What’s the point in living in London?

[vandergahrd]

Do you ever wonder that? I live and have always lived in the “provinces”, near a nice city. You can have a very nice house and lifestyle here without working every hour of the clock.

My DD has just qualified as a GP in London, and her boyfriend is a city lawyer. Both of them work silly hours, and on paper have very healthy salaries.

However they just bought their first flat for £600k. Quite frankly it’s not nice. They have to be near enough work to commute quickly and London is so so expensive.

Her boyfriend especially works 9am-10pm most days. They hardly see each other, due to their hard work yet still don’t earn enough for a nice lifestyle.

What is the point unless your parents or family bought property 20 years ago in London.

Our property would sell for approx 800k which is more than double what they were selling for 10 yrs ago however that figure has been largely stagnant for the last 3-4 yrs, which I think is true for many naice areas. Lending is a lot tighter & it’s a lot harder to move up the laddder when you haven’t seen huge price growth. A couple earning 200k wouldn’t be able to afford certain parts of Wandsworth now for example whereas many of my childhood neighbours with normal jobs eg teachers, police etc have made 1.5m plus when selling their homes. A friend who grew up in Wimbledon Village probably paid 400k ish for their house in the 90s. Expensive then yes but the family sold it for around 3.5m, those days are defo gone!

ForalltheSaints
SilverySurfer the centre of the universe is in London- it is Neasden!

-Damn I forgot about Neasden

I spent my later childhood/teens in an idyllic tiny village , it bored me rigid.
Even now , the buses are infrequent , about 50 minutes after 6pm and only one serivce runs after 4pm.

I tell my DC how lucky they are (we're in Zone 6) to have everything at their doorstep.

(DS is he doesn't like London and doesn't appreciate the thrill of the Underground, the shops, amenities)

Don't worry OP when they want to have a family they'll move out of London and their poxy little flat will buy somewhere twice the size of your house. Then who'll be laughing...

When I was young I loved working and living in London. The social life is brilliant, shopping, restaurants etc

Mind you that was in the 1980s/90s.

I would hate to live there now. I have relatives that live there and couple of them I will be inheriting property from and I will be selling as I would not move back there.

For me it's because it's so beautiful. So many lovely buildings and alleyways and hidden spots. And so green.

And so much to do. I've literally lived in three dozen places all over the UK and London suits me the most.

I moved to London in 1993 and love it. Have had a great time and I am fortunate to live in a great area and my DC have had a very different upbringing to me. They live in a multi cultural city and have friends to match...its refreshing given I grew up in a small town in scotland where non white or non british people were still being referred to in terms I wouldn't write down as it was horrendous...... I partied hard in the 90s, had 4 DC and settled down but for me I couldn't see myself living anywhere else. I am the other end of 40 and still love going out to nice restaurants and bars and maybe even a wee club as no one cares....i still love going on the underground and heading into town and wandering around the river. It isn't for everyone but given the population of London it clearly is for alot!

You don’t need to move out of London when you have kids! Loads of lovely areas of London with loads of green places and nice schools. Crouch End, muswell hill, Barnes, Wimbledon, putney.

To me there is something very magical about being able to sit on the tube for half an hour and be able to go to the theatre, the Houses of Parliament, the science museum - all just right there. The DC have so many incredible opportunities. And as others have said, for many London is just the nearest city to where they grew up.

Not so sure about the nice schools if you can't pay. Primary yes but state secondary - we were horrified

Mine went to state comprehensives - and not the faith or partially selective ones - and are at top universities now. London has some of the best state schools in the country.

Perhaps it depends where you live daisy. Our local comp didn't offer French or triple science and that was the best in borough. It also ran along apartheid lines which was freaky tbh.

Growing up in the city is really something. You see the sights on the TV and have these warm memories of it too.

Underage clubbing in Camden, mucking around in the Trocadero all day, Sunday’s at Covent Garden, we used to all meet up and go shopping on Oxford Street all the time at the weekends (Shelley’s shoes on the corner!) spending all your money in Tower Records at Piccadilly, getting the night bus home with all the nutters and being friends with them all at the end! Loads of dates in cool places, soho, the concerts and the theatre... we were totally spoiled.

It’s still the same now. The kids see the Royal Albert Hall on CBeebies and get excited that they’ve been there. They watch that Andy’s Dinosaur thing and know that his “museum” is actually a mixture of the NHM and the British Museum etc they love the play area at Stratford, and picnics out to the Planetarium... We do all sorts of things and my kids would miss it if we moved. I’m 100% sure it’s safer elsewhere, but is it as culturally vibrant.

I spent several years in London had an amazing job perfect for my career all my parents could go on about was how I could only buy a small flat when in their opinion I should be buying a house.

Because life doesn’t start until you live in London.

Best thing I ever did was moving here in my twenties. To be young and earning well, with a fabulous social life, amazing city. Potentially a bit shit being poor here. But it’s a bit shit being poor anywhere.

roses ah, ok. French and triple science on offer at the local ones near me.

I grew up in the country. Renting was for losers, same with leasehold flats. So London requires quite a readjustment of expectation when it comes to property!

Underage clubbing in Camden

@IamPickleRick

I think I know exactly which club You could always tell when it was the school holidays

I wonder OP, if possibly the reasons your did and her oh live in London could be ,well, to put it frankly....you don't.

It is simply the greatest city in the world yes, I was born there.

I was always poor when I lived in London but it's a different kind of poor - it was always so much fun and exciting.

The river or the parks with a pack lunch and plastic glasses for your wine which brought with you and the people watching, omg so many beautiful and interesting people to gawk at.

As long as you don't compare what you don't have to the people who so very obviously have and it can be inspiring.
Whereas being poor where I am now is so utterly depressing because it seems to be everywhere.

@IamPickleRick are you one of my mates from school, you've just described my teenage years!!
Went past the Electric Ballroom and Underworld the other day. As I ran for the 134. Oh how I miss a Camden night out.

Potentially a bit shit being poor here

Yeah being poor sucks, and you definately feel expenses more in London. But if I had the choice, I'd rather be poor in London, where you can access (within walking distance if you strictly have to) The Science museum(s) Victoria and Albert, Hornimans, Greenwich Maritime, Tate Modern, National Art and National Portrait, British Museum, SouthBank Centre, (and I'm missing some) for FREE. Then there are the special subsidised performances at The Royal Albert Hall and various Theatres including Shakespeares Globe...and Opera...I could go on. Every year there are free arts exhibitions and festivals.

The DCs have had a rich cultural life here even if it meant no extra treats and home made sandwiches. There are downsides, as I get older I dislike the crowds and the air quality is awful, I'm asthmatic and I get worse every year and dread the summer smog, plus travel is crazy expensive and a burden to poor people...sometimes I spend more trying to get to work than I make in the first couple of hours, and no matter how plentiful the travel, getting around at peak time from one side of the river to the next can be almost impossible at times...but I can't imagine being away from it all....where else can you march off in a huff and a puff after a blazing row with your other half jump on a random bus, and find yourself unexpectedly standing next to St Pauls Cathedral?

I’ve grown up in London. Tbh I wouldn’t mind any big-ish city. Living in a small village where everyone knows everyone and you can’t even fart without people gossiping is my idea of hell, I like the anonymity of big cities.

I would love to live in London but couldn't afford it. When I've visited though I didn't find the public transport very cheap. Out of interest those without cars in London, how much do you spend every week on transport?