Longjing

Wow, I never realised that the people who know most about London are those who work here once a fortnight or visited 15 years ago... second only to people who've seen it on telly, naturally.

It's never been a popular place with the rest of England, or the English. There have always been too many foreigners here for many people's tastes, been that way for hundreds of years.

That international element is also why it's one of the world's great cities, and generates tax revenues that central government uses to subsidise the poor parts of the country - everything to the north and west.

StickyMicky

Its a scruffy, rude, pikey fest IMHO

i was never impressed with it, neither was my G/F who lived down that way for a year.


nicest place i ever stopped in for a while was yorkshire TBH

bohnjegley

lets not forget that there is good and bad everywhere. I have worked all over the UK , most of the big cities with a high population have a scum element and if you are not scum then it should not bother you. I am now living in the center of London and have been for the past five years. It is a great city with so much to do and so little time.

As with anything it is each to there own.

106rallye

You could apply most of the points made against London to lots of big cities, Nottingham has gun problems, Birmingham probably is as multicultural as london as just two examples.

If you can afford to do it then London is a great place, you only need to visit places like Hampstead, Warwick Ave, Primrose Hill etc etc etc to find very desirable locations with more of a small town atmosphere only about 10 minutes by tube to the centre of the West End.

The night life is awesome and i would happily walk round the parts I know at night on my own, which I wouldn't do in the town I grew up in.

Horrible places to live are not confined just to the capital. I would rather live here than commute from Luton for example.

Like it or not this country is supported by London. It contributes about 17percent of the GDP of this country and this contribution is larger than some European countries GDP in total. It is also a 'tax exporter' i.e. more money is made in tax revenue that gets used on public spending.

as said before each to their own but in my opinion if people want to live in a big city in the UK then its the best.

I think half the people saying they don't like it would not want to live in any city in the UK

Andy

KiwiGTI

3 areas where it will cost you £400K for a 2 bedroom flat.

No question London is multicultural, but most of them are not here to live, they are year for a couple of years before they move on having made their money or finished their expat contract.

106rallye

I am not disputing the cost at all hence why I said if you can afford it (Which in no way I can) but people were saying London was a carp place to live, I was just saying its not but at a price.

If people are working here and earning money on our tax system then surely thats a good thing? Even if they are ex pats not paying tax locally then you would hope they were making their a profit which filters through the system in corporation tax. You could argue that it is a preferential situation than people living here illigally or moving here because of the good benifits system.

Andy

HowieG

Kiwigti are you talking about yourself? Perhaps you should get out more.

So much rubbish spoken by those who are either jealous or ignorant of London.

Yes, it is expensive, but even if you don't live in Hampstead, Primrose Hill etc, it is still a great place to live. There are vast areas called the suburbs - this is where the regular folk live. In these areas you will find cosmopolitan society carrying on with life as you would expect. People go to work, children go to school, neighbours are friendly to each other - life is interesting and fun, all you need is a bit of imagination to take advantage of all that London has to offer.

Oh, and don't forget that the suburbs are linked to town by the tube so that you don't need to live on Oxford Street to live in 'London'.

I would suggest that a few more SNetters get in to town to experience it for themselves, rather than rely on the tabloid headlines.

PS. Avoid Coldharbour Lane!

How

KiwiGTI

That may be the case, but 90% of Londons attractions are in Zones 1+2 which is where the majority of foreigners and expats are.

If you can name an attraction or show that I haven't seen I'd be quite surprised.

As for the suburban London - no thanks, that's definitely not what people are talking about when they refer to it as a great city.

Freak

Spot on.
London is every problem in this turd of a country multiplied several times

HowieG

I realise that this is Scoobynet and that accuracy counts for less than heartfelt opinion, but really, all the foreigners and expats in zones 1+2. What planet are you from? Perhaps that is your experience, if you never leave the centre.

8m people in London. Do they all live in zone 1+2. Oh no, London is a large place - far more to it than the centre.

I live 6/7 miles from the centre - still very much London. Those with no knowledge of London may consider it to be just Hyde Park and Covent Garden, which is fine if you are a tourist, but for those seeking a family life whilst still being within easy access of the centre, I can assure you London extends a little further out.

HowieG

P.S Do you know the attraction that is Coldharbour Lane?

Suresh

Waste incinerator + Milwall FC?

KiwiGTI

Yes, but the whole argument of London being an international centre is based on the institutions and attractions largely within those zones, except a few spots such as Greenwich or Richmond (and technically not London I know). The same as New York and Manhattan.

Flatcapdriver

Well, it is a great international city that is probably one of the most diverse on the planet and despite the usual whingeing pom attitudes that prevails on Scoobynet, there are a number of reasons why foreigners rate the place so highly.

It has one of the best transport infrastructures in the world but people are so used to whining about it that they fail to see the benefits of a system that links bus, rail and tube networks in a cohesive system. Its not perfect but given that its over 120 years old still manages to work well - try getting a train or bus combination in Sydney for instance. New York's system doesn't compare and parts of it are no-go areas and whilst other cities may have better rail or tube networks, they're rarely integrated to the same extent.

Culturally, it has one of the most diverse collections of museums and art galleries in the world coupled with some fantastic theatre if you're into that sort of thing.

Financially, it has been the international centre of world finance for some time but thanks to Sarbanes Oxley and the Wireless Act, London has become even more attractive to foreign investment institutions which really proves how lighter regulation can really prove effective.

As far as crime is concerned, its no worse than other major conurbations in the UK, certainly Nottingham suffers from more gun/knife crimes per capita than London and it would compare favourably to other international cities of a similar size.

Unfortunately, the British suffer from this 'chip on the shoulder' mentality and feel the need to belittle any success particularly if its of the home grown variety so inevitably London (as well as being the economic powerhouse of the UK economy) is going to be disparaged by those with little imagination.

OllyK

I lived in London for 5 years, from nicer parts such as Kingston & Richmond to the less nice areas such as Greenford and Wembley. I worked in various areas including Piccadilly Circus, Islington, Uxbridge and Hounslow.

I spent 6 months commuting down there daily from the Midlands mostly to the Euston / Kings Cross area. I'm still down there regularly to places like White City, Barbican and Walthamstow.

There are the odd nice bits like Richmond, there lots of interesting museums etc, but on the whole it's a dirty, crowded and generally an unpleasant place to be. I don't mind visiting occasionally on a social basis, I hate traveling there for work as transport is a nightmare for most of the places I end up going these days and I certainly wouldn't live there again.

Moonloops

London has always been edgy - that's why the country bumpkins don't like it much

Luan Pra bang

London is clearly a centre for art/fashion/finance etc and as has been said there are areas that you can afford to live in south and north but while it is great for the UK in terms of image finance and tourism for me its full of obnoxious people and is a horrible place to live in. The worst part is having to plan every trip based on parking for the car, what times the tube shuts getting a taxi to go south of the river after dark etc.

Jerome

I worked in the city for nearly 10 years and also lived in Pimlico for several years. I loved the place and would be back there now if even renting wasn't such silly money. If I start working there again, I'll definitely look into living there again as I'll be on much better money.

It seems to me if you don't feel the buzz or vibe about London, you won't like it. The buzz is what enables you to look past the bad sides of London. I lived in Toronto for several years and it seemed boring in comparison even though it was cleaner, had much better transport etc.

As for looking for somewhere to park, you must be mad taking your car into town.

Edited to add, I feel safer in even dodgy areas at night (eg Brixton & Hackney) than I would in Brackhell, Alder**** and numerous other hedgebumper towns.

davegtt

Seen lots of the UK and I would say London is probably the worse place here. And thats coming from someone born and raised in Oldham I would do anything to get out of going there for even a days work etc.

I have a weeks long course down there to attend. Absolutely dreading it.

ChefDude

I live in Angel and work off Googde Street station/Tottenham Court Road. I love living in london; there's so much to do and see and an amazing amount for free too.

I love the convenience of having all the shops, restaurants, bars, etc. So incredibly diverse and varied.

I get tired of constantly looking over my shoulder, the 20 quid for a 3 mile taxi at night, finding an unowned bag on the tube, coming up the escalator at Angel to find 50 policemen and 4 walk through metal detectors at midnight on a saturday night in the name of reducing knife crime (twice that's happened now).

but...

standing on millennium bridge looking down the thames; magnificent!

wouldn't live any where else in the UK... but would live anywhere else in the world lol

KiwiGTI

As for energy and the 'vibe' I find many other cities are better than London anyway.

Everyone has different opinions but I'm a big fan of the cafe lifestyle, so Paris and Rome are excellent for people watching. It's hard to beat the sheer energy of many cities in the Far East such as Shanghai, Hong Kong and Bangkok - true 24 hour cities. New York also has a great vibe.

For me, London is all about culture and establishments, where it is relatively unrivalled (Paris has better Museums) - not the people.

Diesel

Lived there for 10 years; fabulous exciting buzzy city and ideal for childless 25to 35 year olds with a couple of quid. All you need to cut out much of the hassle is a bike [motor or legs]. I never went on a tube in 10 years and so my quality of life was much higher!

Left when I heard baby sitters were £20 an hour and before my daughter learned Estuary Engerlish and how to uase a flick knife innit

D

Brendan Hughes

Grew up in Harrow, university in Richmond / Kingston. Have also lived in Brussels (pop 2million?), Moscow (10 Million), Lisbon (1 Million).

I don't like to live in the centre of ANY big city.

Apparition

Last time I was there, it was dirty, smelly and noisy. Just like the people in fact .
Yve