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 would assume someone living in Croydon would say that. But if asked if it was London or Surrey, would probably say London.

Your acquaintance can think what she likes but London has 32 boroughs plus the City. Harrow is one of the 32 and is therefore a London borough.
I grew up in central London (within zone 2-3) but moved to Ealing which is one of the 32 London boroughs.

I would class inside the red circle as roughly Inner London and all London Boroughs a London.
If you're in a London borough you can vote for the London Mayor and the Greater London Authority.
The areas still using a county are still in the London but they didn't want a London postcode when there was a reorganisation in 1965.
1 April 1965

On 1 April 1965, the 32 London boroughs and Greater London were created by the London Government Act 1963. Twelve boroughs in the former County of London area were designated Inner London boroughs and the 20 others were designated Outer London boroughs

London is anything officially in Greater London, regardless of postcode, and that’s the end of it really! Personal feelings are neither here nor there. Sorry, I know that’s boring 😂

If you pay London council tax (and ULEZ applies) you're in London whatever your postcode.

The areas that many people consider questionably London (I live in one) mostly joined in 1965.

We should probably be over it after 60 years?!

I think it has changed. If she grew up in Harrow in the 80s and 90s she probably did feel like 'London was different as it felt very suburban to her. I grew up in zone 2 going out towards Essex but it always felt like London. Someone I know from hours away moved to London in his 20s and thinks that because he lived more centrally, only that is true London 😆.

It also depends where you wsyspI suspect. I now live in the home counties but some of the areas were once part of London Boroughs. They'd probably consider it London but even more so if they predominantly work in North London rather than out further.

A good rule of thumb way to look at it is if a person wants to go to ‘London’ for a weekend, where is acceptable? Travelling from Italy for a weekend - they def don’t want an air BnB in Croydon or Sutton or Neasden, for example..

I’m in zone 4 & a short walk from the nearest tube station. I usually say I live in London because it’s more easily understood than saying I live in <town name>.

Zones 1-6 - regardless of postcode.

@Wemaybebetterstrangers yeah forget the actual facts then 😂 doubt many people want an Airbnb in Elephant and Castle or Thamesmead so they’re not in London anymore I guess 🙃

Within the north and south circular

This is what I call London too.

I’d think of that as a good approx definition of Inner London, but not London as a whole.

🤷‍♀️ just saying what ‘London’ means to most people who don’t live in / closeish to it. Never heard of Thamesmead but e&c is def London, they’d get a city vibe there and be a short tube ride from central.

That was my initial thought but then I really don’t think of Kingston or Chessington or Esher as London at all.

I was going to say inside the north/south circular but places like Croydon I would think of as London so that doesn’t work either. Croydon seems further out than Kingston on the map, so no rhyme to my reasoning.

If you live in one of the 32 London boroughs, plus the City of London, then you're in London - and if of a certain age you'll get a TFL Freedom Pass.

That's what I think of as London!

100% with you

Ahem, rented out my flat a few times on Airbnb, I can tell you that E&C is in demand as a place to stay!

In terms of the OPs question I think you can get away with saying you live in London as long as you are in a London borough, however I think my stricter definition of London is places with compass point postcodes (SE, SW, E, N, W, WC, EC) rather than the Kingston/bromley/dartford/uxbridge/harrow/romford (not an exhaustive list) postcodes

I live in a London borough in zone 5 near a Tube station and without a London postcode. And I grew up in a different London borough also zone 5 on mainline not Tube and with a London postcode.

I’d say if you’re in a London borough that is definitively London. It must be. We vote for the Mayor, our police service is the Met, our fire service is LFB.

But I do understand that out here in suburbia doesn’t feel as London as the inner London boroughs (where I work).

Anywhere inside the M25, but with outposts in eg Chelmsford and Guildford.

That wasn’t the question though. Anyone can google what is officially classed as London. The OP asked what people thought of as London. Personally anything outside Z3 isn’t really London to me!!

For me, it depends on the context

I live just outside Greater London, and drive across bits of Hillingdon almost daily. In my head Northwood, Harrow etc are definitely London.

But, if I say I'm going into London, I mean zones 1 and 2.

(Although, I guess, I'm more likely to say "going to Marylebone" or going to "Hammersmith", rather than just London...)

@CruCru What do you think of as “London”?

Rich people who are out of touch with normal people and normal salaries.

I guess the question is, when you hear « London » do you think by default it means inner London or Greater London?

Personally I’ll say inner London.

Chelmsford and Guildford are definitely not London to me. No more than Watford is (although there’s a London bus that goes there).