Why London is the world's greatest city.

[Geegeela]

What do you think?

BBC - Culture - Move over, New York: Why London is the world’s greatest city

 

[cove]

And now with Vegemite in more than one store!

 

[medhead]

When you're tired of london you're tired of life. to misquote Samuel Johnson (1777)

 

[marki]

Berlin Must be a close second however?

What do you think?

BBC - Culture - Move over, New York: Why London is the world’s greatest city

 

[cove]

We actually like London and it is so close time wise to Europe by train or plane.

 

[BettyB]

When you're tired of london you're tired of life. to misquote Samuel Johnson (1777)

Guess I'm tired of life.

 

[cove]

English is still spoken in England so that helps Mrscove.

 

[Ralphie]

I'm not sure what didn't thrill me about London, but I left feeling quite indifferent after my stay there.

 

[YSSY]

London is a good place to live if you have a decent amount of cash, normal salaries just don't cut it. But thats the same with many major cities I guess. Coming from the UK, I certainly think we have a better quality of life on the outskirts of Sydney then we'd have had in London, despite loving both cities.

 

[Hvr]

I love London having been there less than a fortnight ago. The history is everywhere overlaid with modern areas.

One thing London does have that New York doesn't is genuine royalty. It does provide a point of difference especially when a major celebration is underway such as the current 90th birthday celebrations for the Queen.

Also as a person of a certain age we learnt about English history and it is like walking the Monopoly board we had as children.

 

[VPS]

Just love London - probably because I know it well, I feel safe and the history is amazing and they speak English - New York has the same and I like it but just don't love it

 

[24601]

London is a good place to live if you have a decent amount of cash, normal salaries just don't cut it. But thats the same with many major cities I guess. Coming from the UK, I certainly think we have a better quality of life on the outskirts of Sydney then we'd have had in London, despite loving both cities.

+1 to this, it can be a pretty miserable place if you aren't flush with cash. Had lots of good times there when I lived there, but was delighted to return to Sydney.

 

[OZDUCK]

I lived in London - on the edge of Southall actually (near LHR) - for 8 months in 1976 and did enjoy it. However it was pretty grubby and rundown in those days and I haven't been back since. Planned to go a couple of times in the last few years but never made it.

I like Marki do rate Berlin - fascinating city - not pretty but fascinating. Visited in 2011 & 2013,

 

[RooFlyer]

I've been fortunate to have visited London many times - but now I'm over it: I was bored the last time I was there and honestly have no strong urge to go back. Not tired of life, but have had my eyes opened that there is so much more history and culture in other cities and places around the world.

As for the quoted article - from the BBC - well, they would say that, wouldn't they?

 

[Mal]

I lived in London - on the edge of Southall actually (near LHR) - for 8 months in 1976 and did enjoy it. However it was pretty grubby and rundown in those days and I haven't been back since. Planned to go a couple of times in the last few years but never made it.

Southall is still a very rundown area IMHO, and has a very predominant Sikh/Hindu/Muslim (edit!) population (so shops are mainly designed with them in mind) . Not really somewhere where I'd live, although it is slowly improving and being on CrossRail will help further.

Overall I find this article one of those puff pieces. Yes London is a great city, yes I love living here and I have no plans to return back to Oz to live for a long time. The nightlife is great, the public transport system is one of, if not the best in the world, and dining and entertainment options are extensive. Location wise it's in a great spot with Europe on the doorstep, and a short hop to America.

However, the downsides are underplayed in the article. Price of housing/rentals for anything decent is crazy. Immigration is too high (and yes, I'm saying that as an immigrant!), leading to stress on infrastructure and traffic woes. The massive amounts of apartments being built, mostly aimed at very rich overseas investors (who never live there, and don't rent them out) is seriously stuffing up the property market. There is a massive disparity between classes and it is quite easy to see. Cost of living is going up, with restaurants getting a lot more expensive over the last few years, although groceries are still well priced. Pollution levels is still a major concern. It is not a good place to bring up children.

You do need a decent wage to live in London comfortably, and unless on extensive Government benefits or some other subsidy (living with parents, or in a 6 person share house), will struggle earning < £40000 pre-tax IMHO.

Like Australia, it isn't the land of milk and honey that many people incorrectly think it is.

 

[cove]

Mrscove likes London for its history and is happy with the public transport system. Then there are the world class shows and we can get there in about 30 minutes in most cases.
There is a big financial centre in London so you could work in the markets almost 24/7.
It does pay to have enough money in all the cities of the world so you can enjoy them. Running out of money in London or New York would be very tough in the cold months of the northern hemisphere winter.
For Australians like us we don't find London to be prohibitively expensive except housing real estate can be tough. We had friends move into a suburb out near Heathrow and with 3 children they found the cost of living to be a bit higher than Sydney.

 

[OZDUCK]

Southall is still a very rundown area IMHO, and has a very predominant Muslim population (so shops are mainly designed with them in mind) .

I was intrigued about the Muslim comment. In 1976 there was certainly a large "sub-continental" population but it was mostly Hindu,Sikhs and Eurasian Christians (my wife's relatives were mostly Christian but one had married into the Sikh community) rather than Muslim. I had a look around the net and the 2011 census figures for that area lists religious make-up as Sikhs - 31%, Muslim 26%, Hindu 23% & Christian 17%. So more Muslims than I remember but with Sikhs & Hindus still making up just over 50%. 3 people were Jedi Knights.

Much of "Bend it Like Beckham" was shot around were we lived and it pretty much showed it the way I remembered - but of course that film is now 14 years old.

 

[Mal]

Southall is still a very rundown area IMHO, and has a very predominant Muslim population (so shops are mainly designed with them in mind) .

I was intrigued about the Muslim comment. In 1976 there was certainly a large "sub-continental" population but it was mostly Hindu,Sikhs and Eurasian Christians (my wife's relatives were mostly Christian but one had married into the Sikh community) rather than Muslim. I had a look around the net and the 2011 census figures for that area lists religious make-up as Sikhs - 31%, Muslim 26%, Hindu 23% & Christian 17%. So more Muslims than I remember but with Sikhs & Hindus still making up just over 50%. 3 people were Jedi Knights.

Don't disagree. I think I've mixed up my facts re Southall. I've been there around 5 times in the last few years (have reasons to be out that way), and I've probably blended my thoughts with somewhere else. I'll update my comment. I wouldn't live out that way though. Hayes & Harlington and West Drayton (also both on the train line) are other areas I wouldn't live in. The facilities for me just aren't in those areas.

 

[Renato1]

We visited London twice in 2005 when the exchange rate was around 40 pence to the Aussie dollar.

Fortunately, there were lots of Burger Kings and McDonalds around where I could buy meat at a reasonable price. Otherwise, eating out in London was a very expensive experience, or an expensive and annoying experience.

On no less than three occasions we ordered meals with chips. And astoundingly, we got our plates with the chips - a handful of potato chips (like the ones one gets from a packet of chips on the shelf at Coles). And I was paying big money by Australian standards for those pathetic meals.

London remains the worst capital city we have visited in Europe for meals. I asked tourism workers there where they ate at lunch time. They said not in London - that they couldn't afford it.
Our next city at that time, was Paris where every meal was a delight, no matter where we bought it. What a contrast.

We had a great time in London, but the place was on edge while we were there. Police sirens were always blaring, cop cars were hurtling everywhere. People checking our bags before going into the Tower of London and other places seemed to be doing so very intensely. And two days after we left London, there occurred the London Bombings. We have a hard time believing that the authorities were unaware that something really bad had been going to happen.

Unless standard everyday meals have improved dramatically in London since our last visit eleven years ago, on my personal subjective criterion, any claim to London being the world's greatest city is laughable.

Regards,
Renato

 

[Deleted member 6404]

We visited London twice in 2005 when the exchange rate was around 40 pence to the Aussie dollar.

Fortunately, there were lots of Burger Kings and McDonalds around where I could buy meat at a reasonable price. Otherwise, eating out in London was a very expensive experience, or an expensive and annoying experience.

On no less than three occasions we ordered meals with chips. And astoundingly, we got our plates with the chips - a handful of potato chips (like the ones one gets from a packet of chips on the shelf at Coles). And I was paying big money by Australian standards for those pathetic meals.

London remains the worst capital city we have visited in Europe for meals. I asked tourism workers there where they ate at lunch time. They said not in London - that they couldn't afford it.
Our next city at that time, was Paris where every meal was a delight, no matter where we bought it. What a contrast.

We had a great time in London, but the place was on edge while we were there. Police sirens were always blaring, cop cars were hurtling everywhere. People checking our bags before going into the Tower of London and other places seemed to be doing so very intensely. And two days after we left London, there occurred the London Bombings. We have a hard time believing that the authorities were unaware that something really bad had been going to happen.

Unless standard everyday meals have improved dramatically in London since our last visit eleven years ago, on my personal subjective criterion, any claim to London being the world's greatest city is laughable.

Regards,
Renato

How horrible,
Come to my City, Cairns, where the air is clean and the surrounds are green and the stars are always out to be seen. and lets not forget its nice and warm all year round and yeah we speak real English.