Does London have as much atmosphere as it used to have?

[krtek a houby]

Mostly I just feel unsafe at London at night or in the AM outside of very rare spaces

It’s definitely not a 24 hour city or even a particularly late night city unless you really like getting drunk

In fairness London can be unsettling at times. I remember many years ago being followed in the streets of south London by a cackling madman one night and fearing for my life.

 

[furluxor]

I left London 5.5 years ago, and my feeling was that it was getting increasingly hard to get by as a person who doesn't own their own home, especially after tories made squatting in residential buildings illegal. Now my situation is different but from what I see when visiting, it seems to me that if I moved back I'd be living in a city of analysts, managers of managers, PR consultants, bankers and marketers. Those are not the people that give a city its vibe. But who else can afford to live there, other than the ever-shrinking number of legacy renters/homeowners? Street jugglers returned to Spain.

I miss the anonymity, the "anything can happen" feeling and the adventures, as well as the cultural life. My current town has none of that. But here the people are really nice, from my neighbours to supermarket cashiers, and I've got a good circle of friends of the kind I never had in London.

 

[mango5]

People change and cities do too.
It is the largest most multicultural city in the UK.
There are always different groups making their own spaces and vibes on their own terms. I dislike many recent developments and I intend to stay put to nurture the weeds that will grow in the cracks, so to speak. In the ways they did in decades past with squatting and raving and immigration and such.
I quite like the extinction of black bogeys and general reduction in pigeon guano. That's a thinning of the atmosphere I can get behind.
I've never been fearful on these streets.

 

[mod]

not lived there for over 3 years but go back often

I find strolling around Soho incredibly depressing now and was always its main attraction for me. So sterile and ubiquitous now. There’s still pockets / streets that havnt changed. But not many.

used to have such a unique spirit and feel to it. A little dangerous at night maybe but never bothered me.

 

[metalguru]

I left London 5.5 years ago, and my feeling was that it was getting increasingly hard to get by as a person who doesn't own their own home, especially after tories made squatting in residential buildings illegal. Now my situation is different but from what I see when visiting, it seems to me that if I moved back I'd be living in a city of analysts, managers of managers, PR consultants, bankers and marketers. Those are not the people that give a city its vibe. But who else can afford to live there, other than the ever-shrinking number of legacy renters/homeowners? Street jugglers returned to Spain.

I miss the anonymity, the "anything can happen" feeling and the adventures, as well as the cultural life. My current town has none of that. But here the people are really nice, from my neighbours to supermarket cashiers, and I've got a good circle of friends of the kind I never had in London.

The housing situation here is getting more and more ridiculous. I was watching a 10 old web episode of High Maintenance set in New York, where one of the harassed characters forced to relocate to Ditmas Park (Flatbush, Brooklyn) says "I feel like unless you're born rich - or have some soul crushing corporate job - you can basically just go and fuck yourself".

That is pretty much how London has gone as well.

 

[mango5]

I am constantly impressed at how poorer folk and families survive in London despite the excruciating pressure on quality of life and cost of living. There is evidence of enduring commitment and community spirit that can be very under the radar. This is not to overlook the downsides. Instability and precarity are almost designed to destroy metropolitan communities. Yet we remain.