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 am an outer borough so not sure if it counts. Advantages are lots of good schools. Lots of acess to jobs. Higher income.

Disadvantages are the house prices, commuting times/traffic (although I work from home and live on a private road with a wood opposite and horses go by so it's not exactly most people's London.

I think public transport is so good because it is So subsidised and over invested then the rest of the country. 2200 pound was spent on transport by the government per person in London and 200 pound outside of it so no wonder transport is so good.

But London is an amazing bustling place to live with so many opportunities on it's doorstop and massive career opportunities however it isn't for me, the pollution is one thing, the housing cost which I would never be able to afford, the crime levels in some areas, the shocking school quality in others and people can't afford to move to another area etc

Lived in London for 30 years, loved it. Moved out of London to middle of sticks (still work in London) live it more. Depends what you want out of life I guess. Yes the smart restaurants, cafes and museums are on your doorstep, but I’m much happier now mucking around with horses and the dog and all the space. Depends what you’re priorities are.

Workwise I'd have to make a career change to do what I do if I didn't work in London

It's noticeable that in the companies I work with, the colleagues with kids who've moved out of London and commute in are the men - because their wives have given up their careers to be SAHM, or changed career to do something part time or local, so they can do pick up / drop off. Otherwise it's a live in nanny if both parents commuting.

The senior women with children pretty much all live in London. I'm struggling to think of anyone who didn't

London is perfect. The sense of community I felt in south London was great.
It has variety so there is something for everyone.

people dont realise you can get everything available in London in every other city in the UK. as if those living in leeds or glasgow cant pop out to get a pink of milk, fresh coffee, or visit museums

Yes, that's a point in favour of cities, not a point in favour of London specifically. And I think a different question might be, rather than is London all that, would you ever consider living in another city? Personally, I do like London, particularly the availability of free galleries and museums, the transport network, and the late-night shop availability for pints of milk. But I'd be happy to consider moving to Edinburgh, Oxford, Cardiff... I just like city living. Sorry for not quite answering the exact question you asked!

Incidentally, knife crime is definitely a worry - I'm a worrier, I can't help it - but I do try to focus on the number of boys (and it's particularly boys) who go out every evening and don't get stabbed. If I were in the country, I'd be panicking about reckless kids driving on country lanes.

The trouble with these threads is they always go the same way. Londoners are asked to justify why they like living in London. Then people shout "but you can get all that outside London and buy a mansion and have change from a tenner" or "you think everyone outside the M25 is an uncultured hick". But I think it's a fair question in itself and here's why I personally love London. The variety. There are still places on my "to visit" list after 15 years and new places open all the time. I can take a stroll 15 mins from my office and find a whole neighbourhood I never knew existed. I love the architecture and history and more than anywhere else I've lived I feel like my tribe is here. Weirdly although people can be quite stylish I feel less pressure to dress or speak a certain way - I like the anonymity. I like that it's a hub so people who you haven't seen for a while might pass through and look you up. I love getting up on a Saturday and there being a choice between staying very local and there still being something exciting happening like a food festival or a free theatre workshop, or heading to town and taking the kids to a new museum. I sometimes miss beautiful countryside and views but then I take a stroll across Hampstead Heath and remind myself that there are beautiful places here too, I just neglect them sometimes.

I love London, lived there for a few years when young but alas that would only happen again if I win the lottery.

However I'm about to take my dd 2yo for her first trip, be interesting to see how I view it as a parent?

I was born in South London and generations of family before me born there too.

Loved it as a child but grew up and hated it.

Waaaaaay too many people, noisy, dirty, polluted, ridiculously overpriced and the place changed and became unrecognisable.

Yes London is good for Theatres, nightlife, shopping etc but that’s in the centre.

We moved away as did my parents and it’s the best thing we ever did. DH also a born and bred Londoner and he feels the same as me.
We are just happy that we can bring our children up away from London and are extremely thankful at that.

Horses for courses and all that but London just ain’t for me...

I grew up in and around London. My children are growing up on the beach in Cornwall.

London is full of opportunity, rich in variety and culture, and endlessly stimulating.

Cornwall is full of wildness, rich in nature, surf, sea, art, music, freedom and peace.

I would say that London living is ‘all that’ but so is Cornwall and so is life in many other places.

I go into the nearest city to me regularly. Yes, high st. shopping is the same as in London but for culture, Art, restaurants and bars , London is streets ahead.
It's where money is invested in a grand scale and so be it, it's the capital city.

Talking of money, I visit friends in London fai

Lived in London (And all around London) for 23 years and recently moved out to a small town in another country. London is amazing if you are young, OR financially comfortable AND have a good network of family or friends. There is tons to do and I love the vibrancy and variety of the place, but as a midwife the pace of the work was no longer sustainable for me. I couldn’t do my job well and have a good life with my family. We didn’t have enough of a network around us to make sure our children stayed safe as they got older.

There are things I miss about it, and I loved the life I had there, but it was conducive to family life for us.

...fairly regularly. They live in VERY nice areas but I wonder... without £££ it must be pretty miserable.

@Charley50

Yes. London in the 90s is a place id recreate and New York had a period of being like that, I havent been for 10 years so don't know what it's like now.

Maybe it was the pedicabs and the pedestrianised stuff that marked the end of London being lovely. So many lovely Georgian style buildings being demolished now too.

I'm surprised at people saying london is unfriendly though. I always found it friendly but maybe that's because I've always lived here. Some of our friends have moved north and they said they were a bit freaked out by how friendly people are so maybe I've no basis for comparison!

I live in South East London and I love it. The community around here is like nowhere else I’ve ever lived and there’s so much to do as a young family.

London is actually one of the greenest cities in the world - I’m within 10 minutes of 4 huge and beautiful parks plus a massive wood.

I’ve never met someone whose children live in a hallway......

In reality there are very few things that can’t be replicated elsewhere whether greenery, culture etc. I guess that’s where London as one of the most iconic, lauded and loved cities in the world wins out. Other places are fine, for sure - and I’m sure you can get milk at 3am if you wanted.... but they’re not London are they!

I assume this was inspired by my thread.

I don't really understand the point of these threads tbh. What's good for one family won't be good for another. Why does it matter? I might not fancy living in the suburbs but I wouldn't start a thread asking other people who do live there to tell me why they love it.

@Breadsticksandhummus

It's good to hear different views, especially if you are thinking of coming or going (so to speak!) not a waste of time at all.

Earlier I posted that the only positive was the public transport. I think I was a bit mean. Currently staying at my folks - medium size midlands town. Today (Sunday) I popped into town and it was like a ghost town. I realised in London people do more things like meet friends for coffee at cafes and just hang out and socialise, pop to places like museums and libraries - but other than the main shops everything is shut. Nothing seems to be going on. There are certain events that happen every couple of months (food market etc) but they are poorly attended - because everything else is closed maybe? Being here for a week has made me realise that I miss that.

In the last couple of months we have seen horrible histories at Apollo theatre, toured Wembley Stadium, watched an x-factor filming, played at the fountains on the Southbank, won tickets in the ballot to watch the England match in Hyde Park, gone to a trampoline park, visited Chessington, saw the RAF 100 year flyover and played in and outside of the Tate Modern. Next week my son will be spending time at a newly refurbished local adventure playground that offers free activities every week day during the holidays, I'm also thinking of the natural history museum as he's very interested in evolution at the moment. We have friends of every nationality and colour, my Indian neighbour just delivered me some of her homemade traditional sweets. I bloody love London, it's an amazing place with children.

London schools are excellent

Every single one of them?

Overall London schools perform better than national averages, yes.

Those who (like me) love London do not live in areas where there is a lot of crime. I wouldn't want one of my children to sleep anywhere except in their own bedroom, that's absurd.

There are nice places on the outskirts of London with easy transport links to the West End and City, which are less expensive than more central places but still not cheap by standards of other areas.

You can buy cheapish tickets to use public transport, there are different types which can be used on buses, trains and underground.

Theatres, restaurants, markets, museums etc are wonderful and some areas that have a villagey atmosphere, others quite 'young' places. Theatreland literally buzzes in the winter.

Within and on the edges of London are amazing parks, commons and other green spaces, like being in the country.

I'm happy living on the outskirts with easy transport links but when I was a young person I'd have loved being more central. Couldn't have afforded it though.

Breadsticks as someone who has only visited but dreams to live there it is fascinating to hear from those who are actually living there. No one at any point has been asked to justify why they like London or want to live there.
For me as well I'm interested in the perceived advantages of London living vs less living space (generalising here) It seems as if it is a small price to pay.

There's always something nice to do. Always, every day. Since central London got taken over by tourists and foreign oligarchs parking money, the villages of London have got into their stride.

People go on about how great the public transport is but I don't use it that much. Mostly, because I can walk to the shops - both tesco and whistles are in spitting distance - thanks to the rise of the local shopping street. Ditto cinema and about 50 good cheap eateries.

Downers are the poverty and the crime - I've been assaulted twice in eight weeks. Nothing that put me in hospital, but having to keep your wits about you when you go out for a pint of milk is tiring. Customer service is non-existent.

Schools round here range from award-winning to dire. There are some brilliant schemes for children who don't speak English as a first language (most kids round here) but results from the smaller, dyed-in-the-wool-Brit group aren't very inspiring. Parents from everywhere go private when they can, but this also is because people from abroad tend to rate London schools by international standards which are much higher. Private ain't cheap.

" I've been assaulted twice in eight weeks"

Bloody hell. That's terrible. I feel for you

I LOVE a trip to London. The atmosphere, the buzz, but personally couldn't live there. I live in a village in Wales so very very different way of life. I'm always glad to be back home, but each to their own. Going to London for a few nights in a couple of weeks. I can't wait!