Who loves London?

[NorthernLiner]

Personally I do.
Everything about it.
Studied, lived and worked there for a good 15+ years, only moved out to the home counties to buy bigger house when kids arrived.
Just spent 5 days at the in-laws in Zone 2.
Totally satisfied my London fix 😍

Anyone else ❤️ London?

we were in Paris a few weeks ago (just after the olympics) and I thought it was absolutely filthy compared to London, sure the really central tourist places were clean but as soon as you strayed it was quite grim, we stayed a little out of town (felt like equivalent of staying in southall maybe) and sewers were overflowing, litter everywhere, quite extreme poverty too (clearly huge black market economy). Then visited Barcelona which was super clean everywhere!

I like that it's our capital city and like to visit occasionally in small doses but couldn't live there and don't like spending more than a day or two at once. It's beautiful and has a great atmosphere and tons to do but is too busy for me and I hate the pollution. At the end of a day in London I have black grime in my skin and if I blow my nose it's there. That doesn't happen to me on any other city. So yes love it but couldn't live with it!

I particularly had Barcelona in mind as we went recently. You're right Paris is very mixed, though even out of the tourist spots there are some lovely clean neighbourhoods.

I bloody love London. I've lived here since I was 21, so that's 40 years.

Last night I went to the theatre in a district I don't go to very often, but it was where I had my first job here. It has changed a lot but God it was evocative (Barbican/Smithfield for those in the know), which is spectacular architectually and two very different areas only 5 minutes walk apart.

I got home for free on public transport, trains still running at midnight, night buses etc. Everyone out and about in the evening, a feeling of life and vibrancy.

It is the best place in the world.

Yes, but less than I used to unfortunately. It's become a lot more crowded and dirty over the past decade or so, and there doesn't seem to be that same uplifting buzz of excitement anymore for me. It feels more stressed and on edge. Everything I used to love like the theatre has also become so expensive, and the quality has severely declined. Most productions I've been to in recent years seem more sixth form drama class than west end. I so miss The Globe, I hate hate hate what's happened to it.

My impression will obviously be clouded though by memories of how amazing it was in the 90s and early 00s. It's probably still be the best city on earth, I slightly wish I didn't have the old days to compare it with!

I love London, and lived in Parsons Green and Notting Hill in the '90's. Now when I go to London I'm a tourist - I took DD to where I used to live in Notting Hill and she said "This is boring". I wouldn't like to live more than an hour away, as I love being able to pop to a gallery or museum, although in reality I don't go that often. I don't love it enough to pay London prices to live there though.

I've lived here for over 40 years and experience culture shock whenever I go anywhere else in the UK. London is just so different and you take it for granted when you live here.

I adore London. I am very excited that we are soon retiring back to London. Can't afford zone 2 but don't care. Anywhere near a tube stop will do me!

That's weird. I think the exact opposite. London feels so chilled and accepting to me, still. I have seen loads of amazing shows recently (though I agree about the Globe. Bloody hell, they just need a director and actors that understand Shakespeare!) And there are tickets from £25-35 for most shows, which I think equates to the fiver I used to pay at the Royal Court forty years ago.

And food is so cheap. DH and I go to an amazing Japanese place just off St Martin's Lane - ten pounds for way more food than I can eat! Loads of other places with set menus for around £15-20 or quick street food from a fiver.

I recommend you try the Almeida, Young and Old Vic, Bush, Royal Court, NT for more interesting shows.

Galleries and museums are still free and the special exhibitions you have to pay for are world class.

I bloody love London.

Love it! Moved out a few years ago (for love!) but miss it all the time. Work there 3 days a week so make the most of that.

I'll always love London - it's home - but it is properly filthy these days. Litter everywhere. I also find the wild extremes of inequality quite shocking - really high levels of street homelessness and begging alongside outrageous, ostentatious wealth.

You’re looking at it from a very granular perspective. I’m not talking about, say, the particular exhibits you can see at the Natural History Museum or the films that are on at the BFI. I’m talking about looking around you as you walk down Museum Row, or along the South Bank, or down Regent’s street, the ease of tube travel to diverse areas of London with interesting food, the streets full of red double deckers, the scale of things like Battersea Power station or the vast choice of musicals and theatre on at any one time. The huge parks. Westminster. The river. The Lloyd’s building and Leadenhall market.
For me it’s important to have all that there on my doorstep, even if most of my time is spent within a 500m radius of my home in N London. If that’s not important to you then there is no reason to incur the cost of living here.

Can I get the name of the Japanese place please?

Love to visit it

Would hate to live there

I think you might enjoy this documentary
@LindorDoubleChoc
https://vimeo.com/chrisbevanlee/elevatinglondon

I worked in the same area for my first job too.

Eat Tokyo. On a side street parallel to St Martin's Lane. massive bento boxes for £10.

Japan Centre off Leicester Square also does ramen for similar price and it is delicious.

Excellent, thank you.
I stay on Borough high St and I've overdosed in all the market there this summer, great value though.

I love London. It is the best city in the World. I have lived in Tokyo, New York, Berlin and Rio.

But these are everywhere. I travel a bit for work. I am shocked at the high levels of homelessness in other cities too. Oxford has tent shanty towns in its city centre churchyards. Kingston on Thames has full size mattresses in shop doorways and bus stops all through the town centre.

I was born in London (as was DH) and lived there for almost 40 years. Moved away 30 years ago and still really miss living there.

Having lived abroad and then a couple of places in the UK when we moved back and could not afford to go back to London, we now live in the Midlands which is an hour and a half train journey.

We go back usually at least once a month, sometimes just for the day and sometimes for longer.

London will always be my home and, like many others, I think it is the best city in the world.

Never ever tire of it, there is so much to see and do there and lots of it free or pretty cheap

We love it for a weekend to see a show and soak up the atmosphere but SO expensive to travel and stay there now! Often cheaper to fly to a European city.

I love it! Grew up in East London and now live SE/Kent (depending on who you ask)!

I love the atmosphere and that we are 20 mins away from London Bridge by train so can "pop" there on a whim. ❤️

I've lived here 35 years. I love the central parts of London - the job opportunities, easy public transport, the parks, the shopping, museums, canal walks.

I can't honestly say I love the scruffy zone 3 area I love in, I've always found it dirty and unfriendly.

Born and bred. Adore it. It’s in my bones, my family are old east end.

The only down side (and I’m reaching here) is that a lot of people leave uni and move to London. We have nowhere better to move to, we are already here 🤣

Employment and schools both very valid reasons. We have looked at other places in the UK that feel similarly vibrant: Brighton, Bristol etc. but always come back to issue of how much there is to do if it rains. London is wonderful for kids in our opinion.