Why people Buy Boats To Live On in London Despite the Problems

[Tracy D'arth]

1 minute ago, doratheexplorer said:

In my experience, London has improved greatly in the last 30 years.  Is it possible that it's you, that's changed?

No, I still speak English, am polite to strangers, walk erect like a human rather than a slouching ape, prefer to eat sitting down and not walking the street, drink from a cup or glass and not a teat on a plastic bottle, and drive sensibly not like a clown on a dodgem track.

[MtB]

7 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Best part was the motorway out.

 

But but.... the M40 gets terribly bumpy for a few miles around the High Wycombe to Oxford stretch. Used to notice this especially in the Scooby. 

[Tracy D'arth]

Just now, MtB said:

 

But but.... the M40 gets terribly bumpy for a few miles around the High Wycombe to Oxford stretch. Used to notice this especially in the Scooby. 

Agreed, its like the M62 past Burtonwood used to be.

Interesting that the London roads are no better than the ones in the North, all part of levelling up?

[doratheexplorer]

2 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

No, I still speak English, am polite to strangers, walk erect like a human rather than a slouching ape, prefer to eat sitting down and not walking the street, drink from a cup or glass and not a teat on a plastic bottle, and drive sensibly not like a clown on a dodgem track.

And what harm do any of these things (apart from bad driving) actually do to you?

 

30 years ago, speeding was definitely worse because there weren't speed cameras etc.  General levels of crime and disorder were worse too.  In the 80s and early 90s, many parts of London were simply too dangerous to go out in after dark.  Muggings and stabbings were far more common than now.  The streets are safer due to cctv, and smart phones among other things.  There's a debate to be had on the lost of liberty and privacy regarding these things, but they do keep us safer.

 

Your posting is classic rose-tinted glasses.

 

This is what Londoners looked like in the 80s.  I'm sure their posture and drinking habits were impeccable.

[Mike Hurley]

7 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

 

 

  Muggings and stabbings were far more common than now.   

Not so, 2021 was the worst year recorded for knife crime in London, at least 30 killed.

[doratheexplorer]

22 minutes ago, Mike Hurley said:

Not so, 2021 was the worst year recorded for knife crime in London, at least 30 killed.

You're confusing all recorded knife crimes with unlawful death occurring involving a knife.  These are 2 different things.  And knife attacks in the street are a different thing again, and that's what I was referring to.

 

Also the way crime is recorded has changed multiple times in the last 30+ years so a valid comparison is difficult. 

 

There's also the issue of who the victims are.  These days they typically are gang related with rival gang members being the majority of victims.  This is a big problem.  30 years ago, there were far more victims of stabbing who had no connection to their assailant.  This would include muggings, rape and other violent attacks in the street.  This is still a problem, but it is less prevalent now than it was in the 80s and early 90s.  Sadly though, due to various budgets being cut, these types of crime are climbing again.

Edited February 11, 2022 by doratheexplorer

[koukouvagia]

50 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

That's not woodland.

 

Its scrub, I can see a steel fence too. Plenty of sick looking stunted trees, pollution?

I wonder if you've ever visited the Russia Dock Woodland.  You might be quite surprised. 

 

[Laurie Booth]

1 hour ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Its horrible, full of horrible people, restrictive, dirty, smelly, dangerous, violent, foreign, stupid expensive, crowded, etc. etc.

I do wish you wouldn't talk about my boat.

Edited February 11, 2022 by Laurie Booth

[Machpoint005]

1 hour ago, Tracy D'arth said:

 

I couldn't understand a word of what was being mumbled at me all day.

Best part was the motorway out.

 

Perhaps it is time some of the English realised that being a committed monoglot isn't such a good thing.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 11, 2022 by Machpoint005

[PCSB]

Worked in London for around 30 years until recently. Shoreditch before it became trendy, the city, west London and latterly Park Royal. Some wonderful places to see and eat. Like any city or large town it has its moments. Working in the city was probably the worst part too, despite, or maybe because of, the wealth there. 

 

Our facility in Park Royal backs onto Harlesden, apparently a dangerous area, often went to a fantastic jerk chicken place there and never fealt threatened ever. Despite that it was only 10 munutes walk to the canal or open parkland. 

 

Still, I agree the best part is the motorway out  and glad I no longer have to go there for work. Looking forward to visiting though on the boat in due course.

 

As to the OP - it is shocking what people will pay for shoebox accomodation. It's not living and it cannot be a home as such.

Edited February 11, 2022 by PCSB
finger trouble ...

[enigmatic]

4 hours ago, doratheexplorer said:

 

 

This is what Londoners looked like in the 80s.  I'm sure their posture and drinking habits were impeccable.

I wonder what those Londoners look like now ...

 

Anyway, I'm a very long way from London and a jogger just passed me with the words "we might all be living on boats soon the way house prices are going... I'm serious" 

[tree monkey]

22 minutes ago, PCSB said:

Worked in London for around 30 years until recently. Shoreditch before it became trendy, the city, west London and latterly Park Royal. Some wonderful places to see and eat. Like any city or large town it has its moments. Working in the city was probably the worst part too, despite, or maybe because of, the wealth there. 

 

Our facility in Park Royal backs onto Harlesden, apparently a dangerous area, often went to a fantastic jerk chicken place there and never fealt threatened ever. Despite that it was only 10 munutes walk to the canal or open parkland. 

 

Still, I agree the best part is the motorway out  and glad I no longer have to go there for work. Looking forward to visiting though on the boat in due course.

 

As to the OP - it is shocking what people will pay for shoebox accomodation. It's not living and it cannot be a home as such.

I helped a mate move into a place in London a good few years ago, nice Victorian house, 2nd floor flat, bay windows, big living room, decent kitchen, big bedroom, it would probably cost 70 trillion pounds a month now.

 

Anyway directly across the street was council estate high rise rough as a rough thing with a pub that we failed to get served at, we did get a pool ball chucked at us though, cowardice being the better part of valour we left

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

7 hours ago, tree monkey said:

That's madness, £50,000 guide for 1 room and a shower or did I get that wrong and there is at least a kitchen?

I can’t help wondering if this is what we’re ‘levelling up’ to

 

 

6 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Basic question,                       Why would anyone of sound mind live in London?

 

Its horrible, full of horrible people, restrictive, dirty, smelly, dangerous, violent, foreign, stupid expensive, crowded, etc. etc.

Yet the government would like us to aspire to the London way

 

[tree monkey]

1 minute ago, Goliath said:

I can’t help wondering if this is what we’re ‘levelling up’ to

 

 

It will be pod living next

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

2 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

It will be pod living next

Yep, that has crossed my mind

Edited February 11, 2022 by Goliath

[mrsmelly]

2 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

It will be pod living next

There are huge swathes of the UK that thankfuly dont follow the dreadful London living standards. In many realy nice places far more space is available. Why anyone would pay those prices is beyond sensible comprehension. 

[tree monkey]

2 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

There are huge swathes of the UK that thankfuly dont follow the dreadful London living standards. In many realy nice places far more space is available. Why anyone would pay those prices is beyond sensible comprehension. 

Work, prestige and let's be thankful a lot of people want to, if they didn't they would be living in the nice bits

[Bee]

Absolutely love visiting the place. If you like music then parts of it are great, Camden for one, No2 son played at Ko Ko and the Underworld and we occasionally have a day or two out in London, 1 museum plus an evening at the Green Note or something like that.  Couldn't live there though, traffic horrible and we are not wealthy enough, same as most capital cities, have visited London & Paris and other capitals by boat and after a week or so we move back to rural waters.

[mrsmelly]

3 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

Work, prestige and let's be thankful a lot of people want to, if they didn't they would be living in the nice bits

Plenty of work elsewhere. I agree though that its good for the rest of us who live in nice places. One of our kids lived and worked there on a good salary for a few years. When her and her husband left their income reduced but their disposable income went up, they earnt less but had more money. They now have a superb property that they could never have afforded had they stayed in London.

[blackrose]

6 hours ago, doratheexplorer said:

In my experience, London has improved greatly in the last 30 years.  Is it possible that it's you, that's changed?

 

Different people have different criteria for whether they think change is good or bad and things are getting better or worse. It's subjective so a great degree so people are bound to have different opinions.

 

Also change can no both good and bad at the same time. For example, I like the fact that London is much more cosmopolitan now than it was 30 years ago, with better food and more interesting cultural diversity. But I do not like the fact that it's now much more crowded with all the knock on implications that has for the demand on accommodation, rents and house prices. 

 

Those aspects will affect different people differently so nobody can be right or wrong when they say it's got better or worse unless they're just talking about how it is for themselves.

Edited February 11, 2022 by blackrose

[blackrose]

I used to live in Tokyo where nobody's got room to swing a cat. 20 million people crammed onto the Kanto plain stretching from Chiba to Yokohama. So when I came back to London 23 years ago I could see the way things were going here. That's the price you pay for massive population increases I'm afraid. People say we just need to build more houses and more supporting infrastructure which all sounds fine except that everything gets developed over. It's interesting that many of those who talk about the folly of unimpeded economic growth on a finite planet cannot make the same connections when it comes to the growth of human populations.

Edited February 11, 2022 by blackrose

[peterboat]

2 hours ago, Bee said:

Absolutely love visiting the place. If you like music then parts of it are great, Camden for one, No2 son played at Ko Ko and the Underworld and we occasionally have a day or two out in London, 1 museum plus an evening at the Green Note or something like that.  Couldn't live there though, traffic horrible and we are not wealthy enough, same as most capital cities, have visited London & Paris and other capitals by boat and after a week or so we move back to rural waters.

Same here visit the London club take in a show, visit a museum or something visit friends with a boat then back up north on Sunday, perfik 

[Machpoint005]

There's nothing in London we haven't got in Manchester. 

 

Except Londoners.

 

 

 

[Peanut]

At an auction, the guide price, while having a nod at value, is set to attract the most bidders.  The price achieved may be way more.

[MtB]

16 minutes ago, Peanut said:

At an auction, the guide price, while having a nod at value, is set to attract the most bidders.  The price achieved may be way more.

 

I don't think it will sell.