[Redway]

Originally Posted by Mystic Mock

I get where you're coming from because Birmingham gets a bad rep as well, especially Nechells, Handsworth, and Erdington.

Admittedly it's been a while since I've been to Handsworth, but I actually don't mind any of those areas when I've been to those places.

To be fair, I’ve only properly been to Birmingham once (it was for a wedding; I’ve only stopped by on coaches since) but I know what you mean. All cities have their stereotypes and things about them that are genuinely not so good but Liverpool’s a unique city in many, many ways and one where the general public by-and-large seem to actually have a heart. The latter just can’t be said about London. Your people are your people wherever in the world you are and people can be nice on an individual basis but the conglomerate bustle there is as cold as it gets. You come across nice people everywhere (especially Dagenham ways) but the overall environment can be unsympathetic and cold. In places like Liverpool there’s a bit more engagement with you, for better or worse.

All-in-all there are better places to raise a family. Better job opportunities if you’re not doing blue-collar healthcare or police work (and black police officers seem to be represented and respected more outside London) and a bit more bustle in terms of things to do but it’s extremely expensive, cold in mentality and can be suffocating. You’re much bettrr off in one of the Home Counties and commuting into London if you can’t honestly afford anything more than in some box with 12 other people trying to shoe-horn in. London itself is a dump if you’re not rich or you’re not there specifically because you need a certain type of lifestyle that you can only get (at least on that scale) in London. Otherwise it’s just somewhere to visit/work, not live. I love Kent and I love a lot of what London has to offer (despite it sounding like I’m just crapping on it) but I’d think long and hard about actually living in London. I have lots of family down there and I’ve been down there and back up to Liverpool and other places across the U.K. for as long as I can remember and then some so it wouldn’t be that big a jump but like I say I’d think twice about not just living in Kent instead and only visiting London when need be.