For a lot of people, London is the ultimate goal. Those following their dreams will often end up in London.

OnePoll surveyed 1000 people living in London about the excitement, fun and downsides to living in the Capital.

People of London

According to research, if Londoners could live in any borough, most would want to live in the royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea (15%), closely followed by Camden (13%).

Nearly half of those surveyed said they had lived elsewhere before living in London (44%), of which many moved here to pursue their career (40%). Other reasons for relocating to the big smoke was to study (17%) or to be with their partner (17%).

The most popular careers pursued in London are the Entertainment/ Media Sector (16%) and the Finance sector (16%).

57% said they wanted to eventually move out of London, 25% of which expected to move back to their home area.

Things to do in London

When it comes to amusing yourself in the big city, there’s something for all ages. Young people tend to favour going out to bars/ clubs (37%) and shopping (33%). The older generation said they enjoyed visiting London’s parks (43%) and going to street markets (35%).

Despite living in London, only 60% said they ever go sightseeing or visit tourist attractions.

25% said they had not been to popular celebrity waxwork museum ‘Madame Tussauds’. Other attractions not experienced by London dwellers included Buckingham Palace (24%), London Aquarium (24%) and Downing Street (21%).

Famous people in London

London attracts the best of the best and famous people can pop up everywhere. Over half said they have seen a celebrity out and about in London (52%). Celebs spotted include:

50 Cent in Leicester Square

Ben Elton on the tube

Benedict Cumberbatch in the audience at the National Theatre

Miriam Margolyes in Apple Store

Bill Nighy in Soho

Boris Johnson outside supermarket in Southall

Gary Lineker on Regent Street

Gok Wan in Leicester Square

Katie Leung on Oxford Street

Hugh Grant in Soho

Joanna Lumley at Charing Cross

Indris Elba on Oxford Street

Kate Middleton in Mayfair

Louis Walsh outside ITV studios on South Bank

Dean Gaffney on Tottenham Court Road

Nelson Mandela in Downing Street

Dale Winton in Harrods

Piers Morgan at Chelsea Harbour

Orlando Bloom in Trafalgar Square

Tom Cruise on Bond Street

Richard Curtis on Notting Hill

Ben Shepherd everywhere

 

What’s not to love?

In all the excitement of living in London there are the downsides.

79% rely on public transport as their primary way to get around the city but 30% said unreliable public transport was one of the worst things about living in London.

Overall, living costs was voted the worst thing about living in London (69%).

Other bad things about living in London included:

Paying for toilets

Pollution

Crime

Finding somewhere to park

Too much noise

 

Live in London? Or thinking of moving to London? Tell us what you think of the big city!