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.

She specifically said with a lift.

I live in Westminster and have always thought it would be the most brilliant place to retire. So much to do and see every day of the week and much of it free. Also, very good hospitals right on your doorstep.

somone up thread said that shopping is difficult. I couldn’t disagree more. Ocado deliver, I don’t need big out of town DIY shops etc. When you live in a flat it’s just a totally different way of life. You don’t spend your free time buying things for DIY and gardening. You live much more simply. You can also eat out or shop in delis and markets every day of the week if that’s what you choose/can afford.

As someone else has already said, Pimlico is well worth considering. Very central and good value for money. I have a cousin who lives there so spend time there regularly.

I did and really enjoyed it.

Noisy rubbish collections are a thing, and it can feel quite transient, but if you get your sense of community from your interests it won’t.

I think Bloomsbury is a good bet, and imagine Fitzrovia and Marylebone might be. CG would be a bit like living in a shopping mall. Soho I think would get on your nerves.

Have you thought about the Barbican?

Vauxhall is very good value, but the railway noise is annoying, not much community.

In my 20s I lived in Borough and in Pimlico and LOVED being so central with everything on my doorstep, while finding little pockets of calm and community

I lived for years in central Victoria- LOVED everything about it except the noise from traffic which started up every morning from 4:30am and didn't truly stop- ever. I did learn to block it out but it wasn't until I moved out to the sticks (Zone 5!) that I realised what feeling relaxed really felt like- the quiet was/is blissful. Having said that, I miss the buzz of city life and feeling like I was part of everything. Also consider your social life- central London life is incredibly transient- people come and go all the time so you never really get to know people fully or for very long.

I agree about the late night/early morning deliveries. Also, it's never really dark in central London- so go for good quality blackout blinds.

Having lived on central london for years, i can say in my experience it really isn't particularly noisy, theres always a background buzz but its low level as long as you don't live adjajcent to a pub or late night restaurant. The remarkable thing about living in central London is the sense of community. Because there are a relatively small number of people who live in town there's a strong community vibe even down to all the local shops knowing you. Its actually a friendly place to live with obvious perks. Things like supermarket access are nothing like the problem the were years ago and are now accessible. Parking permits for residents with congestion charge discount are available in the borogh of westminster and thete is always space to park if you need it- visitors who want yo drive to you fo have to pay a lot to park however.
central london is a fab place to live.

I lived in Chancery Lane. It was a pain to go to a proper supermarket. There were a couple of small Sainsburys with a very limited supply and there was a Waitrose about 20 minutes away (had it all but not nice to get to with rain). During the weekend the streets were empty and most shops closed. So I ended up getting the bus or the tube to other places!
Still, I love being in super busy places and the rest of the week more than made up for it! The only funny thing was I ended up getting a monthly Oyster card anyway, whereas I thought I was going to walk everywhere at first -that didn't happen!

We've lived in Soho for 10 years. It's great, we don't need a car, and there's so much going on all around you.

It's noisy where we are - lots of traffic noise (revving engines worse than the rubbish trucks). We're opposite a late night bar, so we can eavesdrop on drunken conversations and the odd fight. That doesn't bother me - it's often entertaining.

It's true there's no sense of community, but I'm quite a private person so I like the anonymity. It's very touristy, but I don't mind that - it's great to live somewhere worth visiting.

We'll be moving within the next year, sadly, to move closer to good schools for the dc, although we'll be staying fairly central in Camden. If it weren't for the schools we'd have been content to continue living here. Zone 2 living definitely lacks the buzz of proper central London, so if it's really central living you want, with everything in easy walking distance, I wouldn't opt for some of the suggestions of places further out.

Do it! We live centrally and are thinking of moving even closer once we retire. Bloomsbury is lovely, and the streets just one or two blocks behind Oxford Street are quiet and fabulous. Soho a bit noisier.

I live in Westminster 2 mins from a tube station, and am currently listening to birds singing in the courtyard outside my window. If you pick a flat carefully with bedrooms away from the thoroughfare, if there is one, it won’t be noisy. Do check where tube lines go though, better not to live directly over one. I only very occasionally notice sirens or a plane overhead. I never go to supermarkets for big shops as get delivery, we have lots of instant deliver services so if I can’t be bothered to go out I can have either Deliveroo or one of the millions of supermarket delivery places within 30 minutes. Very much a sense of community here, with a high fixed population. As pp have said, there is a limit to AirBnb. It is an amazing place to live

We used to have a family flat in Marylebone (recently sold) and all loved staying there. It was 4th floor mansion block with a lift. Only real downsides were no garden and the management fees which were about 8k a year which puts a lot of people off. The communal areas were beautifully maintained though and the cost included utilities. Just make sure you ask about the management fees before viewings.

I'll second Bloomsbury and the streets behind Oxford St (it doesn't even feel like London, it's so quiet with lots of Mew Houses too)

We're going to do this when we downsize on the run-up to retirement. Friends live in Highgate and Stoke Newington which are nice but always feel too far to trudge home to after a night at the theatre. So I'm thinking Barbican or Pimlico after reading the suggestions on this thread. I'm so glad you posted this, OP, so many helpful tips here!

Barbican can feel like the end of nowhere on weekends, if I may say so...

Used to live off Lamb’s Conduit Street.
very quiet at weekends, good sense of community, amazing to be able to walk both West and East.
Massive Waitrose nearby for food shop.

period properties/conversions… beware of gutter leaks, extremely low water pressure for showers, lack of sound and cold insulation and overheard living noise from neighbours, creaking and sloaping floors, windows that rattle as heavy double deckers drive by… freeholders unwilling to take part in fixing major repairs, which are then left languishing.

Endless black soot by windows that needs regular wiping or gets out of hand… lots of mental illness and homelessness, more than I’ve seen anywhere else in the country. You give, but impossible to give to every single person and this can cause sadness.

Otherwise it was truly fabulous and there is no other location that can replicate the exact charm of central London.

The number one perk is being able to walk everywhere, especially after a night out.

My personal favourites… Bloomsbury, so green and quiet - lovely to see young and international students milling about. Marylebone old world elegance and sophistication. Covent Gardens - beautiful and fun streets.

Enjoy and come back and tell us how it was…

I plan to do this too! I almost think central London is ideal for young twenty-thirty somethings without kids or the other end of the scale retirees 60+ when children have left.

What about Belsize Park? It looks lovely with a low crime rate and reasonably priced (for London!).

Or Shoreditch although the higher crime rate (I think) might be off-putting.

I lived in a Zone 1 flat when I was in my late teens / early 20s. In a residential area, walking distance from Oxford Street.

Pros: being able to walk to central London. Fab variety of local pubs, bars and cafes.

Cons: air pollution (net curtains ran black when we took them down and washed them, I developed asthma). Prostitution happening nearby (not sure if this is still an issue!), there wasn't really a community feel. Lugging shopping up lots of stairs!