Can you retire to London?

[YoureRockingTheBoat]

The thread about the parents who are upsizing has prompted me to reflect on one of my own ambitious ideas, because I’m thinking it doesn’t involve downsizing, financially speaking.

I’m single, living in a two-floor flat that I paid c£750k for in an expensive city centre. I’ve pretty much always lived in flats/terraces, and in fact I regret that this one has a garden. So I am pretty clear that I don’t need the amenity that comes from a ‘house.’ I’ve divorced and am not at all sure what I want from life, but one thing I do often come back to is that I’ve never lived in London.

Clearly I have to measure for myself my own piece of string, but for the sake of argument - do older folk have cool tiny homes in London and whereabouts are they located?

@TheYearOfSmallThings yes- I also think it depends as i said on an earlier post what you like doing- if you like walking and not massively busy parks and actually want to meet like minded people I would personally be looking for somewhere like Richmond, Putney, Barnes Wimbledon, Hampstead etc

Haha, opened the thread to share my Barbican flat retirement fantasy but it seems I am not alone!

For Us Barbican admirers

View from Sky Garden earlier

See you all at The Barbican when we win the lottery! I was at a drinks thing this Christmas for old friends met through work. We used to work near the Barbican. At least two of us are moving there if we ever get the chance!

Ha! Another Barbican dreamer here.
I live in zone 3, still work but we live very cheaply. I love live theatre and have been to several sell out shows in the last fortnight and haven’t paid more than £25 a ticket. Yesterday I went to the Chanel exhibition at the V&A (gifted membership). I love the accessibility of everything.
If it’s a nice day and I’m up for a bit of exercise I can walk into the west end - it’s a lovely 2 hour walk along the river.
I can be in the countryside in 20 minutes or in the thick of it in town in 30 mins.

@Chewbecca I worked with someone who lived at Barbican- she was most unpleasant and a massive snob- it totally put me off -I guess we are all different but I like it a bit less urban -

I hate to pop your Barbican dream. I used to work near the Barbican. In winter it was really depressing: wind howling down the walkways, dim lighting, and not a soul to be seen. Mainly moneyboxes or bankers . The flats are lovely though. The person I know who lives there is perfectly nice. Difficult to think of a patch of green round there. Zone 3 is much nicer.

I don’t see the appeal of the Barbican. It always looks deserted to me. There are nicer places to live in London, in my opinion.

Plenty of green around the Barbican:

https://greenblue.com/gb/the-barbican-green-space-in-the-heart-of-london/

This is my plan. I think South Bank and then I can spend all of my time going to museums, galleries & shows or just people watching. Downsides would be steps up & down to the tube and, as others have said, the general busyness of pavements.