What do you think of as “London”?

[CruCru]

On another thread I got into a discussion on which places are London and which are actually somewhere else. I think that only places with a London postcode are in London, otherwise they are in the Home Counties. However, quite a few people disagreed with me as they said that they lived in an outer London borough. I didn’t want to derail that thread (which was about something else) so thought I’d start my own.

To my way of thinking, if I sent a letter addressed to someone at 123 Their Street, London, Their postcode, it would only be sensible to do so if they actually live in London. If I did that for someone who lives in Harrow, Croydon or Kingston, doing so would cause confusion (but it might still arrive if the postcode was correct).

What do you think?

I tend to think in terms of the London postcode areas, even though I know that Greater London which are all the London boroughs is a larger area.

I did see on a recent thread about buying in London that some people didn't count anything further out than Zone 2 as being in London!

The other thing that really annoys me these days is stupid drop down menus that insist I include a town/ city AND a county, so my address is 123 Street, London, Greater London, Postcode. Just wrong!!

Most London postcodes used to be middlesex a hundred years ago
Regardless of postcode if you're in a London borough, that's London

No one ever says they come from Middlesex as it's basically the suburbs of London

I tend to think of Greater London being anywhere inside the M25

When you get beyond Zone 3, then I think it starts getting more normal to use suburbs names.

If you get the postcode right, it'll get there whether ou call a place London or not

I grew up in one of these ‘in between’ type areas. It was in an outer London borough, had a tube station and was within the M25 so was in London in those senses. But had an Essex postcode, so using that as the deciding factor would meant it wasn’t in London.

Personally, it always felt like London to me. Outer London yes, but definitely London. Whereas a few miles further out into Essex stopped feeling like London to me.

Where I live was Essex until the 1960s, it’s now Zone 3 London and has a tube stop. I generally class everything inside the circular as London, but ‘real’ London is zone 1 and maybe 2! (Just an opinion).

@gatheryerosebuds yes my birth certificate is Edmonton, Middlesex, London - regardless of the fact Middlesex didn't exist anymore when I was born.

Any of the London boroughs but not the surrounding Home Counties.

Woodford/Buckhurst Hill/Loughton?

I felt like a Londoner I class myself as a Londoner and I have a London accent not an Essex one.

Absolutely no scientific basis whatsoever, but this is what I would class as London proper (inside the red line). I don’t think of Croydon as London, it’s a proper town in itself (yes it’s technically a London Borough, but so it Sutton and that’s pure suburbia).

It depends what "London" is an abbreviation for in any given conversation. I take it to mean that Greater London is most of the stuff inside the M25, i.e. the boroughs (famously excluding Watford), and Inner London is inside the circular and City is just that bit. 🤷‍♀️

I don’t know London well, my in laws live in Battersea so to me that’s London and some of the surrounding boroughs.

I’m aware London is pretty huge.

Battersea is definitely London (SW11).

I'm with you OP, mainly on post code. But living near the outer edge of Zone 3 there's obviously a grey area, eg the bit of Beckenham just over the border can't be "not London" but surely the whole London Borough of Bromley can't be London? Even the rural bits?

And if someone lives in central Croydon, do they think they live in London or Croydon?

Partly it is that someone I know grew up in Harrow. She hates London and hardly ever goes there. She’d be quite put out to hear that she grew up in London.

Anywhere I can get to on the tube. But preferably not past zone 3.

I almost agree with the red circle but think Ealing counts.

Woodford/Buckhurst Hill/Loughton?

I felt like a Londoner I class myself as a Londoner and I have a London accent not an Essex one.

@FlutteryButterfly Barkingside. Though I went to school in Woodford.

Ealing is W5 so definitely London.

If I'm asked where I grew up, the answer is London. Or South London.
If asked which part... then the outer London Borough.
When I'm visiting my parents, we refer to going into London if visiting the Central part.

Similarly When I'm visiting my parents now, of asked where I live now the answer is ( South) Yorkshire as most have no idea more specifically then that!

The London boroughs.

However if I lived in the rural bits of Surrey in Croydon Borough I might not say I lived ‘in’ London.

But a huge chunk of Croydon has SW16 , SE19, and other London postcodes.

If someone says they are visiting London as a tourist I think of the Central London area, extending to London landmarks such as Greenwich.

But the Tube covers a bigger proportion of Northern London than Southern, including some rather central bits

Zone 1& 2

Grew up with Richmond being part of Surrey, Harrow Middlesex etc etc

It's been decades since the outer London boroughs became part of London in terms of postal addresses e.g. my mum was born in Mitcham, Surrey. Our address would have been Sutton, Surrey in the past but is now just Sutton and the postcode.

I consider where I live as London based on:

• in a London LA, vote for the Mayor of London etc
• in London transport zones and have London buses, ULEZ zone, free London travel for over 60s etc.
• Follow any London policies e.g. Covid lockdowns(!), free school lunches for all KS2 children.

Where I live is very much suburban, outer London but I still consider it London and not Surrey. Some people seem to think this is a desperate desire to claim we live in London. I like where I live and don't really care if it's classed as London or Surrey, but I feel London is the official place regardless of what people feel.

Exactly if you are in a London Borough then you are in London.
Some of the Outer London areas decided they wanted to keep their county in the address.
Harrow Middlesex, Barnet Hertfordshire, Romford Essex, Bromley Kent and Kingston Surrey.

Yes that’s true. I forget as I only used up to zone 3 (furthest being Ealing). So that’s what I’d consider London. Anywhere further out is suburbia (‘Greater London’?) not city buzz.. well that’s how it feels.