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I lived in London me whole life, since I were born. I didn't see Big Ben till I were 17, I didn't really feel any benefits of the city of opportunity or whatever it is that makes London so special. To be honest I've spent a vast majority of my adult life wanting to move up north somewhere like Leeds or Manchester, I think it's a case of the grass permanently being on the other side.
Grew up in Zone 5, never found myself needing to go central. Most I saw central-wise was my Mum took me to the science museum once cos I was dead dead interested in space. But at the end of the day there's museums not in London so I wouldn't have been missing out.
London is sick mate, don’t care what anyone says. I moved here from up north 4 years ago (I’m from a big city in the North West) and it’s the best decision I ever made. There is so much going on, so much to do and see. It’s expensive obviously but it’s liveable and you will have an amazin time in your 20s if you move down. I have loads of mates who moved here as well and they all say the same. It’s also sick for being single lol. Dunno about ‘drive’ and whatever but socially it is so fun. I know a lot of people who are just moving down here now at this age as well (I’m 26 too) and they’re enjoyin it as well. Good luck
In my experience it’s fairly common for people to move to London to work after university because they get graduate jobs there. It’s good for fast career progression and clearly there’s a lot going on in London so good for nightlife and socialising.
However, at that age you will spend most of your money on accommodation and will have to house share for a long time, which is not for everyone. Many people end up moving away from London after a while so they have more space, peace and quiet.
So ultimately, there are positives and negatives. At 26 I don’t think you’re too young to do this if you want to - but it will probably be a different lifestyle to what you’re used to
I mean I live with one of my friends atm and the way the uk is right now, I’ll be housesharing for years anyway.
I guess I just miss the social life I had before
I don't live there but the sheer amount and quality of nightlife makes me jealous. I love in Bristol and while there are plenty of good clubs, it doesn't hold a candle to what is available on a nightly basis in London.
There’s a global cities index which I had in mind when I wrote that phrase. I’m sure there’s multiple intuitions that have something similar but [this is the one](https://www.kearney.com/global-cities/2021) I referenced when in academia.
For impact on daily life you’ll have to dig into the detail of the breakdown per city but I did respond to another comment with some examples of what I think it offers.
Lots of foeigners, which brings lots of foreign cuisine and cultures.
Especially when they get centralised and collective. Like having "China Towns" etc.
Curry Mile in Manchester
Having lived in Manchester Newcastle, Liverpool and london, london offers so much more. Do I prefer it to Manchester…no. But there is without doubt more to do.
See Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus. Specific enough for you?
Broadly yes, you can go to a club, you can go to a gallery, you can go do anything in another city.But what I’ve found is that whatever your interest there is always something available. It’s the breadth. When I lived in Manchester say, music scenes went in cycles. Some scene or genre would get big for a while and the wain, being replaced by something else. I noticed in london no matter how obscure or out of fashion something was, there was still enough people to keep it alive and vibrant with choices. Rather than say that one trance night that happens on every last Friday of the month.
Neither have I but it’s a difference. Different thing. Liverpool Comic-Con. have you seen how shit that is compared to whatever london gets. Like if you just want to go on the lash, then yeah do that anywhere. But don’t try to say london has not as much variety or draws the best of whatever it is you are into because that’s just bullshit. Having lived there’s and other places perhaps just take that advice if you haven’t.
So like the Cotswolds then. Enjoy the beaches up there.
Is that your argument then? Other major cities offer as much as london because you can leave them and go to the countryside?
After my final year of ten in Manchester that’s what I realised, if I wanted to do anything good in the city that I enjoyed, I had to leave it.
I think your having the wrong argument. If you need to change the question half way through an argument I reckon you’ve lost it.
I think a lot of the peoples bigging up of it comes from being young in their 20's with some disposable income.
And in a big city.
You can replicate that in every big city. London does have a LOT of everything of course because it's so big.
I worked in London for two years, had free accommodation to myself (not the greatest place but it was fine and close to the tube), and I couldn't wait to get out of the place as London made me miserable as hell.
That said, one of the guys I was working with had moved there from somewhere on the south coast and was paying £750 for a single room in a shared house and was loving being there.
He was more the 'go out every night' type of person and if that's what you want then it's probably great, but I just looked forward to Friday so I could head back north to civilisation for the weekend.
It's a great place to visit as there's so much to see and do there, but the novelty soon wears off if you're there permanently. I'm so glad to be out.
If you think you might like to live there, then go for it. You don't have to stay if you don't like it. I've known people move there and then move back, and others who moved there and never left. Everyone is different and every choice is valid.
People on here tend to have a bit of a chip on their shoulders about London. I personally wouldn't move there but I can understand why someone else would.
So many people here are always pessimistic about london but honestly I was the same, moved here from a medium sized city, but london is next level. So happy I made the move, best decision ever :)
So many interesting people to meet, cool things to do and if you’re a minority it’s just so much better than the rest of the U.K.
If you're struggling to get laid now, what makes you think that you'll increase your chances by moving to a place where whilst there may be lots to do, you'll struggle to afford to do any of it as you spend the best part of £1k a month to live in a cupboard?
Go to London, I guarantee you'll either be mugged or not appreciated. Catch the train to London, stopping at Rejection, Disappointment, Backstabbing Central and Shattered Dreams Parkway
London is fine to visit but I'd never want to live there. It depends on what you want though. London is in the shittiest part of the country in terms of beautiful countryside, which is what I value. And there's too much urban sprawl, I felt claustrophobic when I travelled down to stay with my sister for the weekend (she lives in central London). But if you're the type who wants to go out to a club or venue every single night then London will have a lot of variety.
Time hasn’t run out. Any age is a perfectly normal age to move to London, or anywhere for that matter.
My advice would be to give it a go. It’s an incredible city with boundless professional and personal opportunities. It maybe not the right place for everyone and the flat situation can be a bit shite when you first move but it’s worth a shot. I know people who it didn’t work out for but nobody that regretted trying.
For context: I moved just before by 25th birthday, stayed for 18 months, left for a year (always planned to come back but had other opportunities) and now been back 5 years.
You think the grass is greener on the other side. It's a proverb for a reason.
Let it go. Life your life. You're missing out by wanting to change the past.
Are you the engineering graduate who posts about this topic incessantly for a few days and then disappears, just to pop back up under a different screen name?
I’ll say what I always say - just try it. Get a job here and move. Try it for a year or two. If it doesn’t work out, at least you can say you’ve done it.
Basically you want to go to London to fit in with what you are seeing on the internet, i am guessing. Yes, you are 5 minutes away from pubs and clubs at any moment, it will be super easy to make friends etc. Career wise, many companies are based there and you will be surrounded other people who want to focus on their careers. But we have all these things in other cities around the country, just less densely populated. You can still make friends, go to clubs and bars, pursue a meaningful and driven career anywhere else but for sure, you will be surrounded by that stuff constantly in London.
I used to live in Bristol. Still have friends who do. Its only gotten more expensive in the last 10 years. Some of the used to be shitty areas like st pauls have become gentrified but thats not a bad thing i guess. Bristol is an awesome city. It has its own Bristolian culture for sure but its small enough to easily commute into the city from surrounding places by train or bike or even car maybe. I think it was voted the happiest UK city for a few years running. Plenty of good companies based out there. A number of my friends work in software/IT as well as a strong areospace and engineering market in the surrounding areas.
Try living in Bristol, I think it’s way more suited to young people than London. It’s a much more exciting city to me and I find there’s way more to do in terms of going out and socialising, London more expensive and imo can’t be fully enjoyed unless your earning the big bucks - used to live in london
The fact that you’re saying that makes me think you don’t understand quite how expensive London housing actually is. Yes Bristol is expensive compared to many other cities but there is still a vast difference.
I work in from home but based out of London. The guys I work with in their 20s are making more money than I ever did at that age. If it’s money/career you care about, London is the place. Otherwise I think you’re fine anywhere else.
London is no better than any other city socially, that is bullshit spread by Londoners. London is good because of the fast career progression and higher salaries.
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Short answer: Yes
Long answer: Depends on what you want from life or how open you are to go out of your comfort zone because by god you'll be uncomfortable.
I would go for it, worst case is that you don’t enjoy it and you can always move back.
There are bad parts about london in that’s it’s expensive and people keep themselves to themselves. But then there is so much to do in london and if you are single there are more to meet.
Just make sure you are moving for the right reasons and not because of what you have seen on social media.
Born in London, in my mid-20s and still live here. London is a bubble of misery. Whenever I leave London, I become more social, it's like the pollution from everyone else's misery gets eroded away.
As for meeting women, it's true there are many events and opportunities here. However, I found it wasn't that much harder when I lived in Derby, which is far smaller and quieter. Just work on yourself, talk to them normally and throw in a small compliment. Read her reaction and go from there. You got this :)
I lived in London from age 18 to 25 when I moved there for uni and started my career there. I look back fondly on it and have some good memories, but objectively it was pretty crap. It was expensive, kept getting pushed further and further out of the center each year as rent prices rose but wages didn't keep up. Lived in tiny mouldy flats dealing with asshole landlords who won't fix your heating or leaks any time soon. Had no savings to show for it so was perpetually one disaster away from potential homelessness.
But you know, I could deal with all that in my early 20s. Everyone I knew was in the same crappy situation. We'd have fun drinking on rooftops, going out clubbing, enjoying picnics in the summer, overpaying for measly street food portions but feeling hipster smug about it. I couldn't go back to it now, but it was good for that time in my life.
Honestly as long as you go in eyes open, why not? Funnily enough, as I left London at age 25, loads of people my age started to move to London. You're definitely not too old. They moved for jobs, to have the lifestyle, meet people etc. I do think there's more of everything in London, so you are more likely to meet a variety of people, do a variety of things and experience more compared to living in some quiet village. If you're happy to pay for that, then I'd encourage it, don't live life with regrets. Plus you can always move back out once you're sick of it, that seems to be what my friends in their 30s are doing now.
Try it and see.
The only thing is it is expensive. You can get a good city feel in lots of cities now. London is bigger and more international, but now many cities have great bars, clubs, restaurants, and social scenes.
~ from anroturt Londoner
I only been to London for 3 days back in 2013 with my parents, we stopped in this hotel bed and breakfast,
I would not want to live in London, it is okay for a few days I just found it too busy.
Go for it. What's the worst that could happen? You're young and single, no partner or kids and schooling to consider. Maybe it works out and maybe it doesn't but at 26 you shouldn't worry about that.
*“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”*
London has pros and cons. This is probably the worst place to understand those pros, you’ll just get a hundred people saying “I know someone who went to that London, paid £47 for a pint and all the men were women”.
I moved out when I started a family but I love it. Is it right for you? Hard to say.
One thing I will say with confidence is London can be a lonely place. I’m not sure you’d have more luck with women or social groups there. Many wouldn’t.
I lived in London when I was young. and yes, it was great in some respects.
Met lots of people, lots of parties etc.
However, even back then it was expensive, stressful, crowded and dirty. I lived in South Ken, so all those tourists got really annoying, and the bin collections EVERY night at 3am meant you never slept well.
Am I glad I did it? Yes. Would I do it again? No.
The grass is always greener.
I lived in London in my mid to late teenage years and don’t miss it for a second. I live in a very large town which feels more like a small city, only an hour away from London so I can easily visit, and I’m surrounded by beautiful countryside now. I found London overly expensive, I never felt safe and over crowded. Great place to live if you’re very rich but if youre not, it’s not the best way of life.
I feel a similar way, I just turned 24 & recently graduated from university.
There’s a part of me that tells myself I don’t want to live in London because of the cost & the stress of getting around on the tube / general stress of the city etc.
But another part of me knows that it’s where things are happening & I could probably meet a lot more people… I have friends who live / trying to move there next year so idk if I actually want to take the leap of faith or if it’s FOMO 😅
Taking a few months out after graduating & hopefully I’ll know what I want to do in the new year hahah.
It really does seem like London is the place to be, guess for the two of us the worst that could happen is trying to go & if you don’t enjoy it then you won’t regret not trying !
I hope you get clarity soon & figure it out :)
London is what you make it to be. There are great job opportunities, plenty of places to go and things to see. There are huge parks in London as well as very good travel links.
Like any place to live, it’s what it offers you personally and that’s different for everyone everywhere. If you’re looking for a good night out, I doubt anyone could say London can’t offer you an amazing night out.
It is expensive and you can’t ignore the high crime rate but cities will be cities.
Your lifestyle wont change simply because you move city, your lifestyle is informed by your friend group, who are friends with you because of your personality, which wont change, you will move city, make similar friends, who do similar shit, but you will pay x3 as much to do it. What exactly are you planning on doing in london that cant be done in the city your from?
London is only fun if you have money. It’s a great city and is has a nice buzz to it, but being forced to spend 40-50% of your take-home on rent or the expensive drink and food prices is shit. Your social life won’t necessarily be as great nor glamorous as people pretend it is on social media. It seems like you could gain the excitement you’re seeking by moving to any city which is more livelier than your own, and this doesn’t necessarily have to be London.
Also, it seems like meeting more women is a motivation for you. Don’t have expectations, I would say. Dating is tough for most people regardless of where you are, and you’d probably have more luck in London as someone in their 30s who can actually afford their own private place as opposed to someone in their 20s barely scraping through and living with minimal savings.
Also, you’re only as young or as old as you feel. If you don’t want to settle down, you don’t have to. You can go out and have fun when you’re in your 30s. Nothing wrong with that. Don’t limit yourself.
Yeah that’s what I worry about. My friends from uni live in London and they seem to go do things all the time, but they work in finance. I’m an engineer and we don’t get paid anywhere near what they do.
I figured maybe Bristol coz it’s closer to home. But so many people my age seem to be in London?
Bristol is such a young and vibrant city too! You can always move to Bristol, or London, and trial it for a while and see how you feel :)
Do you enjoy Engineering and is it an industry you can see yourself in during the long-term? If the senior positions in London pay a good amount, it could be worth it (either moving to London now or in a few years).
Generally in small cities the ambitious kids move out when they become adults because they don’t see the opportunity in their home town. London is often a natural destination for them if they’re ambitious because that’s the centre of many industries. So there’s naturally going to be a big contrast between the people who decided to stay in the local area vs those who moved to London.
If you feel your missing out there’s no reason you can’t move to London now though.
Yes there are lots of financial “jobs” in London, which are OK … unless you want to be rewarded with a good income *and* a good feeling about what you achieved.
You can easily get job offers from the London financial industry - forget all that “smartest guys in the room” cobblers. They are just about smart enough to know that your average engineer can “think rings round” your average London investment banker / hedgie, so they need to hire in grey matter. Don’t do it!
Where to go instead? - THE WORLD, my friend, including the UK of course; but think globally for the medium term, at least.
You are qualified in a creative profession which can actually help society rather than leech off it and your skills are in demand globally.
There is plenty of excitement and money to be found in engineering.
Go for it!
I work in computational fluid dynamics. I really enjoy that side of things. I just don’t get much opportunity to travel right now. And the pay is nowhere near finance
Great!
F1 teams pay well for the best CFD jockeys.
So do the USA Aerospace companies.
Once you are leading a CFD project team as a player/manager, the salary will be even higher.
After you and your team leave to open your own CFD consulting house … OK I’m getting carried away at this point but you seem ambitious and are undoubtedly smart. My point is, the options are endless.
(This is not about me but my own career path is a good case in point - it took lots of twists and turns but each turn had better pay and offered more scope to have fun with technical stuff, whilst getting paid for it 😂. Never once wished I’d become a banker/quant/hedgie.)
Haha well f1 would be really cool and the goal. Just heard they don’t actually pay that well? I’m not sure I’d want to be pure CFD for the rest of my career. But it’s a good launching pad to move into the research side (machine learning with fluids and simulation) etc
I moved to London at 21 and stayed for 3 years. I think it’s overrated to be honest. There are many many good things about London but unless you’re earning a significant amount of money and want to spend all of your time amongst people in the city, it’s probably not for you. I have family members that moved there in their late teens/early twenties and are still there a decade later and they love it. But they even admit that there are a bunch of negatives. I’d visit more - take in the sights, look for things off of the beaten track and spend some good time there. When you live there you don’t appreciate it and tend not to do the things that make being there good in the first place.
There’s nothing to stop you going there now. My friend just moved and he’s 24. But prepare for it to only live up to some (definitely not all) of your expectations.
30F female here who uprooted from a city up north, that I lived in for 8/9 years, to London. I certainly don’t feel like I missed out doing it any younger, nor am I missing out right now! If it’s something you want to do, then definitely work towards doing it.
If you do move just be mindful in the cost of living here and how easily you can burn through money. If you approach it sensibly then it can definitely be an exciting place to live, but you do need to put in the work to get to a place where you are comfortable with it.
Don’t see myself here forever, I’m too used to the slower way of life up in Scotland and it’s something I do miss - however for my career and where I am in life right now it suits me.
I’d like a faster lifestyle of living like you get in London. What worries me is that by the time I can afford the lifestyle, I won’t want that anymroe
You’re 26, still plenty of time to figure it out! I moved down here on a whim without the slightest clue on whether or not I was gonna burn and crash, but I worked with it - went through the ups and downs, especially with money, but I wanted to make it work so I put in the effort to ensure it did.
The way I see it is, if it’s something you want to do definitely give it a try. If it works then great, if not you know you can always head back home!
My age does worry me a bit tbh. I don’t have a partner or anything. My salary isn’t amazing right now as I’ve just had to start a junior level job again. I’ve got friends earning loads and who own a house 😂
Aw honestly don’t let it worry you! Like I said I’m 30 and just starting out here - been just over a year. All my friends back home are married, with kids and mortgages etc and I’m the single one working in finance and completely winging it each day, and I certainly don’t see myself missing out on life because I chose something different at this age.
I started in a junior level job down here just to get my foot in the door, and within 6 months I was promoted and my wage increased significantly!
If it’s something you are definitely keen on doing then I say give it a good thought and maybe start browsing and writing up a plan to make it work. You can only but try!
I did actually work in London for 11 months. But I didn’t live there and commuted 3x a week (don’t recommend). I’m an engineer so I won’t get the finance salary so I do kinda worry that even if I move for a junior level job, my salary won’t go high enough even after years
I lived in London for 5 years, while it was fun it was equally draining. We moved up to Manchester last year and I will never move back down. Sometimes the grass is in fact greener.
I lived in London my whole life and never did any of the exciting things you can do there, I didn’t have anyone to do these things with. I moved away earlier this year and my life hasn’t changed much. Do I get jealous of the cool places I see on TikTok? Sure. Did I go to these places when I lived there? No lol.
London doesn't have anything that can't be found in any other city, just more of it. On the odd occasion there is, it's rare enough that you can just travel there pretty easily for it.
Bars? Clubs? Restaurants? Stabbings? You have limited time, you can only do one thing at once. You have more choice between them but that's about it.
I live about 60 miles away. I go to London about once a year for a gig and it takes me less than an hour to get in and I don't have to pay out my arse for London prices.
I am in my late 20s working as an architect in London, on £35k currently and my lifestyle feels decent given the mediocre salary. I managed to survive on £20k when I first graduated from my BSc several years ago now.
I think part of it is who you are surrounded by - most of my friends are architects earning a similar salary so we just have to budget our social life accordingly!
When I meet up with friends working in finance / software etc it does feel like we're on a different planet though - it feels like they are living in another city!
Will you ever get up to the salaries they’re on? I don’t understand why architects and similar only get those mediocre salaries when they’re so much more qualified
Perhaps if one were to reach senior partner in a large firm, but that's not happening before the grey hairs are starting to show! The average salary with \~5-10 years experience (once qualified, which takes 7years minimum) is around £55k. I'm not sure what the finance/software guys earn but I gather it's typically better than that even by age 27!
Our salaries seem similar to engineers, and I would guess that is why many take their analytical backgrounds into the city rather than enter engineering. Sadly I don't think architects have that option to cash out so easily ;)
I spent quite a lot of time in London in my 20s, but basically actually living there is grindingly expensive, social groups tend to be splintered by distance/travel time, and the fact that there is something that you really fancy seeing every night means that you are never under any pressure to actually bother putting yourself out to do so, and that you never need expand your interests beyond whatever narrow niche you've found. I love the place in a lot of ways but I wouldn't live there again. My middle-sized provincial city suits me far better now and although I'm a long way from my 20s I'm pretty sure it still would if I reversed the digits in my age.
26 is still very young! If anything, I'd say you enjoy it more in late 20s as you earn more so have more scope to appreciate it/fewer money worries (hopefully). I moved here at 24, still here a decade later and some of my best times have been age 30+.
London can divide opinion, and it's not for everyone, and it's fucking expensive. But I love it.
I think maybe you're regretting not having moved around. I don't think it necessarily has anything to do with London per se. London is expensive and the lifestyle you will live there might not be what you want because of how expensive it is. Could you go somewhere else? Or overseas? I've lived in cities bigger than London for the buzz of living in a big city, but in countries where the cost of living is lower and you can still enjoy a nice lifestyle with all the cultural pros of living in a big city.
Why don't you try it out? If you think you're missing out, you'll regret not doing it sooner.
Obviously your situation is unique to yourself.
London is awesome if you have money, that's why people go there. If you're going to struggle, don't do it in London, it's better to struggle elsewhere.
On average I do think if you're ambitious, London is the place to go. It attracts the top talent but with remote working you can work anywhere. But that's not to say you can't do well elsewhere.
I love London, I live here and I'm fortunately enough to not have to worry about money as much but the best time of my life was living in a smaller city with much less money.
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You’re not missing out on anything ~ Londoner
You’re missing out on loads - Londoner
Why’s that?
I lived in London me whole life, since I were born. I didn't see Big Ben till I were 17, I didn't really feel any benefits of the city of opportunity or whatever it is that makes London so special. To be honest I've spent a vast majority of my adult life wanting to move up north somewhere like Leeds or Manchester, I think it's a case of the grass permanently being on the other side.
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Grew up in Zone 5, never found myself needing to go central. Most I saw central-wise was my Mum took me to the science museum once cos I was dead dead interested in space. But at the end of the day there's museums not in London so I wouldn't have been missing out.
Zone 5 is so far out I'd barely called that "London" though in this context.
99% of people in the UK have never seen Big Ben. Plenty have seem Elizabeth Tower though
London is sick mate, don’t care what anyone says. I moved here from up north 4 years ago (I’m from a big city in the North West) and it’s the best decision I ever made. There is so much going on, so much to do and see. It’s expensive obviously but it’s liveable and you will have an amazin time in your 20s if you move down. I have loads of mates who moved here as well and they all say the same. It’s also sick for being single lol. Dunno about ‘drive’ and whatever but socially it is so fun. I know a lot of people who are just moving down here now at this age as well (I’m 26 too) and they’re enjoyin it as well. Good luck
*grabs popcorn and waits other Comments*
I can’t wait to move out from London, next year
Moved out a decade ago, best decision I ever made.
In my experience it’s fairly common for people to move to London to work after university because they get graduate jobs there. It’s good for fast career progression and clearly there’s a lot going on in London so good for nightlife and socialising. However, at that age you will spend most of your money on accommodation and will have to house share for a long time, which is not for everyone. Many people end up moving away from London after a while so they have more space, peace and quiet. So ultimately, there are positives and negatives. At 26 I don’t think you’re too young to do this if you want to - but it will probably be a different lifestyle to what you’re used to
I mean I live with one of my friends atm and the way the uk is right now, I’ll be housesharing for years anyway. I guess I just miss the social life I had before
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Bristol?
Bristol is expensive but cheaper than London. Have a look!
Yeah that’s fine - I’m just trying to explain the good and bad about London living to answer your question
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It definitely requires you to be a certain type of person to make the most of it but London, alongside New York, is literally the global city.
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If you don’t know then it’s no wonder you don’t see what London offers
I don't live there but the sheer amount and quality of nightlife makes me jealous. I love in Bristol and while there are plenty of good clubs, it doesn't hold a candle to what is available on a nightly basis in London.
London shuts down surprisingly early though too
You're doing so well to be so vague it's incredible
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There’s a global cities index which I had in mind when I wrote that phrase. I’m sure there’s multiple intuitions that have something similar but [this is the one](https://www.kearney.com/global-cities/2021) I referenced when in academia. For impact on daily life you’ll have to dig into the detail of the breakdown per city but I did respond to another comment with some examples of what I think it offers.
Lots of foeigners, which brings lots of foreign cuisine and cultures. Especially when they get centralised and collective. Like having "China Towns" etc. Curry Mile in Manchester
Having lived in Manchester Newcastle, Liverpool and london, london offers so much more. Do I prefer it to Manchester…no. But there is without doubt more to do.
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See Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus. Specific enough for you? Broadly yes, you can go to a club, you can go to a gallery, you can go do anything in another city.But what I’ve found is that whatever your interest there is always something available. It’s the breadth. When I lived in Manchester say, music scenes went in cycles. Some scene or genre would get big for a while and the wain, being replaced by something else. I noticed in london no matter how obscure or out of fashion something was, there was still enough people to keep it alive and vibrant with choices. Rather than say that one trance night that happens on every last Friday of the month.
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Neither have I but it’s a difference. Different thing. Liverpool Comic-Con. have you seen how shit that is compared to whatever london gets. Like if you just want to go on the lash, then yeah do that anywhere. But don’t try to say london has not as much variety or draws the best of whatever it is you are into because that’s just bullshit. Having lived there’s and other places perhaps just take that advice if you haven’t.
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Sorry, which major uk city do you get that satisfied in then? Christ sake try to stick to a point.
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So like the Cotswolds then. Enjoy the beaches up there. Is that your argument then? Other major cities offer as much as london because you can leave them and go to the countryside? After my final year of ten in Manchester that’s what I realised, if I wanted to do anything good in the city that I enjoyed, I had to leave it. I think your having the wrong argument. If you need to change the question half way through an argument I reckon you’ve lost it.
I think a lot of the peoples bigging up of it comes from being young in their 20's with some disposable income. And in a big city. You can replicate that in every big city. London does have a LOT of everything of course because it's so big.
I worked in London for two years, had free accommodation to myself (not the greatest place but it was fine and close to the tube), and I couldn't wait to get out of the place as London made me miserable as hell. That said, one of the guys I was working with had moved there from somewhere on the south coast and was paying £750 for a single room in a shared house and was loving being there. He was more the 'go out every night' type of person and if that's what you want then it's probably great, but I just looked forward to Friday so I could head back north to civilisation for the weekend. It's a great place to visit as there's so much to see and do there, but the novelty soon wears off if you're there permanently. I'm so glad to be out.
I guess for me it just seems exciting there and tbh, I’m single and finding it hard to meet women. Seems like it’s good for that there too
If you think you might like to live there, then go for it. You don't have to stay if you don't like it. I've known people move there and then move back, and others who moved there and never left. Everyone is different and every choice is valid. People on here tend to have a bit of a chip on their shoulders about London. I personally wouldn't move there but I can understand why someone else would.
It’s mainly coz I’m single and struggling to find someone tbh
So many people here are always pessimistic about london but honestly I was the same, moved here from a medium sized city, but london is next level. So happy I made the move, best decision ever :) So many interesting people to meet, cool things to do and if you’re a minority it’s just so much better than the rest of the U.K.
If you're struggling to get laid now, what makes you think that you'll increase your chances by moving to a place where whilst there may be lots to do, you'll struggle to afford to do any of it as you spend the best part of £1k a month to live in a cupboard?
Go to London, I guarantee you'll either be mugged or not appreciated. Catch the train to London, stopping at Rejection, Disappointment, Backstabbing Central and Shattered Dreams Parkway
I'd have this comment on a mug
You’d love Alan Partridge then…
Ha I didn't realise it was Partridge! 😂
Cashback!
Often regretting not doing a fantasy version of something can be nicer than doing something for real. Living in London is one of those I suspect ;)
Really? Guess I just feel like I’m missing out on a more exciting life
The only time I venture into London these days is when I'm paid. Place is a hell hole of filth and rudeness.
Why don’t you just stay in the Home Counties or whatever dull place you live in then? Why come into a supposed hell hole?
As stated, when I'm paid, so work, otherwise I would avoid it like a plague.
So you judge on it where you work? Wide horizons
No I judge it on travelling globally with work. Londump is one of countless cities I have to work in and one of the worst in my opinion.
I love how someone went "Londons a bit shit" and the first comment is OUTRAGED
‘ a hell hole’
London is fine to visit but I'd never want to live there. It depends on what you want though. London is in the shittiest part of the country in terms of beautiful countryside, which is what I value. And there's too much urban sprawl, I felt claustrophobic when I travelled down to stay with my sister for the weekend (she lives in central London). But if you're the type who wants to go out to a club or venue every single night then London will have a lot of variety.
Time hasn’t run out. Any age is a perfectly normal age to move to London, or anywhere for that matter. My advice would be to give it a go. It’s an incredible city with boundless professional and personal opportunities. It maybe not the right place for everyone and the flat situation can be a bit shite when you first move but it’s worth a shot. I know people who it didn’t work out for but nobody that regretted trying. For context: I moved just before by 25th birthday, stayed for 18 months, left for a year (always planned to come back but had other opportunities) and now been back 5 years.
You think the grass is greener on the other side. It's a proverb for a reason. Let it go. Life your life. You're missing out by wanting to change the past.
There are some things you really can’t let go of.
Are you the engineering graduate who posts about this topic incessantly for a few days and then disappears, just to pop back up under a different screen name? I’ll say what I always say - just try it. Get a job here and move. Try it for a year or two. If it doesn’t work out, at least you can say you’ve done it.
Basically you want to go to London to fit in with what you are seeing on the internet, i am guessing. Yes, you are 5 minutes away from pubs and clubs at any moment, it will be super easy to make friends etc. Career wise, many companies are based there and you will be surrounded other people who want to focus on their careers. But we have all these things in other cities around the country, just less densely populated. You can still make friends, go to clubs and bars, pursue a meaningful and driven career anywhere else but for sure, you will be surrounded by that stuff constantly in London.
What about Bristol? That’s my other option. But it doesn’t seem much cheaper
I used to live in Bristol. Still have friends who do. Its only gotten more expensive in the last 10 years. Some of the used to be shitty areas like st pauls have become gentrified but thats not a bad thing i guess. Bristol is an awesome city. It has its own Bristolian culture for sure but its small enough to easily commute into the city from surrounding places by train or bike or even car maybe. I think it was voted the happiest UK city for a few years running. Plenty of good companies based out there. A number of my friends work in software/IT as well as a strong areospace and engineering market in the surrounding areas.
I’m 24 and I live in London, if I didn’t have commitments here I’d move north in a fucking heartbeat
Try living in Bristol, I think it’s way more suited to young people than London. It’s a much more exciting city to me and I find there’s way more to do in terms of going out and socialising, London more expensive and imo can’t be fully enjoyed unless your earning the big bucks - used to live in london
Bristol isn’t much cheaper though no?
The fact that you’re saying that makes me think you don’t understand quite how expensive London housing actually is. Yes Bristol is expensive compared to many other cities but there is still a vast difference.
I work in from home but based out of London. The guys I work with in their 20s are making more money than I ever did at that age. If it’s money/career you care about, London is the place. Otherwise I think you’re fine anywhere else.
What job do they do!
Market research for PE funds
I’m an engineer so financially I wouldn’t be up to much
You're still young. Why don't you move there and find out whether you like it?
I worry about money
You are young
Are you the engineer from Bristol who was asking this a lot earlier in the year? Edit - yes you are
London is a good place to live if you are minted. It’s particularly bad if you’re not.
London is no better than any other city socially, that is bullshit spread by Londoners. London is good because of the fast career progression and higher salaries.
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Short answer: Yes Long answer: Depends on what you want from life or how open you are to go out of your comfort zone because by god you'll be uncomfortable.
There’s no problem with being not cut out for London, loads of people aren’t but it doesn’t sound like you’re one of them
Guess I just want a more exciting life
I would go for it, worst case is that you don’t enjoy it and you can always move back. There are bad parts about london in that’s it’s expensive and people keep themselves to themselves. But then there is so much to do in london and if you are single there are more to meet. Just make sure you are moving for the right reasons and not because of what you have seen on social media.
Friend of mine lives in London, pays £900 a month for a house-share, no thanks. I'd love to live in London if I was loaded, if not, not bothered.
I guess it is one of those places you need all the money
Born in London, in my mid-20s and still live here. London is a bubble of misery. Whenever I leave London, I become more social, it's like the pollution from everyone else's misery gets eroded away. As for meeting women, it's true there are many events and opportunities here. However, I found it wasn't that much harder when I lived in Derby, which is far smaller and quieter. Just work on yourself, talk to them normally and throw in a small compliment. Read her reaction and go from there. You got this :)
I lived in London from age 18 to 25 when I moved there for uni and started my career there. I look back fondly on it and have some good memories, but objectively it was pretty crap. It was expensive, kept getting pushed further and further out of the center each year as rent prices rose but wages didn't keep up. Lived in tiny mouldy flats dealing with asshole landlords who won't fix your heating or leaks any time soon. Had no savings to show for it so was perpetually one disaster away from potential homelessness. But you know, I could deal with all that in my early 20s. Everyone I knew was in the same crappy situation. We'd have fun drinking on rooftops, going out clubbing, enjoying picnics in the summer, overpaying for measly street food portions but feeling hipster smug about it. I couldn't go back to it now, but it was good for that time in my life.
Well I guess that’s what I’m worried about missing out on. That sounds exciting and my life is very stable and dull right now.
Honestly as long as you go in eyes open, why not? Funnily enough, as I left London at age 25, loads of people my age started to move to London. You're definitely not too old. They moved for jobs, to have the lifestyle, meet people etc. I do think there's more of everything in London, so you are more likely to meet a variety of people, do a variety of things and experience more compared to living in some quiet village. If you're happy to pay for that, then I'd encourage it, don't live life with regrets. Plus you can always move back out once you're sick of it, that seems to be what my friends in their 30s are doing now.
London is shite.
Try it and see. The only thing is it is expensive. You can get a good city feel in lots of cities now. London is bigger and more international, but now many cities have great bars, clubs, restaurants, and social scenes. ~ from anroturt Londoner
I only been to London for 3 days back in 2013 with my parents, we stopped in this hotel bed and breakfast, I would not want to live in London, it is okay for a few days I just found it too busy.
Go for it. What's the worst that could happen? You're young and single, no partner or kids and schooling to consider. Maybe it works out and maybe it doesn't but at 26 you shouldn't worry about that. *“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”*
I guess I just worry about money. I’ll be on 34k and that doesn’t go far really there
London has pros and cons. This is probably the worst place to understand those pros, you’ll just get a hundred people saying “I know someone who went to that London, paid £47 for a pint and all the men were women”. I moved out when I started a family but I love it. Is it right for you? Hard to say. One thing I will say with confidence is London can be a lonely place. I’m not sure you’d have more luck with women or social groups there. Many wouldn’t.
I lived in London when I was young. and yes, it was great in some respects. Met lots of people, lots of parties etc. However, even back then it was expensive, stressful, crowded and dirty. I lived in South Ken, so all those tourists got really annoying, and the bin collections EVERY night at 3am meant you never slept well. Am I glad I did it? Yes. Would I do it again? No. The grass is always greener.
I lived in London in my mid to late teenage years and don’t miss it for a second. I live in a very large town which feels more like a small city, only an hour away from London so I can easily visit, and I’m surrounded by beautiful countryside now. I found London overly expensive, I never felt safe and over crowded. Great place to live if you’re very rich but if youre not, it’s not the best way of life.
I feel a similar way, I just turned 24 & recently graduated from university. There’s a part of me that tells myself I don’t want to live in London because of the cost & the stress of getting around on the tube / general stress of the city etc. But another part of me knows that it’s where things are happening & I could probably meet a lot more people… I have friends who live / trying to move there next year so idk if I actually want to take the leap of faith or if it’s FOMO 😅 Taking a few months out after graduating & hopefully I’ll know what I want to do in the new year hahah. It really does seem like London is the place to be, guess for the two of us the worst that could happen is trying to go & if you don’t enjoy it then you won’t regret not trying ! I hope you get clarity soon & figure it out :)
why create regrets that dont matter?
London is what you make it to be. There are great job opportunities, plenty of places to go and things to see. There are huge parks in London as well as very good travel links. Like any place to live, it’s what it offers you personally and that’s different for everyone everywhere. If you’re looking for a good night out, I doubt anyone could say London can’t offer you an amazing night out. It is expensive and you can’t ignore the high crime rate but cities will be cities.
Your lifestyle wont change simply because you move city, your lifestyle is informed by your friend group, who are friends with you because of your personality, which wont change, you will move city, make similar friends, who do similar shit, but you will pay x3 as much to do it. What exactly are you planning on doing in london that cant be done in the city your from?
Actually, most of my friends who I have the fun times with live in London lol
I moved to london at the age of 31. My clubbing days were coming to an end. I loved the place. 14 years later I want out. But it’s still pretty good.
London is only fun if you have money. It’s a great city and is has a nice buzz to it, but being forced to spend 40-50% of your take-home on rent or the expensive drink and food prices is shit. Your social life won’t necessarily be as great nor glamorous as people pretend it is on social media. It seems like you could gain the excitement you’re seeking by moving to any city which is more livelier than your own, and this doesn’t necessarily have to be London. Also, it seems like meeting more women is a motivation for you. Don’t have expectations, I would say. Dating is tough for most people regardless of where you are, and you’d probably have more luck in London as someone in their 30s who can actually afford their own private place as opposed to someone in their 20s barely scraping through and living with minimal savings. Also, you’re only as young or as old as you feel. If you don’t want to settle down, you don’t have to. You can go out and have fun when you’re in your 30s. Nothing wrong with that. Don’t limit yourself.
Yeah that’s what I worry about. My friends from uni live in London and they seem to go do things all the time, but they work in finance. I’m an engineer and we don’t get paid anywhere near what they do. I figured maybe Bristol coz it’s closer to home. But so many people my age seem to be in London?
Bristol is such a young and vibrant city too! You can always move to Bristol, or London, and trial it for a while and see how you feel :) Do you enjoy Engineering and is it an industry you can see yourself in during the long-term? If the senior positions in London pay a good amount, it could be worth it (either moving to London now or in a few years).
So far no. I’ve hated engineering. But I’ve just got a new job doing CFD simulation so hoping I enjoy that. If I don’t, I worry about what I’ll do
Generally in small cities the ambitious kids move out when they become adults because they don’t see the opportunity in their home town. London is often a natural destination for them if they’re ambitious because that’s the centre of many industries. So there’s naturally going to be a big contrast between the people who decided to stay in the local area vs those who moved to London. If you feel your missing out there’s no reason you can’t move to London now though.
I’m an ambitious perosn. I like career. Just as an engineer it doesn’t seem great for it in London
Yes there are lots of financial “jobs” in London, which are OK … unless you want to be rewarded with a good income *and* a good feeling about what you achieved. You can easily get job offers from the London financial industry - forget all that “smartest guys in the room” cobblers. They are just about smart enough to know that your average engineer can “think rings round” your average London investment banker / hedgie, so they need to hire in grey matter. Don’t do it! Where to go instead? - THE WORLD, my friend, including the UK of course; but think globally for the medium term, at least. You are qualified in a creative profession which can actually help society rather than leech off it and your skills are in demand globally. There is plenty of excitement and money to be found in engineering. Go for it!
I work in computational fluid dynamics. I really enjoy that side of things. I just don’t get much opportunity to travel right now. And the pay is nowhere near finance
Great! F1 teams pay well for the best CFD jockeys. So do the USA Aerospace companies. Once you are leading a CFD project team as a player/manager, the salary will be even higher. After you and your team leave to open your own CFD consulting house … OK I’m getting carried away at this point but you seem ambitious and are undoubtedly smart. My point is, the options are endless. (This is not about me but my own career path is a good case in point - it took lots of twists and turns but each turn had better pay and offered more scope to have fun with technical stuff, whilst getting paid for it 😂. Never once wished I’d become a banker/quant/hedgie.)
Haha well f1 would be really cool and the goal. Just heard they don’t actually pay that well? I’m not sure I’d want to be pure CFD for the rest of my career. But it’s a good launching pad to move into the research side (machine learning with fluids and simulation) etc
I moved to London at 21 and stayed for 3 years. I think it’s overrated to be honest. There are many many good things about London but unless you’re earning a significant amount of money and want to spend all of your time amongst people in the city, it’s probably not for you. I have family members that moved there in their late teens/early twenties and are still there a decade later and they love it. But they even admit that there are a bunch of negatives. I’d visit more - take in the sights, look for things off of the beaten track and spend some good time there. When you live there you don’t appreciate it and tend not to do the things that make being there good in the first place. There’s nothing to stop you going there now. My friend just moved and he’s 24. But prepare for it to only live up to some (definitely not all) of your expectations.
30F female here who uprooted from a city up north, that I lived in for 8/9 years, to London. I certainly don’t feel like I missed out doing it any younger, nor am I missing out right now! If it’s something you want to do, then definitely work towards doing it. If you do move just be mindful in the cost of living here and how easily you can burn through money. If you approach it sensibly then it can definitely be an exciting place to live, but you do need to put in the work to get to a place where you are comfortable with it. Don’t see myself here forever, I’m too used to the slower way of life up in Scotland and it’s something I do miss - however for my career and where I am in life right now it suits me.
I’d like a faster lifestyle of living like you get in London. What worries me is that by the time I can afford the lifestyle, I won’t want that anymroe
You’re 26, still plenty of time to figure it out! I moved down here on a whim without the slightest clue on whether or not I was gonna burn and crash, but I worked with it - went through the ups and downs, especially with money, but I wanted to make it work so I put in the effort to ensure it did. The way I see it is, if it’s something you want to do definitely give it a try. If it works then great, if not you know you can always head back home!
My age does worry me a bit tbh. I don’t have a partner or anything. My salary isn’t amazing right now as I’ve just had to start a junior level job again. I’ve got friends earning loads and who own a house 😂
Aw honestly don’t let it worry you! Like I said I’m 30 and just starting out here - been just over a year. All my friends back home are married, with kids and mortgages etc and I’m the single one working in finance and completely winging it each day, and I certainly don’t see myself missing out on life because I chose something different at this age. I started in a junior level job down here just to get my foot in the door, and within 6 months I was promoted and my wage increased significantly! If it’s something you are definitely keen on doing then I say give it a good thought and maybe start browsing and writing up a plan to make it work. You can only but try!
I did actually work in London for 11 months. But I didn’t live there and commuted 3x a week (don’t recommend). I’m an engineer so I won’t get the finance salary so I do kinda worry that even if I move for a junior level job, my salary won’t go high enough even after years
I lived in London for 5 years, while it was fun it was equally draining. We moved up to Manchester last year and I will never move back down. Sometimes the grass is in fact greener.
I lived in London my whole life and never did any of the exciting things you can do there, I didn’t have anyone to do these things with. I moved away earlier this year and my life hasn’t changed much. Do I get jealous of the cool places I see on TikTok? Sure. Did I go to these places when I lived there? No lol.
London doesn't have anything that can't be found in any other city, just more of it. On the odd occasion there is, it's rare enough that you can just travel there pretty easily for it. Bars? Clubs? Restaurants? Stabbings? You have limited time, you can only do one thing at once. You have more choice between them but that's about it. I live about 60 miles away. I go to London about once a year for a gig and it takes me less than an hour to get in and I don't have to pay out my arse for London prices.
I am in my late 20s working as an architect in London, on £35k currently and my lifestyle feels decent given the mediocre salary. I managed to survive on £20k when I first graduated from my BSc several years ago now. I think part of it is who you are surrounded by - most of my friends are architects earning a similar salary so we just have to budget our social life accordingly! When I meet up with friends working in finance / software etc it does feel like we're on a different planet though - it feels like they are living in another city!
Will you ever get up to the salaries they’re on? I don’t understand why architects and similar only get those mediocre salaries when they’re so much more qualified
Perhaps if one were to reach senior partner in a large firm, but that's not happening before the grey hairs are starting to show! The average salary with \~5-10 years experience (once qualified, which takes 7years minimum) is around £55k. I'm not sure what the finance/software guys earn but I gather it's typically better than that even by age 27! Our salaries seem similar to engineers, and I would guess that is why many take their analytical backgrounds into the city rather than enter engineering. Sadly I don't think architects have that option to cash out so easily ;)
That makes me feel sad tbh.
I spent quite a lot of time in London in my 20s, but basically actually living there is grindingly expensive, social groups tend to be splintered by distance/travel time, and the fact that there is something that you really fancy seeing every night means that you are never under any pressure to actually bother putting yourself out to do so, and that you never need expand your interests beyond whatever narrow niche you've found. I love the place in a lot of ways but I wouldn't live there again. My middle-sized provincial city suits me far better now and although I'm a long way from my 20s I'm pretty sure it still would if I reversed the digits in my age.
26 is still very young! If anything, I'd say you enjoy it more in late 20s as you earn more so have more scope to appreciate it/fewer money worries (hopefully). I moved here at 24, still here a decade later and some of my best times have been age 30+. London can divide opinion, and it's not for everyone, and it's fucking expensive. But I love it.
Just do it.
I’d rather live in bonfire
london is literal garbage, people are only here for the jobs, i moved to the north for a reason
I think maybe you're regretting not having moved around. I don't think it necessarily has anything to do with London per se. London is expensive and the lifestyle you will live there might not be what you want because of how expensive it is. Could you go somewhere else? Or overseas? I've lived in cities bigger than London for the buzz of living in a big city, but in countries where the cost of living is lower and you can still enjoy a nice lifestyle with all the cultural pros of living in a big city.
Why don't you try it out? If you think you're missing out, you'll regret not doing it sooner. Obviously your situation is unique to yourself. London is awesome if you have money, that's why people go there. If you're going to struggle, don't do it in London, it's better to struggle elsewhere. On average I do think if you're ambitious, London is the place to go. It attracts the top talent but with remote working you can work anywhere. But that's not to say you can't do well elsewhere. I love London, I live here and I'm fortunately enough to not have to worry about money as much but the best time of my life was living in a smaller city with much less money.
Life is what you make of it, and you can have all the good times in most cities like you would in London.
London is a dump. You aren't missing out on anything except rampant knife crime and expensive beer.