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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
GottaGetOutofDairy · 03/10/2022 06:45

Lived in London for 12 years and left about 5 years ago.

I loved it and I miss it. So much to do right at your fingertips.

But London is a beast that twists and changes for each generation. The London I loved (that was of my time) has already gone, replaced by a slightly different version for the next crowd of young adults to arrive and live it and love it.

Darbs76 · 03/10/2022 06:50

Nothing wrong with the suburbs! I’m 30 mins into central London, left home at 5.30 on Thursday, eating with friends by 6.15, home by 10. We have the beauty of the country on our doorstep, lovely dog walks but the city within half an hour. I’d love to live in zone 1 one day.

Doubt I ever will but I also feel alive when I’m in London, the buzz of being there hasn’t got old for me and I’ve been here 21yrs. Growing up in a small town in Wales it’s a million miles away. Transport is amazing. Can’t complain

RosesAndHellebores · 03/10/2022 07:06

@GottaGetOutofDairy I/we did 1981-2015. I think you are right but the thought has depressed the bit of me that would go back in a heartbeat.

lljkk · 03/10/2022 07:20

I like dense busy cities but not their bad air quality. It is nice getting to countryside quickly (from small cities). I think true London-lovers must be very indoors people. Hard place to live for us outdoor ppl.

ElephantLover · 03/10/2022 07:21

YANBU

waffless · 03/10/2022 07:23

If you lived in a very glamorous area in London. Yes, of course you are missing London.

MarshaBradyo · 03/10/2022 07:25

Yanbu it’s a great city to live in

AquaticSewingMachine · 03/10/2022 07:26

I love this fucking city. It's in my blood. I wouldn't mind a weekend place in the New Forest or something but I intend to stay within the M25 until I'm carried out in a long box. I love the hustle, the diversity, the fashion, the culture, the food, the opportunity, the public transport.

AquaticSewingMachine · 03/10/2022 07:27

lljkk · 03/10/2022 07:20

I like dense busy cities but not their bad air quality. It is nice getting to countryside quickly (from small cities). I think true London-lovers must be very indoors people. Hard place to live for us outdoor ppl.

Nope. London is full of big green spaces. Huge wild green space 5 mins from my door.

misssunshine4040 · 03/10/2022 07:29

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

No YANBU there is something about London you can't get anywhere else.
I absolutely love it and move back in a heartbeat if I could afford to

lljkk · 03/10/2022 07:31

ok, will revise: Especially poor air quality for ppl into outdoor active travel. And running around Regents Park doesn't make up for that. DD (lives in Islington student) comments on the nice fresh air here when she visits us (rural East Anglia). Just because you're used to London air doesn't make it nice.

70billionthnamechange · 03/10/2022 07:37

lljkk · 03/10/2022 07:31

ok, will revise: Especially poor air quality for ppl into outdoor active travel. And running around Regents Park doesn't make up for that. DD (lives in Islington student) comments on the nice fresh air here when she visits us (rural East Anglia). Just because you're used to London air doesn't make it nice.

Lol some people really have no clue. I came on here to say how refreshing that there's positive comments about London as normally there's some awful bitterness about anyone who lives there or who likes it. London is so special, like alot of places... but some always want to bitch

theresaratinthekitchen · 03/10/2022 07:37

We grew up in Zone 1 and we were so lucky to do so.

Going back in to central now, on a hot summer's day, with traffic at a standstill, the noise of scaffolding going up and the smell of the tarmac- that is London to me and brings back so many happy memories.

70billionthnamechange · 03/10/2022 07:38

Also cracks me up that some actually think there's one or two parks in London. And that London is basically zone 1! Ahhhh maybe go see some of it?

70billionthnamechange · 03/10/2022 07:39

theresaratinthekitchen · 03/10/2022 07:37

We grew up in Zone 1 and we were so lucky to do so.

Going back in to central now, on a hot summer's day, with traffic at a standstill, the noise of scaffolding going up and the smell of the tarmac- that is London to me and brings back so many happy memories.

My comment was not at you by the way, just randomly wrote zone one at the same time 😂

theresaratinthekitchen · 03/10/2022 07:42

@70billionthnamechange I didnt think it was Smile and get what you mean. But I did live in between 2 of the famous London parks and now live in Zone 5 and feel like I'm not in London anymore.

Redqueenheart · 03/10/2022 07:43

I live in London (edge of Zone 2/3) and I really want to leave.

I like the city's culture and vibrancy and there is no doubt there is so much to do here.

But I can't stand the noise, crowd, anti-social behaviour, stress and the cost of it.

It think my ideal compromise would be to live somewhere much quieter and visit a couple of times a month to see things like museums and galleries.

KimberleyClark · 03/10/2022 08:15

Sally99 · 03/10/2022 05:43

I miss the ease of living in London. Shops on your doorstep and cycling to work etc. Everything is such a struggle in the country and I spend so much time in the car.

Having shops on your doorstep and cycling to work are hardly exclusive to London.

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 03/10/2022 08:50

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

I have lived in London nearly all my life. Now approaching retirement and the plan was to sell my flat and look for something within reach of London and a bit more space and a bit of garden and increasingly I'm thinking, I don't want to leave, what am I going to do?? I love the place, always have. We lived in Devon when I was a child and I couldn't WAIT for summer holidays when we visited the grandparents in S London.

floorida · 03/10/2022 08:54

Also cracks me up that some actually think there's one or two parks in London. And that London is basically zone 1!

who thinks that. However I don't think you can compare z1 to z5 etc, but people get weirdly tetchy about it.

Etinoxaurus · 03/10/2022 09:08

OldWivesTale · 03/10/2022 05:51

I don't live in London but I can remember the smell of the tube; it's got an oily undertone to it, mixed with the smell of heat; it's hard to explain but it is quite distinctive (got the PP who wanted a description of the smell)

Yes it’s a sharp sooty metallic smell, but also warm.
Another Londoner here who loves it.

GottaGetOutofDairy · 03/10/2022 10:39

lljkk · 03/10/2022 07:20

I like dense busy cities but not their bad air quality. It is nice getting to countryside quickly (from small cities). I think true London-lovers must be very indoors people. Hard place to live for us outdoor ppl.

I moved for this reason. In the end, the lack of true rolling countryside to walk over called me out of the city.

I love that aspect of living rurally. It is truly wonderful to set out my front door and be in a field within 5 mins and to then walk several miles through countryside.

But I don't half miss the culture of London. Having so much right on your doorstop. Feeling like you are really right in the hub of everything. But, as someone else said, maybe I also miss being in my late 20s/early 30s and feeling on top of the world: having no responsibilities and a shit ton of disposable income. Being the right age to being able to still go out partying but also being mature enough to be respected. I also miss the state of the country back then: it felt like everything would just keep getting better and better.

Now it feels so tough and dark. Like we're all moving into less.

Bloody hell, I've depressed myself now! Grin

Bootsandcat · 03/10/2022 10:41

You’re either a city person or you’re not. You clearly thrive on being in the middle of everything. I miss London too and would totally stay if I could afford it but I can’t and DH is not a city person…

EmmaH2022 · 03/10/2022 10:44

Gotta "But London is a beast that twists and changes for each generation"

beautifully put. I loved it in the 90s but it's a different animal now. I grew up here, and never fail to look at St Paul's or the Tower and feel really attached to that history, but the daily grind and vibe of it is so different now.

MarshaBradyo · 03/10/2022 10:50

It changes, but I love that it’s one of the great reasons to love it ime

I’ve had so many phases here - work / people / dc I remember saying incorrectly that maybe when I’m older we’d go (at about 32) but now at 48 it feels even better.