Anyone lived very centrally- eg Soho, Covent Garden, Fitzrovia, Marylebone

[Amabelle]

DH and I are considering this and looking for a flat (with lift) 4+ floors up (for noise). I just wondered if anyone had done this and what your thoughts are on the pros and cons- is there anything we should know that we might not have considered? We are empty nesters and love city life, art and theatre etc. Obviously we'll compromise on space to be so central, which we are happy to do.

Thanks for any thoughts.

The air pollution is much less now - we stayed in Bloomsbury recently for a few days and I was going to warn DS about the London “black bogies” but it didn’t happen! There’s loads of electric vehicles around which makes a big difference.

Do it. It’s lovely. You can walk everywhere or hop on or off a bus. Do it.

Marylebone, kings cross/st panc, Bloomsbury. I’d look around there.

Have worked in this area doing community healthcare. What would concern me is:

Lack of normal shops that aren't overpriced corner shops
Lack of community
Pollution
Noise
Neighbours and safety
Finding a converted flat that didn't have issues/a new flat that wasn't extortionate
Temperature of flat in summer/winter

Am sure there are more.

Unless I was in the Brunswick Centre or the Barbican it would be a no.

"Black bogies" 🤣🤣
I thought that was just us!

Oh I'm so jealous I would love to move to Central London. I would waft around soho pretending I was in a film like a total tit

Of the areas you've mentioned I would definitely opt for Marylebone. My ex lived on Harley Street and the flat was beautiful and very quiet. The main thing that put me off was the lack of outside space. I'd need a balcony at the very least. It's nice to have somewhere to drink your coffee on a sunny morning, dry some washing, grow geraniums in tubs.

Not quite so central, but I've friends who live in Waterloo and I'd much rather live there so you're near the South Bank and only have to walk over the river to be in the very centre. You can get a great little place on those streets around The Cut for what you'd pay for a flat four floors up in Fitzrovia, it's nice and quiet and you can even park. If you're up for a doer-upper, you could add a lot of value here... www.winkworth.co.uk/properties/sales/ufford-street-waterloo-se1/KEN200075

I've lived centrally for the last 20+ years and I love it! But then I'm a right in the centre or out in the sticks kind of person. I can't stand suburbs!

I love having everything on my doorstep and within easy walking distance. I rarely have to get the tube (usually only when visiting people who live further out). If I want a pint of milk at 2am on a Sun, it takes me all of 2 mins to get one. Dinner at The Ivy and want to walk home afterwards? Done! Tube strike...not an issue. Food delivery? When I check Deliveroo there are currently 274 pizza places that will deliver to me right now. If I want Peruvian for breakfast, that's a short walk. Gallery openings, sample sales, exhibitions, theatres...all a few mins away.

But it does come at a price. It's expensive and at times it feels like there is constant noise and it's hard to escape other people. Tradespeople are extortionate. Shopping for furniture, DIT stuff etc though is a lot easier than it used to be now everything's online.

The best advice I can give is pick your property very carefully. It can be less about the area and more about the specific property itself. I live in a gated development built around a wonderfully green courtyard garden with water features. No-one outside on the street has any idea what is tucked away inside. Visitors always say "what an oasis of calm!" (compared to the madness outside). Short term lets aren't allowed (so no AirBNB issues) and there's a big sense of community within the development as approx 50% of flats are still owner-occupied. We have summer BBQ parties for all the residents. We own the freehold via a limited company (I'm on the Board) and employ a managing agent for the day-to-day but have a huge amount of control over what happens in our building and around us.

As for pollution in central London, well I used to live in Hong Kong where pollution levels exceeded the WHO's dangerous limit on most days so by comparison London is pretty good. Obviously if you've been living in a field in Suffolk it may be a bit of a shock though.

Look at Pimlico? Quiet and villagey and so safe, with loads of local cafes, delis, supermarkets and markets. 5 mins from the Thames and Parliament; Tate Britain on your doorstep. 15 mins walk from the West End. I love it. A family member lives there.

A different family member used to live in the heart of the West End and loved it, but it was noisy and grubby and he had to go all the way from Piccadilly Circus to Covent Garden to find a supermarket. There are great Chinese supermarkets but they don't stock many European/UK basics.

I'm planning to do this when my children have left home too. Pre-kids I lived very close to Selfridges. It was brilliant. I didn't notice the noise, and didn't mind about the lack of community. But I spent a lot of my time at work or going out and we had friends over all the time too (so probably created a fair amount of noise ourselves...).

I have a friend who lived in Soho, she loved it too, but again was young and probably didn't care about the bin men.

I am thinking of Clerkenwell or Kings Cross when I get round to it, or possibly Notting Hill although I love Marylebone too (I have a few years to go yet).

I've lived centrally for the last 20+ years and I love it! But then I'm a right in the centre or out in the sticks kind of person. I can't stand suburbs!

That sounds like me @HundredMilesAnHour!

I've done it twice; once near Tower Bridge and once in the City. It was handy for everything and very well connected, but the constant noise and traffic got to me after a while.

Deliveries could be a problem. I struggled with the supermarkets. Technically, while they would deliver, in practice it was very difficult for the drivers to park up because the roads were mostly double reds and with concrete bollards etc. Furniture deliveries could be equally nightmarish.

With the Tower Bridge flat it was Airbnbs in the building that pushed me to move out. More and more of the other flats got sold to 'investors' who rented them out on Airbnb and because of its location the building got a reputation as a party pad. It was noisy and disruptive with big parties of ignorant people leaving the doors open, dumping their rubbish in the corridors, being sick in the lifts etc etc.

I haven't learned my lesson; I still live centrally, it's just now I do it in Edinburgh instead of London. For me, the pros outweigh the cons by a considerable margin — provided there aren't Airbnbs in the building.

Barbican has become very popular but quite expensive.

Do it! It's amazing.

I was at a party last night where half of the guests had "retired" to London to enjoy the city lifestyle. There is so much going on, not just museums, galleries, theatre, restaurants etc but so many more classes, lectures, community (public not communal) gardens, volunteering, sports clubs etc than in smaller towns.

I would disagree about the lack of community, I think there is a far greater sense of community where I live in Central London than anywhere I have lived before. Local shops know their regulars, pubs have "locals", we have lots of communal garden events, community events, residents' association events eg garden parties, open air theatre, community trick or treat/carols/fireworks, street parties. It's easy to meet people at classes and activities.

It is noisier but you tune it out pretty quickly. I'm fairly sure rubbish collection doesn't start before 8am but you can check the schedule for each street. Deliveries can be an issue if you are nearly commercial premises, sirens if you are on a main route to a hospital/near a fire station, boy racers in sports cars, late night drunks etc, however, the back streets are surprisingly quiet.

I don't think shopping is an issue in any of the areas you have mentioned. They all have big high street supermarkets. There is always online shopping. You can get most things delivered within an hour from Deliveroo (Sainsburys, Waitrose, Co op) or the supermarket 1 hour on demand services (Co op, Sainsburys, Tesco) or Amazon Fresh (Morrisons, Booths, Wholefoods Market). The big advantage is there are so many delis and high quality independent shops. I love the fact that there are 2 cheesemongers, a specialist butcher, multiple Lebanese, Greek, Italian, Asian, Argentinian, Spanish and Russian delis, chocolatiers, patisseries, gelaterias all in walking distance. Or that I can get a takeway delivered from hundreds of restaurants, including Michelin starred places. There are no big Aldi or Lidl supermarkets in Central London though, just a small Lidl on Tottenham Court Road. The nearest Aldi is Little Venice or Camden.

One disadvantage (or an advantage) is it isn't easy to host Christmas or other big family gatherings if your family need to stay.

I couldn't live anywhere that doesn't have a balcony or communal garden though, preferably both. I'm looking forward to a glass of wine on my balcony listening to the Eagles play in Hyde Park tonight. Although I can imagine living near a concert venue would be many people's idea of hell, I rather like getting to listen to live music for free.

We are in Westminster/Pimlico and I love it

I’d love to live in the Barbican

We're thinking of Greenwich for this. The area around the Cutty Sark. Lots of accessible transport, a hub centre and the river.

I can never decide if Canary Wharf would be nice to live in to. It's so nice and quiet on weekends. There's lots of restaurants etc, well connected, but it is a bit soulless.

I love clerkenwell and will look at Barbican too. We're very much south Londoners though so not sure about crossing the river lol.

I lived in Fitzrovia and loved it. Main downside was lack of community - big block and never knew our neighbours - quiet but had a weird vibe. Noise was funny - streets were mostly quiet post 11ish, but every now and again you'd get a big drunk group who'd be really noisy

I lived in various places in zone 1 & still do.

I’m currently just south of the river and this area has a better community feel as it is more residential than other places I’ve lived. I do miss proximity to a big Waitrose though - both Bloomsbury & Barbican offer this. I love being able to walk home and I really live the city - theatre/ exhibitions etc.

My cautions would be noise, Airbnb or % of BTL in the building. The churn of Tenants in my current building is a pain in the arse - moving boxes, ikea cardboard, wear & tear on the lift/ stairwell decor. We are just under 50% long term owner occupier & even this percentage is getting wearing.

In a fully concierged building this can be less of an issue as they will police the common parts to someone degree but then the service charge tends to be enormous…

In my early 20's I rented a room in neal's yard, I have never been happier in a house! Having said that I was out getting sloshed every night & spending my wages on shoes - so I wouldn't have noticed non men or noise! 🤣

I had a basement flat in monmouth st covent garden in the 90's....friend went abroad for a year....no supermarkets then...had to shop elsewhere and carry stuff in, or do a big shop and drive over on a sunday and put car back later at parents house, some noise, heaving with tourists most of the year.....found that annoying.....was lovely to walk around early or late when it was quiet....i really enjoyed that part....i would live around chancery lane or holborn as not many tourists go there and its quiet in the evenings and now there are all the supermarkets etc.

Yes, I concur. Pimlico is what you are looking for.

I used to live in a mansion block on one of the side streets near Sloane Square. It's my favourite place I ever lived. It took 20 minutes to get anywhere else in London, I could walk to so many places, and being so near the shops was great. There was a big Waitrose and M&S in Kings Road, so shopping was fine. I absolutely loved it. It was about 10 years ago, so rent while on the high side, was affordable for the two of us high earners who lived there. Perhaps not so much these days. We knew all the neighbours in the block, and there was a lovely sense of community. E.g. when we had our welcome party, 5 of the 13 neighbours couldn't make it, so all brought round a bottle of wine the same day. The other 8 all turned up, even if only for half an hour. I remember living there very fondly.

My ex had student digs behind the shops opposite M&S on Oxford Street before they were demolished. His flat looked out directly onto Oxford Street. It was quite high up (8th floor), so he was away from the real din, though when opening the windows we both found the noise of buses, taxis and cars strangely comforting.

A colleague of mine at an old job lived in Soho, which at the time was a 3 minute walk from our office. He had no commuting costs, plus could walk to pretty much anywhere within half an hour. He also never had to worry about taxis after Thursday/Friday/Saturday night drinks, as he lived right there.

I'd go for it OP. In all the places I described there was a lovely sense of community, so it seems you just need to choose your area wisely. Perhaps spend time there at different times of the week/day to get a feel for what it's like before committing fully.

When we were younger, we lived in Bloomsbury and Clerkenwell. Both fantastic areas. Without children, they’re perfect. We also lived in Pimlico and Maida Vale, which feel more like villages close to (but away from) the main buzz.

I am so sad about those flats we sold!! They’ve all quadrupled since the good old days.

Whenever anyone asks now where they can find a “2-bed flat in central London for £x”, I always want to say “1998” or “2003” 😂

Service charges (especially for places with lifts, grounds, concierge etc)
Lack of cheap shops like Wilko or £1 shops
No really big cheap supermarkets like Asda
No large DIY stores
Space
Difficulties in finding reasonable tradespeople
Sofa etc deliveries
Check lease length