We just like slumming it
London though is far cleaner and nicer than Rome or Paris.
both are a lot more run down and rome is horrific for all the ***** trying to sell stuff to you/beggars.
i think it helps that for most of London the buildings are either brick, or Portland stone. not plastered like they are on the continent, pealing/flaking plaster looks terrible quickly but brick and stone look good unless something major happens.
There's definitely something to the perception of a place based on the state of it.
I used to hate London but living there for a few years changed my mind about it. That said I'd still only say central London and the suburbs, the middle but not so much. In part because the suburbs are generally like much of the rest of the country - normal streets, normal houses and reasonably nice high streets. The centre on the other hand (basically Westminster and CoL) is grand and ornate, full of well kept parks and big buildings with lots happening. The bit inbetween is basically tiny terraces, terrible highstreets and just a bit of a mess.
Same with places like Manchester. I'm sure it's safe, but many parts of even the centre of Manchester look like you're going to get stabbed at midday, nothing to do with the people, just the state of buildings and roads.
On the other hand cities outside of the UK, especially those designed for larger populations (Barcelona and many North American cities) are generally just more airy and seem cleaner, reducing the perception of there being problems, even if there may actually be some.
I think London like most places has some dodgy spots, but outside of those there's likely to be no more of an issue than in a small town. I had no issues walking around central London in the middle of the night, or generally in the suburbs (Hillingdon). Never spent a huge amount of time in the middle bit however.
Paris is a weird one, it should be great, but it's still got that air of ***** about much of it, although it's got a lot bette run the last 15 or so years.
I love where I live - the area is stunning. I like living on the water. I tend to walk everywhere - more so in the summer - (central London is smaller than the tube map would have you believe), and I love the lifestyle.
Yeah, pretty much any station in zone 1 is walkable.
Speaking as a Londoner and also as someone who has travelled fairly extensively to major cities worldwide, London is far far nicer / safer than the majority of cities of comparable size abroad (and many of the smaller cities in the UK too for that matter).
