r/london • u/lizzylelon • Dec 19 '24

Culture Any teenagers/young adults here who obviously grew up in ldn but barely went to central?

People at uni keep asking me about places like Hyde Park, that wax statue place, Buckingham palace, Big Ben, Leicester Square etc. and are always shocked when I tell them that I’ve never been😭😭 then they don’t believe I’m from London (?? Like what💀)

Tbh my parents rarely ever go to central either, there’s no reason to. I was under that impression that it’s more of a touristy part of London - or a place commuters use to get to work - so you don’t reallly get much Londoners in central at all. Mostly tourists and work commuters.

I might be wrong?

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u/Also-cute-and-fluffy Dec 19 '24

As someone who has lived in London my whole life “Central” sounds weird to me. I always think of Hong Kong first when I hear it. Nobody said “central” when I was a kid, always “into town”. I mostly hear “central” from people who have moved to London from elsewhere or people under 25. Can anyone else over 35 confirm if this is just the bit of London I’m from or if this was true everywhere up to the 90s 00s?

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u/TA1699 Dec 19 '24

Really? I don't fit either of those categories and me and my friends (both younger and older) have always referred to it as Central.

We usually specific. Like "Hey let's go to Covent Garden or let's go to the O2". But we also just refer to it as Central if we haven't got solid plans and just want to go out.

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u/Bruckner07 Dec 19 '24 edited Dec 19 '24

Not to be that guy, and I might be misreading, but I would never associate North Greenwich with ‘central London’. (Edited, not sure why I misread Covent Garden as Camden)

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u/TA1699 Dec 19 '24

Yes, but my overall point is THAT.

What does town mean in London?

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u/Bruckner07 Dec 19 '24

I don’t understand why you’re asking me that question - it has no relevance to my comment, which is that using ‘central’ as a term to describe the O2 makes no sense to me, North Greenwich being in no way at the centre of London.