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 😬

I’m originally from a small town in the North West. I’ve lived in London for 20 years and I love it.

It’s multi cultural. You can experience all types of food. There’s always something new to discover. Always something going on. The arts you can see are wonderful. Transport is great (people moan about it, yes it’s crowded and hot but you can easily get around). Accommodation is expensive but all the other benefits are worth it. I love it and would never go back up North.

I love London and lived there for years but I think the pp who said Dublin is like standing at the gates of hell was being harsh. It's not the nicest Irish city but it has some charms.

i live in a city of 500,000 people and we have at least 50+ ethnic shops that sell turkish, pakistani, african, chinese, japanese, vietnamese, caribbean, algerian, french, polish food/goods etc

Just had to address this too, it’s estimated there are up to 400,000 people in London who are Turkish. So we have almost the population of your city, just in London selling amazing food. There are probably 50 Turkish shops just on two streets in the borough of Haringey.

Grew up in London, now in Brum and I can't wait to be able to get my kids anywhere fucking else. Yes you can go to any restaurant for any type of food and gosh the infrastructure is brilliant but the chances of them (for example) being knifed on a bus or hit by a car is going to be higher. Hate inner city life.

I can't imagine even contemplating the colour of a city's buildings when thinking about living there.

The last night at the Proms?

Golly London must be smashing if you’ve got a choice of watching that tonight given it’s not on until September

I’m looking forward to it actually. Proms in the park. Super!

“I can't imagine even contemplating the colour of a city's buildings when thinking about living there”

Have you been to Aberdeen?

Yes. It's grey. It's built out of granite. So?

If you are a theatre fan- it is all that. You can see the best actors playing in the widest choice of plays. This month I could see Mark Rylance or Ian McKellen. I could see Rhys Ifans or Aidan Turner. Next month I'll be able to see Vanessa Redgrave. For music, I could probably choose any genre and someone well respected in that field would be playing somewhere. As you say, there are downsides too.

ExcellentUsername - Don’t get me wrong, swathes of London are also grey (the North Circular springs to mind). But after 24 hours in Aberdeen, we just checked out and that was it. The sky, sea, streets and buildings - all grey. It’s too much. Also, I was so looking forward to Cornwall and the beaches are indeed stunning, but it was ruined by the grey houses - eg. Newquay. So monotonous and grim. This is why I prefer Devon or Dorset. I know you think I’m mad but I’m being honest.

Yeah, I can't deal with Aberdeen either for the same reason. The weather doesn't help either.

If you are a theatre fan- it is all that

This. I'm always gobsmacked when people try to argue otherwise. It's probably the best city in the world for theatre (NY?)

You'll find all types/genres and incredible quality. To suggest it's just West End jukebox is ridiculous.

I used see loads of theatre in London-you don’t have to live there to buy a ticket!!!
I got on the train. I used to live a 33 minute train ride from Euston but had a 2 bed house that I owned with a tiny mortgage.

Ex uni friends spent my mortgage money in weekly rent for a shitty flat and took at least 45 mins to travel across London to meet me. They still don’t have a mortgage. Who was the idiot?! Living in London is daft, visiting London is nice(ish)

Yup agree with theunsure.

The things I need every day are more readily available outside London (fantastic schools with plenty of green space and no tiny catchments, affordable home, lots of outdoor activities, relative freedom for my children) and I'm happy to visit London every couple of months or so for galleries, theatre etc.

Also, although I'm sceptical about the perception of London as uniquely crime-ridden, and I'm not naive about crime rates elsewhere, I don't miss having knife crime and gang-related stuff to contend with. DH and I both work in fields relevant to this so not just moral panic; gang culture and the normalisation of weapon-carrying was an increasing worry for us in London.

I live in London but I love Aberdeen actually and its buildings and the something about the colours there. There are pros and cons to all areas. there are alos lots of mixed areas of Birmingham, Bradford etc so although they may not have 400,000 Turks they have similar mixed cuisine, restaurants etc.

(In outer London we don't quite have the inner Londo crime issue to the same extent although I have not done comparisons with other towns. It just feels fairly safe here. I also live in the London borough with the most married people which tends to make it fairly stable too)