Question about living in Central London

[tectonicplates]

I'm intrigued by the number of people on here who say they live in Central London, or used to, or were considering doing so.

As someone who grew up in the suburbs, I could never imagine living in Central London, but then how are all these people defining what is central? Personally I'd think of the West End and the City, or somewhere very near a mainline station like Marylebone or Victoria. But maybe people define it as zone 1, in which case somewhere like Angel/parts of Islington could be considered in the same category, which I wouldn't think of as absolute Central London.

So if you live in Central London or have done so, where exactly do you consider the boundary to be?

I have a house near marble arch although dont currently live in it. The part of central London that interests me is, I suppose, the west end and is where I like to be. Realistically all of zone 1 is fab.

Because when you grow up in the suburbs, "town" is where you go out during the day, or for a night out, then you go home again in the evening. The whole idea of living so centrally really is a strange concept for a lot of us - I don't mean that nastily, it's a genuine thing. I know we all have our own requirements and preferences, but personally I just can't see why I would want or need to live in Soho. I see your side of the argument too, but I never met anyone who actually lived there until I was in my mid-20s.

Zone 1

I live Zone 2 .... I don't consider that central

I have lived just off great portland street (oxford circus) and bloomsbury/holborn. I would say zone 1 is central london.

Yep, another vote for Zone 1

@doadeer tbf that does depend on your parents as well.

I lived in on a leafy road but had friends on estates & in a few dodgy areas. Prostitutes were fairly normal & you quickly learnt who was a dealer & where to avoid at night but I still find my childhood was quite idyllic in some ways. Never touched drugs (none of my london friends did), no peer pressure etc.

However I lived near a park, parents drove & used public transport loads. Very rarely visited a UK beach or travelled here though (didn't go further North than Cambridge until I was a young adult) but parents are immigrants so all holidays were abroad. Loving exploring the UK with my dc now though!

When you live in Central London the commuters and the tourists are part of it, but they're a bit like the pigeons. You don't really notice them unless they suddenly do something out of character. Central London's like a small town. It has schools and local libraries (despite the best efforts of Westminster council), dance classes and football - all the usual things, with world class museums and too many glimpses of crazy rich people thrown in.

@Lyricallie I used to do exactly the same, Candad water to South Ken, but in the days when there were fewer people travelling east to Canary Wharf than there were people travelling west into town. It did start to change, noticeably, while we were there, around 2001-2003. I do miss that commute

I lived in Russell Square and that was central as hell but my first address was near the Angel and I thought I was miles out (I was new to London).

I would sell my soul to live in Central London again 😞.

Doingtheboxerbeat I don't fancy it now (we are in a lovely village) but when I retire I reckon we'll sell up and move to a tiny garden flat in Marylebone.

I live in Covent Garden, that's Central. My BF lives in Soho, also Central. Actually a lot of my close friends live in the West End, the one who lives the furthest walk away from me lives near the BBC, so close to Oxford Circus.
If I lived near St Paul's or Bank (which I think would be really nice) I wouldn't say I lived in Central London, I'd say I lived in the City.

How on Earth can people afford to live in these places?

I live right at the bottom of zone 3, practically in zone 4. It doesn't feel like living in London especially. It could be anywhere (built up urban) really. My husband works in Notting Hill and I love going over there and that area plus High At Kensington etc 'feels' like London to me. It's hard to explain why. Maybe it's because the buildings and parks etc are more famous and iconic looking. Black Cabs and seeing Police on horses and all that. When walking through Portobello Market I find myself thinking "wow I am in Portobello Market". Maybe because my part of London doesn't have the Tube. I feel so much more 'London-y' taking the tube with my freebie Metro newspaper and buying food from a Tesco Metro and avoiding tourists than I do by shopping at a big supermarket on a large retail complex and having to take Southern Railway trains.
It all sound a bit nutty really but I don't 'feel' I live in London. Infact if I bumped into someone I knew at school when visiting my folks and they asked "where aren't you living now" I feel that saying "near Croydon" sounds more honest than saying "London" !

I'd say all of z1 was central, and a bit of z2 north and south. Camden is just about central, SJW maybe not.
I'm in a very urban suburb - flats and terraced houses, not the semi-detacheds of proper suburbia. When I get elderly I want to move to one of the flats on the Cut by Waterloo and spend my life seeing matinees.

tectonic cost is the reason we are out in zone 3 rather than living in Notting Hill. It would be great to actually live there

Bought a flat in W1 twenty years ago for £120k. At the time a terrifying amount of money. That’s how I’ve managed it.

@tectonicplates

How on Earth can people afford to live in these places?

Living in a shared flat for ages (my room for quite a while was an actual cupboard) before taking on a scarily big mortgage. Tried to find a sugar daddy and failed.

How on Earth can people afford to live in these places?

Not being born in the mid to late 80s, honestly I would be rich now if I didn't go to uni & just got a mortgage at 17 (don't think your allowed to do that though).

@viques

Lived in Notting Hill when I first came to London, long before the trustfarians and bankers found it, then moved around Islington a bit, and worked on the city borders in Farringdon.Then moved East. I have friends who live in Covent Garden and Bloomsbury and I am always surprised how very villagey those areas feel. Once all the office workers have gone home it is amazing how many people actually live there. That's the thing about London, turn a corner away from the offices, cafes and metro lifers and there is a little community, with a betting shop, a playground and a mini supermarket. Loads of the old Peabody mansions and other charitable housing estates still exist, some gone over to the dark side but others have continued to be social housing, though without the strict rules the Peabody caretakers used to impose.

I used to live in Barons Court and you’re spot on about how villagey London can be. I loved living in London and whenever I visit now from the sensible suburbs (where I live) I feel a deep connection and joy

@tectonicplates

How on Earth can people afford to live in these places?

I was born in zone 2 Hammersmith but I had several friends who lived centrally. One grew up in social housing in Covent Garden. Another was on a council estate near Holborn. A third was in social housing in Marylebone. When I first left home I lived in a bedsit near Liverpool Street station.

I work in central London in a college. Loads of my students grew up and live there.

I live in Mayfair. Consider Oxford St/Soho and surrounds central. As PP said, areas such as St Paul’s fall under The City.

I lived in Angel until a few months ago and definitely described it as central London. Now in south east on the zone 2/3 border I feel like I live in the middle of nowhere!

@tectonicplates

How on Earth can people afford to live in these places?

I bought an ex-council flat in a deeply, deeply untrendy part of London (Woolwich, SE18) 11 years ago for £81,000 - which seems unfathomable now - and, as my career and earnings progressed, managed to overpay and pay off the mortgage in 8 years. I sold the place for £230K which gave me that as a deposit for my next place and because by that point I was earning a pretty decent salary, could raise a good mortgage on top.

Everyone I know who lives centrally differs. Some earn mega salaries, others did as I did, some inherited homes.