City Discussion: London

[dholliday]

i lived there between '99-'05, mostly south/south-west...had an ace time but always felt a bit iffy that England seems so London-weighted. Germany, for example, spreads its influence around between a good dozen big cities.

Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham all fine cities...but London is on another level: a cultural behemoth the whole world knows about.


Is London that great? Or was it but have the others finally caught up? Or is it a massive overregarded dump?


i reckon it's not as great as it was, now in 2022 there's better places to live...but the vote is anonymous so let's see if we get a consensus.

 

[Daveysgingerlovechild]

Worst place in the UK, hands down. Actively avoid it.

 

[YoboCopter]

Knife crime and chelsea fans

Avoid

 

[Wizard]

Lived here for 25 years but couldn't say whether it's the best place to live in the UK or not as the only other place I've lived is Cambridge and that was when I was really young. Don't think you can really get an idea of what it would be like to live somewhere unless you spend a lot of time there. Can't see myself moving though, at least not any time soon.

 

[ToffeeTim]

Really like visiting but not sure I'd enjoy living there full time.

 

[Oddball]

The best thing about London was the bands that played there all the time but probably most big cities are like that. It`s the people that make a city what it is.
Knocked about around the East-End quite a lot, reminded me of Liverpool, great people.
South Londoners were like Wools, not up to much but they thought they had it going-on.
North London was ok i s`pose, nothing to write home about though.

 

[tsubaki]

Having experienced the lockdowns down here, all I would say is that London was a vastly better place without the traffic fumes; the only thing I can compare it to is going from a twenty year old bulky television to one with some mad ultra-high definition 55 inch screen. You could literally see the difference in the air, as well as the different taste and smell.

As a city it can be a bit immense and overwhelming - you can walk through Battersea Park or along the Kings Road on a fine summer's evening and see several absolute 11 out of 10 stunners jogging past wearing outfits that may have been painted on, then see some really famous celebrities sat outside an eatery and then on the very next street see some scrotes snatching phones on a moped. Then you walk onto the Strand near the late Queen's bank and see hundreds of people queuing up for free food. You can get food from literally every country on earth here, often relatively cheaply but most people seem to eat "chicken" in a city with a bird vermin problem. The place has the best public transportation system on the planet, but if you go down to the top of Sloane Street of an evening you can see absolute bellends driving along in hypercars that they've covered in velvet or blackboard paint. In terms of French citizens it would be the fourth or fifth biggest city in France.

 

[Jacko93]

Absolutely despise the place with every fibre of my being. Home to some of the most abhorrent people in the country.
I have to travel there for work sometimes and it makes me want to quit.
A place where not only do people not pick you up if you fall, but they tut at the inconvenience of having to step over you.

An absolute cesspit.

 

[The binman chronicles]

Really like visiting but not sure I'd enjoy living there full time.

This in summary covers it well.

London has truly great parts, blessed with iconic landmarks and from an entertainment point of view and getting around on public transport is unmatched.

It like most major metropolises suffers from traffic issues and pollution. One short visit and you'll know you've been by the dark black deposits up your nose. This cannot be healthy. It is too busy, noisy and violent in a lot of areas.

So to get the best of both worlds, live somewhere else and visit every now and again. You appreciate it more but also be glad to come back home.

 

[dholliday]

A place where not only do people not pick you up if you fall, but they tut at the inconvenience of having to step over you.

Opposite of my experience. I'm thankful to have encountered tons of helpful genuine people in London.

Maybe the city has a dog-eat-dog reputation, but this aspect of it always seemed optional to me.

 

[Black Belt Jones]

Did 3 years there as a younger man and loved it. Go back now and it's like a trip to the zoo - how do people live like this?

Brb driving 5 hours to go for a hillwalk. Total non-starter.

Was a great city to cycle, did every yard of tarmac. Probably changed now, don't really know how big a deal the congestion charge is / was.

 

[WA Toffee]

I enjoy visiting London. Being a country bumpkin though, I enjoy visiting any big city.

My visits have always been to the city centre and tourist areas, have absolutely no idea what the rest of it is like

 

[BornBlue76]

Lived there in my mid twenties and as a single person forging a career or whatever.. I think London is the greatest city on earth.

Now with a family I’m not sure. I think living an hour outside and you can go in if you want to is the way to go.

Still the greatest city in the world for me.

 

[MikeH72]

I actively avoid it personally.

 

[chrismpw]

i lived there between '99-'05, mostly south/south-west...had an ace time but always felt a bit iffy that England seems so London-weighted. Germany, for example, spreads its influence around between a good dozen big cities.

Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham all fine cities...but London is on another level: a cultural behemoth the whole world knows about.


Is London that great? Or was it but have the others finally caught up? Or is it a massive overregarded dump?


i reckon it's not as great as it was, now in 2022 there's better places to live...but the vote is anonymous so let's see if we get a consensus.

Detest the place. The massive London weighting is the key to my dislike of the dump. They get everything, which is ridiculous given its non central location.

Then its the expense, the noise, the traffic and the fact you get fleeced at where action. Add to that the absolute bull that it is bigged up at every opportunity as being s great place - either by people with a vested interest in attracting mugs there to feast off them, or people who've never been outside of the festering swamp of financial obsession.