AIBU to miss living in London?

[Youngatheart00]

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

@GottaGetOutofDairy what a beautiful way of putting it. I've lived in London nearly all my adult life and have memories of my youth embedded all over the city, but realistically I know that the London I loved has re-shaped itself for another generation. Going out now in Central London, I feel old and slightly out of place. I have also always felt that London is no place to get old - unless you are very wealthy - after seeing both my grand mothers eeking out a lonely old age in tiny London bedsits, so we are leaving whilst we still have the energy to create a different life. I will always love London, but it's time to leave it for another generation to enjoy and leave their mark.
And the smell of the underground is hot dust and oil by the way!

Never lived there but have visited quite a lot and I love the place , if I ever won the lottery I’d love a property down there , obviously that’s never going to happen 😞

I can totally see the appeal of living there , so much to do and I don’t know there is just something unique and special about the place

I live in a big city up north so yes I do understand that other places have museums, shops and buses before any one starts but I just think London is a unique place

I was out and about in North London for the American Football yesterday. Tens of thousands of US visitors from
New Orleans and Minneapolis (as well as Europe and the rest of the UK).
The Americans were here for one big party and were just LOVING it - every cafe, restaurant and pub from Finsbury Park up to Edmonton was buzzing from 10am. The main thing was how great it was to be in a neighbourhood before a game, meeting people and drinking - a world apart from driving miles out the city to the game and having a barbecue & a few tins in the car park. They also loved the diversity, especially the many types of food on offer. It was fun hearing their stories of where they had been out and about the previous night (apparently Old Compton Street was the party spot of choice for the NO fans….)

I felt very proud of this city; that this most ungentrified neighbourhood was seen in such a great light esp when you consider that NOLA is one the finest party cities in the world….

Smell of the tube. Slightly acrid air with a metallic chaser. Inside the trains, well it depends on the people travelling! Moved from London for green fields. Love going back for a day or so for all the things to do. Love getting home too!

The PP who said one park doesn't make up for all the other shit they winged about (not you)

I don’t miss it, but I’d wanted to leave for years. We lived in a rough bit and couldn’t even afford to buy there (not that I’d have wanted to).

High crime in our old area, noise, bad air pollution, light pollution, aggro on the streets. You couldn’t pay me to go back.

We then moved to one of the naicest places in the south though, so the big contrast probably helps!

We can go back on the train easily and still do so a bit for work. I loved it when I was young: theatres, restaurants, friends close by, comedy clubs, museums, galleries - heaven. But we had a baby, then Covid came, and we needed to buy a house. Priorities changed, and I don’t miss it.

We recently used an escalator in M&S and my DH took a deep breath and says "mmmm smells like the underground"

YANBU

But my god its funny and weird!! 🤣

The Americans were here for one big party and were just LOVING it - every cafe, restaurant and pub from Finsbury Park up to Edmonton was buzzing from 10am. The main thing was how great it was to be in a neighbourhood before a game, meeting people and drinking - a world apart from driving miles out the city to the game and having a barbecue & a few tins in the car park. They also loved the diversity, especially the many types of food on offer. It was fun hearing their stories of where they had been out and about the previous night (apparently Old Compton Street was the party spot of choice for the NO fans….)

This sounds like Cardiff on a rugby international day.

I love living in London, but I do think it is easier if you are financially secure. We live in Zone 3 and so have the best of both worlds. Very green and leafy but easy to travel to the centre. We have teenagers and it's been great for them. As DH and I get older (we're in our 50's) I think we are far less likely to move out. We can walk to all of the major supermarkets, public transport is great, world class hospitals a tube ride away, free museums and galleries etc. I love the bustle, the noise and the sheer variety of people, cultures, food etc. DH is North African and in London he is just another person adding to the cultural mix rather than one of a few immigrants (which might be the case if we moved to a more rural location).

@ChazsBrilliantAttitude where do you live? It sounds perfect!! Xx

I moved back! I have smaller flat and shittier car but am much happier.

I'm in West London. It is lovely but it's expensive now thanks to the Elizabeth line. It was affordable when we moved here. We moved out from the centre because we couldn't afford a house and garden. I loved living in the centre but didn't want to be in a flat with no outside space with two DC.

My god this thread makes me want to move back but I can't afford to 🥺

Instead I'm stuck in a rural city that has shite jobs, shite pay and nothing going on. Its literally so depressing!

If I moved back to London we'd earn £70k max, which isn't enough for a house and garden 😭

The only thing I don't miss about London is the black snot in my nose. Although I live in a ( small ) city, I don't get that any more as the air is so much cleaner.

I lived in London for nearly 40 years and visited often as a child in the 60s and 70s. I have no recollection of the oft mentioned black snot. Only heard about it on MNet.

I moved from London to coastal Northumberland in 1999 because my late husband was promoted, and the school gate Mums were always a bit 'urgh' about smelly/noisy/dangerous London - some of them have still not been there. I remember once being asked if I was wearing fancy dress, that's a memory!

Twenty years on and many of my daughter's school friends now live and work down in London, as well as abroad, earning amazing salaries. My daughter is in Belfast, she still loves the sea and wild swims there.

I just started a new job where I walk by Central St Martin's every day, and the student fashion is off the hook. It's amazing.

I don’t think black snot is a thing any more. I remember it from my childhood (1980s) but don’t get it now.

I miss it so much. Yes it's expensive but there is so much free stuff to do that it balances out, and public transport is great.
I now live elsewhere in the SE, cost of living is similar but not much to do and the transport is shit.

I gave the zone 1 deep tube station i use a big sniff this morning. I detected dust and grease. A machine workshop type smell. No urine detected. Fellow commuters smelling nicely of fragrance (that may change by my commute home).

I miss the public transport infrastructure and plenty of things to do, a world of food at my fingertips. Don't miss the pollution, expense, far too many people, and too much noise.

I love it and can’t imagine leaving. I grew up extremely rural and was bored. I live in a leafy part of London, zone 4 but can be in Tottenham Court Road in 40 mins. We’re beside a forest, amazing parks and still totally possible to snag last minute west end theatre tickets and go after work. I love everything about it and even after 20+ years am still discovering new things. I love the energy, the different vibes all the various areas have, how much there is to do and the food options and basically never needing to get in a car to do any of it. I would miss it so much if I had to leave.

basically never needing to get in a car to do any of it

If you have dc & live in z4 a car is pretty normal tbf

I get you! I'm Irish and have only visited (albeit many times) but I do love London and fantasise about living there or at least getting the chance to spend a longer period of time there at some stage (anyone want to do a house swap to a small village in the West of Ireland?). I did live in New York and feel the same about it, though I think London may be even more of a great truly world city.