Op I can kind of see where you are coming from, in a sense, because living in the sticks can be amazing because you get to learn different things, have a different lifestyle, and come to appreciate certain things.
I have lived out in the sticks, which is lovely, but it primarily spend much of my life in the city. If you love the sticks so much then you might not manage to see the beauty of London.
We tend to spend about 80% of our spare time in the city. As a family our visits tend to be much more structured, but if we are there on our own, we generally wander until we find something cool.
There is so much to find beautiful within the city. A few months ago (maybe 6 months ago now!) we went to westfield shopping centre and did some late night shopping, then drove into Central London, got boris bikes and spent a few hours cycling around just seeing the views. The views are absolutely breathtaking at night.
The history, is also amazing. We often go for evening walks around parts of the city, usually the ghost walks, or Jack the Ripper or haunted London... It's amazing because not only do you get to hear of history, and stories of London, you get to see things you wouldn't see otherwise. The favourite thing I ever saw was past an alleyway there was this tiny street that remains untouched visually from the outside since the days of gaslights- gaslights were still intact.
That and the fact that he architecture is so beautiful on some buildings, it's really breathtakingly beautiful- this does tend to bed a later night thing for us to look at, because generally Londoners don't like to be stuck behind tourists looking up at buildings and not where they are going.
Within 100 metres you might find a building with the most beautiful architecture that's been stood well over 100 years, then you'll see a new building that is such a breath of fresh air, and equally as amazing to look at.
You'll find the most wonderful buskers around the city. There's one that keeps in mind who's name is save mwaniki- I've never seen a busker where people actually sat in a crowd to listen to him sing. He was wonderful and can be found in Covent garden.
The pop up shops/boutiques/experiences- there was a magnum pop up experience a few months ago where you could make your own ice cream, there is a cereal cafe on brick lane, it's like stepping back into childhood, you can buy any cereal there for about £3 a bowl. They had a cloud made out of balloons and lights about a month ago in Covent garden, they have a ballpit exclusively for adults that people can use for an hour free. It's exclusively for adults.... It adds a bit of fun to a trip.
We also have the Tower of London. We have Buckingham palace, we have the London bridge, the London eye.
We have harrods, we have hamleys, we have bond street.
We have so many museums art galleries and amazing opportunities.
The only thing that I find quite poignant about the city is you can drive down a road and there can be multi million pound houses, by the time you've turned onto the next there's a council block of flats, and despite these people sharing a postcode the opportunities that people have are completely different.
London is a beautiful tapestry of life in many, many different forms, which fills me with awe every time I visit, and I truly feel alive whilst there, but it's bittersweet because I know that the city can allow wonderful opportunities for those who are better off, and as (by Londons standards) one of the poor, the same opportunities wouldn't be open to us. It's easy to forget that when you live slightly further out.
Don't be scared of London, it honestly isn't that scary, I've never had anything bad happen to me.
If you haven't been you must visit. You'll fall in love.