Anyone moved to London in their 50s and loved it?

I'm in zone 2 (but a leafy-ish bit) and was added to the street whatsapp group as soon as I moved in. There is a definite community feel here: I have met lots of my neighbours, and found that people are very friendly and helpful (lending tools, rescuing parcels that couriers have dumped on doorsteps, giving away furniture and excess garden fruit & veg etc). Warnings also go round about burglaries and phone-snatchers near the station, but it certainly doesn't seem to be a crime-ridden hell-hole so far. Not all of London is unfriendly commuter land!

Really couldn’t disagree more. I grew up in a “naice” town but the locals were so judgemental and standoffish to anyone who hadn’t lived there for generations or was a bit different. I’ve got a wonderful community in London that I’ve never found in any other location I’ve lived in the UK. I’m not elderly but there are several community and mutual aid groups in my area that do a lot for elderly and disadvantaged people.

We live in London and know all our neighbours and often pass people in the street and say hello. I wouldn’t be out of London now as we look towards our 60s- there is so much to do - we did have a brief spell out of London and we were thoughly miserable .. plus our adult DCs get to save whilst free to live at home

What nonsense. Dulwich Village horrible? Don’t think so.

I absolutely agree and am also planning to move out in a few years once the kids are sorted.
It's not a place to grow old unless you have family around & a good supply of money.

Also agree on the crime. I live in a leafy area in Zone 3 too, not in the banana, but it's a good area. However, crime rates have risen significantly in recent years and there are areas nearby I would definitely avoid after dark that I wouldn't have given a second thought to when we moved here 20 years ago.

Give it a lot of thought before committing to the move.
Also agree that a satellite town with a community feel might be a better option.

I agree that it can be better to be within commuting distance on a fast train than living in some outer suburb.

I can be in most of central London in 20-40 minutes from my local station.

My dd lives in London now, lived in Shoreditch at the start as got a good deal on rent during Covid, It was impressive to be able to see the Gherkin etc just by walking a few metres from her flat.

That banana thing is odd. Includes some very dullsville parts of Surrey and parts of Borehamwood!

I would want a really big budget if I was moving to London to make the most of it. I commute in to London often for work and find living in a town that has a trainline right in to zone one to be the best compromise. Train tickets are expensive at peak times but very reasonable at off peak times especially with a rail card.

I’m anti-banana. Long live the East London apple instead. 😜

I moved to London in my early 20s and have lived in various areas. Now in my mid 50s and am looking to get out of London to live by the sea in Dorset or Devon.

To me, London is no place to grow old, especially if you live alone. No sense of community, you barely know your neighbours, nobody is likely to check on you if you weren’t seen for a few days. It has also got dirtier, more over-crowded and more dangerous over the 30+ years I have been here. It’s not a place I would suggest someone move to in their 50s. I live in a ‘nice’ middle-class, leafy area in Zone 3, but we continually have thugs coming in from other areas to raid the chemists and a couple of other shops on our high street. School kids regularly mugged for phones, etc.

You’ll also find London far more expensive in every respect than whatever country location you are currently in. Very unlikely you will find similar accommodation in your price bracket unless you want to live in a crap area.

London is fine for a weekend break to do a bit of sight-seeing, shopping, take in a show. But that’s a very different prospect to living here.

London is great as long as you have enough money to enjoy it.

Transport is great & museums etc are free but cafes, pubs, restaurants are very expensive as are tickets to shows & special exhibitions.

Plus if you are downsizing to a flat, as a pp said, be wary of the service charges which can be extortionate.

It's a brilliant place to be well off but if money is even slightly going to be a concern then think carefully.
And while I think it's a great place for early retirement/ "old age", I'm not sure how great it will be when you are properly elderly. A lot of places don't have a real sense of community, people come & go and neighbours don't all know each other/look out for each other.
Being 50/60s in London will be a very different prospect to being in your 80s so if it's a long term/rest of life move, do lots of research on areas first.

In some ways I think London comes into its own for an older person. I have lived here for 30 years and love it (and may never leave), but I am so mired in work and school stuff at the moment that I barely have time for any of the fabulous things it has to offer.

If you are a reasonably solvent empty nester you could do literally anything you want here.

Depends on your interests I suppose but I’m originally from NE London, now back in Highbury and love the area plus how easy it is to go east, city and central. Hardly ever use the underground, mostly buses or North London line, a lot of walking. Since I was a teenager I wanted to live at Barbican, couldn’t even afford a studio flat. I rent.

DH has friends from his sports club who moved to London from the countryside (rural Devon) when they retired from teaching. They love it. Lots to do, don't need a car, freedom/heavily discounted public transport, also lots of choice of social/sports clubs. They did size down from a house to a flat.

Im not from London (and am in my 40s) and I love it. It's expensive for sure but I 100% make the most of all the free stuff!

I've lived in London and would love to move back in my retirement. What holds me back is that I'd only be able to afford a flat but I feel like the service charges would be like having a permanent mortgage. I don't know how people afford the service charges in retirement unless really well off.

I’m thinking of making this move. Aside from the banana suggestion really interested to know where anyone would recommed living (already had thoughts of Dulwich, Blackheath). Work would be near St Paul’s if I transferred my existing role

I moved back in my mid-50s, and have not regretted a moment. I now live in South London, and if you had told me that when I lived in East London 40 yrs ago I would have laughed in your face.

The positives for me are free transport from 60, excellent public transport. I can be in Covent Garden in 25 mins, good local parks, great coffee, lots to do with new people…

Access to museums and galleries, Farmers’ Markets, spotting Jersey Tiger Moths in the garden and a cheaper hairdresser at the top of the road. For me it works.

I have a retired uncle who lives in Bloomsbury and has a great time Being retired on a good pension in central London, what’s not to like? Easy transport around and out of London, top hospitals, great entertainment. I’m in.

I looked at the banana and thought “Oh that will piss off the residents of Dulwich 😁”

I’d love to do it but housing costs are too high.

That banana is inaccurate.

I'm borderline banana! But don't understand how Cockfosters is in and Stoke Newington out? Who cares... I'm similar age and situation to you - my children were encouraging me to downsize to be here.

I think the residents of very MN-approved 'naice' places like Dulwich, Ealing, Greenwich, Blackheath etc might take issue with the banana concept, but then it is just a stupid idea designed to generate publicity for the rather attention-seeking man who invented it...

I am in my 50s, recently moved back to London (to a non-banana location!) and am extremely happy with my decision, so I would say to the OP, go for it, it's a great place to be when you are an empty-nester!

Thank you @PermanentTemporary and @doubleshotcappuccino too. I appreciate that I’m very lucky. A lot of people (almost everyone!) thought I was bonkers when I bought my flat because the area was pretty rough (by MN standards very rough!) but I wanted to be as central as I could on my limited budget and this was just about affordable. I was actually renting in a ‘naice’ area in North London at the time but had split up with my partner and was desperate to find a place of my own. I work in banking so being between the City and Canary Wharf was an ideal location and logically I thought the area had to improve because there will be other people and businesses who think the same as me. And boy has it improved!!!

I must admit that sometimes I take it for granted so it’s good to see it through other people’s eyes and get a reminder of how lucky I am.

I’m now about to casually stroll through Spitalfields to my office near Liverpool St and feel slightly guilty that some people spend longer waiting for their train than it takes me to walk to work.😝

@HundredMilesAnHour that really is living the dream. I don’t think I would do it as we are happy where we are but what a great life you have built.

Can't think of anything worse, personally. I'm late 40s and every time I am in London I can't wait to leave and get home to Scotland! Whereas in my 20s I loved visiting. But would never have wanted to live there even then.