London

[User452734838]

I was in London earlier this week and it was manic. Everyone rushing around, tubes packed, people rushing down escalators when the tubes are 2 mins apart. Road noise, Sirens everywhere, People getting trains home at 7.30pm to commute an hour, people stood up on this train. As someone who only visits now and again on business it left me shattered and I was only there a day!

Is this just something you get used to in London? Is late working the norm? Travelling for what seems like hours either way to do a job?

It did feel alive though! Is this part of the attraction or is it a case of being born there and knowing nothing else?

I was glad to get back up North where the pace of life is so much less frenetic. We do have to put up with the awful weather though! It was definitely warmer in London 😂

Poor dolphin 🐬

I've just Googled the short snouted seahorse and discovered it has the BEST classification name - hippocampus hippocampus

That has trumped gorilla gorilla in spades

Wikipedia says London zoo "operates a short-snouted seahorse breeding programme" which in 2010 "saw the birth of 918 baby seahorses."

I like to think that maybe some were released into the wild and the ones seen in the Thames recently are some of their descendents (carried by the fathers while the mothers were probably busy MN-ing and drinking gin while the dads did the childcare, cos seahorses are cool as fuck)

Argh, the Thames dolphin has reminded me of the Thames whale in the mid 90s. Poor thing got confused and ended up completely lost (they're supposed to be in Scotland, not central London), I remember watching the rescue live on the news. Both DH and I cried when she died

*mid 2000s. Not mid 90s

Poor sea creatures, it is sad.

But its civilised with theatres and wine bars. Christ I've been 'up north' and it was bleak

Bwahahaha yeah we don't have any of those newfangled theatres and wine bars up here.

Couldn't live in London. Have never had the slightest desire to live in any town or city. I've never been bored

I live and work in London - have done most of my life. There are secrets to it.

Like walking around town rather than always getting the tube. You discover so much, zig zagging through the backstreets. Avoid oxford street and covent garden and most pubs in touristy areas if you can help it. And get to cross the river every now again - especially in the evening.

And the centre is for londoners during the week but tourists at the weekend - most londoners stick in their neighbourhood saturday/sunday.

If you like art galleries, theatre, comedy, cinema and eating out its the place to be.

If you can afford it and can afford to get out of town when you need space and countryside. But it can be hard work and expensive...

I moved out of London 18 months ago as we couldn't afford to buy there. I lived there for 16 years and I miss it everyday! I love it, the buzz, the diversity, the energy, the people, the opportunities, the choices, it's a wonderful city.

Massively stressful though, can't deny that! Certainly not for everyone but I'm a city person. I must be the only commuter that enjoys my three hour round trip as it makes me feel like I'm part of the city, never feel more myself than when I'm strutting along Waterloo concourse with my over priced coffee

I really recommend the book ‘tired of London, tired of life” - it has something to go see/do every day of the year and I’ve been to lots of amazing/interesting places in London I wouldn’t ever have known about.

It can be manic but you do just get used to it. I've always lived and worked in London although I live in outer areas and commute into the centre now for work. I wouldn't live anywhere else.
I don't think could ever be comfortable living semi rural in Suffolk or similar like my in-laws do, it's lovely to visit but the pace is just too slow for my liking.

Just a heads-up: there's a sailing/kayaking club near Pimlico which you can become a member of up until 21 and you can learn to sail/kayak along the Thames for about £3 a session.

Jux I lived in New Malden about 20 years ago and have a vague recollection of them being there then, so that sounds right.

I really recommend the book ‘tired of London, tired of life” - it has something to go see/do every day of the year and I’ve been to lots of amazing/interesting places in London I wouldn’t ever have known about.

YES! I had that for my birthday a couple of years ago. Best present ever.

It's the greatest city on earth. I have lived and worked in major cities on every continent and say it confidently.

It punches well above its weight in architecture, music, art, free events, parks, restaurants ...

I lived there with DH for 4 years just after we graduated. It was exhausting, expensive but amazing. I grew up rurally and wouldn't want to bring a family up there but still love it.

It gets less exhausting. Part of it being tiring is knowing how to get around. As you learn the tubes and bus routes, it becomes much easier.

I actually miss the commute. I'd cycle for 6 months and tube for 6 months. Listening to music on the tube was fantastic. It also wasn't that long. Both of us worked in N1 and lived in W1.

I haven't been back for 3 years but always look forward to it.

tired of London, tired of life

I get tired of London after 48 hours. I am definitely not tired of life

It's the greatest city on earth.

I disagree. It's good but not as good as some of the other major cities around thecworldwe have lived, worked or visited.

WitchesHatRim
Excuuuuuuuiuse me!! It IS the greatest city in the world!!!!
I speak with considerable authority.

I have been to Leeds!

I have been to Leeds!

I would pick Leeds over London 10 times out of 10. Love it

If only there were pubs like Whitelock's in London!
And wouldn't the tube be lovely if everyone had to be Yorkshire.
"Ay up" and "Now then" to three million people every day would make the world a better place.

My lifelong dream was to live and work in London. I achieved it and only had to leave because I became too ill to stay.

If you think London is grim, then your attitude is probably too grim. London is utterly fantastic. And, no, I'm not looking at it through rose-tinted glasses. While I lived there, I was sexually assaulted while commuting, witnessed knife crimes, got shouted at/abused in the street, had to call the police a few times for other dangerous situations. That's just a tiny snippet of the bad shit that I experienced. I lived in Croydon, you know, third highest place for knives and guns - everyone seems to think it's the worst place on the planet. I'd go back there in a heartbeat.

There's just so much to do in London. I never got bored, there were always temporary exhibitions popping up across the city. You find out where the cheaper and/or quieter pubs are. You get to do all of the "touristy" things in your own time, if you can do them when the tourists aren't around and it's quieter, even better! And, you'd never go to Oxford Street, because you'd find somewhere better to get what you need that would never be as busy. Primark on Oxford Street? Pfft! Primark, North End, Croydon, thanks. John Lewis on Oxford Street? Nah, the Purley Way do, cheers.

You make London whatever you want it to be - you have to make the effort to do that, it's never going to mould itself to you. I never became particularly friendly with anything North of the river, I never felt comfortable despite years of trying, but I found plenty of places that I managed to fit in South of the river. I lost many days and nights in Lambeth having a fantastic time because I tried and made what I could of it. I don't live there any more but I still go back at least once each week - it's worth the petrol cost.

It’s a great place to bring up kids.
There are lots of wonderful pubs.
There is quite a difference between being fairly young and working, which I’ve done, and getting a bit older and not working, which I do now. The manic thing only really applies to people working and commuting, not forgetting there are lots of people who work from home. So many people are living calm, relaxed lives in their wonderful London communities and going into town at their leisure.

i live right outside the congestion zone and i love it! My sister moved to Oxford and is desperate to move back back can't afford to now, it's nice to visit outside of London but my heart is here.

Oxford prices are pretty much the same as London.