London Life

[MrMister]

Is it worth living experiencing London life ? Is it good in terms of work etc ? Is really a hustle bustle ? Public transport any good ?

[ladybirder]

In my opinion it is. I lived there for 12 years and loved it. Getting to know all the places I had heard and read about. This was in the 80's and 90's though and I think it's changed a lot now.

[craft1948]

I lived there for a year with work, and although I enjoyed the experience I wouldn't have liked to continue living there. To an extent my stay was quite false as my bed and board in Central London was paid by my employer, the vast majority of 'local' people I worked with faced long and expensive commutes to work each day. I loved the theatre, shopping, bars, and pavement cafe culture but couldn't have afforded it on my normal salary.

[Maydup]

I live din London for a couple of years in the 80's and wouldn';t have missed it for the world. My only regret was doing so at a time when I was sooooo hard up! I had work but it was low paid.

Now I could afford to enjoy it a little more maybe, but its all relative and hugely expensive. Work depends very much on your particular field but for culture and real life experiences its second to none. Be there in time for the Olumpics, if for no reason other than the feeling of being an insider.

[shaneystar2]

I lived in London for twenty odd years .Not central though ,down the road in Wimbledon .
Now retired to the sticks and have to say I loved the years I spent there.
There's a buzz about living in London .
Go for it .Even if it's only for a short time and you can get work .
Lots to see and do .Public transport is OK , sardine stylie .Like any big city .

[MrMister]

yes, i always here this about traveling issues, but was wondering how the transport system is the like ?

[craft1948]

I think the transport system is excellent, although I did have the experience of a one-day strike when there were no trains, tubes or buses.....................

[MrMister]

A friend of mine said it was a nighmare lol He said no one would ever have time for you and thins are too larger than life... but i suppose it was the situation he was in.

I think London has its own culture.

[Maydup]

Transport is fabulous, day and night, plenty of options. Busy but fast moving (most of the time!)

[MrMister]

Sorry i meant to say that my friend said while living in London "things" are larger than life there...

[Buenchico]

Public transport:
Vastly better, in terms of coverage and frequency of service, than almost anywhere else in the UK (and on at least a par with many other international capitals). However peak time travel often means experiencing considerable overcrowding. (Not anywhere as bad as Tokyo but still fairly unpleasant). Getting to know the tricks of travelling can help. (e.g. boarding the very front, or very back carriage, of a Tube train will often enable you to find a seat while those in the centre carriages all have their noses pressed into someone else's armpits).

Work:
Rates of pay in many (but not all) jobs are often higher than elsewhere in the country. For example, here in East Anglia, a warehouse supervisor with twenty staff under him will probably earn £6.50 to £7.00 per hour. Around Heathrow, the pay rate for that job would be around three times that amount. However higher pay is negatively offset by . . .

Housing costs:
For the vast majority of Londoners, buying a property is probably out of the question. Renting is more common than elsewhere in the UK but it's still expensive. For example, I saw an ad yesterday for a one-bedroom flat in central London (but not in a particularly 'posh' area) at £420 per week. You can pay far less in the 'grottier' areas around the fringes of London (e.g. Dagenham) but it could still be at least double the price of housing in other parts of the UK.

Hustle & bustle:
Yes loads of it. You can't avoid it and you either love it or loathe it. However London does have more green space, for unwinding, than most other big cities across the world.

Cost of living:
Your shopping bill in a London branch of Asda or Tesco won't be any more than in Sheffield or Bristol but 'luxuries', like beer, might cost rather more. (Expect to pay £3.50 to £4.00 per pint for bitter, or basic lager, in many places but there are ch

[shaneystar2]

It's fine .It gets you from A to B .
When I first went there early 80's it was a bit grim but they've made huge changes to the Tube , bus services and main line stations . Bendy busses excepted.
Of course you have to strap hang on the Tube and crowd onto the bus .It's London :)

[Buenchico]

. . .cheaper pubs around).

Culture:
With over 200 theatres, plus loads of cinemas, music venues, etc, there's nowhere else in the world to match London. But you usually need plenty of money to enjoy them.

Chris

[ethandron]

i think it's one of those places you either love or hate. personally i love visiting london and could spend weeks and weeks just roaming around but i would never live there. however, i have a few family members who live in central london and absolutely love the life.
as for the transport system, it's great. buses, tube, trains, a complete network enabling you to get pretty quickly across the city, just takes a bit of getting used to and you need to be on the ball in terms of getting the cheapest fares.

[MrMister]

Thats excellent analysis Buenchico

[spudqueen]

Your friend is partly correct. I lived in London for 6 years in the 80's and had a fabulous time. I was young though (20 when I moved there), and had a job and accommodation to go to. But funnily enough most (but not all) of the people I became friends with (I still see some of them) were northerners. But it doesn't suit everybody. I know people who wouldn't even dream of living in a town let alone a city, any city! But if you don't experience it for yourself you'll never know what it's like, so go for it, have an adventure!

[giveup]

I lived there in the 60,s and loved every minute.We still go up when we can for weekends.Live in Devon but when I win the lottery I will buy a flat on the river,near the London Eye.

[netibiza]

I lived there for several years in the 60's which was a pretty good time to be there, but would still live there part time if I could afford a holiday flat there. I would do so much more and visit all the places that I took for granted then!