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What do non-Londoners think of London?

387 replies

savedbyanalien · 09/04/2022 12:31

We live (just inside) zone 1, so very central. We're very much "big City people" and couldn't imagine living in the suburbs or the countryside, or even a provincial town.

I was at London Victoria station earlier today and saw reams and reams of day-trippers (Hen and stag do's etc) and tourists getting off the Gatwick express with their luggage.

I wonder, what do you think about london when you get here? Big, noisy, busy, pretty, exciting?

OP posts:
WouldBeGood · 09/04/2022 12:44

I absolutely love London, as do my DCs, despite the fact we come from the back of beyond in Scotland.

It’s so vibrant and cosmopolitan. And easy to get around. I’d love to live there so am quite jealous @savedbyanalien

AlexaShutUp · 09/04/2022 12:44

I know London well, and I love it. Personally, I would never choose to live there for a multitude of different reasons, but it's a fabulous city that I really enjoy visiting.

AtomicBlondeRose · 09/04/2022 12:44

When I last took DS we got real pleasure out of just walking through St Pancras and seeing a wider range of food, drink and shopping than we have in our whole town! Everything open from morning until late, always busy - what fun compared to somewhere where everything shuts at 5pm and often not at all on Sunday.

SheSaysShush · 09/04/2022 12:46

Exciting. Never gets boring. I spend ages on Rightmove looking at houses in London and ages looking at London on a map.

The posts about London neighbourhoods on MN really interest me too.

I'm from Manchester.

Flaunch · 09/04/2022 12:46

Noisy, dirty and smelly with far too many people. Oh, and expensive!

I lived there for 4 years… I don’t even like visiting now.

KitKat1985 · 09/04/2022 12:48

I like it as a place to visit as there's so much to see and do but it's too chaotic and crowded for me to want to live in.

Also the price of everything in London freaks me out. It's a weird world where no-one seems to think anything of spending nearly a fiver on a coffee, or £20 on a main course.

MrsMoastyToasty · 09/04/2022 12:50

It's too big and people-y !

I come from Bristol (in the top 10 biggest cities in England).

Autumn101 · 09/04/2022 12:52

Loved living there in our 20s and early 30s and still love to go for the day or mini break. But wouldn’t want to live there anymore, we’re in a village now and I love walking in the countryside and hardly seeing anyone! I do miss the huge variety of restaurants and activities close by but that applies to all the cities we’ve lived in not just London

GreenLunchBox · 09/04/2022 12:53

I lived there for decades and my family is still there but I'm not a fan. It's dirty, crowded, expensive and why are there so many rodents? 😫

Apandemicyousay · 09/04/2022 12:53

Really?

lljkk · 09/04/2022 12:53

As foreign-born living outside London -- I was amazed how many English ppl think London is intolerably horrible place to live. dirty, smelly, etc. And that's what the Brummies say (!!)

I can't remember a single comment IRL about the people who live there, only about the dirty business high house prices etc.

I think I could find a way to enjoy living there. Air pollution is big thing that puts me off.

Apandemicyousay · 09/04/2022 12:55

(My ‘really?’ was in response to the comment about being flashed in a London park everyday)

Cocolapew · 09/04/2022 12:55

I used to live about an hour away when I was a teen but live in NI now. I love coming back over, me and DH usually come for a few days to see a gig. I'd hate to live to there though, unless I had a few million 😄.
I'm coming over in June to see The Stones in Hyde Park and I'm looking forward to being back, its been a few years since I was there.
I've always found it to be friendlier than the stereotype, I've always had people help with buggies or suitcases in the tube stations.

LittleBearPad · 09/04/2022 12:55

@MrsMoastyToasty

It's too big and people-y !

I come from Bristol (in the top 10 biggest cities in England).

Bristol’s not very big at all. 5% the population of London
crazyhouse12345 · 09/04/2022 12:56

I'm in a northern city so used to a bit of noise and grime. I used to visit central London a few times a month when DP lived in zone 4 and I loved it. My family lived in the Fleet Street area in the 1800s so I'm fascinated by all the churches and old buildings. So much history there that the rest of the county can't compare to. Be thankful it's not Victorian times 😄

LittleBearPad · 09/04/2022 12:56

@Apandemicyousay

(My ‘really?’ was in response to the comment about being flashed in a London park everyday)
Presumably it was the same bloke! It’s seems unlikely there’d be a different one each day!
ssd · 09/04/2022 12:56

I love London. But i find your opening post vaguely patronising @savedbyanalien. Big city people?
You mean you can afford to live there, thats all.

BoodleBug51 · 09/04/2022 12:58

We live rurally, so I love visiting - but equally love coming home again.

I adore Kew and would live there very happily; and we loved Islington when we stayed in a hotel there once for a long weekend after a concert.

And the V & A museum is one of my all time favourite places.

StopFeckingFaffing · 09/04/2022 12:58

I love to visit London and would have happily lived there in my younger days but not so much now as I love the countryside more

I don't really have an opinion on London in its entirety because I appreciate that like any other city or town there are lovely areas and grotty areas

Libertaire · 09/04/2022 12:59

In my experience, London and Londoners are very, very insular. I used to work in a flight reservations call centre which received lots of calls from Londoners. When I asked for their address I would often get ‘12 Acacia Avenue Ealing W14…’ They just assumed it was obvious that Ealing was a part of London and that whoever they were speaking to would know that. Such a level of insularity wouldn’t happen anywhere else in the U.K.

I actually enjoy visiting London and have friends who live there, but the whole ‘civilisation ends at the M25’ attitude is incredibly pervasive. The cultural, social & political differences between the areas inside & outside the M25 are now so large that there are effectively five countries in the U.K. : Scotland, Northern Ireland, England, Wales and London.

Dearmariacountmein · 09/04/2022 12:59

I live rurally but can spend days at a time working in our London office.

When working, apart from the fact my home is a hotel room, my routine is the same.

I love the fact that there is so much choice about what to eat and being able to walk to the office from the hotel, pop into a bar for a cocktail etc is great

But, I hate public transport and can’t stand the smelly claustrophobia of the tube / buses. I much prefer driving my my comfy and clean car back home. The streets (unless you are in the super posh parts) tend to be really dirty.

All in all always feel slightly sweaty and dirty where ever I go in London. And much more exhausted at the end of the day - even though my working day and commute and the same in both locations. When you factor in that most of my colleagues have 1 hour plus commutes to the office rather than the luxury of a local hotel it reinforces that I couldn’t live in London. They on the other hand can’t understand why I’d rather live in the arse end of nowhere.

LadyMacduff · 09/04/2022 12:59

I like the variety of things to do and the ease of using public transport.

It's funny to me when I blow my nose and it's black.

I find it enjoyable for a few days but i'm not interested in living there because the cost of living is not worth it for me.

Babdoc · 09/04/2022 13:00

I was born and raised there. I left to go to medical school in Scotland, and couldn’t imagine ever wanting to move back.
The price of my lovely detached home in Perthshire wouldn’t buy me a bedsit in London, and I much prefer the fresh air from the mountains, the stunning scenery and the unlittered environment up here, to London’s air pollution, flat dull topography and filthy streets.
If I want a taste of city life and culture, I go to Edinburgh for the day, particularly during the Fringe. I don’t miss West End theatre ticket prices either. I can see a visiting international opera company up here for less than £40, in a comfortable modern venue with adequate toilet provision.

SoManyTshirts · 09/04/2022 13:00

Used to visit frequently on business. I enjoy the scenery, architecture, museums etc - and the efficient public transport. I wouldn’t be averse to spending a few days in zone 1.

But - crowded, polluted, same old shops as anywhere; lots of tourist tat. Not relaxing at all. Lots of cheap greasy food shops, or else Pret. I’ve only been to a couple of theatres but they were old and tatty compared to our regional (SW) venues.

Central London seems to have no soul - everything and everyone is transient. The outer zones that I have been to, or through, seem very grim. I wouldn’t want to live in either.

LittleBearPad · 09/04/2022 13:01

@ssd

I love London. But i find your opening post vaguely patronising *@savedbyanalien*. Big city people? You mean you can afford to live there, thats all.
London has huge income disparity - not everyone is well-off. When the Tories yipper about levelling up they always talk about the north. There is huge deprivation in London. So less of the snarky assumptions that everyone in London is rich.