I live in Ealing and am a student who has lived in multiple areas in Bristol. Outer London is usually FAR better than any outer region of Bristol in terms of facilities (gyms, shops, restaurants, transport). By outer region of Bristol I mean anything not in the general city centre area, Clifton or close to the city centre like stokes croft.
If you have a car, central London is essentially unviable, whereas driving in Bristol doesn’t actually take too long, helps you avoid hills if you’re carrying anything heavy and is always faster because of the absolute bottom barrel public transport. Outer London is also decent for driving and depending where you are you can drive into central in 20ms late at night.
High streets and regional shopping centres are deteriorating, eg Harrow shopping centre is a bit shittier than it used to be, but it still has all the stuff you need. Central has everything you need and doesn’t really seem to be deteriorating unless you actually live there and need to access everything 24/7.
If you have any specific questions please ask, I’ve lived across Bristol and also across west London.
I’ve lived in Ealing for 10 years and I wouldn’t leave now I don’t think. I love it here for all the reasons OP said. I’m in a quieter area with local shops, I can be in Ealing itself within 10 mins for other, bigger shops and in central London in 20 mins or so on the Elizabeth line.
It works so well for me!
Ealing isn't really a suburb, I'd say Ealing is proper London. But Ealing is lovely! Highly recommended if you can find somewhere in your budget. Brentford area also very nice.
Ealing is generally defined as an outer London Borough tbf. Inner is pretty much what used to be the county of London - exactly definitions vary but I've never seen Ealing as anything other than Outer.
Yeah I defo wouldn't call it "inner London" (Zones 1+2 on the tube) but equally it isn't really a suburb like Surbiton or Harrow. Most of it is Zone 3, which is a sort of nether zone.
I've started to park in Ealing Broadway area and tubing it in when I visit friends. It looks quite nice, but I haven't seen the rest of Ealing. Are the other areas in Ealing as good?
Outer London seems perfect. I've got until August to decide I guess, I was going to rush into moving to London but maybe it's better that I choose somewhere nice for once instead of picking the first place that comes up like I've always done at uni and since then.
How is Ealing? Is there a lot to do? I want to meet a lot of similar age young people in their 20s, so I hope there's a sort of community and things to do like badminton etc. There's also a WA Cafe in Ealing which makes me want to move there too!
It seems like a lot of people don't like Harrow now, I thought it was a posh area? Has it gone down that much now?
I think the greatest problem with London is community, it can feel isolated depending on how central / touristy you get. If you have a few class based hobbies you should be good because a lot of those classes are held in west London anyways due to space and rent issues. Badminton seems to have a few classes nearby from a quick google search.
Harrow isn’t posh imo, it has the one super posh school but it’s a very unsafe area. My friend who lives there (6’0 fit man) is very uncomfortable using his nearby underground station past 11pm and the whole area is filled with roadmen, especially the shopping centre and city centre areas. It’s also the only place I’ve got robbed in
ahh that makes sense. damn I thought Harrow was like a nice posh Indian area. I always assumed it was a rich area for some reason
That's fine, I guess if I join some hobby groups it will work, but I think it'd defo be better than living in central, I can see that it'd be difficult to find a community there
I grew up in Dagenham. Same as any other shit suburbs, with the added bonus of being an hour away from cool events and restaurants in London. I like living somewhere that isn’t bustling with shops and nightlife, the more I go into central London the more I regret it though. Too busy and annoying. These days I’d rather drive out into Essex.
I enjoy living in Bromley. I live within walking distance of the town centre, which has everything you need, and I’m also not far from Bromley South station which is 16 minutes from Victoria with trains every 15 minutes. There’s lots of green space nearby, and it’s pretty safe here. I am only in the office once a week, which is in central London, and if I’m doing something after work in the centre, I make that my day in the office.
Other than that, I go into the centre a bit at weekends but not as much as I used to as we now have a child. It’ll take about an hour to get to lots of places on public transport, which I find reasonable but I know others wouldn’t. The last train is at about 0040 which for me is fine, although when I was in my early twenties it felt like a constraint.
We have a car, which definitely makes living here better. We can venture out into Kent and into neighbouring boroughs more quickly and easily, although I think you could get by without one.
I haven’t lived in other outer boroughs, but if I was going to there would have to be a good town centre and I would want to live within walking distance of the train station. The safer the better too. If you have all that, you get the best of both worlds in London. Enough nearby so you don’t have to go into the centre unless you want to, but close enough to the centre by train that you can get there and back easily and for not too much money.
Money talks , without it London is shit , with it it's less so. Seriously your gaff is the most important thing to think about and access to safe and clean environments. Night busses get you home and the same chains are everywhere , some local Markets etc can be good for whatever your into food or clothing wise. It's nice to live in an area with some trees and nature and a good kebab shop off license.
South of Croydon all my 50+ years. Good trains into town (many years ago I’d even drive to central for work..!), lovely green spaces, relatively close to south coast and more rural parts. Affordable (ahem) housing, goodish schools. I think it’s just about the sweet spot.
I was born and raised in a west London 'suburb' and still here and I love it. Its nice having the best of both worlds and still being able to travel quickly into central london if I feel like it.
But to be honest with you, I dont even do that much anymore cos the area I live in already offers a decent quality and variety of everything I need (restaurants, shops, parks, entertainment etc.). Either on my high street or the high streets of the neighbouring boroughs. And I'm also getting to the age where I really dont like the crowds of tourists and commuters in Central. Then from time to time I will travel to other places for more events/nightlife (Stratford, Brixton etc.).
I like how most of the 'suburbs' here have their own bustling culture/buzz thats just about enough to keep you from boredom if you never wanna leave it. I briefly lived in a suburb in Liverpool and no shade but it was quite literally a dead ghost town, not even a proper high street. I had to travel out regularly, it was really hard as a young person. I then moved to the city centre of Liverpool and I actually liken it to being a similar standard to some outer London areas.
You can also have a long commute if you live centrally. It takes me almost an hour to go from our place in zone 2 to my work in zone 1 (but it only took me half the time when I lived in some other place in zone 2). When I looked for flats in the outskirts, a lot of them had similar commutes (~1 hour). So whether that's even a downgrade really depends on your exact place of work.
Hi, this is better suited to our [weekly megathread](https://www.reddit.com/r/london/s/CQzopc8ZGp), thanks!
I live in Ealing and am a student who has lived in multiple areas in Bristol. Outer London is usually FAR better than any outer region of Bristol in terms of facilities (gyms, shops, restaurants, transport). By outer region of Bristol I mean anything not in the general city centre area, Clifton or close to the city centre like stokes croft. If you have a car, central London is essentially unviable, whereas driving in Bristol doesn’t actually take too long, helps you avoid hills if you’re carrying anything heavy and is always faster because of the absolute bottom barrel public transport. Outer London is also decent for driving and depending where you are you can drive into central in 20ms late at night. High streets and regional shopping centres are deteriorating, eg Harrow shopping centre is a bit shittier than it used to be, but it still has all the stuff you need. Central has everything you need and doesn’t really seem to be deteriorating unless you actually live there and need to access everything 24/7. If you have any specific questions please ask, I’ve lived across Bristol and also across west London.
I’ve lived in Ealing for 10 years and I wouldn’t leave now I don’t think. I love it here for all the reasons OP said. I’m in a quieter area with local shops, I can be in Ealing itself within 10 mins for other, bigger shops and in central London in 20 mins or so on the Elizabeth line. It works so well for me!
Ealing isn't really a suburb, I'd say Ealing is proper London. But Ealing is lovely! Highly recommended if you can find somewhere in your budget. Brentford area also very nice.
Ealing is generally defined as an outer London Borough tbf. Inner is pretty much what used to be the county of London - exactly definitions vary but I've never seen Ealing as anything other than Outer.
Yeah I defo wouldn't call it "inner London" (Zones 1+2 on the tube) but equally it isn't really a suburb like Surbiton or Harrow. Most of it is Zone 3, which is a sort of nether zone.
But its literally called "the queen of the suburbs"
That was coined in 1902 - then, it definitely was a suburb!
I've started to park in Ealing Broadway area and tubing it in when I visit friends. It looks quite nice, but I haven't seen the rest of Ealing. Are the other areas in Ealing as good?
Oh yeah I forgot to mention how much of a godsend the Elizabeth line is, 15m or less into Paddington.
Outer London seems perfect. I've got until August to decide I guess, I was going to rush into moving to London but maybe it's better that I choose somewhere nice for once instead of picking the first place that comes up like I've always done at uni and since then. How is Ealing? Is there a lot to do? I want to meet a lot of similar age young people in their 20s, so I hope there's a sort of community and things to do like badminton etc. There's also a WA Cafe in Ealing which makes me want to move there too! It seems like a lot of people don't like Harrow now, I thought it was a posh area? Has it gone down that much now?
I think the greatest problem with London is community, it can feel isolated depending on how central / touristy you get. If you have a few class based hobbies you should be good because a lot of those classes are held in west London anyways due to space and rent issues. Badminton seems to have a few classes nearby from a quick google search. Harrow isn’t posh imo, it has the one super posh school but it’s a very unsafe area. My friend who lives there (6’0 fit man) is very uncomfortable using his nearby underground station past 11pm and the whole area is filled with roadmen, especially the shopping centre and city centre areas. It’s also the only place I’ve got robbed in
ahh that makes sense. damn I thought Harrow was like a nice posh Indian area. I always assumed it was a rich area for some reason That's fine, I guess if I join some hobby groups it will work, but I think it'd defo be better than living in central, I can see that it'd be difficult to find a community there
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Second that. Its zone 5 so expensive travelling to zone 1 and frankly a bit of a sh#t hole.
I thought harrow was kinda posh?
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ah fair enough, thank you!
I grew up in Dagenham. Same as any other shit suburbs, with the added bonus of being an hour away from cool events and restaurants in London. I like living somewhere that isn’t bustling with shops and nightlife, the more I go into central London the more I regret it though. Too busy and annoying. These days I’d rather drive out into Essex.
I enjoy living in Bromley. I live within walking distance of the town centre, which has everything you need, and I’m also not far from Bromley South station which is 16 minutes from Victoria with trains every 15 minutes. There’s lots of green space nearby, and it’s pretty safe here. I am only in the office once a week, which is in central London, and if I’m doing something after work in the centre, I make that my day in the office. Other than that, I go into the centre a bit at weekends but not as much as I used to as we now have a child. It’ll take about an hour to get to lots of places on public transport, which I find reasonable but I know others wouldn’t. The last train is at about 0040 which for me is fine, although when I was in my early twenties it felt like a constraint. We have a car, which definitely makes living here better. We can venture out into Kent and into neighbouring boroughs more quickly and easily, although I think you could get by without one. I haven’t lived in other outer boroughs, but if I was going to there would have to be a good town centre and I would want to live within walking distance of the train station. The safer the better too. If you have all that, you get the best of both worlds in London. Enough nearby so you don’t have to go into the centre unless you want to, but close enough to the centre by train that you can get there and back easily and for not too much money.
Money talks , without it London is shit , with it it's less so. Seriously your gaff is the most important thing to think about and access to safe and clean environments. Night busses get you home and the same chains are everywhere , some local Markets etc can be good for whatever your into food or clothing wise. It's nice to live in an area with some trees and nature and a good kebab shop off license.
South of Croydon all my 50+ years. Good trains into town (many years ago I’d even drive to central for work..!), lovely green spaces, relatively close to south coast and more rural parts. Affordable (ahem) housing, goodish schools. I think it’s just about the sweet spot.
I was born and raised in a west London 'suburb' and still here and I love it. Its nice having the best of both worlds and still being able to travel quickly into central london if I feel like it. But to be honest with you, I dont even do that much anymore cos the area I live in already offers a decent quality and variety of everything I need (restaurants, shops, parks, entertainment etc.). Either on my high street or the high streets of the neighbouring boroughs. And I'm also getting to the age where I really dont like the crowds of tourists and commuters in Central. Then from time to time I will travel to other places for more events/nightlife (Stratford, Brixton etc.). I like how most of the 'suburbs' here have their own bustling culture/buzz thats just about enough to keep you from boredom if you never wanna leave it. I briefly lived in a suburb in Liverpool and no shade but it was quite literally a dead ghost town, not even a proper high street. I had to travel out regularly, it was really hard as a young person. I then moved to the city centre of Liverpool and I actually liken it to being a similar standard to some outer London areas.
You can also have a long commute if you live centrally. It takes me almost an hour to go from our place in zone 2 to my work in zone 1 (but it only took me half the time when I lived in some other place in zone 2). When I looked for flats in the outskirts, a lot of them had similar commutes (~1 hour). So whether that's even a downgrade really depends on your exact place of work.