I don’t know about “as a place to live”, but certainly “as a place you visit” it seems London made some big strides forward after the 80’s. I think the change in the overall look of the place, which was still like 1888 in 1988 and yet is modern now, is a reflection of (or was reflected in?) what it’s like to walk around now. Maybe a lot of cities around the world had a “cleanup” at street level during that time, Sydney’s CBD is similarly a lot less grotty & much more “open” to walk around than it was in the 80’s.
In terms of living there you’re prolly always dealing with the consistent low cloud. It’s the same on the other side of the English Channel, probably related to the relatively flat land in that area? But when there’s cloud, which there is a lot of the time, it seems to hang a lot closer to the ground - I don’t know whether it actually IS but it certainly feels like it, and that becomes depressing when it’s day after day after day after day. It’s not really something you necessarily even notice as a visitor, unless someone who lives there points it out.
But that’s OK, head to the Borough Market and get an espresso coffee made by someone with an Oz or K1w1 accent & you feel better.
Our plan is to stay nearish there again, this July, also so we can get my wife between the accommodation and Tottenham Hotspurs stadium without too much hassle.
!!! Did 5 years there in late 80's, early 90's... nothing like the occasional IRA bomb to add a bit spice to one's day! Visit the in laws a couple times a year nowadays.... LHR is like a lot of big airports, all depends on the time of the day, can be great or can be the pits. Now Manchester is a special case in its own, usually great to fly in but usually/always the pits to fly out of!!!
