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?

Of course. I was just clarifying what that person was saying exists in many parts of the UK.

Only around 15% of Londoners don't live within a 15 minute walk of a grocery shop, compared with about 40% of the UK as a whole.

I agree with you, plenty crow about diversity but they mean the authentic deli not the local secondary

@ClayPotaLot really? where can I read that? I know roads/areas in z3, 4 & 5 where it’s more than 15mins. I also said station, what’s the statistics on that?

@ClayPotaLot also what is classed as a grocery shop?

Not quite the same comparison though as there is a population of 9ish million, approximately 4 million than the whole of Scotland, I'm not convinced they all feel London is everything they ever wanted, it is probably a mix of things mainly accidental and pretending otherwise just causes greater division within the country as tbh these threads just come across as a boast fest like we don't go to supermarkets - bollox! we go to the theatre, galleries three times a week, we don't vote Reform. Is there no deprivation in London!

Why do you live where you live? Do you like it?

And then theres a life where you don't have to drive anywhere or park anything

It is ok, there's certainly room for improvement. Affordability, proximity to London for work.

Sorry, even tap water is a matter of opinion! I grew up in a hard water area in the south east and for me London water tastes ‘normal’, what water should taste like. In contrast I can’t stand the taste of tap water that’s very soft, I genuinely find it horrible to drink. So I can understand if someone has grown up with the taste of softer water then they might dislike London water with different minerals.

Exactly. I wouldn’t take a thread raving about eg Cumbria, as an insult to me! I would either not open it, or have a read, think ‘that’s nice’ and move on. But this is MN, where every thread can have people wanting to make it (mildly in this case) unpleasant!

I like the London tap water but OMG my hair loves the water elsewhere. If I visit family up north, my hair thanks me!

For years I thought I had crap hair 😆😆😆

😂 When I wash it in soft water, my hair actually swishes!

I understand they are not technically London, however when you do to book and choose "London (all airports)" you have an option of city, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and Southend.

I had that already I prefer my nice car than having to fight for a place in the bus .

That sounds nice. All I ever notice (apart from the taste) is that it takes lots of effort to rinse soap off my hands!

I got a flight back to Luton once when I was about 18/19, I just assumed it was actually in London. We landed fairly late and we then realised we were miles away 😆😆😆 Never again!

You can look at those options wherever you live, they are not for Londoners only. They a 'literally' not London it doesn't matter about their creative descriptions.

plenty crow about diversity but they mean the authentic deli not the local secondary
Do they really? You sure about that?

Yes, why would you doubt my experience?

Oh come on. There are few places in the UK that compare to London and its immediate surrounds that compare for access to airport options - both volume and variety of flights is unmatched and you don't have to be in central London to benefit. One of the benefits of London is that our public transport is much better invested in than pretty much anywhere else, and that includes access to airports.

I live in an outer borough in SW London - one of the bits with the "wrong" postcode and not on the Tube. Thanks to good public transport links, including Thameslink and the Lizzie Line, I've got four airports within 90 minutes of home on public transport, including the walk to the station. Even Stansted and Southend are under 2 hours if I felt the urge. The idea that people in, say, Ilford or Walthamstow aren't served by Heathrow is fanciful.

No one is saying nowhere else has airports, or that other parts of the country don't have equal or better access to some of these airports. But it's a definite benefit of living in London and its immediate surrounds to have the volume of airports and flights to choose between if travelling is your thing. And that's before you get into it being the principal rail hub for the country and the jumping off point for train travel to Europe. The abundance of travel links and opportunities are unmatched.

This really is the strangest thread. People are asked why they, personally, choose to live in London. They explain why. And then no one seems to be willing or able to allow that the thing they experience as a benefit of living in London is actually a benefit to them.

What's behind this? Is it an honest belief that we're all actually poor and miserable and coughing up a lung and we're all either deluded or lying about the things we like about the place we've chosen to live? Or is it just a pure hatred of London and unwillingness to believe that there are good things here?

@JassyRadlett what’s the wrong postcode?

Because in my experience people who have brought up/are bringing up kids in London like the fact that so many different cultures are represented in the state schools.

@ConstanzeMozart so why do so many leave at secondary school age then?