To wonder how anyone can live in London?

[Sausagefingers9]

I hadn’t been to London in years so had forgotten just how extremely busy it is. I’ve just got back from a trip there and feel like I need a lay down in a dark room!

How does anyone ever turn off when there is so much stuff, and noise and people everywhere? Everyone looked so grumpy and depressed.

Lived here since 1993. It has become massively busier and more overcrowded in that time.

3 planes a minute come into land over my house, from 4.25am to about half midnight.

It isn't unfriendly but there is such a turnover of people, all your friends bugger off every 5 years and you have to find new ones (exhausting).

The air quality is terrible - it's not visible but I notice my nose is blocked within 3 days of coming back from holiday.

The only things I would miss are the parks and lidos.

I would have loved to have had a spell living in London as a young'un. I think it's an amazing place.

My Mrs had a flatshare in Archway and used to walk all the way to the Embankment and back every day to work , walking through some pretty cool and interesting areas. I would have loved to have done that for a year or so.

As a Northerner, there is something other worldly about London..nowhere else in Europe would you get a capital city that is so much larger than the next biggest city, that adds to the dramatic difference in culture there.

I love living in central London. There's always something interesting and enriching to do and a selection of amazing restaurants etc. I'm not far from parks and open spaces. Sometimes it's very stressful eg the tube at rush hour, but if you can avoid those bits it really is the best place in the world to live and raise a family in my opinion.

People don't live in the London you are thinking of, the London for strangers and tourists. They live in their own part with their own routines and friends and neighbours.

I wouldn't like to live in a smaller city or town or village or hamlet. But it's not beyond my imagination that other people do.

Surely all large cities are busy??
I’ve lived in London for most of my life and still love it . It’s is what it is .. a major , vibrant capital city

I moved to Sweden four years ago from London. I would give my right arm to move back - I miss it dreadfully

People end up flatsharing until they are 45, or even forever these days.

People work longer hours than in other parts of the country.

Despite what you may read in the papers it's still the best city in the world to me, but then I am very unnerved when I visit anywhere that is not as buzzy and with 24 hour access to everything. I guess it's a case of being comfortable with what you know....

What ??? I am in my 40's. Don't know anyone my age who flat shares.

My friends work as varied amount of hours as any where else I imagine. Some full time, some part time, some from home, some in central London, some locally in the suburbs. Much the same as anywhere else.

Such a lot of rubbish spoken by people who don't live here.

I do live here. I am here right now.

No one has trotted out "tired of London, tired of life yet"

I think it depends on whether youre used to it and how sensitive you are to sensory stuff. It also is going to be significantly different living in london, to visiting the touristy bits. A lot of London is made up of smaller communities.

Rattinghat what utter twaddle! I don't know anybody in their 40's flat-sharing- my friends would shudder at the thought by this age!

We all work long hours but willingly and happily so

I do know flatsharers in their 40s and older. Lucky you that your circle are comfortably off.

Yawn.

Its all relative.

Commuting is depressing.

But not as depressing as hearing intelligent, educated work colleagues who live in 'the friendly North' using terms like 'benefit scroungers', 'they're all illegal immigrants' and 'they should go back to their own country' - without embarrassment or irony.
While all the Londoners back away warily.

Anonymity is the beauty of many big cities. That's it for me.

My other half is from deep country and honestly they are so nosey for news and know everything about you (if you divulge...), but will never reveal anything about themselves. Ugh so insular.

But each to their own.

It just depends what you’re used to - I was born & brought up in London and still live here. I love busy & noise and stuff going on but Ive never lived anywhere different. I don’t understand how or why people would want to live in the countryside, in my head seen one field seen them all! A view is all very well but after about 5 minutes of scenery I’m bored and want to do something else.

Oh I agree about small towns and the nosiness, that can be just as overwhelming.

Love London. But the streets are a wash with tourists and their little pull along suitcases. Doping along and GETTUNG IN MY WAY. Or the gamga of exchange students in Camden sitting round 1 diet coke
I avoid the obvious big draws and scuttle up side streets, round corners and short cuts. I am still finding places that I never knew about and which most of the crowds won't get round to.
It is a bit mad but everyone else Is well jel

@TheViceOfReason Me too ! I commuted into town for c20 years and worked in The City. I don't miss the trains at all but when we go to London for leisure reasons I love it. It's a brilliant city that gets better and better. I too live in the middle of nowhere which makes a trip to London even more exciting.

I love London! Especially having so much choice of things to do - you can go out for a really good meal with food from literally anywhere in the world at the drop of a hat, you can see any type of cultural show/production/exhibition on any day of the week, you can join in or attend an unlimited number of sports events, there are frequent political demonstrations if that’s your thing - you can never be bored!

I also love the fact that the crowds mean you can be anyone you want to be and nobody bats an eyelid. You can wear outlandish outfits, National dress from other countries, cross dress, do whatever you like and nobody will “look at you funny”, like you don’t belong there or stand out, because everyone belongs and everyone is different!

I will say though, it helps if you have money and it would be quite different with children. But for students, young professionals in their 20s and 30s or financially secure young retirees it’s the best place to be!

I do enjoy escaping to the countryside or small towns every so often, but after 3 or 4 days I’m bored!

I've lived in London and now lived in what can loosely be described as a 'town' (it's barely more than a village) with lots of lovely country walks etc. I 100% would rather be in London if I could afford a decent standard of living there. It's not that busy in the residential areas but with easy access to tonnes of fab places, free events, museums etc. and there are huge lovely parks all over the place.