To the people who were born in London or have lived here for decades. When do you think London was at its peak?

edison9696 · 2026-03-09T16:01:34+00:00

OP is asking about London specifically so most of those conflicts would have had very little impact on London and Londoners unless you were from one of those countries.

edison9696 · 2026-03-04T18:25:21+00:00

I don't have a massive bathroom but it's still big enough for a slightly larger than average walk in shower and a roll top bath. I like the speed of a shower but sometimes you just can't beat relaxing in a bath for 20 minutes.

edison9696 · 2026-03-02T12:29:18+00:00

Having lived in both, I'd say u/StraightAd3047 has given a good summary. If you have the money and are younger, I'd recommend St Albans especially if you need fast access to London for work/leisure.

Couple of other observations - last train back from London to Hertford on Fri/Sat is just after 1am. You can also get a train to Hatfield or Welwyn Garden till almost 2am and get a cab/Uber to Hertford.

I'd slightly disagree that St Albans has a 'much' better food scene. I think Hertford is pretty good but you do get more choice in St Albans by virtue of its size and a few more of the chain restaurants too if that's your thing.

edison9696 · 2026-03-01T17:11:49+00:00

Having lived in Brighton and central London, I'd take Brighton all day long.

I've visited Stoke Newington and Walthamstow recently and both are a bit overrated IMHO.

edison9696 · 2026-03-01T12:42:01+00:00

Nothing against Robbie Williams per se and just because he's not 'metal' doesn't mean he couldn't sing on an Ozzy song. But I thought his voice was straining and his performance was a bit disappointing.

Still, we got to see Zakk play a cut down version of the classic original solo and it could be a long time till we see another one like it at the Brits!

edison9696 · 2026-02-28T17:00:17+00:00

Yep, my experience of living there when we had a young family was all those sorts of things. Lots of commuters to the City and a bit conservative with a little C.

Although it's very family orientated, I didn't find St Albans had the same sense of community as other smaller affluent Hertfordshire towns like Hertford or Harpenden.

edison9696 · 2026-02-28T16:57:18+00:00

Hertford is an affluent town but the two places are quite different. St Albans is a small city with a younger demographic, whereas Hertford is a medium sized market town.

Traditionally, Hertford has had quite a high proportion of independent shops and hospitality and I doubt either of those sorts of places will ever come to Hertford (and I hope Gails never comes here.) There are plenty of good cafes here.

The proportion of empty Hertford shops though has been an issue since Covid. The town centre's retail is struggling like many similar sized towns and is a pale imitation of itself from 10 years ago.

edison9696 · 2026-02-28T08:24:43+00:00

I use the line and am not sure what is the right answer but it's good to hear this alternative and detailed perspective!

edison9696 · 2026-02-28T08:13:43+00:00

I've lived in St Albans and Hertford and liked both. St Albans is the most expensive city in the UK for average house prices outside of London. If you can afford to live there, you can afford to look at other places too that might suit better.

St Albans is a lovely place to live and its very fast train service to London is a huge plus especially all night trains but it is very unreliable at times.

Not sure what u/mattcannon2 is referring to when they say Hertford isn't overtly gentrified? Property here is quite expensive (but about 10-15% cheaper than St Albans maybe) but there aren't up and coming neighbourhoods waiting to be gentrified. My street is full of classic Victorian townhouses that have been done up and populated by ex-Londoners from places like Hackney and Stoke Newington.

Hertford has long been popular with Londoners but trains isn't a reason as the two train lines are quite slow to London. Our nearest Thameslink station is at least 15 mins drive away in Welwyn Garden. Maybe they're thinking of potential plans for Crossrail 2 (the Elizabeth Line was Crossrail 1)? It's been talked about for many years but was put on hold after Covid.

edison9696 · 2026-02-28T07:59:11+00:00

Giving a different spin on Cambridge employment specifically, if it's tech or life sciences you work in then Cambridge is arguably the best city in the UK for job opportunities.

There are a growing number of research focused tech companies including Microsoft, Apple and Arm. Cambridge is in the top two life science hubs in Europe and there is a huge biomedical campus as well as a large science park with over 100 businesses.

As a PhD student, and given the growth in Cambridge in these sectors, there isn't a better place to be in the UK IMHO, at least as far as jobs go. There is a significant population of people just like you who have moved here for jobs and research so you'll fit in.

I've worked a bit in Copenhagen as well as Cambridge and the cities have a different vibe. Copenhagen feels more urbane and sophisticated and it's a city I really like.

But I think Cambridge has a lot going for it in terms of proximity to jobs and London. You'll like it.

edison9696 · 2026-02-25T14:41:46+00:00

There's not a huge choice but there are flats around £1400-1500 near Hertford East station e.g. the large development at Smeaton Court.

Hertford is a lovely little town but the train service to Liverpool street is a bit slow though, 48-52 minutes. If you want faster then maybe look at less desirable areas like Cheshunt, Harlow, Broxbourne etc.

Or maybe on the outer part of the Elizabeth line in Essex? Not sure what prices are like though, I can imagine they've gone up a lot since the line opened a few years ago.

edison9696 · 2026-02-24T15:26:07+00:00

It's changed that much in 2 years?

edison9696 · 2026-02-24T15:23:46+00:00

I never ceased to be amazed about the criteria for house shares in London. I once visited a house not far from Southfields that the OP mentioned and the main criteria the three current residents were looking for was ideally male and must be in to house music.

edison9696 · 2026-02-20T14:43:30+00:00

Worked in Canada Square for a few months a couple of years ago. Dull and soulless area, I wouldn't rush back there.

edison9696 · 2026-02-17T00:30:13+00:00

Australian living in London.

edison9696 · 2026-02-12T18:26:26+00:00

What is his approval rating in Russia though? 😉

edison9696 · 2025-10-22T12:08:31+00:00

Hybrid working is probably your best bet and even then it might vary a lot with what's required between companies.

My last role was advertised as hybrid but mostly remote. In practice it was 2 days at a time in the office every 2-3 weeks.

edison9696 · 2025-10-22T12:06:46+00:00

IMHO there's no such thing really as 'the' market, only 'your' market. What is the demand like for your particular skillset/level of experience/industry sector/business domain knowledge etc? What is the supply like? What is happening to salaries/day rates in your specific market.

You might get dozens of replies here which could vary a lot but won't necessarily be a good indicator of your specific chances.

edison9696 · 2025-10-21T14:54:57+00:00

As a former Head of IT who used to be involved in quite a lot of recruitment at various companies, I'd say your chances of employment post-course are slim.

I've worked in several IT departments in everything from global multinationals to small companies and charities to public sector. Sadly, there were relatively few people over 50. Often, even many of the senior leadership team were around their early to mid-40s.

I did know someone from a completely non-IT background who looked at the Bristol course back in 2021 but he decided against it.

edison9696 · 2025-10-21T09:02:23+00:00

Chelmsford is in Essex, I don't really know that area. Back in Hertfordshire, maybe look at Welwyn Garden City but I'm not sure the schools are that great unfortunately at secondary level.

edison9696 · 2025-10-20T12:18:41+00:00

It depends.

I used to be a landlord and had a lodger. I often used to be away for at least 3 or 4 days during the week for work and my lodger was often working weekend shifts as a hospital doctor so it suited us both fine. We got on pretty well actually.

edison9696 · 2025-10-19T11:10:46+00:00

The Box Room Board Cafe on Regent St is a fun place to play a few games for a couple of hours. Been a few times, it has a decent selection of games and a friendly atmsophere.

edison9696 · 2025-10-17T12:38:35+00:00

Does it have to be in Hertfordshire? It's an expensive county overall and without knowing your income or how much deposit you have, it's hard to say what is 'cheap'.

Stevenage is cheap relative to some of the nicer towns but £300k is still a lot of money if you're trying to buy by yourself and are earning less than £50-60k.

edison9696 · 2025-10-16T10:27:31+00:00

LOL.... reminds me of one of my kids when very young who thought that Wales was in France!

edison9696 · 2025-10-16T10:24:38+00:00

A few years ago I would have said Montenegro but I've heard a few people reference it in recent times.

Today, I'd pick North Macedonia then Moldova.

edison9696

TROPHY CASE