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 thats the many reasons given on this thread along with the many other reasons not at all unique to London

Provide the quotes and we can have a look.

We have family on both sides of the family that live there. Both sides do genuinely believe it is the best city in the world (this can be annoying). There is always so much going on and its huge. You could quite happily just live life and experience your part of London. It takes that long to travel to other parts anyway. However, for those that do there is always lots going on and it happens there first and on a larger scale than other cities in the UK. It's a cosmopolitan place they share it with tourists They get used to the traffic, the noise, pollution and would argue that those factors are just a part of city living anyway. They were all born and raised there, they've never known a slower place of life and their parents and siblings are based there as well as friends. It is hard to uproot yourself from those ties and only the brave do it.

Most people have mentioned the multiculture, museums, galleries, theatres, music, lectures, restaurants, cafes, parks, transport etc but hey ho it’s all about supermarkets.

Now whose chsnging the narrative to suit their own agenda?

I've lived in London for over thirty years and I still love it. I'm lucky enough to have been able to buy a flat when prices were high but not ridiculous, I don't drive, I'm now retired and can use my travel card to get around for free. There are endless things to see and do for free or not too much money.

I was making a funny (I thought) general comment around how people in southern cities think 'It's grim up North'. It was here: But remind me again, how many theatres, cinemas, restaurants, museums are there in the .Yorkshire Dales,Peak District and Lake District?
There are many, many restaurants in the lake district, and actually as there are less fast food type restaurants , the standard is pretty good. 13 Michelin starred restaurants given the population shows you that As a Northerner living in the south, I get regular views around the lack of culture in the North which just isnt accurate!

Some people like the buzz, the bars, restaurants, museums, galleries etc.

Personally, I'm happy in London about 3 days a year. Any more than that and I get depressed. I spend my life in a beautiful green, rural area with birdsong and no traffic jams.

Everyone is different

No, I am not going through this entire 24 page thread to lift out quotes for you- you have eyes, you can read them yourself, dont be so lazy. Read the thread and you will see exactly what I mean.

I think you even responded to some of them heartily agreeing with them 🤭

Really? Sample comments from page 1:

I love The breadth of culture- Museums…Parks…Music…Food… Sport… etc
There are sooo many things for our kids to do and experience.
My neighborhood is super friendly. And it’s basically the best city!
London is also an amazing place to live - places to visit, the parks, the job opportunities, culture, dining etc…

The thing I loved about it was that there was always always always something to do or see, and it was usually free. There were loads of shows rather than waiting for a production to tour, and I could fly direct to places where I'd have to change. I never tired of walking around and exploring - buildings, churches, museums, galleries, restaurants, parks...

Best theatre scene in the country. Great transport for getting around. Fantastic restaurants and cuisines from all over the world. Lots of parks and open spaces. Beautiful architecture. There is energy and bustle and joy. There is a freedom in the anonymity you can only get in a big city...

Life is convenient in London. You don't need a car. It has fabulous entertainment, food, shopping, nightlife, parks. The public transport is amazing. There are masses of jobs so if you lose one you get another. You've got mainline trains and airports...

there is an awful lot to do to vary up life for little money. If like me you are 64 then transport is free.. utilities are same as anywhere else.. airports on your doorstep that you can get to by public transport and if of working age… lots of services on tap - hospitals you can get to with A&Es including some real top end specialist ones. Good bars and restaurants...

Link

Well that’s a surprise refusing to look for quotes that don’t exist. I can’t say I blame you.

Agreed. I’m zone 3. There’s a large woods 15m walk one way and 5-6 large (think boating lakes, cafes etc large) parks within a 15 min bus ride. I have 3 parks I can walk to within 5 minutes. My road is super quiet and my garden full of squirrels and foxes. I leave my patio doors open and sit and watch them!

I also live an eleven minute train ride from London Bridge.

I suppose it would depend on where in Essex you lived, but if it was somewhere v suburban/semi-rural I wouldn't personally like living there. I just happen to like London and its neighbourhoods.

For me, quality of life was defined by time and money.
OK, but – and this may blow your mind – it might not be the same for everyone.

Ah yes, because declining to produce a fully referenced dissertation on a comment thread is obviously the same thing as the comments never existing.

Most people reading along can spot the ‘anything outside London is basically wasteland’ vibe some people are getting at without me submitting exhibits to the High Court.

I just don’t care enough about your opinion to spend my afternoon doing archival research for you. Perhaps thats because I have more interesting things to do in my city than you do eh? 😘

40% of it is green, apparently

Since I've been living in London I've been to visit friends/attend weddings in places including Australia, Japan, a tiny island in Norway, and South America. These are all people I met in London who I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have met if I'd stayed in the East Midlands. It attracts so many people and such a range of people that international friendships and relationships are very common.
And no, I don't think that doesn't happen anywhere else in the UK, before someone comes along to slap me down. It just is bound to happen more in London due to sheer numbers.

Please, can you show us who has said those in Manchester or Essex can't get to an airport?
It is EASIER and there is MORE CHOICE from London. I don't know how many times people need to say it.

This thread has an interesting dynamic. The question was posed, ‘why do some people choose to live in London’ and many people responded.

But it seems some posters living in other areas of the county have taken those reasons why as criticisms of where they live. Even though the main gist of the answers is ‘why I love London.’ Not ‘why I hate the rest of the UK.’

If you love living in Dudley, or Blackpool (just a couple of recent references not a dig!) then start a post about how wonderful they are! And leave us Londoners alone to enjoy where we live and celebrate it!

Even though the main gist of the answers is ‘why I love London.’ Not ‘why I hate the rest of the UK.’ Thank you. God, people are touchy on here!

If you love living in Dudley, or Blackpool (just a couple of recent references not a dig!) then start a post about how wonderful they are! And leave us Londoners alone to enjoy where we live and celebrate it!
Hear hear.

That’s why I said, “for me.” I was talking about myself, no one else.

Nine million people live in London. All different. Yet some are stereotyping here about the whole population eg ‘Londoners need to get over themselves’ etc. Odd!

And there are a few posters here who clearly have a massive chip on their shoulder about London. Seeing things that haven’t been said. If they are truly happy with where they live, why is people saying what they like about London so upsetting for them? On a thread asking what Londoners like about London ;-)

Nine million people. That’s a lot! We aren’t all the same.

I don't live in London but in the last 10 years I've been USA Canada south Africa Australia NZ Thailand, Vietnam Hong Kong Laos Borneo Bali Phillipines India, Sri Lanka Greece Ukraine Sweden Croatia Italy Hungary. poland Bulgaria. Spdin Portugal Egypt. Brazil and more

Not living in London hasn't stopped me travelling

Oh Jesus Christ…..

Can we get back to the lovely ‘why I love living here comments’ I was enjoying rather than these ridiculous tangents of people desperate to prove some kind of point.

Not living in London hasn't stopped me travelling
I never said it might.
It's one thing about MY life that has happened because I live in London and met those specific people, who I would otherwise not have met.
I've travelled to other places as well, but I was specifically talking about travelling to see people I already know, as opposed to just going on a trip somewhere.
For me, living here has fostered a lot of international friendships that wouldn't otherwise have happened. It's one of the things I like about living here.