To wonder why people choose to live in London?

[Cantbloodyrememberthenameonthread]

I always wonder. And reading a recent thread prompted me to ask the question. Why do people do it by choice? People complain about the house prices (rightly), ulez, nursery fees, cost of everything being more expensive, commutes, tubes etc.

if you’re not absolutely tied to London for work or health or I guess family. Why do you choose to live there when there are so many cheaper easier lifestyle options in the country?

Well my husband is from London. And his parents bought us a house to make us stay. So now I live in London. My career used to be based here too. But now I just like where I live. Lots to do, very multicultural, takes me 20 minutes to get to one of the busiest city centres in the world and yet 20 minutes the other way and I’m in the countryside.

Also - when you suddenly cannot drive for some reason TFL is an incredible resource. My sibling would be stuck with a single bus an hour into the main town if she couldn’t drive. I can get anywhere… buses and trains and tubes every 5 mins.

But those things are only good if you have money. Theatres restaurant etc

The permanent collections of all state museums and galleries are free. Even with the big paid blockbusters, there are concessions/passes etc to make them cheaper.

Theatre: yes, the West End can be ruinous, but you can also get cheap deals if you book far ahead or join early-bird mailing lists, or if you are able to queue or pick up last-minute released tickets. And the cost of smaller theatres is often comparable to if not cheaper than a ticket to an average cinema. Restaurants: yes, you could spend an arm and a leg on wagyu beef or whatever, but there are many many cheaper options, and a mind-boggling variety. And expensive/fancy restaurants often have good pre- or post-theatre deals, set menu deals etc.
And I sometimes save up for a specific thing like a restaurant I want to try as a treat/for a celebration.
It can/could be really expensive living here, but it doesn't have to be. The best thing about it is that you have options.

Things in less urban parts of the UK, like stately homes and gardens and their cafes/soft play/attractions like Alton Towers can be ruinously priced too.

Yes I know but saying about all those things available aren't a lot of good if you don't have money to enjoy them Cheap deals and set menus at £25/30 a head are not much good if you are single parent on UC.

The museums are free to those living outside London as well. Anyone can visit.

This is what I'm saying. You don't have to actually LIVE in London to enjoy all those things. Shenfield is at the end on the Elizabeth line these days. Just as easy to get into London theatres and West end from there instead of lewisham or similar.

The schools are very good and children can attend a large range of London universities if they don't wish to live away. The public transport is the best in the country. Jobs pay more and there are more of them.

If you’re wholly reliant on benefits, life isn’t much fun anywhere in the UK right now, I imagine. Cost of living is high, housing stock is poor. I’d still rather be in London!

Because there is nowhere else quite like it. People think they know the city because theyve been to the Science Museum or Covent Garden, but they really don't.

I lived in Ealing for 11 years and I only went into central London a handful of times. We were working all the hours just to pay rent. Three night shifts a week left me incapable of doing anything. Sod the free museums, I was exhausted. So many people I knew were in the same boat, all working full time but having to claim top up benefits just to make the rent and struggling to pay nursery fees on top.

We couldn’t afford to eat out or go to the theatre. That wasn’t uncommon with people we knew.

It was fucking miserable and our quality of life in the midlands isn’t even comparable.

I do have the money to enjoy them. So London is pretty good for me.

I think there's some truth to the point of view that London is amazing if you have money, it is also not bad if you are poor and have social housing (because there's so much free stuff to do) but it is hard if you're in between

Best city in the world. I grew up in the north and always dreamt of moving to London. Came here at 18, never moved back. I am so glad we brought up our kids here. Love the diversity and opportunities. The kids have grown up accepting of all differences. They commuted independently from a young age. We go to the west end theatre a few times a month. My girl has started a grad job here and loves it too.

It is expensive. But we sacrifice a big house and nice car to live here and have no regrets. Hate the tube strikes though! I get why others don’t like it and that’s fine of course.

I was an unhappy mixed race child from a crappy home environment. I never felt I fitted in anywhere. Now I do. London is my home.

I would love to live in London if I could. DH is completely against the idea, but he goes there a lot for work. In my dreams, if I ever inherit anything I plan to buy a flat there and use it as a pied a terre, and/or for my kids to help them if they ever need to be based in London to ‘launch’ a career.

I’m a Londoner with immigrant parents, don’t think I would feel home anyone else.

It was fantastic to be a tween/teen here in the 90s.

hilarious that people think that the rest of the country doesn't have theatres or cinemas or restaurants . There are some really good theatres in the lake district, and many restaurants including 13 Michelin starred restaurants. There are also many cinemas and other ways to spend your time. Obviously different to London but mucho Lolz at the thought everyone north of Watford doesn't eat out.

These are only examples. But there are single parents on UC everywhere. I didn't only talk about menus (and in fact I said nothing about 'set menus at £25/30 a head' ). I mentioned that there are many cheaper food options.
My main point about London is the variety/choice/buzz. There are more and, sometimes, better galleries and museums; in smaller places, IME, galleries and museums are sometimes open only a few days a week. Not to mention shops, cafes etc. It's not so convenient and there's that depressing 'Sunday in the 70s' vibe when everything is shut and there's hardly anyone around.
Again IME, people who move out of London and say they'll keep coming in for socialising and entertainment etc don't really.
And personally (and I'm clearly not alone) I value being able to walk within about 15 minutes to, not just one or a narrow selection of corner shops, cafes etc, but to a proper high street with variety and high-quality food and drinks, not to mention being able to just pop to a post office/GP practice and get a bus to a hospital if necessary etc.

You don’t have to live in London but you still have to pay to get there to begin with to access the free museums and things to do/. For me to get to London and back from my train station is almost £40 and we’re about an hour out.

I don’t live in London but visit regularly.

i did consider moving there when I retired but O use a wheelchair pretty much all of the time, and while the attraction of museums/theatres/restaurants was lovely I was very worried about getting around.

i do visit on a regular basis, and the tube is more wheelchair friendly than it used to be, ditto the buses, but you couldn’t really call either accessible.

on my most recent trip to London the bus stopped and asked us all to get off several stops short of our destination (kings cross) and then all the buses did the same. I was lucky to have the charge to use my chair to get what was really quite a long distance to the station - and then all the trains home were cancelled due to a broken down train but that’s another story.

where I live I can wheelchair to shop, doctor dentist etc and use my car for social activities. It’s easier for disabled people to get about by adapted van or similar.

so in that respect London is tricky,

Newcastle has a completely accessible metro which I fucking love.

It's an odd question, isn't it? I like London, it's where I feel most at home. It suits me from a non-driving POV, but don't think it's just that. I didn't grow up here and I moved around a lot before, but it's the place I've felt most settled. I think I might feel the same in New York, for example, as I enjoy cities. I didn't especially like the place where I grew up. I found it suffocating. But people I attended school with who stayed all seem happy with their choices. Some of it is surely just personality? I'm not disputing that the Yorkshire Moors are beautiful but I wouldn't want to live there. It's not a slight on the area - I understand people have different perspectives and priorities - it's just how I feel. Why can't people understand that some people feel like that about London? That it's not better or worse, just different. Perhaps my feelings will change in the future.

Lived there for eight years and absolutely loved it - it’s the place I’m most homesick for now I live abroad.

Also you don’t ‘live’ in the London you visit as a tourist - you live in your London ‘village’ - and have local shops, pubs etc.

Why are you getting so defensive on this thread? The OP posted a question in a slightly challenging way and Londoners are just answering. I am fine with people not liking London; what’s your issue with people loving it?!

Because
Born and Bred
Lucky enough to live In one of the nicest parts of London with tons of green space
Excellent state schools
Transport links
Culture and entertainment
Food
Shopping
Vibrancy
Opportunity
And it’s the place that feels like Home.

I have Stage 4 cancer now.

I have young adult daughters who live for their theatre/musical trips. It is such an expensive pastime, esp as I love it too 😩😂

I can't understand why people would live in London either. Had the misfortune in my teens and early 20s and got out as soon as I could

Not everyone can cope with London life. Like not everyone can cope with rural life (me). I just find it odd when people claim they don’t ‘understand’ why people like different things! Hopefully this thread will help you understand ;-)

Having lived in various places in the world including london, i find this london bashing really odd and narrow minded. I wonder where op lives that is so great

Yes, this is a really good point.

There are huge differences between living in London & visiting.