To wonder why people increasingly refer to places not in London as 'in London'

[redpipe]

I genuinely don't understand why people say they live in London when in fact they live in a town within the M25.
Croydon is not in London is it? Nor is Kingston. I never remember people referring to these towns as London years ago. Is this a new thing?

Kent is no longer part of the correct postal address for Bromley (or anywhere else) due to the confusion it caused.

It did take 50 years for the obsolete and incorrect addressing to be abolished.

Can't believe this thread is still going! Have I just killed it though?

Mrsflorrick

I can also apply to all the grammars in Essex if I wanted, or in Wiltshire if I so desired. Wouldn't get in, but could do it. The fact that (some) people living in Bromley apply for grammars in Bexley (London Borough) or Kent doesn't mean that Bromley isn't part of Greater London!

Yeah you could apply for Southend's Grammar school if you lived in tower hamlets or barking and dagenham but highly doubtful you'd get in (so we was told when I went to a school in dagenham) You had to apply to do the 11+. I didn't even do it even though i was a bright kid, just went to a catholic school. Plus it would of took me aggggesss to get to school (i moaned to my dad)

This issue has triggered more than 400 replies!!! It's a real issue!!! From me and to the OP.

I'm in Richmond, Surrey, and take the tube to London, and a red London bus to Kingston.

Does Kew qualify as being in London despite having a TW postcode??

You're being precious. I'm also from North of the Watford Gap and agree with happytalk13 - if it has a tube station, it's in London

I met someone from Southampton once who told me she'd been "up North" as she'd visited..........BRISTOL?!?!?!?!?! When I explained that there were lots of cities further north than Bristol... and that - shock horror - places like Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, York, etc weren't all doom and gloom, she looked at me like I was telling a joke / taking the piss. Describing sodding Bristol as "up North" is

Too bloody right it does brightnearly - its even in zone 3.

I've only just found this so it's probably been said, but on page one someone mentioned 0208 as a telephone code. Am I allowed to say (or perhaps whisper would be better) that there is no such code? It's 020 for the whole of Greater London.

Slightly off-topic but that really gives me the rage!

Seems a bit of a non issue to me really. I live overseas right now and if someone asks me where in England we come from both dh and I would say London. If it turns out they know London at all then we'd say South East London, or near Crystal Palace as it's a big enough landmark for people to know (if they have visited London as a tourist I might also say I grew up in Greenwich).

I don't say I grew up in the London Borough of Greenwich and then moved to the London Borough of Bromley because it's a bit unnecessary really, and the boroughs are so big it's a bit meaningless (Greenwich and Abbey Wood not being very similar IMO). I'm not ashamed that I lived in Penge, nor would I look down on someone who lived further out, lots of reasons for people to positively choose where they live as well as the cost factor.

I think it depends who you pay your council tax to. If it's to an LBC you're in London. If not you're not.

Also having an 020 phone number, having London Transport on your local bus / tube stop and being within the M25 are good indicator of being in London.

Richmond is in north yorks ;)

north yorks is now in London, Anagram, get with the programme.

Epping has a tube station. It's not London.

Tube station is def not an indicator - would anyone argue that Peckham or Camberwell aren't in London?

I think I'm gonna go for what Ghoul says, who you pay your council tax to!

Kewcumber Look out of the window waves

Silly thread going round and round in circles. People keep arriving and saying the same things that we have just disproved.

Worst thing is that I keep returning!

To anyone who still thinks that everywhere inside the M25 is in London, I give you .......

Staines.

candy Watford is on the metropolitan line.

Whoever mentioned Chingford- it's E4, not E5 and it most definitely IS in London. It's in the London Borough of Waltham Forest.

Ghoul- having 020 phone number and being near a tube station do not mean you're in London!

I live inside the M25, in zone 6, have an 0208 landline and a tube station 10 minutes walk away. But I don't live in London. (However, if I was talking to someone from elsewhere in the country, I'd probably say 'outskirts of London'- it's just easier).

strruglingoldteach - Chingford does, however, have an active snobby beggars society committed to getting it out of E4 and into Essex.

Much like the Wirral, which had a 'Get Wirral out of Merseyside and into Cheshire' campaign run by some blue-rinsed ladies and a few old buffers... they were made up when our postcodes changed from L to CH, but it's still officially Merseyside according to the post office!

If you call it Landan then you're from London/in London.

If you call it Lundun you moved in from The North and think everywhere south of Sheffield is London.

If you call in Lunden then you are from London but now live in The Country/High Wycombe.

If you call in London you are from America and no amount of trying to hide it will hide it.

It FFS stupid corrector machine thingy. Ruined my post you did.