If you live in London and hate it, tell me why!

[OMaLittle]

We're thinking of moving back and I just want to make sure we're not looking through rose-tinted retrospectacles! We'll probably be in SE23 or Hackney.

Used to live near Hackney and I hated it. Fights on the bus, fights in the local Sainsburys, never felt safe, it always felt so aggresive - I stuck to the main roads as there was lots of muggings on side streets even during the day...not where I wanted to bring up kids - moved to the suburbs and felt much happier but the schools, secondary in particular weren't great so we finally moved beyond the M25.

I do love London though and I miss both how it constantly reinvents itself and how lots of it stays the same. I love day trips but that's enough.

I live up the road from SE23 and I think south east London is the best part- and I'd spent years in East London beforehand. Trees, hills, lots of open space, handy for town, nice schools (mostly ) and friendly people, ime

...but then that's not the sort of opinion you're asking for, is it?

Yes, SE23 lovely, great transport and open spaces.

:)

I think this is a really strange thread - most people who hate London will move away (and generally get a bigger house into the bargain). There aren't that many who are forced to live here. I love it .

Thank you! I think it's just that we're at that stage where a lot of our friends have babies (we were a bit ahead of the game and ours are 4 and 2) and are starting to plan their escape, but are currently in jobs/saving/in negative equity. I should ask them, really, I suppose, what it is they don't like and why they want to move. To me it seems a bit unquestioning just to say 'it's better for kids to be out of London' - sort of like implying that people who stay there are wilfully putting their children in harm's way.

we had that- most of our friends moved away before their kids started school, citing the met Yellow Boards "at the end of every street"

it is very, very easy to 'catch' this sort of fear- but (ime) it's groundless. We have had friends move away to areas that look idyllic- but when you look under the surface, they've got big teen drug/booze problems and such like

you last line says it all, really- we've had a few looks over the years at deciding to stay- like we're risking harm to our kids for our own convenience

my kids are bigger than yours (7 and 13) and wouldn't want to live anywhere else. In fact we've reached the stage where we wouldn't mind moving somewhere a bit quieter, but they don't want to

Used to live in Hackney and did love it. However, we moved out and it was only then did I realise the subtle differences as opposed to the obvious ones. Its not like one is good and one is bad, but I think like anything in life you can't really appreciate the subtle differences.

For me, not always checking who is behind you when walking home in the dark. I was not paranoid, but it was strange how I realised that this was something I always did as a matter of course. I didn't realise I did this till I moved out.

The sense of space. Birdsong in the morning.

Seeing young kids hanging out, confidently. I live somewhere where children go out to play with their friends at around 9. We see groups of children hanging out in the park, going to the cinema alone. Its a joy to see and hear. They are ferried around by their parents.

At school, its not the obvious things. I used to help out at a school in Hackney and the differences I notice in my kids current school are the extra curricular ones. The school trips, the art department, the pottery kiln, the playground, the quality of the books. All in primary school.

Parks not covered in dog shit and beer cans.

I do miss lots of things about living in Hackney but then I simply go there, for a day out.

I don't think we moved out for the 'fear' I think we moved out because we wanted a change. I'm born and bred in London and I think I simply wanted to move somewhere else.

Sorry meat to say 'they are NOT ferried around by parents.'

Yes, staying in London with children is synonymous with child abuse these days . My husband grew up in the countryside in an "idylllic" village and only remembers being trapped there, having to beg lifts to do anything, never having any independence etc etc. As long as you can afford it (and London is very expensive) I think it is a brilliant place to spend your childhood - loads going on, lots of different people, great schools (if you are able to get into them ), fabulous heritage and a sense of excitement. Rather London than a slow death in the suburbs or commuter belt.

I moved from London this year, I am a Londoner born and bred but I wouldnt go back

I will miss going to the carols by candlelight at the RHA on Christmas eve as we did that for the past five years and getting a bus back to Clapham wearing a santa hat and seeing all the lights was part of the fun

But this year I will be going to midnight mass at the local church where I know lots of people I couldnt do that in London as I didnt know anyone

Then again going back home after you've been away is always a risk too - you never step into the same river twice - things will have changed, including yourself.

I know people who came home after being abroad for a while and could not settle at all - their home didn't live up to all their high expectations, so after a couple of years, they went abroad again and found that annoyingly things had changed there too, finally they returned back to the UK where they have finally settled but it took a few years for them to love being at home again warts and all.

I like Hackney. Victoria park is nice for dcs or a bit further Clissold Park. And you can always leave dcs with dh and jump on the bus and go to Islington and Upper Street

We have lived in london (west) and are moving away in the New Year. DS is 3.5.

Our reasons for moving are:
Need more space (and can't afford the price of a decent sized house in an OK area)
Schools not great in many areas (esp secondary)
People generally quite vile - rude, agressive etc. Don't want DS growing up thinking it's OK to swear and shout!
Commuting times and packed public transport

I will miss the huge amount of things to do here, but we plan on visiting often!

If you have lived in London before, you know what it's like so you you'll be fine moving back!

We moved from West London to Sussex 6 months ago and love it! It most certainly doesn't feel like 'slow death' - there is loads to do where we live and we are also v close to the coast We are still very close to the big smoke so can return whenever we like (and we do do this frequently). Horses for courses, I guess - I LOVE London but wouldn't go back unless I had a fortune to live in one of my preferred areas

We are moving out too and vile people is one of the factors.I grew up in London and i never thought I would leave - the dirt and grime get to me too. Even if you live near the amazing primary schools in some areas, they look alot less amazing when you look at an equivalent school out of London.

Transient nature of London. My dear niece has lost 3 best friends during her primary school years, she is leaving primary school next summer with few of the same children she started off with.

i live in hackney and love it. my children aged 8 & 5 are growing up part of a vibrant multicultural community which we really embrace. they go to the outstanding local primary school, we are surrounded by friends and the children are always in & out of each others' houses. ds (the older one) is beginning to go out by himself, to the shop for instance, or to friends'. there is always masses going on, i think we went to local festivals every weekend this summer. masses of local cultural stuff and central london is a 20 minute bus ride away. what's not to like.

I think that's rubbish about schools in the countryside being automatically better than London. The people I know who live in the country in anything like a middle-class enclave (and guess what, it's not all rubbing shoulders with hoary farm labourers and 6th-generation fishermen) have just as many problems securing places for their children without moving next door, making sure that the schools stay open, keeping standards up as any city parent. Yes, children in city schools tend to be more transient but that's life, isn't it? The ones that move make new friends and the ones that stay behind do too. Moving to ensure your children have the same friends seems rather counter-productive .

Used to live in London. Yes the primary schools are ok, had lots of local friends from differernt backgrounds, lots of great free entertainment but what got to me was the drip drip drip of unpleasant things such as rude agressive people, street crime (e.g. stabbings/ muggings/ rapes/ vandalism) within 500 yards of our house (including 3 muggings on our road) and horrible dreary greyness and dirt.

I used to love theatre/ restaurants/ cinema but after we had DCs we no longer had the time/ money to do these things and although we enjoyed going to free stuff I began to feel that when my DCs got older I would be to worried about them going out on their own. I felt that they would not have the freedom to explore their local area and I often think of my friend's teenager who stopped going out at all (apart from to school) after he was mugged on the way home from school.

Where we live now there is almost no street crime and the colour has returned to my life.

Loved what Ray Davis said:
"Samuel Johnson said 'if you tire of London you tire of life' but he didn't have a car."

I live in SE25 and generally like it (commuting times, the greenery around, some of community people, shopping variety etc), however one thing that worries me alot is boy teenager groups here and there, which look to me as gang groups (might be not but the style of dressing is funny to say the least). I have two small boys so I would love to move out a bit further away from this.

lalala boing, lala had an accident...

We live in SW London and generally I love it because:

-loads to do interms of day to day activities for the kids plus bigger trips eg the museums
-great primary school amazingly diverse
-great parks, lots of interesting people, plus lots of my school/university friends & family all live here or pass through frequently
-Great for work
-Walk/public transport everywhere, very rarely use the car, the children are very street aware
-we meet people from all sorts fo backgrounds/nationalities on a daily basis. My children are so well-informed about the world already.

However we might end up moving out because
-need a bigger house, property prices jsut absurd
-secondaries are either (a) in special measures (b) impossible to get into (c) single sex/religious therefore n0ot all my children are eligible for the same school.

Fiddledee Am I missing something?

having lived in london for 31 years and moved out for 4, i think the worst thing about london is londoners who somehow think they are superior beings to the rest of us.

We live in Hackney and are happy with it so far. (And I went to midnight mass on Christmas Eve and saw loads of people I knew! )

I am cautious walking home in the dark wherever it is - and probably more so in my parents' village where everyone has 2 cars and it is more unusual to see people walking around at night.

There is quite a lot of dog shit around though!