To ask if London living is all that?

[nellyolsenscurl]

Inspired by a thread where posters are saying things like 'unless you live in London you couldn't possibly understand the benefits' and 'London living is one of the best things a child could have' (paraphrased, but you get the poi t). One poster said that her dd's friend didn't have a bedroom, she had a bed in the hallway but this is worth it for London life etc.

I've visited and yes it does seem amazing, but I was surprised at how busy the underground was at rush hour, I didn't think public transport was that cheap and in some parts the signs about knife crime/murder was daunting. Obviously as well extortionate house prices/rents mean more likelihood of living in a smaller place.

So London Livers (TM) please tell me about the great things (and any negatives) In my dreams when my dc leave the nest I will buy a lift conversion in Neal's Yard with those lovely coloured facades 😬

Even Kit Harington on the school run?

JacquesHammer I agree that many people are clearly very happy where they live as it gives them everything they need, but to claim that most cities in the UK offer the same range of activities, events, locations etc. is just nonsense.

Even Kit Harington on the school run?

A swift google tells me no, no thanks

I am a childminder now but in my nannying days I would see many famous faces, I once quite literally bumped into Jonathan Ross in Highgate, I was so flustered I told him I liked his hair

Almost all the pros of living in London can be achieved by living is most if not all cities in the uk in my experience.

That is just not possible.

There are 8 million people, which can sustain so much more choice and variety of, well of everything - than a city of a million people. Or more commonly 500,000 people.

I have lived and worked in other UK cities. I loved them, for absolute sure. But I really couldn't do everything I do now, in e.g. Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield.

Born, raised & educated in SW London & have lived here all my life. I love London & I defo couldn’t envisage a life in the country as I would hate driving everywhere, a long commute, not being able to pop to the corner shop for milk, what to do with teenagers etc.

However I do think London is a little overrated, I’m finding the older I get (mid 30s) the more i’m concerned with pollution, crime & it defo seems so crowded, years ago I always got a seat on the Northern line!

London is 100% fantastic for people without children & people with millions. Personally I’m not sure living in zone 5 or 6 with small kids and occasionally going into London is making the most of London life. I live in zone 2/3 & do not want to go any further out, I would rather move to another city & live in the equivalent zone 1 area as I want the amenities on my doorstep.
The smaller house & garden doesn’t bother me so much as we have a fantastic common at the end of the road. For me at the moment the advantage of living in London with small kids is having my mum around the corner which helps with childcare & allows us to be very flexible if we fancy eating on Soho etc. I would like to live by the sea though.

Nobody on this thread has said London is the only place worth living. Not one.

@stevie69 speak for yourself, where I'm from up north there were no open shops nearby between 10pm and 8am, bars shut at 11pm and cabs tripled in price after midnight.

Are you in Filey???

Parakeets? Wow, really? How, why, since when? I had no idea?

Yep - thousands of wild parakeets

We see them quite often in the trees of the garden squares near our house

londonist.com/london/great-outdoors/london-s-parakeets-everything-you-need-to-know

Which are wonderfully charming but not so great for the native bird population apparently

Lived there in my 20s and adored it. There’s something about living in a true world city that can’t be replicated. It was like an adrenaline shot. I’d move back if I could, and harbour ambitions to retire there!

I have lived and worked in other UK cities. I loved them, for absolute sure. But I really couldn't do everything I do now, in e.g. Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield.

I don't doubt it but ......... you can't take in a Sheffield Wednesday home match in London, either.

Almost all the pros of living in London can be achieved by living is most if not all cities in the uk in my experience.

It does depend on your career though

My industry is very London centric - there are absolutely pockets around the UK where companies do the kind of work I do, but the opportunities would be significantly more limited.

I’m not even British but I made London my home in my 20s and I love the fact that most people weren’t born here. Anywhere else I go in Britain, people always ask where my accent is from, but in London nobody even registers it. I’ve travelled a fair bit in Britain. Cornwall is nice for a week or so, as is the Devon / Dorset coast. Brighton is ok-ish, but I do find the British seaside gloomy in winter (sorry). Other big cities just aren’t the same because London is like a cluster of what we’re once villages and now all have distinct characters of their own.

I personally think life living in the likes of Chelsea/Putney/Hampstead/Islington surrounded by green spaces and nice shops etc would be glorious, but the houses are all £1m at the least.

Living elsewhere in London where the property is SLIGHTLY cheaper would be vastly different.

Leyton. 2 bed terraces £450k or £550k for one 'done' with a side return extension and 3rd bed in the loft. Not as nice as Putney but much more affordable and gives you access to green space.

Walking distance of Olympic Park, Hackney Marshes, and the canals.

Longer walk or biking distance to Victoria Park, Wanstead Flats and the close in bits Epping Forest, Hollow Pond. Can also bike out out to Epping Forest proper, or get the tube.

I don't doubt it but ......... you can't take in a Sheffield Wednesday home match in London, either.

Aaaah so true.

It might age me if I tell you I've seen Sheffield Wednesday beat Man U twice

I lived in London as a fresh graduate. It was fun but I needed much more money to have the level of social life I wanted. I would only
Live there now , as a family, if I had a lot of money to enjoy it and have a decent sized home.
I also live in North Brighton, near said 'tatler ' school! I think it is friendly, open-minded and relatively safe for a city and we have a vibrant life here. I do love London, as I say, and with an awful lot of money I'd live there

We have a St.Katherines docks apartment and I don’t like living in London so we stay up north and my DP uses it for work.

I do like the fact that whatever I feel like eating is easy accessible or available via delivery though... but that’s it. Otherwise it’s just hell. It’s too busy if you want to go anywhere, everybody is always sniffing so you think you’re about to catch something, there’s so many people and yet everybody is so disconnected compared to up north. It’s difficilt to explain, but I really don’t like it

Leyton. 2 bed terraces £450k or £550k for one 'done' with a side return extension and 3rd bed in the loft. Not as nice as Putney but much more affordable and gives you access to green space.

Sheffield: three double bedroomed terrace; nice area, no crime, walking distance of the city centre, probably nicer than Putney: £150k. You pay your money; and take your choice

I don't agree that the benefits of London are easily replicated elsewhere.

But the benefits aren't necessarily that tangible, so it can be difficult to express.

The most important thing for me is the energy. London is full of young, driven people ambitious to succeed. That's infectious. I felt 5 years younger when I moved there.

In career terms it's second to none. London is the centre of the world for my industry. The opportunities are mind blowing. The only close equivalent would be New York or Shanghai or something.

Culturally it's in another league. And so much of it is free.

There's so much to do and if you're a novelty seeker like me, there's always something new going on. Once you have kids you appreciate the richness.

We were lucky though. We lived in a gorgeous part of the city, great shops, restaurants, green space, you name it.

But in the end we left, because we couldn't afford a decent sized house with a garden there. And we didn't want to move out into the commuter belt and spend our life on trains. So we moved back home to Dublin, which has its advantages but doesn't really compare.

I still miss it.

In career terms it's second to none

Not for everyone. I'm an accountant in the not-for-profit sector. I mean, yeah: if I worked in a corporate finance then London would be great. But the salaries in my sector are the same here as there — I'd just get a bit of London weighting for my trouble. And that ain't gonna sort out the house price differential.

At the end of the day, it's just personal choice. I can totally see why some of you love it. If you've half a brain, you can probably see why I wouldn't

Sheffield would be a totally different life from London though. It's marvellous if you want access to the countryside and affordable housing with access to a city but to suggest the life you'd live in Sheffield is comparable in every way to a life you'd live in London just shows how little people have taken on board the things people really appreciate about living in London. It's like saying I don't need to go to the Lake District because I have all the natural beauty I need in Hampstead heath. I think this is why a lot of people do leave London once they have established themselves and their careers though- different balances can suit people at different stages. But equally some people will always thrive on the London buzz or never be comfortable there.

But the benefits aren't necessarily that tangible, so it can be difficult to express

That’s a really good point. Plus benefits are such a personal thing, it makes it fairly impossible to come to an overwhelming conclusion.

As much as I would like a seaside home, I live in nappy valley & it would be very hard to replicate that elsewhere.

Sheffield would be a totally different life from London though

I've lived in London. It's pretty similar to Sheffield —unless I'm missing something. I'd be delighted to take on board the things that people appreciate about life in London — that aren't available in the major cities outside it — if I could only find out what they were. We've established that 24 hour shops and taxis are not amongst them.

I'd move to London in a heartbeat if I could afford it. I'm jealous of all of the free museums and kids stuff available to Londoners.
Ds and I visit a couple of times a year but I always imagine how lovely it would be to be able to just 'pop-in' to a museum for an hour or so!
We also really love the London vibe. It's so busy and vibrant but with so many gorgeous parks and green areas. It would be my perfect life if I had money!

As for posters getting upset by people saying they don't like it..why let it bother you? You love it, does it matter what anyone else thinks?
Where I live is constantly taken the piss out of. I couldn't care less tbh.