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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU to miss living in London?

129 replies

Youngatheart00 · 02/10/2022 21:44

Moved out of london 18 months ago to where I’m from originally - however I lived in london post study and for around 15 years. Rented in the glamorous areas and bought in a not so glam area. Now live in a lovely place but it’s very much not london and I miss it. Whenever I’m there for work i pine for it - even the smell of the underground stations (I know!!)

How do others feel?

YABU - get over it
YANBU - london is the best / I miss it too

OP posts:

Howeverdoyouneedme · 02/10/2022 21:49

Where did you live in London?

2ManyPjs · 02/10/2022 21:51

Do you think you would be happy if you lived there again, with the same quality of life? I hated it by the time I left, but slowly came to love it again and do actually pine for it a lot now and love visiting. But I'm under no illusion, I'd want to escape again within weeks if moved back!

Totally get the underground smell btw - I mean, it's totally rank, and yet still...

Peanutgurgle · 02/10/2022 21:53

Oh I’m with you OP. It came as no surprise to me though as I really didn’t want to leave. I loved London and miss it every day. Never dull.

OneLittleLady · 02/10/2022 21:55

i miss it too. i want to go back but i know its out of reach so ive just got to make the best of it. i didnt want to leave either, my hand was forced so im a bit resentful of that

OldTinHat · 02/10/2022 21:56

Never lived in London but a dear neighbour of mine moved to where I now live about 20yrs ago, I think. She missed it so much, has seen her kids growing up then going to uni and has just moved back to London where she grew up and is now much happier.

I grew up in Birmingham so do get it! I miss living in a city but am content where I am. I've been here 4yrs.

EmmaH2022 · 02/10/2022 21:59

I never ever want to smell the Tube again.

I was injured in an accident and when I recovered, I had to force myself to use the Tube a couple of times as practice before turning up to work. Not just because I had been out of action for months and needed to check I’d be okay physically. But mentally, I was so sad and stressed at the thought of using it again, and I didn’t want my first day back at work to start with me in tears or something.

anyway, I digress. It’s good that people miss London of course. I have wanted to leave for so long but stuck for family reasons. The Queue has been the only recent thing that made me think “aww, London”.

I could easily content myself with pictures forever.

ChocolateSpreadOnToast · 02/10/2022 22:01

I miss living in London, I love going back. I wouldn’t want to live there again, but I love visiting and knowing how to get around without feeling like a tourist. It’s like I’ve never been away.

mondaytosunday · 02/10/2022 22:06

I love London. Wish I could afford to live more centrally.
It's just the atmosphere - I don't have to be down the west every day - but I love the buzz and hustle and bustle.
I moved out 12 years ago after my husband died, and it was good for me and my young kids. But after my eldest left school and my youngest said she wanted to go to an all girls sixth form, I jumped at the chance to move back. I don't have the friends I did, but I have no regrets at all.

WagathaChristieMystery · 02/10/2022 22:09

Yanbu - I love London so much ❤️ I’ll likely have to move out one day but hoping to delay that for as long as possible.

marmitegirl01 · 02/10/2022 22:11

Love London. Couldn’t imagine leaving. First tube ride after lockdown the smell of the tube was amazing! 🤷‍♀️🤣

ilovetomatoes · 02/10/2022 22:13

Love London. Currently in zone 4, planning to sell up when the children leave and buy a flat in town.

Michaelmonstera · 02/10/2022 22:14

I moved out of Zone 2 London 20+ years ago as the schools where I lived were terrible at the time. After uni, both DC moved to London at the first opportunity and are now lucky enough to have bought flats. I plan to retire back to London if I can afford it as everything I love is there

RosesAndHellebores · 02/10/2022 22:14

YANBU.

TheHoover · 02/10/2022 22:18

Oh god we considered this question for about 2 years but ended up not really leaving. We sized up and are paying a frankly ridiculous amount of money to live somewhere that is just outside London but with a super fast rail link. And don’t regret it for a second. Best of both worlds.

MarmiteCoriander · 02/10/2022 22:19

I lived between zone 1-2 for 17yrs and only moved out 18mths ago too. Yes, there are things I miss, but I equally love the peace and quiet of the new location. Actually hearing birds rather than lorries, cars and trains. Not having black soot on the window sills every morning from the road. Not having drunks singing at the bus stop outside my bedroom window at 3am!

Write a list of the things you DO enjoy at the new place. Maybe you need a new hobby, sports group or something more inspiring to do at the new location.

Dunnoburt · 02/10/2022 22:19

I don't, and never have, lived in London..... however, if you had asked me 15 years ago having been on nights out/visited in my late teens/twenties I'd have said YABU.... but since going back before the Queen was buried (and with age and wisdom on my side) I actually saw it in a different light......London is actually a very well oiled machine.....so YANBU....I really can't wait to go back!

Stopsnowing · 02/10/2022 22:20

Maybe do a house swap for a week?

PeterPomegranate · 02/10/2022 22:22

I live in zone 5 and work in the centre (only a couple of days a week now). I love London.

when I went back into London after the lockdowns I could smell the escalator grease for the first time and it was like coming home.

YukoandHiro · 02/10/2022 22:24

And this is why I'm not leaving.

Sorry OP. Occasionally I have fantasies about moving out but I know I'd be you if I did. The suffocation of small town Britain is not for me at all. I moved to London 18 years ago, have a husband family here now and can't imagine ever wanting to be based anywhere else.

JustBetween · 02/10/2022 22:25

You must have been very happy there OP, what are your fondest memories of it?

YukoandHiro · 02/10/2022 22:26

@ilovetomatoes me too! Zone 3 here. Kids still v young but I'll definitely go back to zone 2 or (if I can afford it) even further in once the best has been flown.

Thepeopleversuswork · 02/10/2022 22:27

I would really struggle to live anywhere else.

Occasionally I go to a nice town outside London or spend a few days in the country and think "Ooh I'd love to live somewhere greener and quieter", but it would never last.

I would find small town life really stifling after the variety and the pace and the diversity of London. Even if its exhausting and smelly and expensive it suits me so much more than anywhere else.

Maybe when I'm really old I will feel differently but for now I'm staying put.

YukoandHiro · 02/10/2022 22:29

@Thepeopleversuswork God no, moving out when older would be the worst of both worlds. Public services are in a much worse state outside London.
I've had to take my daughter to a&e a couple of times in the last six months due to a condition she has and despite all the chat about nhs in a desperate state (which obvs it is overall) the longest we waited to be seen was 2.5 hours.

Ihatethenewlook · 02/10/2022 22:31

I need someone to at least attempt to describe the smell of the tube 😂

pinkcloudsandapalmtree · 02/10/2022 22:32

Another one here who loves London. Best place I’ve ever lived and post lock down discovering new places to visit and rediscover the old ones.

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