Is London a good place to live?

Question

I'm moving to London in about 6 months (I currently live in Oklahoma) but I'm getting discouraged b/c I keep hearing negative comments about it. Are the people really that bad?? Also, what part of London should I live in? I'm an accountant and expect to find a job with a modest salary and figure I'll be spending most of my $ towards rent.

Answer 1

I'm from London. It is expensive in terms of eating out and public transport compared to the States. Owning a car is also expensive but the flip side is that we don't have to pay NOWHERE near as much to go to university. My american lawyer friend is $90k in debt. The average debt here $20k and that is only if you had to pay fees in the first place.

The healthcare is free but as a visitor you may need to pay unless your work pays for you. So when you balance it up, it probably works out the same.

Where you live depends on your salary. As a general rule, the further out from the centre you are the cheaper the rent however there are many exceptions.

It is a great city and if people appear cold it's because they are wary of strangers ....it is a city after all! British people love to hate Americans. They love a lot of things about the US but because London is so multi-cultural, they hate the "america is the best country in the world" attitude that some Americans come with and mistakenly think all americans are like that.

Use the site below to get an idea of the names of areas and the cost in rent. Remember not to think in American dollars as it is weak against the pound. Calculate it from what you will be getting as pay in british pounds.

Answer 2

= I think it depends a lot on what you would like for example a flat just off Oxford Street is a good location (depending on exactly where though to be honest...I meant Tottenham Ct Rd end isn't exactly glamorous!) hwoever that is a really busy part of town and you are always going to get lots of noise and people around. I agree with other poster - Angel is a lovely part of town with gorgeous restaurants. However perhaps you would feel Kensington or Chelsea to be more appropriate - certainly plenty of young beautiful people around there - successful? well certainly monied and there are also older people around there too. It is a lot more old school there though. If you want somewhere more funkier and trendier - what about Clerkenwell. Definitely the place if you are into the arts and / or media. There are some gorgeous loft style apartments in that area and there is access to all the cutting edge bars / clubs / restaurants of East London (Hoxton/ Shoreditch etc) I always think the river is a lovely place to live by however so I would recommend something like Chelsea / Pimlico /. Shad Thames etc - one of the complexes by the river. Shad Thames would be a good idea if you are city worker? Hope that helps!!

Answer 3

London is a very expensive city, but then so are palces like New York. It is also often very poor value for money, especially eating out.

It is a very crowded city, which can come as an unpleasant shock - far worse than most major cities I have visited, and resulting in very unpleasant pollution (get out of London and the pollution frees itself from your lungs, and you sneeze black goo - its very nasty, happens to me every time I go there).

Londoners themselves are probably the most unfriendly city dwellers on Earth. They are truly dreadful. But fortunately the city is overrun with people from all over the rest of the UK, Europe and the World, and they are all generally very friendly.

It is not an unduly dangerous city - whatever people here may say - though petty street crime is an issue. Drugs are a major problem, especially in the West End.

There is of course lots to do.

I would say its a great place to experience living in but a lousy place to call home. The high prices, aweful public transport, dirt and unfriendly natives make it a poor place to call home. Without a very high salary you would face either cramped living conditions, very long commutes or both.

The London subburbs are perhaps the most depressing places on Earth.

Answer 4

London is VERY overpriced for rent, housing, eating and just everything. It is generally a dirty place, and the tubes are FILTHY and smelly. Keep your handbag close to you at all times and DO NOT wear a back pack as thieves open the back of it whilst you are not looking and steal your purse or whatever.
Obviously a lot of people seem to like it as a lot of people live there, but personally I don't. I am sure you will get a job and you might even get a decent wage, but you will spend it all on just living.
Since joining Europe the beggars and gypsies have come "en masse" to London, they jump in front of you with a baby in their arms and ask you for money, aggressive begging it is called.
Well heres hoping that you prove us all wrong and that you find it a wonderful place!

Answer 5

London is fabulous, there is always something for everyone, of any taste. And so many people from all over the world you can always make friends - juts don't expect them to be londoners- some old London colleagues once explained why they are so unfriendly to foreigners - they said they are sick of investing time with people who will only then just leave in a year or so - I can get where they are coming from. But after some time - they'll warm to you

Answer 6

People appear cold and hard in the South of the country (generally) especially to Americans. Only north of Watford you get lots of people that actively like Americans (usually). Try a suburb like Croydon, 25 minutes from central London by fast train, got everything including lots of Americans and it's a bit cheaper. Rents in central London are for the rich only now.

Answer 7

i want to move to london too..well after high skool, anyway. ive never heard of the people there being bad or anything. but i did hear that a lot of europeans dont like americans. i think u should just go and try it out, who knows, it might be awesome. i mean i'll probably doing just that in about 2 years. the only towns i know of are manchester(i think thats a town), wales. just the central part of london should be ok.

Answer 8

Look for a place near Hampstead Heath -
Belsize Park or West Hampstead.

Answer 9

I want to go to london but i know people who vacation there for about 1 month and they tell me its awsome and very nice clean and neat

Answer 10

its expensive as ***!
i want 2 live here 2.. im just here oin vacations and have been all around england from london to lancaster and manchester, blackpool, bath spa and everythin.... i suggest liv in either preston or manchester