Is quality of life in West London and the South-East UK really better than East London and the North UK?

[lndonist]

Considering the high cost of living in West London and South London, with the relative sparse infrastructure investment of the UK government (though we're better off financially and have more personal freedom than in other countries), is quality-of-life in these areas generally better than the ones those have who live in places like East London?

I guess a similar question could be asked of the North-South divide. The Great Recession brought down living standards for a lot of the middle class (with surveys showing that the lower class never saw a huge change in lifestyle, probably due to there being a bottom floor at which point government handouts kick in) and I sometimes think that the cost-of-living in West London means that quality-of-life is about the same.

Well I sold my one bedroom flat in London and bought a six bedroom house near t’beach in t’north west. No bullshit no pollution no stabbings. Live in s v posh town. no ferrets or pies here.

So, OP, you tell me!

Which bit of ‘east london’?

Shoreditch is awesome.
Around Victoria Park is awesome.
It’s a bit urban and high density until you get out to Wanstead but that’s lovely too.

It’s of course much nicer eg around Hampstead Heath (wider leafy roads, grander houses) but prices reflect that!

It makes me laugh the way people who are London based just talk about “the North” as if as soon as you get past Watford everything turns into some sort of bleak industrial wasteland full of people who wander around covered in soot. Or something.

I grew up in the South East now live in Yorkshire and both places have good bits and bad bits and pros and cons. A lot of where you live should be dictated by your own personal priorities. Let’s just ditch the ridiculous generalisations, shall we?

We usually get told that living in East London or the North is bad

Really? Who is we and who are they being told that by?

I’m a Londoner transplanted up North and there are great things about both. Housing is more affordable up north, there is more green space, people are friendly and the sense of community is great plus commutes are easier. In London you have more privacy and there is more culture and arts stuff going on and the weather is better. Everywhere has good and bad points.

Except Barnsley. That just has bad points.

I’d move south in a heartbeat. But only to Yorkshire or Cumbria.

I’m not sure the OP was thinking of those areas as ‘South’

I’m from ‘the North’ and recently we seem to have had a steady stream of Londoners moving nearby. The town is starting to get a bit too busy for my liking and house prices are rocketing. So let’s carry on the myth that it’s grim up here. Really grim. Angry whippets on the loose, people dirty from t’pits, seriously, you’d hate it.

@Pointeshoesandtutus

We live in a northern city and I think our standard of living is far higher than our siblings living in London.

For a start, we both earn high incomes but our low cost of living means we can both work less than full time. Our mortgage on a large house is only 1.5x our income. Excellent schools, loads to do, fabulous parks, beach less than 1 hour away in one direction, beautiful countryside very close also, theatres/restaurants/museums less than 8 minutes by direct train etc.

Siblings in London OTOH, can only rent despite good wages, live in tiny little flats and can't open the windows due to high levels of pollution outside. Too many people trying to fight over limited resources and space.

If we lived in London, we'd both have to work full time and I bet we'd still be "poor" even with a FT household income of around £150k. We wouldn't have the time to enjoy all the extra cultural activities as we'd be too busy busting a gut just trying to survive.

I love it when some poster refer to the north like it is just a place.

But for those people who see it that way. Then yes yes yes The North is a terrible place to live. really not worth you even visting.

HTH

Siblings in London OTOH, can only rent despite good wages, live in tiny little flats and can't open the windows due to high levels of pollution outside.

I’ve been there. In my twenties.
Best years of my life. London - most wonderful place for a single person on decent salary with a good group of friends.

Sorry Totoro but no-one is poor or even “poor” on an income of £150,000. (Unless you live in a whacking great big inherited mansion which bleeds money from every stone).

I suppose it depends what area you work in. I live in the north after going to uni down south and training as a health care proffesional.
I think I have a better quality of life and more disposable income, larger house etc, than my peers that I trained with that stayed in the south. They are mostly central south though, not in London. A few in Oxford so get oxford waiting which doesn’t go far.
Our wages are relatively similar so mine goes a lot further. I saw the cost of housing and made the decision to go straight back to the north and got on he housing ladder straight out of uni.
Having said that once you are settled in the north you probably could never move south as the downsize would be too much of a shock. Whereas people I know that started in London and got on the property ladder and moved up north later are well and truly sorted.

Threads like this are ridiculous. What do you want people to say? That I won’t visit London with my children as it’s a dirty shit hole and I’d rather they weren’t a) blown up in the tube or b) stabbed? That I wouldn’t live in a place where we couldn’t get same day doctor appointments and where the children can’t play outside without fear of them being run over or hurt?
Those points are true, btw Take a drive through Cheshire in ‘the North’ and come back with ‘grim’ after seeing the mansions, the greenery, the top schools and the job opportunities.
For what it’s worth, I love ‘the North’ and Cornwall in the south and wouldn’t live anywhere else

East London is pretty wealthy these days.

These threads all turn into bunfights with those in the North trekking this from the south never to visit up North as they're keeping a great secret about how great it is etc. The truth is, a good proportion of those in London have lived in the North too. I choose to bring my children up where the cultural mix is huge, school trips are to the houses of parliament etc and people in government are their friend's parents - the idea of contributing to the running of the country is not a far off & strange idea to them like it was for me as a kid. I do miss the moors and the lack of people - and the potential to let my kids run free- but I've plumped for the alternative.

East London is one of my favourite places in the world. I used to live there and would choose it over SW and W London any day. It is beautiful, vibrant, convenient, unusual, creative, dynamic.

I lived in south west London for years and moved to the north (of England) last year. No comparison, I’d never move back to London!

I like how a poster said London is underfunded . Isn't it over 2k is spent in transport per eprsinbin London yybteh government and 250 pounds per person in the north.

I can't see the appeal of living in London. I live in a city in the North and we simply couldn't afford to have the lifestyle that we do here, in London. We certainly couldn't afford our home if it were in the same type of area in London. We have good schools, large parks/country parks and a thriving local community. Plus it's less than 10 minutes to the centre by train. Wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

We moved from London to the south east and really wished we had made a bigger move north.

I do love where we are, and I loved south west London where we lived for 8 or 9 years, but my kids are all at uni in the north and I’m always blown away by the areas they are in when we visit them. Beautiful, friendly, cheaper house prices.

We’re encouraging them to stay where they are when they graduate and not move back down south!

Mookatron

I specifically said posters who view the north as just one place. No judgement from me about where and how you bring your dc up.

although again you do seem to be comimg across, that where you grew up represents the whole of the north. I'm sure I am wrong though.

Highhorse yes agree that living in London in 20's in tiny flats would be great fun for all sorts of reasons. Not so much in your late 30's/40's though when you're trying to raise a family. Am only going off what others have said though, I'll admit it's not direct experience.

And yes, I do think that we would feel "poor" in London on a household income of £150k, compared to our current standard of living.

tinytemper I spent all my childhood holidays at that beach (my aunt lived 5 minutes walk from it). Such happy memories and the people are wonderful.

Totoro - I think a better way of putting that is “less well off”. I doubt very much that you would be visiting food banks and getting up an hour early to walk to work because you can’t afford transport costs.

You are talking about whether you can afford your preferred private school and cutting back on holidays and eating out. Which is really not a consideration for someone who is really poor or even “poor”.

London's ok to visit. I live in north Esssx which is lovely, but always look forward to holidays in the north. Lovely countryside, Yorkshire's great. Visited Liverpool recently and was blown away! Prices of everything seem a lot cheaper, especially house prices. Can't move there though without the family...guess it will remain a pipedream!