Am I alone in saying I dont like London and don't see the attraction ?

[Bertybamboozle]

I am SE based and can be in London in around 20 mins on the train. I cannot stand the place. There is no reason to visit, unless you are a tourist. I really cannot see the appeal and apart from the tourist things, there is nothing else especially special/different to do. I can do pubs/cinema/shows/shopping anywhere.

I feel like I am the only one who thinks this.

@DreadPirateRobots Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cardiff, Newcastle, Oxford, Bath, Stratford, Manchester, Liverpool, Belfast......yes they all have only ONE museum each 🙄😂

We moved out 15 years ago, still miss it

YANBU
I can get to London on train in 40 mins
DH and I have never been to London together for the entirety of our relationship as just doesn't appeal!

My attitude to London has changed as I’ve got older, I think. I used to love going to London decades ago - I found it exciting. In fact I worked up there at one point, and really enjoyed feeling part of a busy, vibrant city.

Now, when I go up, usually to meet friends or family at a convenient mid-point, the faster pace of life and number of people rushing around makes me feel like a bewildered country bumpkin in the middle of it all! I don’t particularly look forward to just ‘being’ in London like I did.

I do think maybe if I lived in London, long enough to have formed a network of friends, acquaintances, and things I was involved with, I would enjoy it again, as it really does have so much to offer. Like any big city, culturally, and in terms of the range of activities and organisations available, there is much more diversity and choice in London, than where I live, which is lovely in many ways, but very ‘same old…’!

You're very lucky that you have access to festivals, exhibitions, theatre, opera, galleries, museums, food from all over the world, dance, musicals, pop up shops, boutiques, markets, concerts, gigs, talks, clubs, bars, historical landmarks and everything else London has. Many people don't which is why they appreciate it.

Nope I can't stand it and I grew up there!

The only 2 things I miss though compared to living a few different places around the UK is the variety of food cuisines/restaurants and the ability to easily source international ingredients.

This 🤣 These “am I the only one who thinks…” make me think the poster is either being nasty for clicks or just not too bright! 🤣

I didn't say they only had one museum each. I said no other UK city had an equal range and diversity of museums (and galleries). That's just a function of size and density, which enable diversification and specialisation.

apart from the tourist things
Depends what you mean by this. There's absolutely loads of things to do and see in London but it's expensive and can be crowded. I don't find it any dirtier than any big city and many 'touristy' areas are kept clean.
Of course you can see main release films at any cinema in UK towns but if you want to see a unique art exhibition or go to a niche museum or have opportunities galore for many activities then London will have it.

A touring production of a musical that came out in the 70s is your definition of “a big musical”? Oh dear.

I remember how disappointing it was, growing up, when the touring musical that was booked in for Edinburgh (max two a year) was something not to my taste. Or having a couple of plays on at a time in Manchester. Nothing compares to having the whole West End plus National Theatre, Almeida and Barbican on my doorstep to choose from.

There is no reason to visit, unless you are a tourist
????
Someone who lives or works in/near London isn't allowed to enjoy art/culture/music/gardens/history/food?

I can do pubs/cinema/shows/shopping anywhere.
I mean technically those things are available outside of London, but they aren't the same ones! Tadchester local museum isn't the same as the V&A. Many shows don't tour outside of London, or if they do it isn't for years. Lots of restaurants only have London branches. If international bands/singers only due one UK show it is almost always in London.

That's like saying why would I bother going to a nice restaurant, I can get a burger from McDonalds. Or why bother applying for Oxford, I can get a degree from Nottingham Trent. Why bother seeing an arena tour of a world famous singer with full lights, band and staging when I can see someone singing covers in the local pub? Well, yes you can but it's not the same, is it?

Plus there are lots of things you CAN only do in London. There's no Buckingham palace outside of London. No Greenwich observatory if you're interested in science. No Tower of London. No Kew Gardens. No Sky Garden. No British library or national archives if you need to do specific research. No Abba Voyager. No Gods Own Junkyard. No West End. No underground...you don't have to be a tourist to want to do any of those things, just someone who likes or is studying architecture or biology or history or railways or engineering or who just likes music!

As the saying goes, if you're tired of London then you're tired of life. Most people would find something interesting to do there.

If you don't like it, fine, it's hardly an unusual view, but the reason you've given is bizarre. 'I don't like London because it's too busy/smelly/fast paced/expensive/dangerous' - makes sense. 'I don't like London because there's nothing special there'....doesn't. Although if you're the type of person who gives pubs, shops and cinema as an example of what you like to do, then perhaps it does...

Exactly. I lived in London for years, and I loved art, theatre and classical music. So I would regularly go to exhibitions at the Tates, Nat Gal, Royal Academy, the Courtauld, Hayward, Saatchi, Barbican, Dulwich, Serpentine, Whitechapel etc to the ROH or ENO or Holland Park for opera, theatre at the NT, Globe, Finsborough, Almeida, Donmar or other West End theatres, concerts of various kinds at the Royal Festival Hall, the Wigmore Hall, the Guildhall, Kings Place etc.

I then lived close to Leicester for years. The offerings weren't comparable.

London is a city (shudders with horror), and, therefore, to be avoided at all costs, unless going there is absolutely essential. All those people, the traffic, the cost of everything, miles of pavements ... just no, no, no. Give me my cold, muddy rural retreat any day.

I mean I've lived in London for over 20 years and I've seen maybe 3 musicals ever, this is not the high point of the UK's cultural offering? What I have seen lots of are first-run plays, previews, £10 tickets at the National, comedians working on new material. I'm from a rural area originally and it's pretty but it's really, really boring. I've also lived in 2 other major cities in the UK and a capital of another country and none of them were a patch on the range of things you can do, see and eat in London. And a lot of it is actually cheaper in London if you don't buy full priced musical tickets and eat at touristy restaurants.

People who don't live in London come for the day, try and get round the shops on Regent Street, ram themselves into the NHM to see the dinosaurs on a bank holiday and say it's busy and awful and expensive. But in general people who live in London wouldn't go near Hamley's in December if you paid us or go to the NHM on a rainy day in the school holidays. You can't extrapolate 'London' from your day trips.

And saying you like London doesn't mean there aren't also cool things to do in Manchester, North Wales, Devon or Derby. Of course they are. You also don't have to like it. But 9 million people live here and I don't think we're all deluded. I'm leaving in a box. Or maybe not even that, I'll get my ashes chucked in the Thames.

What a strange thread. Can I start one about how much I hate Birmingham or Newcastle? I don’t, but even if I did, I wouldn’t dream of writing a post about how shit they are because we’re all different and it’s a bit rude to make such a derogatory post about a place that millions of people call home.

I never know whether a majority of Mumsnetter genuinely hate London, or whether there is a London Troll who starts a thread every two weeks saying "Am I unique in disliking London?" then strolls off until the next one.

I ❤London. If you don't like crowds you won't like London, but if you think it has nothing to offer then you just aren't doing it right.

@HotCrossBunplease errr....Rocky Horror is most definitely a BIG musical. It has a massive following 💋

I love London. Near infinite things to do and see, amazingly diverse, great transport links - what's not to like? I'm a Brummie and have live all sorts of places, but nowhere compares to London.

Of course other cities have theatres but on any given day in London you can choose to go and see one of hundreds of musicals and plays. I live in Edinburgh (best city in the world imo) but I still have to wait for the right time to go and see a show. It’s absolutely not the same.

I lived in London or 30 mins from London for 30 years. Apart from the first couple of years I didn't do anything touristy at all. I did used to love walking over Waterloo Bridge, walking through the City, the views generally though.

Now when I go to London I find it quite overwhelming as it's so busy.

Of course you're not alone. People like different things.

I live in the outer (un-posh, not home counties) commuter belt. It's semi rural, and pretty dead. If I won the lottery and could afford a second home, unlike most people of my age who want to move to the country, I'd get somewhere in London. Especially at this time of year, I love the buzz.
If I step out of my house once it's dark, there's not a soul around and everywhere's shut and vaguely creepy. It makes winter miserable. But in London I could be out at midnight and there'd be people around, and lights and activity. I crave that.

@HotCrossBunplease there's an awful lot of theatre shown in a small town in Warwickshire that's pretty unique to it.

@Bertybamboozle , London is massive, some bits are fabulous, some meh, some awful and some downright dangerous! 🤷🏼‍♀️

The RSC also have a London home at the Barbican which generally does the same as the RSC are doing in Stratford and there is also the Globe theatre in London so anyone with an insatiable appetite for Shakespeare is likely to be better served in London than anywhere else.