Does anyone live in Zone 1 London? What’s it like?

[snoofoo]

Anyone live right slap bang in central London? Say 10 minutes walk to Oxford Circus? What’s it like?

I used to live in a flat Zone 1 - think 5 min walk to Westminster Station. This was around 2012-2014. At the time, I had just got married, was a new mum and didn't appreciate it or explore as much as I should have.

I now live further out and it takes 20-30 mins to get to Zone 1. I prefer it, because I have a better quality of life and a large house. If I feel like a day of exploring in central, I'll go - especially on a lovely sunny day - but I certainly don't wish I was right there again.

My husband grew up in central London. He doesn't wish he still lived in zone 1 either. Perfect to have it within reasonable travelling distance, but we certainly don't wish we still lived in that little flat.

There are also negatives such as noise, pollution and tourists. I couldn't afford a house there as it would have cost several millions. I would feel differently if I had a multi million pound house in zone 1 though.

I used to live on the edge of zone 1 (nearest tube station in one direction was zone 1, nearest in the other direction was zone 2). It was pretty great, except that two of our neighbours were atrociously loud and we ended up locked down next to them for months during the pandemic. We ended up moving to zone 4 SE London in order to buy a house and minimise the amount of surfaces we had to share with other people, which is something we probably wouldn’t have done if we hadn’t had such a negative experience with noise.

I’d happily move back if I could afford a large and very well soundproofed flat, but I can’t so the suburbs it is for now!

I lived a 5 min walk from Angel Station, which is zone 1 but not as central as Oxford Circus. It was a brilliant location for going out, lots to do and really quick to get to the more central areas (10 min by tube to Tottenham Court Rd including switching Northern line branches). Not as touristy and crowded as proper central London. And it still had good community amenities, normal shops and facilities like evening classes, GPs, schools and kids activities.

Lived there for 15 years and moved out to zone 2 for better schools. We could have afforded to stay fairly central but we couldn't find anywhere that had the combination of good primary & secondary schools and decent housing stock (plus easy commute to our offices). I miss being more central, although our new location is still very popular and bustling (and non-Londoners would often consider it to be central). It's actually a shorter tube journey to Tottenham Court Road (6 mins) due to not having to switch lines. I don't mind the noise and pollution and tourists - being in busy places makes me feel excited, and being in suburbia makes me feel depressed.

We used to live full Zone 1 and now live right on the edge in Zone 2( frankly much closer to the centre than Angel). The downside of Zone 1, aside from cost obviously, was lack of supermarkets, but that may no longer be an issue since you can get deliveries. Just decide how much indoor space and green space you want and then look all around the circle of London, because different sides have different flaws -- eg south of the river there is a shortage of Tube stations and the bridges are a choke point if you often drive across, but lots of parks and good schools

I used to luve in dover street (in front of the ritz) in mayfair in 2000-2005. I love it there very vibrant, but i was so young back then. So its good for young people but i think i’ll be too tired if i go back living in there now.

I used to live in Soho- very exciting place to live. I was ‘staff’ though, I’m not rich 😁

We (DH and 4 DC's) live in Belgravia so pretty close to Oxford street and surrounding areas. It's constantly busy (mostly with tourists) but great as we walk to most places and have access to 3 good parks for the kids. Many more shopping areas around now too and Victoria and Sloane Square are close by for easy commutes. More than anything I enjoy the convenience.

I have a relative who lives in a mews v close to Baker St, about half way up, in an area of squares of mansion blocks. It is actually really quiet and peaceful, but busy within a short walk. But much of Marylebone only a couple of blocks behind Oxford St is fairly quiet. Proper local pubs etc. I would love to live there.

We have friends who live right in the oldest part of the City of London. It's absolutely wonderful. The streets are actually lovely and quiet, and bursting with history. Tons of public transport within 5 minutes walk. Arguably there's not much "green space" in the sense of rolling fields, but there are a surprising number of large public squares with trees and greenery, more than enough for their DC to be happy running around. Plus loads of fascinating little "secret" alleyways that link up unexpected places. And of course there's the Thames to walk along.

DH and I have always said that if we win Euromillions it's the City that we would move to.

We used to live in Zone 1. Unfortunately having children priced us out, but I miss it every day. Just having so much culture and things to do within walking distance was absolutely priceless. We used to drive to Waitrose in Wapping outside of congestion charge times, which worked well for us.