London - friendly and helpful left right and centre!

[Ozgirl76]

I’m having a few days in London with my teen kids and in the last two days we’ve had;
The underground staff member who was friendly and helpful with our child Oyster cards.
Two people offering to help lift my suitcase
Teen left his phone by an exhibit at the Science museum and someone handed it in.
Teen wondered aloud about whether you HAD to get the lift at Gloucester Road or if there was another way down and a stranger said “yep there’s stairs down there if you prefer” with a smile
Friendly security guy at the Tate checking that we hadn’t left something behind (it was just crisp packets)

It’s been great so far!

I've always had help on the tube with the buggy when I'd be wrangling a baby and toddler.
Yonks ago as a student, I remember this one occasion when in a packed tube, the elbow of the man standing next to me kept getting closer and closer to my face and I had nowhere to move aside, the man standing in front of me gently moved this other guys elbow away from my face thus making him aware. Still remember it as it was a kind thing to do and made an impression on me.

Op why leave your crisp packets at your arse??

I’m like the other Londoners on the thread - not up for chatting but I’ll always offer to help with pushchairs or luggage, & if someone looks lost I ask if they need directions.

Also curious about the crisp packets though. I assume you dropped them accidentally & hadn’t realised?

Some of your examples are staff whose job is literally to be helpful and assist. The phone handed back at a tourist location might have been a tourist.

Still, I'd say London is friendlier than Liverpool for example.

I've had far more issues with unfriendliness in smaller cities and towns where it's mostly locals. I think London is such a mix of locals/students/tourists/newcomers that no one is treated like an outsider.

Biased because I am a Londoner, but I think London is a really friendly city and people are super helpful.

I am happy to confirm that the crisp packets were on the cafe table 😄

I genuinely don’t know what this means 😂

I used to work in London (Devonshire Square). I would commute on a Monday morning and stay until Friday lunch and I absolutely loved it. Never, ever felt unsafe or had any bad experiences! I used to walk and get the tube everywhere on my own and often was wandering around late at night after client dinners.

I got to pick my hotels so would change location for a bit of variety. I particularly loved Clerkenwell / Farringdon, Paddington / Notting Hill, Maida Vale, Hoxton and Pimlico (work were paying for my hotels clearly 😂).

I'm not sure why so many people think it's such an awful and scary place?!

Yes there are rough parts to it but that applies to pretty much any city in the world! There are also gorgeous, expensive areas which are far safer and nicer than anywhere else in the country!

I've been travelling full time since 2020, have stayed in now 24 countries.

England is by far my absolute favourite.

London is by far my favourite city. I found Londoners to be so polite, and helpful when asked.

Will be back for another visit in a few weeks, can't wait!

I have to say, the English propensity for proper queuing is such a relief after the chaos of Latin America.

Same here. I (a born and bred Londoner!) made friends with one lady at St Pancras who got off the Victoria line when I did and couldn't work out the way to Kings X where she (and I) had trains to catch. We now message each other often.

I find London generally very safe and calm, and not unfriendly.

My snot is often black though, from using the tube.

I walk about late and take the Tube on my own. Nothing bad has ever happened bar some drunken racist abuse which I know to ignore. I avoid dodgy areas and dont dress flashily, plus dont keep looking at my phone.

I miss living in London. I was very happy there and had very good interactions with strangers/ made friends easily. I met very well educated, very interesting, inspiring people.

I'm in a commuter town and I found the mums at the school gates nothing short of hostile. Find the teenagers with balaclavas on their bikes here pretty intimidating, mainly because the streets are otherwise deserted. It's safer to have a crowd of people around. And the dogs. You know, the big ugly ones - so many.