Parenting in London - positives?

[Mariposa26]

We live on zone 2/3 border and have a 6 month old DD. We enjoy an active social life, and really loved London up until now. Currently all I can think about is getting her out of London - comparing it to my childhood where my family dropped by every day, where I played out with friends after school and knew everyone locally…things I feel she will never experience here. I feel that I want to move back to the NW, but my partner will never go for it.
Can anyone share positive stories of raising kids in London and the London lifestyle? All I hear is negatives, and it’s getting me down. She will be in nursery full time too (or possibly a 9 day fortnight)
Thank you!

Grown up in London and played out with friends... family friends dropped by... all kids in the street went to local school... loads to do... growing up in an international city means you get to experience many different cultures & don't turn out racist.... love international culture, food, travel... it's the greatest city!

My kids have the same. Love it 🤷🏻‍♀️

Say you were to move away from London - would family actually drop by every day? Would your work and family situation be so different that your child wouldn't need to be in nursery? It sounds like you want to move to Nostalgia Town but I'm unconvinced that the actual situation would be the one you're picturing.

Thanks. Yes, they would - they all live within minutes of each other and see each other daily. My DD would also be able to spend one day a week at least with her grandma and one day with my aunt, rather than full time nursery. Just a lot to think about.

We live in zone 4 and love it. We have a garden, lots of green spaces a walk away and even more short drive away. My dc have grown up walking and cycling in woods, blackberry picking, building dens, climbing trees, encountering wildlife and all those things that we associate with a wholesome childhood.
Because we live a tube ride away from central London, we've had all the benefits of museums, galleries and theatres. We've heard talks by famous authors, gone to book signings with dcs hero's, learned a lot of history and science, just mooched around London.
The schools are good and my teens are pretty independent. They have friends from many different backgrounds and get on with anyone.
As a parent, I've made many friends here in London. When the dc were babies, I discovered that there was so much going on locally that I could try out different playgroups and activities twice a day for a month probably.

I was raised and raised my kids in London. It all depends where you live in the city as there are quieter roads/areas where kids play out.

Advantages;
loads to do - all the museums, big parks in central London, theatre, galleries etc.
multicultural
usually decent schools
good transport system (unless in south London!) for when they’re teens

Disadvantages:
pollution - although you can mitigate by living away from trunk roads
possibly less community minded although really depends where you live in London as some places have a lovely community feel.

Born and bred Londoner (in Zone 1 as are my immediate family and in-laws)

I think the fact this is where my family are makes all the difference to be honest. We have help with childcare [MIL has them and I world PT] and I have a good support network.

I love all that London has to offer for my DC but not sure it would be the same without close family nearby.

We are in zone 5. I love it here, feels like a village really, countryside walks very close if we want to do that type of thing and going to central London also very easy and close. We go to central London often to museums or activities on the weekend. So we benefit from both.

I do think it's quite a difference experience to live in z1/2 vs z5/6. If you are in the centre you have everything on your doorstep & no need for car which isn't always true for outer London.

Zone 2/3 here. We have a car but rarely use it. DC (early teens) can get all over London independently on public transport.
Whatever hobby your DC have they will be able to do it to a high level in London and will be able to get there by themselves.

Great state schools - primary & secondary (it is true that lots of people panic at secondary level and go private - but there are lots of outstanding secondary schools). There is far more opportunity to change school too if a school doesn’t suit your DC than there would be in a smaller town.

Your DC will be better placed for low paid first jobs or unpaid internships when they start their careers if they already have a place to live in London.

London is full of little villages and you can easily join local societies and embed yourself in your local village community if that’s what you like - or be anonymous if you prefer.

There’s no denying the noise & pollution however but I am in SW London so places like Richmond Park and walks along the river give some respite.

Your DC will be better placed for low paid first jobs or unpaid internships when they start their careers if they already have a place to live in London.

I don’t know if we’ll still be here by the time mine are young adults (a constant discussion in our house!) but this is something that always occurs to me.

There are SO MANY fascinating low paid jobs in London that anyone would love to do were it not for the fact that you wouldn’t be able to rent even half a sofa somewhere.. But for someone wanting a part time job while they study and live with their parents it would be perfect.
DH and I did not grow up here and the jobs we had as late teenagers and in summers during university were dull, difficult to find and didn’t really help us long term. If we’re still here, I’m assuming it will be very different for my DC.

I do think living elsewhere near family is easiest when your DC are small (a two year old doesn’t want to go to the V&A or care about bubble tea ..!) but when they get just a bit bigger, the benefits emerge quickly.

Eh we know everyone locally in zone 4
Cant go anywhere without seeing many peoole we know.

Give it time, have a few kids, be friendly and go to a lot of kid activities / groups and youll be the same.

Agree same day GP. All medical specialists , often world leading, also available for referral etc. often see world experts (never happens in the NE Midlands where i grew up)

Really? What's so different about parks here than more rurally?
Friends of mine moved out, had to drive everywhere and no kid's playground in the park - which they had to drive to. No pavements and high hedgerows so too dangerous to take their bikes out.
In London my daughter can walk to three nearby parks, one with playground. Kids within walking distance too. Older kids could walk to shops, cinema, restaurants, tube. Freedom and no taxiing for me! I'll take London over country any day.

I loved bringing Dc up in London, having come from a rural background myself.

NCT land then school (nursery not so much) gave us a fantastic local community. I have never found that missing in areas of S London zones 2/3 where I have lived.

Great parks, fantastic activities, loads of free stuff, kids free travel, loads
of children’s access to top quality culture, easy to get out to proper countryside for walks, camping etc at the weekend.

My Dc have gained a lot from the diversity of diversities in London, we are a multi racial family anyway, and feel comfortable here (more do than my home area) but my kids now have so much understanding of different cultures. I think this is actually beneficial for their cognitive development and I wonder if this is why (despite all the angst) overall educational achievement in London state schools is higher than the national average.

The excellent transport meant that my kids were confident about getting themselves about, great for overall independence.

Clearly people have their own preferences and priorities and can have a good life anywhere if happy. For our family London has been great.

The Transport Museum isn’t free.

However these are:
Museum of London
Docklands Museum
V&A
British Museum
Hornimann Museum
Tate modern and Britain
Diana Memorial Garden / play park
Coram Fields
Free pop up stuff on the S Bank like the Appearing Rooms fountains

If you live in London numerous arts projects, in S London I know of free projects run by top professionals like 198 Gallery for art, Raw Material, Tomorrow’s Warriors, Youthsayers, Bloco , S London Youth Orchestra for music.

Climbing / bouldering wall in QE Park

And loads more. This is just stuff off the top of my head.

Time Out has good lists and details of weekend things.

Before having kids I thought we would move back to where I grew up (a smaller city in the UK). Then we had one kid and didn't move. Our kid is now in secondary school and we have a younger one in primary. I feel there are more positives than negatives of being in London. The biggest negative is the cost of living (housing etc.). My partner and I come from different ethnicities and grew up as minorities in our childhood facing racism regularly. I'm sure times have changed in our hometowns but our kids seem so happy in their identities so far in London. I feel that a large part of that is their diverse environment.

Other positives are that there are lots of things to do (many of them free or cheap), parks, playgrounds, activities. We've made lots of friends in London and there are so many parent groups that it's easy to meet people.

I couldn't imagine family life in London before having kids and now I love it. We live at the border of zone 1 and 2 so we can do everything by foot or public transport easily which helps.

I don't think there is the perfect place for bringing up a family. London is a great option but so are so many other places.

You mentioned the lack of family nearby and we don't have any. As a result our friends have become our extended family. We visit our family often and feel there are less politics with physical distance. Sometimes the idea of seeing family daily and having help is better than the reality! Pick a place that you, your partner and kids would enjoy living.

I'm in zone 4, and found it great for DC. But most of our family also live in London, so we're not missing out on that aspect.

We're within walking distance of plenty of green spaces and woods, as well as a great local high st and trains and buses. We know a lot of people in our local area, and it has a great community feel. My DCs classmates are close by (their school's catchment area has a 550m radius).

Only negative is I would love it if they could play out independently like I did as a child. There are just too many cars around to make that a possibility until they're quite a bit older - too old to actually want to play out probably. I think this is a similar story to many other parts of the UK too - so maybe a gripe with modern life, and the sheer volume of cars, rather than London specifically.

Personally I think London is great when you have small children, but a huge worry as they hit the teen years due to the gang and knife culture here. It's a scary place for teenagers.

Of course it isn't. None of the teenagers I know (including my own) have had any involvement in gangs or knife crime.

You don't have to be involved in it to be affected. Most children I knew in state schools were mugged or threatened.

We left London and had 2 kids in the home counties near good grammar schools. Came back to London after 4 years because we found there was way more stuff to do to make us happy. I love the fact we don't drive everywhere and that bad weather has zero impact on our social life. The list of free fun stuff is literally endless. Also for the little ones all the galleries and museums do extra activities so you can pack your week with different activities for next to nothing. The schools are great, both secondary and primary near us.

Our kids have endless options to entertain themselves and random unplanned things just seem to happen. For example, we were playing near Bloomsbury and my children were approached to take part in a UCL children's coding project for the afternoon. Free! I could go on.

Also the mixed demographic was a big reason for moving back. I love that my children are integrating with children from all different backgrounds.

I love that we have so much green space so we do also spend endless hours in the parks. This comes as a huge shock to people who think that London kids walk around in smog all day.

Most children?!

Zone 2 my kids have a great childhood,nursery, and magnificent amenities,parks,museums
I’d hate to leave London, absolutely don’t dream of suburban flight or moving to Home Counties etc
I just love London. I have worked North,East, West,South London and all had their own vibe and character

Of course it isn't. None of the teenagers I know (including my own) have had any involvement in gangs or knife crime.

Being a victim of gang crime doesn't mean you are involved in it. There is a perception that a lot of people have, they just assume the parents didn't know what their dc was up to etc.

There is a perception that a lot of people have, they just assume the parents didn't know what their dc was up to etc.
Sorry, what does this mean?