rest of the country

When it comes to fashion we have to give it to the people of Lahore and Karachi, they are the ones who try the latest fashion trends and let us know how it looks and feels like, when they are done with it then the people in Islamabad can actually try it out too. We are always the last ones to carry trends that had been dead in other cities.

9. The endless security checks

The policemen are doing a great job but it is so annoying when they would stop you for no reason and have that look on their face which actually kinda’ scares you. We have a life, we need to be at places and no we don’t have that much time to stop at every security check in our own hometown.

10. People who don’t understand the perfect clear directions in Islamabad

Islamabad is a well-planned city. Which means every street and road has been designed with a plan and you could see boards telling you the names of the places with directions and every sector has numbered streets and houses then why would anyone ask others for directions? Everyone gets lost while going to Howdy’s, figure it out, people. Learn to read.

11. Not having a decent movie theater

The capital of the city does not have a nice cinema, how annoying is that? And no, the cramped Centaurus doesn’t count.

12. Having to take every guest to Monal… when it existed and was open

The drive up the mountain is done to death. Sure, the view is magnificent but ab toh saari duniya ne dekh liya hai. Let some things be special by visiting them sparingly.

Moreoever, even though the management denied any truth to the rumors, photos have recently circulated of Monal building have been razed and the area being under construction so, we can’t really say if it exists at all anymore, even.

Cover image: Asif Hassan