5 ms·
I live in London and I find it extremely overrated. The only appealing thing about it is the job market.
by sdfghswe 3y ago
I live in London and I find it extremely overrated. The only appealing thing about it is the job market.
- optimalsolver 3y agoWhat about the public transport? I've never bothered to learn how to drive, and it's never impacted my life here one bit.
- curiousgal 3y agoI love it too but my god is it loud!
- shakow 3y agoWhat about it? Is it not the run-of-the-mill Western European capital transport network?
- dukeyukey 3y agoAt 250 miles of track, it covers a much greater area than any other European (sans Russia) capital. The second largest is Madrid at 180 miles, and Paris is 140 miles.
- shakow 3y ago> Paris is 140 miles That's only the subway; a better comparison would include at least parts of the RER network, which covers 360 miles; let's say half of that in a range comparable to London subway. And London is much more spread out than Paris, so comparing mileage is not a very interesting metric. Subway station density is another one where London “loses”. Personally, I found London subway OK, with stations a bit too far away for my taste. The bus network however is better than in Paris, especially their frequency of passage.
- LeonB 3y agoBut Paris has those modern, wide boulevards that are far more walkable, for strolling Parisians, and marching armies alike.
- sdfghswe 3y agoMy opinion is that the tube is excellent that it exists because I _can_ take it somewhere, but I hate the experience. I hate the experience and doing it every day is soul sucking. I grant you it's not as bad as the experience of not being able to go where you want.
- helsinkiandrew 3y ago> What about the public transport? And the museums, theatres, cinemas, galleries, pubs, clubs, restaurants, markets, festivals, parks etc. But if you don't use any of those then London is just a noisy, dirty, expensive hell - you might as well live in the suburbs somewhere
- sdfghswe 3y agoAll things that you can find in any European capital, and I don't go to most of those anyway.
- dukeyukey 3y agoThat's your problem then, you're not doing in London the things people move to London for. I don't blame you for disliking London if you're not doing the things London excels at!
- dbbk 3y agoThe public transport is fine. I wouldn't say it's a particularly appealing aspect.
- ksec 3y ago>The only appealing thing about it is the job market. I assume that is specifically within UK? And not job market in the EU or Global Scale?
- sdfghswe 3y agoJob wise London is very good compared to most of the EU.
- asdadsdad 3y agojob-wise London is very good at pretty much any standard. Aside from the US, there's no other place that tops it
- dukeyukey 3y agoThe London job market is great for the UK, excellent within Europe, and stupendous by global standards. You'll find top jobs in tech, media, fashion, finance, academia, almost any professional field there is.
- secondcoming 3y agoIf you want to work in a diverse environment go work in London. It wouldn't surprise me if 50% of your colleagues weren't born in the UK, let alone London.
- dukeyukey 3y agoMy team in London has 8 people: 3 Brits 2 Americans 1 each of Ukrainian, Irish, and French. The head of the department is also French.
- dbbk 3y agoHonestly it's too big. Lived there for 7 years and had enough of the cold, grey, miserable existence marked by having to travel at least 30 minutes, typically 45 minutes to go anywhere in any direction. And I lived in Stratford Zone 2! Moved to Barcelona and the difference is night and day.
- veave 3y ago[flagged]
- OJFord 3y agoI lived about 5min towards the centre (Bow) for almost ten years - and the other side in W2 & W12 (worlds apart!) for a couple before that - and I agree with you, but the optimistic alternative reading is that it is also quite amazing how much is accessible within that time. i.e. it takes 40m to get anywhere... But there's an incredible variety of things & places to which you can get in 40m!
- whywhywhywhy 3y agoLet’s be honest Stratford isn’t anything remotely considered central even if it is technically zone 2. Night and day difference living out there on the edge than living closer in within one of the neighborhoods having restaurants, cafes and local pubs on your doorstep and being able to walk to work.
- asdadsdad 3y agoLondon is great iff you have comfort at home, i.e. if you live in a good place where you actually rest. If you live in a shoebox it's miserable
- dukeyukey 3y agoI'd actually argue the other way around - London is a great place to live in a shoebox, because while housing is more expensive here, everything else is similar to the rest of the country, and there's a tonne of cheap/free stuff to go to. Moving to London and staying at home is like living in Sydney and never going to the beach, or to Vancouver and never going to the mountains. You're just not doing what the city is great at.
- asdadsdad 3y agohaving lived in NYC, which has a more intense albeit similar vibe, I have come to appreciate having a comfortable place to go back to at the end of a day. I think that makes a total difference on your experience. That and commute time. Cities like that offer so much, but I personally prefer to take bites of it whenever I feel like it. I think the biggest wins are the job market, career progression, the business opportunities, the fact that it's one of the best travel hubs in the world, and the insane amount of quality and diverse food, entertainment, and shopping options.
- _fvh3 3y agoBlud did NOT even read the article