> I rarely waited 5 minutes for a tube in London late at night, never more than 10.
It seemed impossible to get to my hotel from the Eurostar train in a reasonable time with the tube when I came in on an after work train. Ended up with an unlicensed cab with a driver who spoke with a very deep cockney accent and dropped us off on the wrong side of the street where there was a fence to prevent pedestrian crossings. It was an adventure. I never ended up on the tube, because it was simpler to just walk to the office.
The next time you find yourself on the wrong side of Euston Road road for St Pancras station, take this underpass here: https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5302507,-0.1231112,3a,75y,25...
It does require local knowledge to expect this, I'll grant.
The weirdest thing about moving to car-centric Silicon Valley are the after work drinks. These are often in the office (since they are located at motorway junctions away from anything else) and then you stand there carefully nursing your one drink since you all have to drive home.
In London you'd just go to a pub for a few beers after work with your colleagues, or meet up with other friends after work because you all worked in the city centre anyway so it was easy.