London

[Kyng]

(Source: Colin; View licence terms)

Just thought I would start a thread to do with London: the capital city of the United Kingdom, by far the largest city in the UK (with a population of around 8.8 million as of 2017), and one of the world's major financial and cultural hubs. 

London's history goes back to around AD 43, when it was first founded by the Romans (who knew it as 'Londinium'). As you might expect of a 2,000-year-old city, it has its own unique historical quirks which have developed over the years. One of these is a common source of confusion - and, it has to do with the so-called "City of London", which is not the same thing as "London"! You see, the "City of London" is just the innermost part of London, which exists within the city limits originally defined by Romans. It contains some of the most famous 'London' landmarks (including St Paul's Cathedral), but in many important ways, it functions as its own separate city-within-a-city: it has its own government and its own mayor, separate from the main 'London' government. This video by CGP Grey goes into more detail about the difference between "London" and the "City of London". 

That's not all, though, because London has another "city-within-a-city": the City of Westminster. This contains landmarks such as Buckingham Palace; the Houses of Parliament (including Big Ben); 10 Downing Street (the Prime Minister's residence); and Westminster Abbey (with Poet's Corner). In fact, most of the stuff that's commonly associated with 'London' can be found in either the City of London or the City of Westminster, even though they're only two of London's 33 districts! Like the City of London, the City of Westminster officially has 'city' status in its own right; however, it doesn't have its own government and mayor (instead, it's just covered by the main 'London' government). 

Of course, there's plenty more to discuss, like the iconic red buses and black taxi cabs, and the London Underground (also known as "the Tube"), which is the oldest metro system in the world: it was first opened in 1863. Then we have the numerous museums, including the British Museum, the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum, and others. I visited the latter two when I last stayed in London, back in 1999 - although, since I haven't visited it properly in 20 years, I suspect quite a lot has changed since I last went!

So, who here has visited London (or, for that matter, lives there ?). What are your experiences of the place?

[Deleted User 8]

London does not interest me one bit... from the levels of air pollution, to rampant crimes happening there even in recent times. In general though, it would be too busy for me to go anyway not unless if there's quieter suburbs of the city though.

Also, one interesting fact that I can contribute about it... there's been an independence movement going on since the 1990s, and it was brought up again in light of Brexit (and for it to perhaps become a city-state like Singapore).

[Kyng]

London does not interest me one bit... from the levels of air pollution, to rampant crimes happening there even in recent times. In general though, it would be too busy for me to go anyway not unless if there's quieter suburbs of the city though.

Also, one interesting fact that I can contribute about it... there's been an independence movement going on since the 1990s, and it was brought up again in light of Brexit (and for it to perhaps become a city-state like Singapore).

Well, actually, the central parts of the city are very safe, and the outer suburbs don't have a whole lot of violent crime either. It's the inner suburbs that you need to worry about - particularly those to the east and south of the city centre:

https://www.plumplot.co.uk/London-violen...stics.html

And, yeah, I had heard about that independence movement - especially with all those banking companies not wanting to have their trading with the EU screwed up. If they get their way, it'll be amusing to see the M25 becoming an international border !

[Deleted User 8]

Well, actually, the central parts of the city are very safe, and the outer suburbs don't have a whole lot of violent crime either.

I also see that it has the second-lowest crime rate compared to other parts of England and in contrast, to my surprise, Yorkshire's crime rate is very high. To think that London was once the murder capital of the UK, iirc. Guess I should be less worried about it now but still, not really that place that I'd go to, even though I have a friend from there (Wimbledon, to be precise) who actually wanted me to meet her there! D:

[Detective Osprey]

Never felt unsafe once when I was there. Mind you, I was alone. 

This is my favourite city, tied with Toronto.

[Kyng]

Well, actually, the central parts of the city are very safe, and the outer suburbs don't have a whole lot of violent crime either.

I also see that it has the second-lowest crime rate compared to other parts of England and in contrast, to my surprise, Yorkshire's crime rate is very high. To think that London was once the murder capital of the UK, iirc. Guess I should be less worried about it now but still, not really that place that I'd go to, even though I have a friend from there (Wimbledon, to be precise) who actually wanted me to meet her there! D: 

Yeah, I'd quite like to go to Wimbledon one day. Although, really, that's only for the tennis - not because I know anybody there .

[Shiny Star]

I live like half an hour train from Kings Cross, London. I've been there plenty of times. It's expensive and busy there though. The tube also kinda confuses me. There's a few good shopping places there though. Probably overrated though but I'm used to being close so maybe I take it for granted.

[Kyng]

I live like half an hour train from Kings Cross, London. I've been there plenty of times. It's expensive and busy there though. The tube also kinda confuses me. There's a few good shopping places there though. Probably overrated though but I'm used to being close so maybe I take it for granted.

Yeah, I feel a bit the same way about Chester. I don't know how good it is for tourists: I'll never see it through a tourist's eyes because I've lived there for practically all my life . 

Going back to London, I certainly don't doubt that it's expensive: that's one reason why I don't visit it much, and definitely a major reason why I've never had any interest in working there ! A couple of my cousins work there, though .

And, when I said I haven't visited London in nearly 20 years: I don't count the time I went to Bracknell in around 2009, nor do I count the time I went to Hemel Hempstead in 2017. I don't count either as "London", no matter what this map says ! (Sure, they're London satellites or commuter towns, but that's not the same thing as being part of London )

[Shiny Star]

I live like half an hour train from Kings Cross, London. I've been there plenty of times. It's expensive and busy there though. The tube also kinda confuses me. There's a few good shopping places there though. Probably overrated though but I'm used to being close so maybe I take it for granted.

Yeah, I feel a bit the same way about Chester. I don't know how good it is for tourists: I'll never see it through a tourist's eyes because I've lived there for practically all my life . 

Going back to London, I certainly don't doubt that it's expensive: that's one reason why I don't visit it much, and definitely a major reason why I've never had any interest in working there ! A couple of my cousins work there, though .

And, when I said I haven't visited London in nearly 20 years: I don't count the time I went to Bracknell in around 2009, nor do I count the time I went to Hemel Hempstead in 2017. I don't count either as "London", no matter what this map says ! (Sure, they're London satellites or commuter towns, but that's not the same thing as being part of London ) 

I wouldn’t class Hemel as London. It’s on the border between London and Hertfordshire though. Half hour or forty minute drive for me to get to Hemel (I had a doctors appointment there a month back). I wouldn’t count Watford as London neither but some peoooe tend to. They forget my county exists! We’re the irrelevant commuter county.

[Kyng]

Well, I'm fine with Watford being part of London, because it at least has a Tube station (which Hemel notably lacks ). Then again, when I visited my uncle in Watford some years ago, I didn't feel like I was really 'in London': it still felt like a commuter town to me. 

I'm undecided on the matter, but I suppose it's "the gateway": once you leave Watford and go south of there, you're definitely in London.