To think I’ve missed out on an exciting life by never living in London?

It's simply the best city in the world.

@foghead yes I do sometimes do "London" stuff.
The other week I did mooch around Greenwich and another day walked along the river near London bridge.
I sometimes go to the book stalls on the Embankment.
Oh and I went to Battersea Power Station.
But probably 80% of my "London" life is going to a Tesco that's the same as any Tesco anywhere 😂

My cockney father was fortunate enough to get a university education and leave the smog filled city behind only for me to choose to go to university in London. I loved it but I never fully relaxed. I remember going to visit my parents' house and sleeping so so deeply without a London A road going past my window. Lots of the things I loved about it I could have in any big city, and other things I loved were about being child-free rather than location. If the Maths don't work to live there permanently tly could you look to spend some time there? If you work for a big organisation could you apply for a secondment? Join the civil service then get a stint in Border Force one summer? There must be a way, but it won't be as easy as when you were young child free and single!

London is great to visit but everyone I know who lived there has moved away from it.

It may be fun, but tiny houses/flats and crowded public transport got boring/tedious and tainted the fun.

This 👆

Maybe go for a week or two and wander around and find hidden London ! I used to work there , I did a year and my DH still goes down each week with his work so we go regularly but I love getting back to the countryside! A year was enough for me . I love visiting for a weekend now but smile on my way out as I need green and trees!

Trust me you're not missing anything.

I've been to Greenwich, Tower of London and a stroll around west end for a meal out in carnaby street over the past 2 weeks as well as the dull stuff.
It's not always like that but definitely socialise in London or take the kids there fairly regularly.

We are not all like your relatives.

We can love living in London without thinking it is the centre of the universe.

And many of us go all over the country to visit people and love those areas too,

If you love city living, you would probably love London. It has so much to do if you like things like museums and theatre, exhibitions, street markets, old buildings, etc. But you do need to be in a position to take advantage. There's lots that's free if you can afford the transportation costs (money and time) - which can be difficult given the price of housing. And even more that will cost you but is hard to find elsewhere.

I've lived in several big cities and loved this aspect of all of them. London and New York stand out above the others for provision, but you can have an exciting life in other places and I don't think it's reasonable to think of yourself as having missed out.

Also, you may have children now and feel like a move is unachievable, but you can always move there when they've left home. My PiL did this and they love it.

I have relatives in London. They refuse point blank to come and visit.

anywhere outside the m25 is “too far”. They even expect my elderly aunt to get the train down to them, they’ve never once been to her.

some of these people who think London is the centre of the universe are the ones missing out, imo. The UK has so much more to offer than one city.

I do love it, I've lived in lots of places but always come back to London and now don't think I'd leave again if I had a choice.

I always fancied the idea of moving to London. There's just an energy about big cities. I bagged an interview at Yahoo without discussing with my girlfriend first. I told her I was planning on it, she didn't like the idea, so I didn't go.

15 years later we're pretty well settled with DS so I don't have have any regrets. I have a pal in the same line of work who's worked in London, New York and now Amsterdam who I'll admit I'm envious of, but I wouldn't swap places.

How do you know it’s the only place worth being if you’ve never lived anywhere else?

Manchester is better, imo. Still got all the theatres, museums etc but is much more compact and easier to get round. I used to work at the uni and had Manchester museum and the art gallery on my doorstep. Went to more living in Manchester as it often we’d just pop in rather than having to plan a big day out to get to somewhere in central London.

kids sports I can get them pretty much anywhere in 15 mins. London might only be 3 miles but it often took me 45 mins in traffic. Yes there was public transport but often was two tubes and a long walk, not great for young children or even teens when practice finished at 8 or 9 pm.

Leeds, Newcastle, Birmingham, same.

london is just too big and unwieldy for me.

Tell him there is a thing called trains.
Kings Cross to Cambridge Is a good day out.
I never drive anywhere unless is local towns lol

My parents were both born and bred Londoners (Crystal Palace and Balham) whose families moved out to the wilds of Croydon for a better quality of life and that's where they met when they were in their late teens. And then their parents moved further out into the countryside after Croydon. But London in the 1950s was filthy and the smog was terrible, the infrastructure was ruined by the war and moving out was seen as a sensible thing for aspirational middle class families to do.

Between them my parents had 5 children and 4 out of the 5 of us have chosen to move back to London and live all of our adult lives here. We are all so glad we did. It really is the greatest city you can imagine.

I think its easy to romanticise about a life somewhere else. I lived in London for 10 years having moved from Bristol where I went to uni, and after growing up in a small town. I really loved living there in my 20s, I had my dream job, there was always something to see and do, go out any day of the week and have a good time.
But now im in my late 30s living in Geneva, I love that I can visit London but I can't imagine bringing up a child there. You couldn't pay me enough money to raise a child there.
I think if you are wondering what if, book a visit in this summer. Take the tube in rush hour in the height of summer and you'll soon be desperate to get back home.

I think some people get a very "romantic" view of what living in London is actually like.
For most people it's just pootling along in life doing normal everyday stuff.
Things I have done in London this week - gone to the cinema, gone to Lidl, walked through a park, gone to the library, been to Poundland, been to McDonald's 😂

Surely there are lots of places you have never lived? Have you lived on an off grid farm? It's hard to experience everything.

There are so many free things to do in London.

The museums, art galleries, royal parks and of course the kids travel for free!

I think London is a great place to retire to, OP - you could aim for that.

It's still all there for you though

My brother lives in London , early 30’s , gets paid about 70k but he can’t afford a house and lives in a house share. He has great nights out etc. I get jealous of it but then I have to remember, number 1 I have my own house and when retirement comes knocking I’m going to be in a better situation than him, no one wants to rent when retired with a pension than won’t go up with rental prices. 2: it’s very expensive. 3: I find that now he lives in London and doesn’t have a car he literally doesn’t venture out of the place, it seems that for many Londoners it becomes their world and that’s it. I like the fact I travel regularly all over my county and neighbouring ones- I guess I have the feeling I can escape where I live easier and not feel hemmed in. If you have children and are not a millionaire then it will be rubbish to be honest- tiny rental flat is your best hope. Just to lots of day trips or why do t you have a two week holiday there and get some of what you are feeling out of your system

I absolutely loved it - but as a young single person with a lot of disposable income.

Being able to access all the theatre and arts, museums so easily - I used to get the last minute cheap tickets from the half price ticket booth and saw all the big popular shows very cheaply.

Used to get up on a Sunday and spend hours walking along the river etc.

All the amazing markets, all the different restaurants- finding all the secret non touristy places and ‘secret’ passageways etc.

Loved it. But wouldn’t have had the same experience with a family.

Mind you I also spent a few years in Birmingham and loved that too - was definitely a city girl.

Yeah you're missing out. We're from London and it's the only place worth being in the UK we feel.

DS went to uni in London and now works in finance in London. He finds it great. So many things to do and see. The only other city in the UK he'd ever consider moving to would be Edinburgh