Page 3 | Anyone moved to London in their 50s and loved it?

malificent7 · 2025-09-04T03:38:25+00:00

I sm bored of the country but I am not on a high wage ( nhs bandv6). Dh a similar wage. . Would it be mad to move to London? Visiting recently mafe me long for the big smoke.

WobblyBoots · 06/09/2025 08:33

DH has friends from his sports club who moved to London from the countryside (rural Devon) when they retired from teaching. They love it. Lots to do, don't need a car, freedom/heavily discounted public transport, also lots of choice of social/sports clubs. They did size down from a house to a flat.

Im not from London (and am in my 40s) and I love it. It's expensive for sure but I 100% make the most of all the free stuff!

Fayaway · 06/09/2025 08:40

Galliano · 06/09/2025 07:47

I’m thinking of making this move. Aside from the banana suggestion really interested to know where anyone would recommed living (already had thoughts of Dulwich, Blackheath). Work would be near St Paul’s if I transferred my existing role

Depends on your interests I suppose but I’m originally from NE London, now back in Highbury and love the area plus how easy it is to go east, city and central. Hardly ever use the underground, mostly buses or North London line, a lot of walking. Since I was a teenager I wanted to live at Barbican, couldn’t even afford a studio flat. I rent.

Thepeopleversuswork · 06/09/2025 08:45

In some ways I think London comes into its own for an older person. I have lived here for 30 years and love it (and may never leave), but I am so mired in work and school stuff at the moment that I barely have time for any of the fabulous things it has to offer.

If you are a reasonably solvent empty nester you could do literally anything you want here.

cloudtreecarpet · 06/09/2025 08:48

London is great as long as you have enough money to enjoy it.

Transport is great & museums etc are free but cafes, pubs, restaurants are very expensive as are tickets to shows & special exhibitions.

Plus if you are downsizing to a flat, as a pp said, be wary of the service charges which can be extortionate.

It's a brilliant place to be well off but if money is even slightly going to be a concern then think carefully.
And while I think it's a great place for early retirement/ "old age", I'm not sure how great it will be when you are properly elderly. A lot of places don't have a real sense of community, people come & go and neighbours don't all know each other/look out for each other.
Being 50/60s in London will be a very different prospect to being in your 80s so if it's a long term/rest of life move, do lots of research on areas first.

Fountofwisdom · 06/09/2025 09:14

I moved to London in my early 20s and have lived in various areas. Now in my mid 50s and am looking to get out of London to live by the sea in Dorset or Devon.

To me, London is no place to grow old, especially if you live alone. No sense of community, you barely know your neighbours, nobody is likely to check on you if you weren’t seen for a few days. It has also got dirtier, more over-crowded and more dangerous over the 30+ years I have been here. It’s not a place I would suggest someone move to in their 50s. I live in a ‘nice’ middle-class, leafy area in Zone 3, but we continually have thugs coming in from other areas to raid the chemists and a couple of other shops on our high street. School kids regularly mugged for phones, etc.

You’ll also find London far more expensive in every respect than whatever country location you are currently in. Very unlikely you will find similar accommodation in your price bracket unless you want to live in a crap area.

London is fine for a weekend break to do a bit of sight-seeing, shopping, take in a show. But that’s a very different prospect to living here.

HundredMilesAnHour · 06/09/2025 09:16

I’m anti-banana. Long live the East London apple instead. 😜

aCatCalledFawkes · 06/09/2025 09:17

I would want a really big budget if I was moving to London to make the most of it. I commute in to London often for work and find living in a town that has a trainline right in to zone one to be the best compromise. Train tickets are expensive at peak times but very reasonable at off peak times especially with a rail card.

Decorhate · 06/09/2025 09:30

I agree that it can be better to be within commuting distance on a fast train than living in some outer suburb.

I can be in most of central London in 20-40 minutes from my local station.

My dd lives in London now, lived in Shoreditch at the start as got a good deal on rent during Covid, It was impressive to be able to see the Gherkin etc just by walking a few metres from her flat.

That banana thing is odd. Includes some very dullsville parts of Surrey and parts of Borehamwood!

cloudtreecarpet · 06/09/2025 10:02

Fountofwisdom · 06/09/2025 09:14

I moved to London in my early 20s and have lived in various areas. Now in my mid 50s and am looking to get out of London to live by the sea in Dorset or Devon.

To me, London is no place to grow old, especially if you live alone. No sense of community, you barely know your neighbours, nobody is likely to check on you if you weren’t seen for a few days. It has also got dirtier, more over-crowded and more dangerous over the 30+ years I have been here. It’s not a place I would suggest someone move to in their 50s. I live in a ‘nice’ middle-class, leafy area in Zone 3, but we continually have thugs coming in from other areas to raid the chemists and a couple of other shops on our high street. School kids regularly mugged for phones, etc.

You’ll also find London far more expensive in every respect than whatever country location you are currently in. Very unlikely you will find similar accommodation in your price bracket unless you want to live in a crap area.

London is fine for a weekend break to do a bit of sight-seeing, shopping, take in a show. But that’s a very different prospect to living here.

Edited

I absolutely agree and am also planning to move out in a few years once the kids are sorted.
It's not a place to grow old unless you have family around & a good supply of money.

Also agree on the crime. I live in a leafy area in Zone 3 too, not in the banana, but it's a good area. However, crime rates have risen significantly in recent years and there are areas nearby I would definitely avoid after dark that I wouldn't have given a second thought to when we moved here 20 years ago.

Give it a lot of thought before committing to the move.
Also agree that a satellite town with a community feel might be a better option.

Hairshare · 06/09/2025 17:48

hkathy · 04/09/2025 16:51

Only if you live in the london banana:

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-banana-house-prices-b1245819.html

What nonsense. Dulwich Village horrible? Don’t think so.

doubleshotcappuccino · 06/09/2025 20:52

Fountofwisdom · 06/09/2025 09:14

I moved to London in my early 20s and have lived in various areas. Now in my mid 50s and am looking to get out of London to live by the sea in Dorset or Devon.

To me, London is no place to grow old, especially if you live alone. No sense of community, you barely know your neighbours, nobody is likely to check on you if you weren’t seen for a few days. It has also got dirtier, more over-crowded and more dangerous over the 30+ years I have been here. It’s not a place I would suggest someone move to in their 50s. I live in a ‘nice’ middle-class, leafy area in Zone 3, but we continually have thugs coming in from other areas to raid the chemists and a couple of other shops on our high street. School kids regularly mugged for phones, etc.

You’ll also find London far more expensive in every respect than whatever country location you are currently in. Very unlikely you will find similar accommodation in your price bracket unless you want to live in a crap area.

London is fine for a weekend break to do a bit of sight-seeing, shopping, take in a show. But that’s a very different prospect to living here.

Edited

We live in London and know all our neighbours and often pass people in the street and say hello. I wouldn’t be out of London now as we look towards our 60s- there is so much to do - we did have a brief spell out of London and we were thoughly miserable .. plus our adult DCs get to save whilst free to live at home

BarbarasRhabarberba · 06/09/2025 21:32

Fountofwisdom · 06/09/2025 09:14

I moved to London in my early 20s and have lived in various areas. Now in my mid 50s and am looking to get out of London to live by the sea in Dorset or Devon.

To me, London is no place to grow old, especially if you live alone. No sense of community, you barely know your neighbours, nobody is likely to check on you if you weren’t seen for a few days. It has also got dirtier, more over-crowded and more dangerous over the 30+ years I have been here. It’s not a place I would suggest someone move to in their 50s. I live in a ‘nice’ middle-class, leafy area in Zone 3, but we continually have thugs coming in from other areas to raid the chemists and a couple of other shops on our high street. School kids regularly mugged for phones, etc.

You’ll also find London far more expensive in every respect than whatever country location you are currently in. Very unlikely you will find similar accommodation in your price bracket unless you want to live in a crap area.

London is fine for a weekend break to do a bit of sight-seeing, shopping, take in a show. But that’s a very different prospect to living here.

Edited

Really couldn’t disagree more. I grew up in a “naice” town but the locals were so judgemental and standoffish to anyone who hadn’t lived there for generations or was a bit different. I’ve got a wonderful community in London that I’ve never found in any other location I’ve lived in the UK. I’m not elderly but there are several community and mutual aid groups in my area that do a lot for elderly and disadvantaged people.

SoloSofa24 · 06/09/2025 21:32

cloudtreecarpet · 06/09/2025 10:02

I absolutely agree and am also planning to move out in a few years once the kids are sorted.
It's not a place to grow old unless you have family around & a good supply of money.

Also agree on the crime. I live in a leafy area in Zone 3 too, not in the banana, but it's a good area. However, crime rates have risen significantly in recent years and there are areas nearby I would definitely avoid after dark that I wouldn't have given a second thought to when we moved here 20 years ago.

Give it a lot of thought before committing to the move.
Also agree that a satellite town with a community feel might be a better option.

Show quote history

I'm in zone 2 (but a leafy-ish bit) and was added to the street whatsapp group as soon as I moved in. There is a definite community feel here: I have met lots of my neighbours, and found that people are very friendly and helpful (lending tools, rescuing parcels that couriers have dumped on doorsteps, giving away furniture and excess garden fruit & veg etc). Warnings also go round about burglaries and phone-snatchers near the station, but it certainly doesn't seem to be a crime-ridden hell-hole so far. Not all of London is unfriendly commuter land!