Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Why do people live in London?

1000 replies

Waahaawoowoo · 17/03/2023 08:31

This thread is inspired by a thread where people where explaining how a £100k salary doesn't go far in London. Examples were given of mortgages costing £25k pa. (This is my salary). Childcare bills for 2 kids costing £40k. Our joint salary is £55k pa.

I live in NE Wales. Our house costs us £12k pa for a 3 bedroom semi. Wraparound Childcare used to cost a maximum of £12k pa. But we no longer pay due to age of kids and me WFH. I cannot get my head around DH and I being significantly better off than a couple who earn double what we do.

The logical answer to me would be to move from London. So why do people stay? Is it family? The type of work you do? I'm curious more than anything about what keeps people there when they could possibly have a better standard of living elsewhere.

OP posts:
MrsBunnyEars · 17/03/2023 08:32

Because it has world leading art, culture, food and professional opportunities.

And partly because of that, it attracts interesting people.

ChardonnaysBeastlyCat · 17/03/2023 08:35

I couldn't do my job otherwise. Also, I've lived here so long it's home.

gogohmm · 17/03/2023 08:36

My thoughts too, especially when working in jobs which can be found anywhere. I'm surprised they can find nurses, doctors, teachers, retail or hospitality.

Many years ago exh was offered a position in London, arguably more prestigious institution but essentially a sideways move, came with a £6k uplift due to being in London (national pay scheme, public sector so no room for manoeuvre), if we sold our 5 bed detached we couldn't get a 2 bed flat within 10 miles of the institute. We didn't take it

misskatamari · 17/03/2023 08:36

I dunno, I think you can find interesting people pretty much everywhere…? 😂🤷🏻‍♀️

I personally don’t get the appeal either, but I guess for a lot of jobs, that’s just where they are.

For anyone doing a “normal” type job that you can do anywhere..? I really don’t know, and would be interested in the answers too. It seems so hard to manage on a lower salary down there, when you could do the same job elsewhere in the country, and live much more comfortably (Altho obviously you’d be bored to tears by all the non-interesting people who live in the rest of the UK 😄)

Sapphire387 · 17/03/2023 08:37

Because most other places in the UK are boring AF compared to London.

Iwantmyoldnameback · 17/03/2023 08:37

We once went to North Wales. It was wet, depressing and the locals were rude to us. You'd have to pay me to visit again let alone live there.

DrMeredithGrey2023 · 17/03/2023 08:37

I would move there tomorrow if I had a large windfall.

Wouldn't like to live there on our current earnings though.

gogohmm · 17/03/2023 08:38

@MrsBunnyEars how often do you access this world leading culture etc? We have these things called hotels and trains that allow you to visit london for the twice yearly theatre trips etc. only takes me about 2 hours on the motorbike, so occasionally we go for an event just for the day.

Startuplife · 17/03/2023 08:38

We lived there for the job opportunities and because all our friends were there. We now live in a commuter town and I go into the office 2 days a week. I leave the house at 6 and get home at 8 so it would have been exhausting to do that 5 days a week pre-Covid and hybrid working.
We also end up going back most weekends to see friends which is starting to grate a bit but I guess it’s the price you pay for moving out.

Ginmonkeyagain · 17/03/2023 08:39

We have nothing like a £100k salary and live perfectly comfortably in London.

Why do we we live here? Well Mr Monkey was born and brought up in London, it is where his family and more importantly his son live.

I moved here at 18 to go to university and stayed. It has great job opportunities, it is an endlessly stimulating and interesting place to live.

Once you discount housing (which is a big thing I know) it is actually a pretty cheap place to live. You don't need to run a car, there are loads of free events, if you know where to go there are plenty of reasonable places to eat out etc..

The big error a lot of people make is moving to London and expecting to live a they would in the country or a small town, in terms of outdoor space and the size of their property. Like those people who live in dry areas of the USA or Australia and expect to maintain Northern European style gardens and pristine green lawns.

drpet49 · 17/03/2023 08:39

Iwantmyoldnameback · 17/03/2023 08:37

We once went to North Wales. It was wet, depressing and the locals were rude to us. You'd have to pay me to visit again let alone live there.

Lol, this exactly.

Colourfingers2 · 17/03/2023 08:40

Because it’s where the work is. It’s far too expensive and I certainly don’t want to be living here but what choice have I got?

HousePlantNeglect · 17/03/2023 08:41

I love it and always have. Food, theatre, music, people from everywhere, beautiful parks and architecture. Before covid it was also work but now I could probably work remotely.

I thought my feelings would change when I had kids due to how busy and expensive it is. But I love it even more because of all of the free fun stuff to do.

For the record, I don’t earn anywhere near £100k! It would be cheaper elsewhere, especially my home city but I know I’d miss it if we moved.

Teatime55 · 17/03/2023 08:41

20 years ago I had to work there for a month. What shocked me was the staff i worked with literally never did anything in London. The culture, food, events etc. didn’t engage with any of it. They went to work and home and were paying a fortune for living there (which they endlessly complained about).
They weren’t professional roles they were doing though.

Verylongtime · 17/03/2023 08:41

I live in London. I’ve lived here for years. I love it and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. It’s only things like the price of going to the cinema that floors me compared to elsewhere. I earn 35k and DH earns 25k, both full time. We don’t have childcare costs any more.

Peanutbab · 17/03/2023 08:41

Professional reasons mostly and because it’s home.

In addition London has more exciting opportunities and experiences when comparing to the rest of the UK. If you looking for a middle of the road life guess the rest of the UK would be fine.

museumum · 17/03/2023 08:42

I lived there while establishing my career. It was the density of jobs - you can move jobs to the next level every couple of years without having to move house. There’s always opportunities in commuting distance. And I did fall in love with it a bit. It has downsides (rush hour tubes in summer) but the buzz of a post work drink outside a mews pub on a summer Friday or hanging out in the south bank is quite addictive.
for us, it wasn’t going to work for raising a family but that’s because of where our families are and the sector I work in (salary ceiling). But we moved to another smaller expensive city instead 🤷🏼‍♀️

mynameiscalypso · 17/03/2023 08:42

I always wonder why on earth people wouldn't live in London!

ToBeOrNotToBee · 17/03/2023 08:42

Because I was born here. As were my parent, grandparents, great grandparents and right back to the 1700s.

London is my home. It's where my family are. Where my friends are. Where my career is. It's where I know the best walking routes, and quiet places where I can be alone with no one around me.

I can go from a world class theatre, walk into an art gallery for free before visiting a 17th century pub for a pint before getting a boat home.

Life is pretty good.

I don't earn mega money, at all. I'm actually struggling on my sole income, but I struggle no matter where in the country I am. I will never own a home, and I'm OK with that.

LobeliaBaggins · 17/03/2023 08:43

DH and I can't do our jobs elsewhere.
We are foreigners and like diversity and food from our country.
We are happy to live in a small flat and don't want a garden
We don't run a car and walk everywhere or use the Tube
We love the museums, theatre, dance, comedy and culture available 10 minutes from us.
We can never be bored.

Irah15 · 17/03/2023 08:43

Because its diverse ,multi -cultural and outside of London isn't, so places outside of london tend to produce more raciest unwelcoming environments.

bibbybox · 17/03/2023 08:43

I stay because i'm born & raised so want to be near family, same for DH. I'm also a 2nd gen immigrant with no other ties here.

I sometimes would prefer to live elsewhere, to me it's not the same city it was.

Toucan123 · 17/03/2023 08:43

I love living in London. I can run down to the Thames Path in about 10 mins and carry along running along the river and pass Tower Bridge, Hays Galleria, Shakespeare's Globe, St Paul's, the Houses of Parliament... And there are loads of great pubs, restaurants, parks etc. There's so much to see and do here. I'm lucky because I bought my flat 14 years ago and my mortgage is low. I work in the City and if I did the same job outside of London I'd only earn half the amount.

gobbyshafto · 17/03/2023 08:43

A mortgage is paying for a purchase you made. In London, that's a good investment

If you're on a low income or studying, your childcare is subsidised. Preschoolers still get their 30 hours. Wealthy people can pay as much as it costs

If you're not white, you might not feel comfortable moving somewhere else that's less diverse

You have friends and family here

You have transport links to everywhere else and you won't get bored

Irah15 · 17/03/2023 08:44

Irah15 · 17/03/2023 08:43

Because its diverse ,multi -cultural and outside of London isn't, so places outside of london tend to produce more raciest unwelcoming environments.

*Racist

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

Join Mumsnet Log In
This thread is not accepting new messages.