6 ms·

It's one of my favorite places to spend time when in London. It's comfortable, clean, quiet, aesthetically striking, easy to loaf around at, and there's high br

It's one of my favorite places to spend time when in London. It's comfortable, clean, quiet, aesthetically striking, easy to loaf around at, and there's high brow art in numerous forms to enjoy – it's kinda like BBC Radio 3 if it were a neighborhood. It's also five minutes from the Elizabeth Line and the parking is good which is unusual for the City. It's strikingly non-commercial - there are no chains or even convenience stores there, though there is a fantastic music shop. It's one of those rare places you can feel more intelligent and cultured by merely being there. I'd love to retire there when the kids are gone, although there are a lot of oddities about Barbican living to contend with that are probably more fun to read about than deal with for real.

simonw 1y ago
"kinda like BBC Radio 3 if it were a neighborhood" Thanks for that, put a smile on my face.
philipwhiuk 1y ago
> It's also five minutes from the Elizabeth Line And about 200ft. Such is the maze-like nature of the Barbican.
- zeristor 1y ago
  Actually the Barbican station has a lift that goes to the Elizabeth line at the far end.
  - pledg 1y ago
    It also depends where you are in the Barbican. It spans between the Barbican station and Moorgate. If you are at the latter you can enter Elizabeth line from there too.
    - deleted 1y ago
      [deleted]
freyfogle 1y ago
I lived there for three years, rented a flat. Living in the Barbican was fantastic, livign in my flat was not fantastic. I used to joke it was a time machine to 1965. There was not only no dishwasher, there was literally no space for a dishwasher. Day one that seems funny, a few days later less so. I was spending a fortune in rent to spend 30 minutes every day handwashing my dishes. I did know people who had bought and renovated, they had amazing places. Oddly on my hall of 10 there were 10 flats of which 4 were empty. I don't mean someone just came occasionally I mean 100% empty with no furniture, with rich people just using it as an investment. Overall though was a greart experience, it's a fantasic place.
- pbalau 1y ago
  > I was spending a fortune in rent to spend 30 minutes every day handwashing my dishes. Did you used to cook for the seven dwarves and their extended families, every day?
  - freyfogle 1y ago
    not seven, but yes, I had two small children at the time
- talldan 1y ago
  > There was not only no dishwasher, there was literally no space for a dishwasher. This is quite common for older places in the UK. Some places might have been updated to allow for a dishwasher, but there are probably rules against that in the Barbican.
  - freyfogle 1y ago
    To my knowledge there are no rules against it, it is just a major and expensive plumbing project requiring redoing the whole kitchen. And so as a landlord why bother, you will always find someone willing to rent, no matter how unlivable the place. This dynamic was hardly unique to the Barbican, it was the reality of being a tenant in London, and ultimately one of the reasons I left. London's housing stock is just terrible compared to every other city I've lived in.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
tshanmu 1y ago
nice analogy comparing it to BBC Radio 3- if you/someone knows which neighbourhood would be like BBC Radio 4? I find R3 too high brow for me - Radio 4 seems more accessible :)
- petercooper 1y ago
  First place that jumps to mind is Richmond! Radio 4 is certainly more "chatty" while still being posh and Richmond is both posh and full of that street/café life. If we're going to fill out the roster, let's say Radio 1 is Camden, 1xtra is Brixton, Radio 2 is Bromley, Radio 5 is Dagenham, and 6music is eh.. I dunno, Shoreditch?
  - nicr_22 1y ago
    Radio 4 has to be Westminster, surely? And Bloomsbury in the evenings. Richmond teeters over into Classic FM to my taste - ostensibly cultured, but basically posh-pop. And LBC is a diffuse torroidal agglomeration of zone 3+ greasy spoons known only to White Van Men and black cab drivers.
    - petercooper 1y ago
      Maybe! I am not really an R4 listener and when I am, it's for the twee comedy stuff rather than the news and politics. If LBC is as you describe, though, I dread to imagine where Talk Radio is :-D
fennecfoxy 1y ago
Idk I find the area dirty & busy/litter everywhere, etc. But then many parts of London are like that compared to NZ (where we generally take care of the place better). It's not so bad once you head out into the counties either I suppose.
- randomcarbloke 1y ago
  your largest city is 9 times smaller than London, admittedly it has some dirtiness as all cities do but I'd say it's cleaner than Berlin (having worked there) which is a quarter the size, certainly cleaner than Paris (although Paris is larger of course), and cleaner than New York (also having worked there) which is fairly close in population.
  - Lio 1y ago
    > although Paris is larger of course That surprises me, I was under the impression that Greater London was a bit bigger than Greater Paris on most metrics. Unless you mean the City of London (The Square Mile) itself, which is definitely much smaller than Paris proper.
    - randomcarbloke 1y ago
      no I mean greater paris (ile de france) and greater london, I think london is about a million shy of paris. But it is actually closer than I thought, closer in size to paris than new york which surprises me. I could be wrong though, maybe London is actually bigger than most estimates.
  - fennecfoxy 1y ago
    Certainly, the denser population doesn't help. But on average I think British people tend to litter more, destroy public property etc. I had never heard of the term "anti-social behaviour" until I moved here. Don't get me wrong, there are many, many brilliant things about the British and the UK as well. I just wish more people cared - like how does the public not react with outright fury when a company yet again dumps sewerage into waterways, as they have done several times before - and that company is given a slap on the wrist (fine) rather than obliterated & replaced with a scorched Earth policy as it's completely unacceptable. And those same people who are apathetic to such things say stuff like "oh I wouldn't do that...the canals and rivers are gross and filled with bacteria and rubbish" when I tell them I'm going kayaking or canoeing. Like...be proud of your country! Be swift & decisive when companies pollute the water, or members of the public break something or cause public disorder.
randomcarbloke 1y ago
I don't think you're really supposed to go into the communal area without being a resident :) hence the quietness.
- djtango 1y ago
  There are plenty of public spaces which are also really nice and calm considering you're pretty much in the thick of it. You can sometimes even hear the Guildhall students practising which is a lovely treat
  - randomcarbloke 1y ago
    it is amazing there, I agree, it's surprising how organic it can feel when you're surrounded by brown stone and slabs.

simonw 1y ago

"kinda like BBC Radio 3 if it were a neighborhood" Thanks for that, put a smile on my face.

philipwhiuk 1y ago

> It's also five minutes from the Elizabeth Line And about 200ft. Such is the maze-like nature of the Barbican.

zeristor 1y ago
Actually the Barbican station has a lift that goes to the Elizabeth line at the far end.
- pledg 1y ago
  It also depends where you are in the Barbican. It spans between the Barbican station and Moorgate. If you are at the latter you can enter Elizabeth line from there too.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]

freyfogle 1y ago

I lived there for three years, rented a flat. Living in the Barbican was fantastic, livign in my flat was not fantastic. I used to joke it was a time machine to 1965. There was not only no dishwasher, there was literally no space for a dishwasher. Day one that seems funny, a few days later less so. I was spending a fortune in rent to spend 30 minutes every day handwashing my dishes. I did know people who had bought and renovated, they had amazing places. Oddly on my hall of 10 there were 10 flats of which 4 were empty. I don't mean someone just came occasionally I mean 100% empty with no furniture, with rich people just using it as an investment. Overall though was a greart experience, it's a fantasic place.

pbalau 1y ago
> I was spending a fortune in rent to spend 30 minutes every day handwashing my dishes. Did you used to cook for the seven dwarves and their extended families, every day?
- freyfogle 1y ago
  not seven, but yes, I had two small children at the time
talldan 1y ago
> There was not only no dishwasher, there was literally no space for a dishwasher. This is quite common for older places in the UK. Some places might have been updated to allow for a dishwasher, but there are probably rules against that in the Barbican.
- freyfogle 1y ago
  To my knowledge there are no rules against it, it is just a major and expensive plumbing project requiring redoing the whole kitchen. And so as a landlord why bother, you will always find someone willing to rent, no matter how unlivable the place. This dynamic was hardly unique to the Barbican, it was the reality of being a tenant in London, and ultimately one of the reasons I left. London's housing stock is just terrible compared to every other city I've lived in.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

tshanmu 1y ago

nice analogy comparing it to BBC Radio 3- if you/someone knows which neighbourhood would be like BBC Radio 4? I find R3 too high brow for me - Radio 4 seems more accessible :)

petercooper 1y ago
First place that jumps to mind is Richmond! Radio 4 is certainly more "chatty" while still being posh and Richmond is both posh and full of that street/café life. If we're going to fill out the roster, let's say Radio 1 is Camden, 1xtra is Brixton, Radio 2 is Bromley, Radio 5 is Dagenham, and 6music is eh.. I dunno, Shoreditch?
- nicr_22 1y ago
  Radio 4 has to be Westminster, surely? And Bloomsbury in the evenings. Richmond teeters over into Classic FM to my taste - ostensibly cultured, but basically posh-pop. And LBC is a diffuse torroidal agglomeration of zone 3+ greasy spoons known only to White Van Men and black cab drivers.
  - petercooper 1y ago
    Maybe! I am not really an R4 listener and when I am, it's for the twee comedy stuff rather than the news and politics. If LBC is as you describe, though, I dread to imagine where Talk Radio is :-D

fennecfoxy 1y ago

Idk I find the area dirty & busy/litter everywhere, etc. But then many parts of London are like that compared to NZ (where we generally take care of the place better). It's not so bad once you head out into the counties either I suppose.

randomcarbloke 1y ago
your largest city is 9 times smaller than London, admittedly it has some dirtiness as all cities do but I'd say it's cleaner than Berlin (having worked there) which is a quarter the size, certainly cleaner than Paris (although Paris is larger of course), and cleaner than New York (also having worked there) which is fairly close in population.
- Lio 1y ago
  > although Paris is larger of course That surprises me, I was under the impression that Greater London was a bit bigger than Greater Paris on most metrics. Unless you mean the City of London (The Square Mile) itself, which is definitely much smaller than Paris proper.
  - randomcarbloke 1y ago
    no I mean greater paris (ile de france) and greater london, I think london is about a million shy of paris. But it is actually closer than I thought, closer in size to paris than new york which surprises me. I could be wrong though, maybe London is actually bigger than most estimates.
- fennecfoxy 1y ago
  Certainly, the denser population doesn't help. But on average I think British people tend to litter more, destroy public property etc. I had never heard of the term "anti-social behaviour" until I moved here. Don't get me wrong, there are many, many brilliant things about the British and the UK as well. I just wish more people cared - like how does the public not react with outright fury when a company yet again dumps sewerage into waterways, as they have done several times before - and that company is given a slap on the wrist (fine) rather than obliterated & replaced with a scorched Earth policy as it's completely unacceptable. And those same people who are apathetic to such things say stuff like "oh I wouldn't do that...the canals and rivers are gross and filled with bacteria and rubbish" when I tell them I'm going kayaking or canoeing. Like...be proud of your country! Be swift & decisive when companies pollute the water, or members of the public break something or cause public disorder.

randomcarbloke 1y ago

I don't think you're really supposed to go into the communal area without being a resident :) hence the quietness.

djtango 1y ago
There are plenty of public spaces which are also really nice and calm considering you're pretty much in the thick of it. You can sometimes even hear the Guildhall students practising which is a lovely treat
- randomcarbloke 1y ago
  it is amazing there, I agree, it's surprising how organic it can feel when you're surrounded by brown stone and slabs.