It never ceases to amaze/amuse and worry me, when I hear people who have never lived in or anywhere near London (or ever even been there in some cases) saying they are desperate to move there because the wages are 10% higher.

These people generally have no comprehension of
1 What London is like and
2 What the cost of living is like

There's no real reason for this, just a general rant.

Has anyone else noticed how many people who know nothing about London still think it is where the streets are paved with gold?

I lived in london for 5 years, and I can honsetly say I wouldn't want to move back there.

yea, It's the pull of the big smoke i guess.

When i worked in london i commuted from sheffield. I was on the Master Cutler in the morning which only stops at derby and then back in the evening. I believe thats the only way to make money from working in london.

Don't move there commute!

I lived right in Central London on Bakers Street and have moved and lived in other areas of London too.

London is great if you have loads of money already, have loads of free time to do all the wonderful things there is, such as the London Eye etc and if you don't mind rude and abnoxious people!

I moved to Sheffield a year ago and noticed a massive difference in how polite everyone is here not to mention friendly! :clap:

I love a lot of things about London but there's also a lot of things I hate. London is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to move back there.

I've been in London for just over a year now.It has been difficult to get a decent job and the wages aren't as great as everyone makes out (unless you're a city broker),however i really like being here.There's such a buzz about the place,so many different people and things to do,you don't always need lots of money either 'cos there's tons of free/very cheap stuff on all the time.I won't stay here forever because it would get tiring eventually but at the moment i'm glad i came here.

Originally posted by Yodameister


Has anyone else noticed how many people who know nothing about London still think it is where the streets are paved with gold?

No, like sparkle says, it is a good place to have money.

I have spent about 3 years working in Oxford, Southampton, Central and Greater London and you do not have to commute daily to make it worth while at all.

London is a big mucky hole though!

I've never lived in London but go there a fair bit and overall I like it. I don't understand how people afford it there though - unless with a long commute. Things are generally more expensive and london salary weightings don't cover it IMO.

And after spending a day there its funny though (or is it horrible?) how you tend to pick up Londoners habits...ie not looking anyone in the eye/saying hi and pushing to get on the tube.

Great place for a few days stay, if you've time and money to spare. I agree though that it can feel good to get back to Sheff as its cleaner here and more friendly.

Its not just the salary. To take an example I have a somewhat niche job which I managed to find a post doing at the university after only 8 months of looking and applying. I'm coming up to the end of my contract and have found that there are no jobs in the area and if I want to carry on in this sort of position I have to move to London or Cambridge (pretty much the same costs as London). While I would love to stay here I don't know that I'll get the choice - anyone know of any posts for a bioinformatician / structural biologist!?!?

We lived in London from 1974 till 1981. The first five years we loved it, very buzzy and everything on your doorstep. As we got older, it became a trial to battle the commuting and noise and crowds and expense. So we moved. Went back in October to visit friends and do theatre and whatnot. For the first time in 20 years, we went back to where we bought our first house. In 1977, it cost us £9700. Two doors along was on the market for £400,000. Once we got over the initial shock, we agreed that even with the higher London pay, it's not worth it to actually stay there. Nice to visit for a weekend but so much better to get away home to somewhere sensible like Sheffield.

Originally posted by venger
I have spent about 3 years working in Oxford

Where in Oxford did you live?

I was born in Oxford and lived there most of my life.

Originally posted by sparklesista
Where in Oxford did you live?

I was born in Oxford and lived there most of my life.
Hillsborough Close, cannot rembember the district name, but it was just iside the ring road and half-way between Tesco and BMW-Mini plant.

Originally posted by venger
Hillsborough Close, cannot rembember the district name, but it was just iside the ring road and half-way between Tesco and BMW-Mini plant.

Hmm, if it's where I'm thinking of, it wasn't the nicest of areas!

my mum lives there and i was born there i must say that the living expences are so much more thats why they need more wages trust me there not better off ......