How safe is London?? Anxiety!

[BeingmummyIsTheBestxo]

My partner has let slip that he's booked a weekend in London for in couple weeks time for my birthday, we will be going for one.nigjt and watching a show at the west end. He's booked it all and arranged childcare for our toddler. I don't want to seem ungrategul, I'm very thankful especially as h doesn't usually do gestures like this! But I a m scared, I do have anxiety and OCD but mainly pure o with the intrusive thoughts. It is quite severe. Since I found out we ar going all I have done is worry about things, terror attacks, being mugged, train crashes, getting stuck on the tube etc etc. I have been to London a few times before but obviously my anxiety has massively tripled. Those of you that live in London how safe actually is it? I imagine these scenarios are not common. I'm really scared and I just know that the whole time leading up to and the time of being there I will be an anxious nervous wreck. I've even gone as far to write a letter toy toddler as I'm terrified I won't come back!!

I’ve lived in London for 20 years and have never experienced any of the things on your list. Millions of us live here and just go about our daily lives. You’ll be fine, honestly.

I feel v safe in central London. The only times/places I feel unsafe is going home alone from bus/train at night in places I've lived in zones 4/5/6.

Very safe. I have fallen asleep with my phone in hand on the tube more times than I care to admit and never been mugged, walked alone countless nights and never had any trouble.

The things you are describing do happen, but it's not every 5 minutes.

The most common issues I've heard of happening is people having their phone taken out their hand on the street or having bags taken from pubs/restaurant while distracted. Always keep your bag with you in places like that and don't hang it on the back of your chair. For phones, plenty of people walk around with them in their hands, but to be safer keep it in your bag/pocket when on the street.

But 8 million people live in London. Have you got any idea? One in 10 of the population lives here. I'm sure there are towns and cities with worse crime stats.

Infact I've just googled and first result was a list of 10 UK cities with higher violent crime rates than London. Would you ask the same question if you were going to Blackpool?

Got me interested now ... apparently Birmingham is the gun crime capital.

I probably would actually.. I'm not very well traveled and don't really ever go more than 50-100 miles from my home. Anywhere that is unfamiliar to me or a situation I wouldn't normally be in would raise the same questions and worries for me. I've openly said I have anxieties around travel and being in places unfamiliar to me so it's not really a completion on where has the highest crime rates etc.

I dont really understand why your being so pedantic about my thread. It's not like I was personally attacking the city or the people that live there.

It's usually some giant teenager😀 with a bunch of mates in my experience.

It feels really safe to me. I've lived here for 25 years, working in central London, living in normal/not posh bits. Never been mugged, never got stuck on the tube. Most people are nice and normal! Worst that will happen is the weather will be either wet or too hot 😁. Just make sure you have comfortable shoes, don't leave your bag hanging off the back of your chair, and download Citymapper so you have the best routes to get where you need to go.

Blimey. You'll be fine love.

One of your biggest risks might be tube engineering works. plan your journey and get bus/cabs if necessary

like any major city keep an eye on your bags and phone. I've used my phone for directions many times with no issues. The videos I’ve seen of people having their phones snatched were talking away not taking notice of their surroundings

If You live in Sheffield then London will be fine, as you’re used to cities.

Central London is quite small, so you may not even need the tube. It’s easy to walk from one part to another.

I live in a small town that's outskirts of Sheffield. So not proper in the city x

You will be fine. Wear sensible shoes. There will be a lot of walking and also allows you to leg it quickly out of a spot if you need to.

PS I never needed to in my 25 years in London.

Completely safe. I often go as a lone female, and I love it.
OP, maybe you need some therapy to help you cope with your irrational fears?

I'm not being pedantic. Writing a letter to your toddler because you're "terrified you won't come back" from a city where 8 million people go about their business every day and 30 million visit each year?

I dont think your being very fair to mock me. Of.youvr nothing helpful to add then just dont comment?

I thought it was closer to 9 million - a bit bigger than Sheffield, if the anxiety is not helped by large crowds, central London is heaving now, be mindful of that OP. Overall though, I wouldn’t say the West End is something to fear anymore than the other cities.

Very safe. Phone snatching is rife at the moment however, so keep it out of sight.

I didn't take that post as mocking you, but putting the risk in perspective. And yes, millions and millions of people occupy London every day, either living there or visiting. The risk of anything happening to you there is absolutely tiny.

The problem with anxiety is that it's, by definition, quite self centred. You feel like you're the only person there, because you're so focused on yourself, and not on the millions around you.

I became far less anxious the moment I truly understood that I am the tiniest cog in the machine, and really not the centre of the universe. Once I started looking around at everyone else in any situation I was in, and recognised that I was one of thousands... sometimes many thousands, doing the same thing at the exact same time (flying comes to mind) I realised that I wasn't the focus of every bad thing that could happen.

Central London is very safe.

OP don't worry about the people being less than helpful. Everyone has their own point of view, most of us on this thread have been sympathetic, just focus on that. You don't owe anyone an explanation on here.
I was on twitter last night reading Stormy Daniels responses to the unbelievable comments Trump apologists were making. We can all take a leaf out of her book! My goodness that lady has excellent boundaries.

Came on to say wear trainers or other comfortable shoes. London best experienced by walking around.

It’s very safe. Just be sensible like keeping your bag on you and not waving your phone around too much. Same as anywhere! You know statistically you’re far more likely to be in a car accident anywhere in the Uk. Get the Citymapper app, it shows you different journey options if you prefer bus or walking. And I’d seriously consider some help for your anxiety, it can’t be good for your kid.

I know the area. I'm just north of you. Honestly, you will be safer in London than where you live. I think being away from your toddler is making you feel anxious as well, which is understandable.

but I don't think it's unreasonable to ask people opinions or experiences especially when you see terrible things in the news almost daily about knife crime, shootings, etc in and around the capital.

The knife crime statistics in Sheffield are more worrying TBH, and I often nip into Sheffield without a care in the world.