Anyone find London a bit overwhelming?

jaybee said:
Yeah maybe don't go central...ever.
If you can see pavement it's not busy. ;)
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I've been on a busy tube before. It was kind of disgusting. Being crammed in.
Then see the videos of the Asian city trains.

Nope.

For context I get agitated when I see 2 cars come past waiting to cross with my dog. (it happens rarely) .
Or when I see more than 3 groups people on my daily dog walk in the park. This is also rare.

During covid me and my gf found it too busy. All of a sudden you might see 10 small groups of people (300ish people) on a single walk. Neither of us liked it! :D
 
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413x said:
I've been on a busy tube before. It was kind of disgusting. Being crammed in.
Then see the videos of the Asian city trains.

Nope.

For context I get agitated when I see 2 cars come past waiting to cross with my dog. (it happens rarely) .
Or when I see more than 3 groups people on my daily dog walk in the park. This is also rare.

During covid me and my gf found it too busy. All of a sudden you might see 10 small groups of people (300ish people) on a single walk. Neither of us liked it! :D
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Asian trains (in developed world like the UK, ie Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea) are much nicer than the UK, for one thing, most of them have air con, second, it’s much cleaner than the London Underground and 3rd, they mostly shut up and don’t talk.

It is a completely different vibe. Hong Kong however is the stand out one, that is louder, due to cultural reasons.

I think London is fine, if you have lots of money, earning £50k +, otherwise it’s miserable as you’ll be skint and not afford any of the benefits it offers.

I went to London last week, drove down as trains is more expensive, got papped by my friend as I drove away. :D (just noticed all the vehicles in this photo are red!)


6WOBuWR.jpg
 
Raymond Lin said:
Asian trains (in developed world like the UK, ie Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea) are much nicer than the UK, for one thing, most of them have air con, second, it’s much cleaner than the London Underground and 3rd, they mostly shut up and don’t talk.

It is a completely different vibe. Hong Kong however is the stand out one, that is louder, due to cultural reasons.

I think London is fine, if you have lots of money, earning £50k +, otherwise it’s miserable as you’ll be skint and not afford any of the benefits it offers.

I went to London last week, drove down as trains is more expensive, got papped by my friend as I drove away. :D (just noticed all the vehicles in this photo are red!)


6WOBuWR.jpg
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Trains in the UK are ridiculous. It's cheaper to drive to edge of the underground and get the underground in. Even solo!

When went to Italy the trains there were so much better than ours. They were actually nice.

There's not enough greenery in that pic. That's the issue for me with cities. Obviously you get nice areas with lovely street trees. But some parts are just so barren. There's a few areas in Cardiff I know that even driving through disgusts me. I'll grab a pic of the sort of place I mean


a4NcOW7.jpg


This is my nightmare. No greenery. Wall to wall terrace housing. Parking space anxiety!
 
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adam cool dude said:
How long did it take you to get there and even in that picture it looks way too overcrowded. No to mention to live around there you need to be a millionaire which is unobtainable to the vast majority of Londoners. This is where I went after I finished work today on the bike. 2 mins from my house. After an 8 minute drive returning from work. 10 minutes total from leaving my job to this scenery. Not a soul in the distance and available to everyone. How I like it.
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Do you have deer there, like we do in London?

rlOPfo4.jpeg
 
I've lived in London for the past 7 years, as it's pretty necessary for my line of work, and because the vast majority of my friends are here.

On the one hand, short term visits don't do it justice. The usual parts of Central London are a hellhole, and I literally can't remember the last time I went to (eg) Oxford Street or Hyde Park. The areas in zones 2 and 3 are by and large much nicer, and you can generally find somewhere which suits what you want in a city.

That said, if it wasn't for work and my social life I wouldn't live here. I've lived in smaller (but not small) English cities previously, and you get a lot of what there is in London but your money goes further, you can live centrally enough to walk everywhere or in the countryside without a monster commute, and the pace of life is generally just more pleasant. I earn (low) 6 figures in London and still feel poor, whereas friends in other cities earn less and have nice 4 bed houses.
 
krooton said:
It's like how people think that New York is JUST Manhattan.
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Some people don’t even realise NY is a whole state…
Raymond Lin said:
went to London last week, drove down as trains is more expensive, got papped by my friend as I drove away.
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I know exactly where that is, and not helping your case but that’s the quietest I’ve ever seen that junction :D
413x said:
There's not enough greenery in that pic.
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If he spun to his right you’ll see the Thames and one of the loveliest riverside village-y areas with loads of greenery, pubs etc. It’s beautiful round there.
 
adam cool dude said:
Yes and wild deer not planted for tourists. I literally saw one last week in the area where I posted my first picture. Yesterday I could see wild hare and pheasant as well roaming the fields. This is normality. :)
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Given that the deer have been there since the 1600s, I'm not sure it's quite right to categorise them as "planted for tourists".
 
Scam said:
Some people don’t even realise NY is a whole state…

I know exactly where that is, and not helping your case but that’s the quietest I’ve ever seen that junction :D

If he spun to his right you’ll see the Thames and one of the loveliest riverside village-y areas with loads of greenery, pubs etc. It’s beautiful round there.
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Does look like a nice area. It's a part of London I've never been. It's one of those places I guess you go if you live in London. But you don't go to London for that place?
To be honest, I can count the times I've been to London on one hand and it's usually the inner city attractions. I've never visited just to wander like when I went to Rome. (also, didn't like Rome! Some beautiful history, but the city itself? Not a fan.)

I'd never say all of any city is the same. And I know London does have some lovely (probably horrendously expensive) parts
 
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adam cool dude said:
Yes and wild deer not planted for tourists. I literally saw one last week in the area where I posted my first picture. Yesterday I could see wild hare and pheasant as well roaming the fields. This is normality. :)
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Good to hear.

The deer aren't planted for tourists. It's a royal park and the deer belong to His Maj.
 
413x said:
Trains in the UK are ridiculous. It's cheaper to drive to edge of the underground and get the underground in. Even solo!

When went to Italy the trains there were so much better than ours. They were actually nice.

There's not enough greenery in that pic. That's the issue for me with cities. Obviously you get nice areas with lovely street trees. But some parts are just so barren. There's a few areas in Cardiff I know that even driving through disgusts me. I'll grab a pic of the sort of place I mean



This is my nightmare. No greenery. Wall to wall terrace housing. Parking space anxiety!
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Leeds have back to back housing near the Uni.... As in no garden at all!


London is great. So much variety.
 
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ITT: people who prefer the city, people who prefer the country.

I can't believe it but it's true, after almost 200 posts it basically boils down to "I'm from here, I prefer it" on all counts.

Except mrwong who confusingly hates London beyond all other cities in the world even though I'm pretty sure he lives there :confused:
 
kona786 said:
Leeds have back to back housing near the Uni.... As in no garden at all!


London is great. So much variety.
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A variety of pricing too. Paying 600k and then still having 5 neighbours just isn't for me but I can completely understand that some people are happy to take it because they like the city lifestyle.
 
Scam said:
It’s a nice walk from our place. Or the pubs there are the perfect end of a walk back from Hammersmith. A couple of pints for the road. But yes, it’s not the sort of place that non-Londoners ever see. https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1...sAKHfrnDqIQ0pQJegQICRAB&biw=390&bih=669&dpr=3
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That's actually really nice.
Not sure who said it, but often UK seaside towns end up in a tatty ghetto (lowestoft for example). But that looks lovely.
Dare I say it.. I'm tempted to visit.

Anywhere down there with pubs you can pitch up at with a kayak? I'm guessing that part of the Thames is navigable for kayaks.
 
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413x said:
That's actually really nice.
Not sure who said it, but often UK seaside towns end up in a tatty ghetto (lowestoft for example). But that looks lovely.
Dare I say it.. I'm tempted to visit.

Anywhere down there with pubs you can pitch up at with a kayak? I'm guessing that part of the Thames is navigable for kayaks.
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I'm not sure about pubs, but I'd be surprised if not. A friend of mine lives by the river in Twickenham, and hops in her kayak pretty frequently
 
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