If you're not from London what do you think of it?

[Tublet83]

Love it for a weekend and then can’t wait to leave couldn’t justify the property prices, awful commuting time/cost. Would love it if I was rich but I’m not

Also think generally people are much ruder and unfriendly. If you attempt to strike up conversation with a stranger people look at you like your a serial killer

 

[YetAnotherObsessionx]

Just a general musing as I'm waiting for the baby to go to sleep.

Have grown up in and around London all my life but wonder what you think of it if you don't live there and just visit for the day or something?

I've been to Manchester and loved it, not enough of my family there to move there but would love to live 'up north' one day

I have to go to London for work every couple of weeks (well I did, before the pandemic). At one point I used to work right by Trafalgar Square and I did enjoy it, it was like a 'day out'. Then I worked by The Shard and at Liverpool Street. I liked walking around and seeing the sights of central London BUT unless you're absolutely minted and can live somewhere nice, and don't mind the noise and the dirt and the fact that you won't really know anyone, I don't see the attraction of actually living there. And outside of the very centre, the council estates and the suburbs are the same as any other large city. But I don't like Brighton either, which other people rave about, so I guess I'm just into cities in general! The best times I've had in cities in the UK were always York, Leeds and Nottingham... a long time ago tho.

 

[Heyholetsgo]

Edinburgh is beautiful, I don't know anyone that lives there but I imagine it's expensive too. Would take Edinburgh over London any day!

 

[Katienana]

I live in Newcastle and find London is just massive and so busy and always full of people. In Newcastle you can walk down a city centre street and its quiet, in London there are people everywhere!
I love how buzzy it feels, like you're where everything happens and there is something important going on. The parks are lovely and I love all the iconic sights.
Downsides are the crazy traffic, and people can be a bit short tempered. It's not as friendly as Newcastle. I also find it gross how dirty my skin is after a day in London, my face cloth is black!
I wouldn't live there, but I'd like to visit more often.

 

[Niamhm]

Really dislike London. I'm from the Midlands originally but we moved a 45 minute train ride from London as husband commutes. Everytime I go it's just so busy, people are rude and it's dirty and smelly and expensive. It's the same in all major cities, so nothing personal, I just would never want to live there.

 

[Kaylarina]

I love London and it’s definitely my favourite place to visit for a couple of days, however I do get more scared when I’m there. For instance if I’m walking down a street and it’s just me and a stranger (a man usually) then I do find I get more worried than I would at home … though I still worry at home tbh

I've lived in London my whole life but when I was 18 my grandparents moved to the countryside. I went to visit them in the first December they were there and popped to their local shop at about 4pm when it was already dark and I've never been more terrified in my life - but I'll happily travel home from work on the tube and walk down a London street in the dark. I don't know if its just what I'm used to but the country side scared me a whole lot more but I can totally get why walking down the street in London, when you're not from there, can be completely intimidating.

 

[Zoe88]

It's good to visit but I'm so glad I can leave and not be around all the people and pollution and rushing (I live in the south). I find it very expensive, lots of pretentious people and lots of rude people. My sister lives there and it takes me the same amount of time to get the train in as her to get the overground and underground to work when it's really not that far from her. There's lots of nice things to see. I just can't stand the people.

 

[Former_Antelopee]

I love the tube. I’d rather be packed in to a train (although when I’ve been to London rarely actually been packed in on the tube) than wait an hour (or more) for a train. The worst is when you miss a connecting train by 1minute then have to wait an hour for the next. The other week I had a 3 hour wait for the next train and this was at a main city station.

 

[House of Tea]

I was brought up in central London, about as central as it gets. Back then it was fantastic place to grow up, the architecture and the history, the parks, theatres, museums. I had an amazing childhood, and surprisingly to most, it was a close knit community.

However it changed massively when I was growing up. The actual location I grew up is one of the top tourist attractions- so the area became about consumerism and socialising. The latter brought squalor due and vagrancy (always an issue in central London but got massively worse). The demographics of the visitors changed. This country has an issue with drink and living in and amongst the great British public letting its hair down is not great, particularly when you see the after effects in the cold light of the morning.

So, my old area is a right off for me. It should be glamorous but isn’t anymore. There are still parts of London that I love but they are few and far between, and just away from the centre.

I now live on the outskirts of London, and commute in. However I haven’t had to since March 2020. On Saturday I decided to venture in and thought I would soak in an old friend. It did nothing for me. It’s dirty, grimy, parts of it in the West End are looking very grim. I feel sorry for the place, it’s lost it’s way, not help by the fact we have ended up with Khan as the figurehead. It is unfriendly. And can feel threatening too. The area around Victoria station is as grim as ever.

I would like to move much further out, preferably “up North” where my OH is from. The standard of living is higher, the people are friendlier, you can get anything you want via the Internet so you are not missing out on “London exclusives”. The sky seems bluer too. Okay I made that last bit up. But no, London these days is overrated. I am going to go back in for one offs - like a visit to the Royal Academy or the V & A, but just for a general mooch, no thanks. It’s appeal has gone.

 

[Peaches_xox]

I've lived in London my whole life but when I was 18 my grandparents moved to the countryside. I went to visit them in the first December they were there and popped to their local shop at about 4pm when it was already dark and I've never been more terrified in my life - but I'll happily travel home from work on the tube and walk down a London street in the dark. I don't know if its just what I'm used to but the country side scared me a whole lot more but I can totally get why walking down the street in London, when you're not from there, can be completely intimidating.

I agree! I live in London too and can happily walk home at night and not feel scared but I’m from here. Anywhere I’m not from I feel more scared at night!

 

[Tinkerbell cat]

My partner is from South West London, so we go over a few times a year to visit his family. I love it but couldn't live there, far too expensive. We live in a really nice house in Belfast, about 5 mins from city centre, 3 bed, huge open plan kitchen, big garden and if we basically lifted the house and put it in London it would be x4 the price. We love going over though, doing little pub crawls in random places, visiting all the tourist spots, going to Thorpe Park, Chessington etc. I will always be in awe at some of the things I have seen in London. One of my fave places to visit.

 

[YetAnotherObsessionx]

I agree! I live in London too and can happily walk home at night and not feel scared but I’m from here. Anywhere I’m not from I feel more scared at night!

It's funny isn't it because yesterday I went for a walk by myself (well, with the dog), around the very rural fields and lanes where I live, and I saw 1 other person in 90 minutes, and I always think how I feel so safe doing that here and I've never felt like anything bad can happen when there's nobody here. I guess that's because this is my comfort zone. I always think you'd have to be a pretty persistent criminal to hang around in some bushes here, cos nobody might walk past you all day! And the other thing I love is that if I do see other people out and about, it's usually pensioners or other women walking their dogs. It's lovely, for me - but others would find it scary or boring!

 

[House of Tea]

It's funny isn't it because yesterday I went for a walk by myself (well, with the dog), around the very rural fields and lanes where I live, and I saw 1 other person in 90 minutes, and I always think how I feel so safe doing that here and I've never felt like anything bad can happen when there's nobody here. I guess that's because this is my comfort zone. I always think you'd have to be a pretty persistent criminal to hang around in some bushes here, cos nobody might walk past you all day! And the other thing I love is that if I do see other people out and about, it's usually pensioners or other women walking their dogs. It's lovely, for me - but others would find it scary or boring!

Sounds idyllic to me!

 

[rosarosa]

Grew up in Yorkshire countryside, moved to London alone at 19, stayed for 16 years, and just moved to Bristol. Hugely mixed feelings. I love London with an intensity that I’m not sure I’ll ever feel about a place again, but I don’t think I will ever go back there to live.

I love the buzz, and history and anonymity of it. It makes me feel quite at peace being among so many different people, but it’s also enlivening. You can find pretty much anything there. I also never felt like an outsider in London, whereas I did where I grew up. That said, you do develop a different way of existing (e.g. how to navigate crowds) and I think this is why Londoners seem rude to outsiders. You need to disconnect a bit or it becomes too overwhelming.

The public transport is amazing and opens up so many possibilities, but I don’t enjoy getting on crowded and dirty tubes. Bristol public transport is absolutely shite, it’s genuinely a problem, and I’d rather have an unpleasant tube journey than be reliant on a car for everything.

I do like having proper countryside on my doorstep where I am now. Also don’t miss the pollution.

Ultimately we left because it’s too expensive. I’d love to settle in a Zone 2 neighbourhood, where it still feels like ‘London’, with a family-sized house and a garden. We concluded that we cannot afford it. Both my husband and I work in the City and we also benefit from generational wealth, but unless we want to spend the rest of our working lives in these careers (and we don’t), it’s just not an option for us. I really feel for people who have grown up in London and face the same dilemma. Rent / property prices are making it inaccessible for a lot of people, which I think is really sad.

But yeah, I think I will always love it.

 

[Aliali23]

Always glad to see Trees when I get home from London

 

[Peaches_xox]

Always glad to see Trees when I get home from London

I can confirm we have plenty of tree’s in London too

 

[watermelon sugar]

I can confirm we have plenty of tree’s in London too

does London have you on commission for sticking up for it

 

[Renegadedancer]

Was born in West London and lived there for 30 years . Moved away but go back regularly. There are so many things I love/loved about it. Museums, Art galleries, restaurants, tourist attractions, history, architecture, restaurants, shops, culture, parks and green spaces. I loved my yearly visit with my grandad ,from an early age, to see Father Christmas in Selfridges and then on to a bus to see the Christmas Lights on Regent and Oxford Street. As I got older we would go to watch the parade at the Notting Hill Carnival. I learnt to drive in Central London, bought my first ( very small) house there. I found the community spirit very strong. My job moved and I followed, got married and had children. I’m now a couple of hours away and go ‘home’ regularly but I don’t think I will ever move back .

 

[Ab Fab]

I love London and we visit often as we have family there, if I could I would live there

 

[LurkForTheTea]

As Dr. Johnson said, the man who is tired of London is tired of life.
Disclaimer: I never lived in London, but have visited a lot as I have a good few friends living there (I'm Irish)
I absolutely loved London when I was in college and in my 20s, the buzz, the fact that there was always something to do. I didn't really mind the crowds, it was all part of the hustle and bustle. Absolutely loved the cultural stuff like the British Museum, V&A, Science Museum, National Gallery.

In more recent years, I have found myself liking it a bit less. The crowds that were once exciting now grind my gears a lot. Also (maybe because I'm getting old and crippled in my mid 30s) I have found that there is a lot of hassle involved in going doing anything: there always seems to be a 15-20 min walk to the tube or DLR, then a horrible uncomfortable sweaty crowded tube ride and then another walk at the other end. I have a condition that means I get sore feet if I walk a lot and this has a lot to do with it I guess.

It contrasts to living on the outskirts of a small city in Ireland where everything is a very handy 10 or 15 minute drive. I guess I'm just getting old!