What do non-Londoners think of London?

[savedbyanalien]

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?

It's just a city whose population seem to be permanently annoyed and/or grumpy, not somewhere I'd want to live.

Very busy, noisy, dirty with pollution and expensive.

I absolutely love visiting London! So much to see and do. Love the whole vibe of the city. Also love coming back home to my sleepy little village in Yorkshire! as my grandfather would say, great place to visit, wouldn’t want to live there.

Not a Londoner but lived there for 10 years during my twenties and go there about once a month now with the dc for museums or to see friends for drinks.
It’s not really one place is it? I would say it just feels like lots of towns all next to each other.
I would also say it’s noisy, quite grubby, very anonymous and full of history.
I like it..but once you leave you don’t go back. I like having a big house, a massive garden and a dog. And I don’t need a pret on every corner 🙂

I am biased but IMO it out-everythings everything about Paris and NYC.

Team Dr Johnson!

Dirty, smelly andtoo many rude people.

Born and raised in London (Zone 4) but left in 2002 for work then got married and now living in East Midlands small town. I quite like London but couldn't ever see myself living there again ( there is no way I could ever afford to buy there now !) . Nice to visit and I'm fine with the tube etc (could do without the black bogies though!)

@LowlandLucky

Dirty, smelly andtoo many rude people.

I don’t think it’s just London, everyone is ruder nowadays to some extent. I’ve experienced more rude and impatient people in the north this week than I ever have in London.

TBH, I can't stand the place and find going there stressful. It's too built up, noisy, crowded and it smells horrible. I feel soiled when I've been there.

Then again, I live in a small market town and it suits me just fine.

London really isn't peop-ly at the moment
Parliament Square this morning was the busiest I have seen it for ages but still less than a third of pre-pandemic

@TimBoothseyes

It's just a city whose population seem to be permanently annoyed and/or grumpy, not somewhere I'd want to live.

Yes, everyone is permanently annoyed and grumpy. Absolutely every person. Of course they’re not! Even you know that?

@Norgie

Overpriced, overhyped and filthy.

Really not flithy- the rubbish collection is amazing We have daily rubbish and recycling collections- the street bins are emptied daily (although not many as too close to Houses of P and bomb alerts)

@LittleBearPad

I wouldn't dream of slagging off someone else's home.

It's not their home, it's their city.

I wonder how the same argument would go down with Liverpool?

If people stress punching you up for not liking the city- then errr... I think criticism is valid 😂

I find it expensive and the sheer number of people irritates me. I don’t find it particularly pretty as a city, the majority of it being quite grotty with the exception of some touristy bits. It’s useful that it’s there when I have a reason to go but I don’t like it. I spent 3 years living there in my early 20s so I’m not commenting just as a tourist either - in fact before I lived there I thought it was fabulous!

I live in the lush countryside, I love it it's peaceful it's relaxed and it's the perfect place to unwind. I do however love London, I hear people say how fast paced NYC is but I found it much slower than London.

I don't like cities but I love London and New York, both so diverse humming with busy people going about their business. I do enjoy going back home though

I sometimes travel to London for work. I like to visit occasionally but wouldn't want to live there.

Have never lived in London but commuted there for 6 years and now live in easy striking distance but only go rarely. I think 'London' isn't just one thing so it's impossible to describe it. I have noticed how localised different areas are, e.g. if you live in Balham or Walthamstow that's your neighbourhood just in the way that a town centre or suburb is anywhere else. I don't see most Londoners zipping around all zones on a daily basis - you live in an area, go to work in another area and maybe visit another area at the weekend.

For me the real turn off is lack of nature, noise, traffic fumes, chicken shops every few paces and homelessness. Yes you get those things in other towns and cities too but in London it's harder to escape it. Crowds and general hype aren't my thing. Day trippers get excited about Oxford Street then find it's full of discount sports chains and American sweet shops.

Obviously there's lots to love about London too, diversity of population, endless culture, so many different types of food etc. But I think there's every chance that your high street in say Streatham is no more appealing than your high street in a fairly nice town in the Midlands or North.

So on a day to day basis I vastly prefer my village with great amenities including pubs and restaurants and country walks in every direction, and keep London for visits to galleries and museums.

We live about 35 minutes outside on the train. I love to visit to go to the theatre/out for dinner etc but would hate to live there (or any city) as I just wouldn't be able to relax in the constant hustle and bustle. So I'm quite happy to get home to our little town at the end of the night

Yes, everyone is permanently annoyed and grumpy. Absolutely every person. Of course they’re not! Even you know that?

I said seem. I don't know if they are or not but that's the impression I got.

One word: Overwhelming. It's too much for me personally.

Nothing is certain in London but expense. ' William Shenstone.

That quotes sums London up for me. So much to do, and so expensive.

@TimBoothseyes

Yes, everyone is permanently annoyed and grumpy. Absolutely every person. Of course they’re not! Even you know that?

I said seem. I don't know if they are or not but that's the impression I got.

When I lived in London I deliberately kept a grumpy expression on my face when commuting. It stops the perverts bothering me (as much).

It’s a thing, in the Bridge Jones book she mentions when she first moved to London and thought it was a good idea to smile at strangers until someone masturbates at her and she learns not to smile at strangers in London.

I love London, and my favourite thing is how it is many, many neighbourhoods making up something that’s greater than the sum of its parts. Like a patchwork quilt. Not keen on many of the very central attractions. I go regularly and always make sure to see something new (even if old favourites like the British Museum and Borough Market are always pulling me back), so when I go it’s always with a sense of anticipation that I’m going to do something new. Fantastic for walking.

I wouldn’t live there unless I was filthy rich though. I’m sensitive to noisy neighbours, and I can afford more separation from neighbours where I am while still having easy access to a city centre with plenty of culture, great restaurants and so on to keep me going. I think that probably is the only thing stopping me though.

The only thing I don’t like isn’t in London itself, but is the attitude of some Londoners to the rest of us. I have some friends from the town we all grew up in that now live in London who have an irritating tendency to preface a lot of what they say with ‘in London’ as though we couldn’t possibly understand their experiences. They were telling me once that because they lived in London their house was old with high ceilings - we were sitting in an old house with high ceilings at that very moment! You can find them outside London!

Before I moved to London I found it very stressful and unpleasant, was determined not to have to move here after I graduated and discounted a lot of opportunities as a result. Eventually moved here in my mid-late twenties and love it - love the restaurants, the gigs, the theatres, the architecture. Wish I'd come earlier!

Busy and expensive. Full of cross looking people barging around. Loud, dirty. Extremes of wealth. Not a nice place- feels like a capital city of a foreign country and entirely different from the rest of the UK.