[Closed] How many of you have been to London ?

some rather lovely Ladies in light flowy dresses

Quite. London is visually great for males and lesbians. I'm not sure what the equivalent attraction is for the ladies. Lots of very rich men?

Been there twice first time for a software convention type thing, the 2nd as a tourist.

Ok to visit but would not live there for all the tea in China. Getting off the train from there into Manchester made Manchester feel like a small village. 🙂

I surprised to see this thread still going !

The Government is very far from running the country for London's benefit. The facts are that the taxes raised in London support the rest of the country, which is normal as it's the capital and the center of economic activity. The challenge is to spread the economy much more broadly, they've tried using government work/departments but it's private sector employment and business which must be encouraged.

rather lovely Ladies in light flowy dresses

Lived in Putney straight out of uni. Can tell you that was on £12,500pa before deductions, and rent was a half share of £800pcm. Flat mate was on about the same. He commuted in to the city, whereas I commuted out to Weybridge (which took less time!).

So total b******s do you need 60K each to live there with a 1200pcm rent now. Maybe you do to live in a yuppie ville apartment in Chelsea with mooring space, and reserved underground parking for the Aston. But 99.9% of London isn't that.

The fact that Wandsworth Council Tax was only like £36 for the [b][u][i]year[/i][/u][/b] (might have been 36 each?) helped with cash flow for beer in the Green Man outdoor BBQ beer garden.

binners I doubt you've ridden the Peaks on anything really good 😉

We (I use the word we), we rode Saturday morning in the Peaks and on cheeky footpaths.

Infact on Saturdays ride we did one one way, pushed back up and rode the other hidden cheeky....we then finished the ride on yet another cheeky* where you have to put your ass onto your rear tyre most of the way down. Although mbr has published a picture of that cheeky in their mag.

Riding Hollingworth/Prestwich is more about socialising-ride than technical isn't it?

Flow is hard to get up this way. Alot of double-track and bridleways. Only cheeky helps.

on £12,500pa before deductions, and rent was a half share of £800pcm.

FACK! I started in London on 12k. Rent was £200 each a month and we struggled to pay student loan/just live.

Back to the Peaks - we are riding there again this weekend. I invite you all the time! Plus I invited you to our Nan Bield trip two weeks ago.

*Must admit I absolutely love this trail- one of the best/my top bits ever.

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No... you're right. Despite you never having ridden round our way (despite arranging too on approximately 2,387 occasions, then not turning up), your assessment is entirely correct. Its all doubletrack and bridleway. Christ, its boring! I don't know why I bother, to be honest. In fact... I think I'll sell my bikes, get a road bike, and join you riding round those awesome roads in cheshire. That looks great! Challenging stuff, all that 'flow'. I doubt I'd cope.

Hebden and around there has got some good trails.

Plus don't forget binners- you meet on a Monday night at 8. I could just straight on my road bike and have an earlier spin.

Be honest- most of it (thats not cheeky) is double-track, bridleways and straight line blasts then a corner.

Most of the riding is exposed across desolate moorland etc. Thats ok but you can't beat a ride through woods/forest. It just feels better.

With 2 bed flats in Sydenham and West Norwood (until recently not very desireable) now going at £350-400k and even renting such a place c £1200/month, how does someone on median wage of £35k have the spare cash to go out?

Up until recently we spent 5 years paying £1200 p/m rent on a one bed flat on a combined income of considerably less than 2 x £35k. I can confirm that it’s fairly easy to pay rent, save a deposit, run a (shit) car, eat well, party likes its 1999 and fund a bike/girlfriend’s handbag addiction.

We now live in Dulwich (near West Norwood) having paid way, way less than your £350-400k for a lovely little (admittedly one bed) victorian flat with a garden.

It’s not that expensive to live here, it’s just the headline grabbing numbers that look scary.

Hebden and around there has got some good trails.

Weren't you comparing Hebden to Warrington the other day?

I live in London, can confirm it's a shithole. At least compared to the far southwest where I'm from.

Londoners get a completely skewed attitude towards rent costs etc compared to the rest of the country, and begin to think that £1200+ /mo for a tiny little shitty flat is 'great value'. Well, it isn't. And they try to justify it by saying 'well you get paid more here' but the wages aren't proportionately higher enough to make up for it.
Currently paying £1500/mo for a 1 bed in Ealing with £135/mo council tax. The city in general is crowded, filthy and noisy. I find the most depressing thing is how rude and impatient people are - London nurtures an individualistic attitude in folk where they're happy to trample on other's heads to get on.

I can't wait to get out of here in a year or two, and return to somewhere a bit friendlier - ideally in the west somewhere, for better proximity to mountains and decent countryside/coast. I love the cultural aspect, gigs and museums and galleries etc, but I can easily do them as a visitor.

[url= http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/london-property-market-boosted-by-people-pretending-grim-places-are-great-2013053070398 ]The Mash nails it![/url]

😆

Weren't you comparing Hebden to Warrington the other day?

No I said why would you spend a week holidaying in Hebden? Theres not enough to keep you entertain during the week/great for a long weekend IMO. I then said 'what next, holiday in Warrington'?

Recently I was looking at prices in London- at the top of my old road there was a studio flat (tiny as well) that went for £450,000.

Heres a current BASEMENT flat on the same road for over £600,000..

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-43155190.html

A friend of mine went to Auction for a Basement flat (not developed but with potential) in Earls Court, some of you know parts are nice, parts are really ugly. This Basement was in the ugly bit.

He had £330k to play with, it went for £605k.

He walked away laughing, we had a beer on the fact that he got away lightly.. 😆

I'm sitting in the middle of Mayfair right now and it's lovely.

You're sat in the middle of Mayfair?

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you may scoff at the price of property, but you can profit from the appreciation.
I pay the same monthly mortgage payments now as I did 7 years ago, but the property I live in now is [s]worth[/s] valued at twice as much.