London

Former Member

At the moment, I feel as if this city is sucking the soul out of me...

I can't think of anything worse than living my life much longer, in a city like this (ok, figure of speech... Obviously, war zones are worse)... Next year I plan on being out!

I grew up very much in the countryside, on the side of a mountain. I find the fact that cars are constantly running, people are loud and the sensory overload exhausting, sometimes... It's so dirty and ick... People everywhere... No peace and quiet.

I don't feel especially safe in my area, we have people try to kick our door in sometimes, or have men comment on us and sometimes follow us in the street.

I am used to very friendly, personal people... But London is too big for that. If I wanna see my friends, I sometimes have to travel up to an hour, even if they technically only live 4 miles away!

They say when you're tired of London, you're tired of life or something... But right now, I feel I'm existing, not living.

How about you?

London... Love it, or hate it? And why?

Former Member

hate it. It's noisy, smelly, dirty, impersonal, expensive, and like you say - things might be close together but they seem so far from each other by London standards. I can get to

Former Member

London is okay for a day trip but that's all.

Former Member

Love it, but i was 'born n' raised' there. I do agree about the smelly/noisy/dirty bit though

Former Member

And I find the people are ignorant and rude, as a generalism. Certainly when compared to northerners

**helen**

While I love London, I can certainly relate to every single point you've made here Namaste. *hug* Which area do you live in?

Former Member

Slartibartfast wrote: »

And I find the people are ignorant and rude, as a generalism. Certainly when compared to northerners

Depends on the northerner, truth be told. I think Leeds is a very rude city, although admittedly the rudest people there are the fucking rah yuppies and students, and they don't count as northerners.

Former Member

You're wrong! Leeds is great! Nah I know what you mean, people are rude in Leeds though because you know that the person you push past in the street is someone you're never going to see again, probably. I think Leeds is quite a southern city really, it doesn't feel very "northern" to me. Depends on what your definition of Northern is though.
(hi btw)

Former Member

**helen** wrote: »

While I love London, I can certainly relate to every single point you've made here Namaste. *hug* Which area do you live in?

Currently, Tooting (not the posh part).

Former Member

Alright for a day or two but it really starts to stress me out after a while.

Couldn't live in the middle of any major city, too busy, too noisy, too stressful

Former Member

Knee High Stripy Socks wrote: »

(hi btw)

WTF? Old face, long time no see KHSS

:wave:

Former Member

I've pretty much liked London when I've been there but would hate to live there long-term, for most of the reasons given. Cities in general I dislike, Glasgow I can handle growing up there its the familiary that keeps that shithole of a place tolerable, plus the abundance of nice parks. I liked Bath a lot, Edinburgh too, those are the most pleasant cities aesthetically in the UK I think but really, the rest are just shitholes.

Ideally I'd own my own small holding far away from the urban smog and live the rural life as much as possible but that's just a pipe dream. Urban and suburban life is realistically inescapable for most people unfortunately.

Former Member

I like London for a day trip but don't think I could live there. I have lived 30 miles away most of my life- it's a good distance away I think.

Former Member

I very rarely go but when I do (to go see a show or something) the streets are always packed and its so hard to get around, something that I hate! Im living pretty much in the middle of Cambridge at the moment for uni and i dont even go into town on saturdays, its just too busy.

Saying that, i like peace and quiet and space and driving but also like living within walking distance of town/uni/work/tescos/friends. So much easier than at home where you have to get in the car to do anything. I guess i just want it all!

Former Member

I like London for a day or two, but I'm always glad to leave.

I couldn't live there.

Former Member

The idea of living in a big city doesn't bother me. I'm currently living in a city that's infinitely louder, more crowded and dirtier than London, and I quite enjoy it. But if I was going to live in any city, I think it would be conditional on having enough cash to make it worthwhile. There's lots of great stuff going on in London, but if you can't afford to do any of it, you might as well be anywhere else in the country.

Former Member

where do you want to move to Sel? What is it youre looking for?

I dont think I would like to live in London for very long, although i enjoy it for day trips.

Former Member

i loooooooooooooooove london!!! So many nice restaurants and things to do...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i want to move to london!

Former Member

I love London, but I doubt I could ever live there for more than a couple of years at the most. Too many people.

Former Member

Knee High Stripy Socks wrote: »

You're wrong! Leeds is great! (hi btw)

hi2u2 :wave:

I like Leeds (to an extent anyway) don't get me wrong, I just think it's a rude city. Don't know why. I think it might be because of the large transient population, same as in London.

As for whether I could live in London, I used to think I'd hate it but now I'm not so sure. I have a few friends in London, I know where a few good pubs and restaurants are, I can avoid the tourist traps. I don't think I'd mind it.

My problem with living in London would be the expense. I couldn't afford to live in as nice an area as I do in Newcastle, even if I was earning an extra ten grant a year; where I live now is just a bog-standard suburb, it isn't anything posh. I wouldn't want to raise a family in Tower Hamlets, for instance, and if you end up living in zone five or zone six then you're really not in London anyway. I know how much friends have paid for their houses; whilst nice enough, the same amount of cash up here would buy you about a bazillion acres and 47 function rooms.

Former Member

Thats why i wouldnt live in London.
Unless youre earning a bloody fortune you live in a shoebox or a really shit area. Mostly both.
Where I live is less than an hour from London, My partner commutes into the city every day, so we have the benefit of much much cheaper housing, nicer area, yet London wages

Former Member

Arctic Roll wrote: »

I like Leeds (to an extent anyway) don't get me wrong, I just think it's a rude city. Don't know why. I think it might be because of the large transient population, same as in London.

The city centre is either awful, and full of weirdos, or getting a bit up itself and full of people so trendy I'm not sure even they know what they're wearing. The outskirts and suburbs have some really nice areas. I guess that's the way it is in a lot of big cities!

I love going home, but after living the small town lifestyle for a few years, I now avoid going into the centre of Leeds most of the time. There are still some nice parts in town, but they're getting less and less.

The city lifestyle probably suits urban types down to the ground, but it's not for me. Give me open fields, minimal Sunday trading and a large minority of BNP voters any day of the week

Former Member

I've only been a few times for the day/late evening/early morning. I didn't really think much of the night life, specially the gay clubs. I said the first time I went there, I could live here for a maximum of 6 months to a year. Too crowded, people just push and shove, don't bother move out the way, or be helpful to anybody but themselves. The tube is just over crowded. I didn't feel unsafe there, but I think that had most to do with me not knowing what is actually like, but some times when waiting for the bus I did think I hope that person stays away from me, s/he looks dodgy.

I'm sure one night when I went into McDonald's for a snack some guy went into the toilet and shot up, he was on edge, shaking and shit. Because I waited like 10 minutes and decided to just go elsewhere. Not a good sign when that's the first impressions of a city.

I know quite a lot of people who have, and are doing the whole "lets move to London, experience it first hand" thing, to live the lifestyle.

Former Member

JavaKrypt wrote: »

I'm sure one night when I went into McDonald's for a snack some guy went into the toilet and shot up, he was on edge, shaking and shit.

You see that in a lot of places though. In terms of drug abuse levels, the worst town I've seen is Penrith in Cumbria, which is a chocolate-box market town in the Lake District (full of farmers getting mullered and having a fight on a Saturday night).

Former Member

you get drug abuse everywhere

Former Member

I've liked London every time I've visited. Like others have said, I reckon you'd need the money to enjoy it properly. Not sure I could be tempted away from Brighton, though.

Former Member

I much prefer Brighton to London, although I'd never recommend the Radisson as a place to stay

Former Member

Slartibartfast wrote: »

I much prefer Brighton to London, although I'd never recommend the Radisson as a place to stay

The Royal Albion a few buildings down is pretty hit and miss too (more miss than hit), if you're ever thinking of booking a hotel in Brighton again.

Former Member

I get that drug abuse happens everywhere, but I've never seen that kind of thing where I live before. Surely there are better places to go and shoot up, not a single, disabled toilet that has to be opened by the staff in a McDonald's late at night.

Former Member

I live in Kentish Town in London. I like it but could do with more space and a nice garden for my cat to play in. I have lived here for 8 years but would like to move out in a few years. I've had a good time in London and most of my friends are here so I'm really unsure about moving out of town. I think we might move to the outskirts of London first and see how that is. I like not having to drive and being able to get about easily with public transport and having good links to most places in the UK.

Former Member

CptCoatHanger wrote: »

The Royal Albion a few buildings down is pretty hit and miss too (more miss than hit), if you're ever thinking of booking a hotel in Brighton again.

I like the Queens because a late booking is cheaper than even Premier Inn and it's not bad comfort wise.