You know you're ready to leave London when...

[highinthesky]

....you feel like greeting everyone that crosses your path on the pavement with a "Fucker, fuck off out of my way!". I felt the same way at 5.30pm as I did at 8am

But being the reasonable person I am, I realise that London needs tourists more than it needs me.

Come and work in the city. No tourists or slow workers over here

You swear at the weather forecast and dread it being hot because there's no fresh air or proper places to paddle.

Londoners are weirdos - hate London with a passion, yet can't function outside of it. Most of my Londoner friends who departed have returned.

..... you arrive there

Sorry, I'm a northern lass. However, truly delicious men seem to live in London so, with that thought in mind, I may stay a while longer next time I visit

I don't live in London, get unreasonably excited the rare occasion when I visit and love my stay - BUT: how do you stand all the people there?!

I am always very relieved when I get to leave and go back to The Sticks, North of Hadrian's Wall.

I miss London.

I loved living in London. But I knew it was time to leave when my slightly down at heel street suddenly became trendy and I had to fight my way through crowds of graphic designers and baristas to get to my corner shop. It made me feel very old.

I used to go out with a guy who lived in London and I visited every second weekend. The best bit about breaking up was not having to go back to London

Love to visit wound hate to live there. Dh works there mon to thurs and hates it completely.

Another London bashing thread? Really?

In pretty poor taste today, too.

I knew it was time to leave London for good when a large house at the bottom of my otherwise lovely street was raided by armed police at 2am. I stood there cradling 6 week old DD, watching it all unfold and planning how I would leave. I was gone within 2 months. 10 years later I still love going back to visit, but after a couple of hours of all. the. people. I'm ready to come home to my quiet little town!

i miss it too sleepingdragons ....I get actual pangs when i see the london skyline on tv!

I am going down this weekend to add to the tourist misery and get my fix of 24 hour pollution, high rises and cocktails!

I do think it's London bashing! I still love London, it's my home, wherever my house is. And if I didn't have children I've no doubt I'd still be living there, but I do and I'm not. I repeat, I still love London.

I'm not bashing the city I've lived in for years and love, just highly pissed off with tourists getting underfoot at rush hour through general lack of spatial awareness.

Never.

Three it's a light hearted thread. People rally round other people all over the country.

Thankfully

Three it's a light hearted thread. People rally round other people all over the country.

Thankfully

Aaaahh I meant I DON'T think it's London bashing....

I love London more than any other city but I don't really like commuting there very much

...your DH can't afford work space in your what used to be down-at-heel-now-trendy neighbourhood. Love visiting but much prefer having DH working nearer. We just couldn't afford what we needed in our area.

You know it's time to leave when you realise you can't actually be bothered going in!

Lived in Richmond and after a while realised I was paying a premium to live in the London environs but went out in Richmond, Kew etc. Never London.

Not ready to leave London - love it!

People don't lack spatial awareness, OP, there are just far too many of them.

I think there is a special London spatial awareness. Also people walk quicker here.

No....it is the tourists. They don't look where they're going and are mainly concerned with occupying the entire width of the pavement.

I don't enact my fantasies of giving them a good hard shove out of the way. Credit where it's due