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 😬

@mandarine. What a stupid view thinking living anywhere else then London people would know you as the Spanish women.

Obviously there's no of diversity in Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds etc. Oh no just white people there you would really stand out

If you think my experience is stupid, then that’s up to you. I’m not saying there’s no ethnic diversity in some areas outside London, but when I’m outside London, people often ask where I’m from in a way that they generally don’t when I’m here. It’s possibly something to do with people being more chatty / friendly too? I don’t even mind, but it is something I notice.

See where I live yes people might say "ooh, you're name is Pilar, that's unusual where's it from?" and you'd say you were Spanish. Or, as Manchester is a hugely diverse place with massive Asian, Chinese, Carribean, Italian etc populations going hundreds of years back, I don't think most people would even notice. don't think it comes from a bad place when folk are interested people are genuinely wanting to know something about you or make small talk in my opinion.

Please excuse the use of the name Pilar, haha my grandma lived in Spain for 30 years plus and her best mate was called Pilar so I used it as the first Spanish lady name I could think of, but daft really!

Also finally I do recognise though that Manchester is not like every where and in rural Lancs or Burnley or somewhere people might be more openly curious

I didn't say your experience was stupid, I said it's stupid to suggest that you would be stopped and asked all about yourself Nd where you came from just because you stepped outside of London.

Like I said there's loads of diversity in Manchester, Birmingham etc and no one I know when having a conversation with someone goes OMG where are you from etc

Maybe the difference in London is that it’s more transient? For instance, if I think of DS’ class at school, I don’t think one child has 2 white British parents - eg. they might be European, Russian or Middle Eastern but they don’t really identify as being part of the “x community” as such, they’re just in London for now.

In London, everyone is expected to be from somewhere else and have moved there. People find it more shocking if you have lived there all your life and think you must be rich. I never hear cockney anymore.

Yes there's a difference between ethnic diversity and internationalism. I think you need a mix of transitory and more settled populations to have the ideal balance between vibrancy and an invested community. My bit of London can be a bit too transitory at times, but equally my fear with rising house prices is that people will no longer be able to drift in and out and London is for those who inherit property here and no one else

People that live in London tend to think it's the business.

The rest of the country tend to be "meh".

It depends what you like, personally I like living in the countryside yet still being able to get there for work in a reasonable time.

Again I think there's a huge difference between the central London professional circles where everyone went to uni with people from all over the world, and the more deprived, working class areas in zone 4 where xenophobia is definitely an issue. In my part of outer London the local FB group is always full of people complaining about "them Eastern Europeans" in the HMO next door or acting suspiciously driving a white van...

I wouldn’t have said home ownership is only through inheritance. We own three houses in zone 5 and didn’t inherit any of them. Same with all my school friends who have stayed and not moved to Hertfordshire, they all bought off their own backs.

I'm from Manchester and none of the friends I grew up with live there anymore. The vast, vast majority moved to London after university for work. Those who aren't in London are mostly Drs who work elsewhere in the country based on where jobs in their speciality were available

I'm still close with my childhood friends - who all live in London now. Primary and secondary school friends, university friends, and friends I've made since moving to London, are for the most part all in London

It never occurred to me that I'd move anywhere other than London for work after graduating - which I never questioned at the time. It's only on reflection now that I question why that was my default assumption

I love that though BananaFish! The whole going off to live in the big smoke thing. Being in London already sort of robs you of that. And now I am so old and accustomed to London that even if I visit somewhere else for more than a week, I am homesick for that skyline.

Diversity. Looking different barely moves the dial.

Anonymity and privacy.

For many skilled professions, the work is world-class and cutting edge and not found elsewhere. Less skilled work - and I mean more routine administrative and executive roles - which don't command or require that premium are increasingly moving outside London.

^^What SlaartiAardvark said.

I remembered posting on a similar thread years ago, when I'd just left London and I was much more defensive of it. I think I was still in a bit of a London bubble and couldn't see what was staring me in the face. I just re-read it and I sound really daft!

For me it came down to the fact that the relatively small amount of my daily life that I was spending enjoying the cultural opportunities in London simply didn't come close to making up for the cost or disadvantages of living there. Or for the fact that living on the outskirts of London you might just as well be living in a different town anyway, because of the time and effort it took to get to the interesting bits by public transport.

I live pretty rurally now. I can see the argument for living in a town or just outside a small city, but not London. Too big, too expensive, too crowded.

We live in London and bloody hate it. We have plans to move out of London and I can't wait.
Crime, over subscribed schools, crowds, cost of living, I could go on

You say 'the cost of living' while in fact, apart from the rents/house prices, most everything else in London is better value. The fares are a bargain, the food is cheaper, utilities don't cost any more...

If you're a loaded culture vulture, then London living is second to absolute none. If you're spending two thirds of your income on a hovel in zone 4.... you can probably have a better lifestyle almost anywhere else.

Signed, a Londoner of Limited Means Recently Relocated to a Lavish Life in Leicester

For many skilled professions, the work is world-class and cutting edge and not found elsewhere. Less skilled work - and I mean more routine administrative and executive roles - which don't command or require that premium are increasingly moving outside London.

THIS

Most people I know are tied to London insofar as they'd have to make a significant adjustment in the kind of work they do, if they were to leave London

As I said earlier in the thread, the only colleagues who've moved out to the countryside and commute in are the blokes - because their wives have given up their careers to be SAHM, or take on some kind of local / freelance part time work, to look after the kids, as they wouldn't be able to have two parents doing 2h commutes

The senior women with children all live in London, because they couldn't share pick up / drop off otherwise

This has certainly been the case for me this far.
I am starting to see possibilities for more remote working which make certain other options start to look more attractive/doable. Edinburgh and Leeds are on my radar as potential places where I could achieve a good balance of the things I enjoy and reduce pressure on our finances. But I am nervous of disrupting what is a pretty good life here to start over and tbh it is an unexpected change in personal circumstances that have prompted this soul searching. I also confess the recent terrorist incidents make me jittery - logical or not. Stepping out of my office into police cordons for the second time in 18 months, and the same in my immediate neighbourhood is not nice.
This very much saddens me though as less than 5 years ago I was really happy in London and felt so lucky.

You say 'the cost of living' while in fact, apart from the rents/house prices, most everything else in London is better value. The fares are a bargain, the food is cheaper, utilities don't cost any more...

Given the proportion of most people's income that goes on rent or mortgage, I imagine that alone would be enough to make the difference. I have a 4 bedroom house with beautiful views which costs me considerably less than a crappy little flat in London would. Also, how is food cheaper in London?

" Also, how is food cheaper in London? "

it just is.

it just is.

Oh ok then . Because in my experience food in supermarkets (i.e. where most people shop) is the same price. Whereas food in restaurants is far more expensive in London than in most places.