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?

Having read approx a quarter of the FT, I still can't grasp why anyone CARES

Apart from whimsy, there is no need to pretend to yourself that you live somewhere else

Well, I'm not pretending anything to myself, I live in London, in an inner London borough within zones 2 and 3. You know, real London.

So, no delusions of grandeur or not wanting to be associated with 'that London' forming my argument.

I would guess it's probably more native Londoners who are bothered about this. I haven't lived here very long, so to me, it's all basically London.

I'd refer to Richmond-upon-Thames as 'Richmond in London', as opposed to the more familiar (to me) one in North Yorkshire. I assume people will know what I mean!

I don't think anyone is right or wrong on this! It always seems a 50/50 split. I still don't know what I think but I do think postcodes don't play any part whatsoever seeing as that is just a tool for people to deliver mail more easily with

I think it's always been the case. I grew up in London and I think of Richmond as no different to Wimbledon - all just suburbs of London.

Also people saying your FROM a certain area, well what do YOU go by? Where you was born? What it says on your birth certificate? My childhood home had "Essex" in a written postal address but the school I went to had london, i spent most of my time in places like Beckton/East Ham to go shopping which have London and E postcodes etc. "Proper" Essex was further from my home than places in "postcode London" that's why I think postcodes to are bollocks. It was a real treat me moving to Romford as it had the train connections to go places like Chelmsford and Brentwood which are Essex councils not London London boroughs.

Christ cannot believe this has got to 480 posts. There is a sub argument of this, when people who live in zone 1 - 3 argue whether their area is more central than someone else's (for instance, is Islington more London than say Bethnal Green or Shepherd's Bush)...

I live in Croydon and I don't care if it is London or not. I think technically it is, due to London Borough, but really don't care. I often talk about "going to London" as though it is another place. I would feel daft saying I live in Surrey though as that sounds like leafy suburbs, which it is not.

However, I would say I lived in "Croydon" rather than London if I was talking to someone who knew anything about it. Sometimes I say "South London" as though that was a place on it's own. If speaking to a foreigner I might say London just for ease.

Also people saying your FROM a certain area, well what do YOU go by? Where you was born? What it says on your birth certificate?

For me, yes.

I was born in, birth registered in, schooled in and lived/live in this borough.

I am from 'here'

Christ cannot believe this has got to 480 posts.

This is really important stuff.

You ask the people of Poland. I think their country's been wiped off the face of the map three times.

Borders are really important to some of us

On a side note, DH and I always joke about the centrality of London in some folks' imaginations. Like you could imagine an unauthorised biography of Sheena Easton saying she was born in Glasgow, LONDONENGLANDUK.

I grew up in harrow, I referred to it as a suburb of London if people didn't know where it is.

I thought of it as London (ish)

Yes, it really is important!

Not just [although for some maybe] in the sense of wanting to 'win' the internet, but because where we are 'from' is important to lots of us. It is tribal!

I have nothing against the surrey/kent/essex tribes, but they are just not part of my tribe!

Those who move from essex etc into London are welcome to join the tribe, but only if they really live in London. Not wannabe London.

Those who move from essex etc into London are welcome to join the tribe, but only if they really live in London. Not wannabe London.

Thanks. I do live in proper London. Honest. I'll show you my council tax bill.

I was born in London too - West Ham/Stratford/Upton Park - then my parents took me home to Essex from the hospital.

I can picture it, I used to work round there and drove past loads, but it's hard for me to say where it is because it's a bit bordertown. The hospital had been empty for years and I think has been turned into flats now but I think they kept the Victorian facade or at least the archway. I hope they did because it was nice.

In them days you could choose your hospital and my mum chose the one she'd given birth to my brother in when she lived in Plaistow rather her local one. The birth one wasn't that much further away from her new home which she'd been living in for quite a long time before I was born.

Of course it doesn't really matter though I don't mean that

And it's nice to have London as my place of birth in my passport. I realise this is irrational. But I'm proud.

You know when half the bbc moved to manchester, and another chunk of it moved to glasgow?

welcome to london, mancs and scottishes.

honestly, i've read newspapers and seen telly and am now far more convinced than before that the world is a londoner

i henceforth refuse to acknowledge such stupid places as 'surrey' and 'middlesex' even exist - they are only seen on maps alongside 'here be dragons' and 'witches about ye moors'

Sadly we are not a royal borough Limited. Kingston and Kensington & Chelsea are. Bloody snobs

I wasn't born in London but I've lived in London and Surrey Richmond half my life and it's home.

I am about to get out my children's birth certificates to see place of birth. Just to prove a point about Richmond being in Surrey after all that nonsense about London boroughs (local government) somehow usurping geographical and historical places.

Not really relevant but funny: I see a lot of job applications and I have had at least two where candidates have chosen offices because they want to work in London dealing with London clients. One was for Reading and one for Cambridge. Presumably the London office, in err, London just isn't close enough! Or Gatwick, or Oxford which are closer than Cambridge! Although not quite as bad as the candidate who wanted Birmingham because it's closest to Scotland and she loves the Scottish Highlands. She lived in Edinburgh too

K8Middleton Don't forget Greenwich!

all that nonsense about London boroughs (local government) somehow usurping geographical and historical places

YY People have been upset about losing the Ridings of Yorkshire and the advent of meaningless Metropolitan areas such as Humberside, I think it was, and Avon and Somerset, and maybe the disappearance of Rutland, was it?

They mourn the passing of these names and familiar attachments and even though I was taking the piss, it does mean something.

It's nothing to do with London snobbery, or Surrey snobbery, however much some posters want to think it is.

It's about not being happy with a faceless organisation like the Royal Mail or a local authority just deciding to override things for their convenience.

It doesn't mean much. But some things that don't mean much, mean everything.

Agree local government boundaries don't trump history and local pride. Esp. as local government boundaries are re-drawn every so often.

There's an old sign at Putney Bridge station* - 'London' with an arrow pointing to one of the platforms. Most people these days think Putney IS in London, but it's nice to be reminded that hasn't always been the case.

• At least there used to be, haven't been to Putney for some time

Sorry and snobby Greenwich too!

And it's nice to have London as my place of birth in my passport. I realise this is irrational. But I'm proud

Makes perfect sense.

It's nothing to do with London snobbery, or Surrey snobbery, however much some posters want to think it is

It's about not being happy with a faceless organisation like the Royal Mail or a local authority just deciding to override things for their convenience

It doesn't mean much. But some things that don't mean much, mean everything

Absolutely. Particularly the bit in bold.

I live in Cheshire according to my ex boss ( office was in Uxbridge) Swansea was my neck of the woods and was a bit put out when I said I wasn't able to get there for 9am without travelling down the night before (I was a medical rep).

Just because I live on the welsh border doesn't mean I can just pop over to Swansea or Cardiff ! I think some folk have no concept of geography.

*my DH is from South East London and gets really annoyed at people who say they're from SE London like some badge of honour when they're actually from Croydon....or even worse BROMLEY!

I can hear him now "BROMLEY'S IN KENT!!!!*

But that's just it - Bromley is next to Catford - presumably he'd agree Catford is London - yet it touches Bromley and Bromley's not. Ridiculous. I'm from SE London and it's all interchangeable to me. Most people who work in London spend the majority of their time in central London - work, shop, socialise - doesn't really matter if they sleep in Bromley or 7 inches away in Catford.

Wow can't believe this is still going. Over-riding things for convenience? Things do change you know, boundaries change, cities change, countries change, land even moves apparently!
We can't maintain the size of a city forever, just to make a few natives feel more important. This will all be old news in 50 years anyway.

Personally I don't know what I "belong to". Born in "inner" north London, part raised there (all family from there) then part raised in Surrey, and now live in "outer" London for convenience and financial reasons, but am a 10 minute walk from inner London (how ridiculous this sounds) I don't feel any need to divide people into one category or another tbh.

Can't believe people use Royal Mail postcodes as an indicator of anything.

Long Eaton has a Nottingham Postcode (NG) and a Nottingham telephone code (0115), it doesn't change the fact that it's in Derbyshire.

Some years back I met a very Cockney chappie who informed me that he was from Bromley.

"Oh, Bromley by Bow?" I enquired.

"Naah", he said disdainfully. "Bromley South London.

"Oh" I said, perplexed at the thought that a few minutes earlier I'd told him that I was from another part of and could be presumed to know that there ain't nuffink Cockney about that Bromley.