What's it like living in central London?

Living in the heart of a city like London is a dream for a lot of people, but how achievable is it? Let's take a look at what it's like to live in zone 1 and the best way to do it.

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If you're going to live and work in London for a few years, chances are you want to be as close to the centre as possible, especially if that's where you work. Being able to walk to the office instead of the daily commute grind with someone's armpit in your face definitely has it's benefits, both psychologically and health wise too.

The problem is, living in central London doesn't come cheap, so unless you're particularly loaded that usually means you'll need to live in a smaller place (sometimes much smaller) than you would normally do otherwise. Think 'bedsit' as they used to be called more often in the olden days, before being rebranded as 'studio apartments'.

But will a 'bedsit' work for me?

Bedsits still exist as a 'thing' in central London, and if you can find a good one with the right landlord, then living the central London experience becomes much more realistic for those on a tight (or even average) budget. Chances are you'll probably have to downsize on the amount of possessions you have, but simplifying your life by going minimal can have a profoundly positive effect.

Although the rent will be higher for the space you get, it's time to think of the advantages of living in the centre of town.

Benefits of living in central London

Okay, so first up is if you work in central London you're going to save on travel expenses, and also time. Imagine being able to walk to work instead of being on a packed tube, that alone has huge benefits, and with the time saved on travelling you might even be able to fit in a pre-work gym session (or maybe on your walk home).

You're also unlikely to get bored in central London, and because it's easy to be anonymous in the heart of a big city you can reinvent yourself to become whoever you want to be - and the great thing is no one cares as they're probably doing the same!

If you own a car, this could be another huge saving as you really don't need one in central London, and if you ever do for an occasional trip beyond the M25 you could always just hire one. Think of the savings that alone will provide, and moving more centrally starts to make financial sense.

Get fit by walking

Another bonus of central London living is you start to realise it's actually more effort and time consuming to get public transport to other parts of central London when you can easily just walk there (if you're able bodied of course). And by doing so you also get to see hidden streets and parts of London you never knew existed.

Quite often a couple of tube stops only covers a small distance so why bother if you can walk it, and by doing so regularly the miles start clocking up.

So all in all, a move to zone 1 can make a lot of sense, and even if it's only for a year or two will hopefully give you a lot of happy memories.

Happy moving!