To be fed up of mnetters behaving as if everywhere outside London is the third world

[continuallychargingmyphone]

Ok an exaggeration but only a slight one

I live up north. We have a John Lewis here and everything.

People who slag off London don't spend long enough time there to understand the charm of it -
Im 56 and have spent 30 years living inside London and 26 on the outskirts. I love the charm of the centre, being able to nip on a train to the theatre, wander round town
But there are very few areas inside london worth the money you are expected to pay for houses and I would not have bought my children up there. There are gang cultures in both places where i used to live and one of them people claim is a brilliant place to bring up children My sister worked in schools round that way and it was awful, topped with ridiculous house prices.

on the outskirts sorry meant just outside

I just don’t understand how people afford to live there if they are on an average salary. It seems crazy expensive to me.

Same not

I quite like London although haven't been for ages.
Anyway, what I really came to say (very smugly I might add) is that where I live we have evening AND night buses!

fizzyhecat1
“To be honest I see London as being more third world than North. All the acid attacks, stabbing, 1/4 of the population born outside the EU.”

Really offensive and ignorant, as PPs have said.

What is this thread actually about?

I live in a nice part of London. There are some millionaires nearby but my close neighbours vary from low paid to very well paid. Some live in social housing while others don't, and it isn't always easy to guess what is what as some social housing in London are older properties or converted houses. This is unlikely the cities I have lived in in the North.

I grew up in London and from my teenage years lived in parts where it was and is still safe to walk the streets on your own at 3am. To be fair until I was in my 20s I would only be walking down a street from a bus stop. I have also lived in two parts in a city in the North it wasn't safe to walk from a bus stop even in a group.

LaurieFairyCake describes the "villages" well but clearly doesn't know that some places in London are actually historic villages in their own right, and lots of "villages" have historical artifacts. You only find these things out if you live within a few miles of those areas.

I love London but apart from the big tourist attractions there's nothing there that you can't get in other major UK cities and it only costs a fraction of the price to live.

I love city life, I live in a suburb of a city and there's everything I need. We even have 24 hour public transport. And I only pay £425pm rent.

I’m not knocking London; I visit the metropolis frequently and enjoy doing so, but it really is a different country.

The way in which the culture, attitudes, obsessions, snobbishness and insularity of 8m Londoners completely dominates a country of 65m people is astonishing. Transport is a great example of this. Londoners take great public transport entirely for granted and sanctimoniously criticise the rest of the country for its reliance on cars. They have zero understanding that the rest of the country just doesn’t have public transport anywhere near as good as London’s.

Yes Amy - I do know that as I live in an interesting village historically

So many places are where Tudor London went to stay in the country - Hampton Court, Greenwich, Hampstead - all very out of town

Just my post was really long enough

I have never owned a car and I don't live in London!

I pay £1500 for a huge flat with swimming pool next to a tube station, which I don't think is expensive at all

It is expensive. I pay £495 (mortgage) to live in a 3 bed house with a garden, drive and 2 garages. No swimming pool but room for my own if i fancied (i dont!)

A bus service to town goes past my house but we have a car anyway.

Hell would freeze over before i spent that sort of money on a flat!

@BonnieF i agree with your post. There was a thread a few months ago about whether learning to drive is a life skill that everyone should have, like swimming.

The OP was a Londoner who had never really experienced not being able to get from A to B using public transport in a reasonable time frame. There was a bit of a lack of awareness that in most parts of the country, you really do need to be able to drive, and that you don't have to live especially rurally to find that public transport is quite patchy.

I don't even know why I post on MN. Mrs mediocre here. I've got nothing interesting to add. No first world problems. As other posters have said, Teacup and Laurie, normal posters don't post because they haven't got much to complain about.

You are quite wrong ShreddedBanksy. I live in a city with two major theatres (including studios) and a lot of smaller theatres. There is never any shortage of plays to see. I know some people who watch at least three performances a week. In our neighbouring city there is a world class theatre and again lots of smaller but no less brilliant theatres. It is an exciting place to live if you love theatre.

I love london. Born and raised here, always felt safe and at home. Love the culture, free stuff for kids everywhere and the diversity. I love it’s grubby imperfections. Nice to have escape routes though and we leave regularly for the weekend to spend time resetting the batteries. I think you need enough cash to be able to enjoy London or it’s a bit miserable.

@ShreddedBanksy I don't go to the theatre myself (I'm an uncultured swine ) but a quick Google shows plenty of performances in my city this month.

To be honest though the average person doesn't go to the theatre several times a week unless you have a really vested interest in it.