is london ilx still a thing

that is my question

I think there are probably London ILXs, like the internets.

What, is London the ILX epicentre?

Well, I get the impression there may be New York ILXs as well, though in both cases it may be a matter of a net of ex and present.

there used to be seemingly tons of london ilx0rs, london FAPs, london talk on ilx. i don't see it anymore, but i might just be missing it.

the largest fap i ever personally witnessed was in london. i never see any of those people posting anymore tho (except branwell). folks like marianna, rob bolton, tom ewing, stevem, carsmile, gareth, matt dc, colette, hell even ken c tbh

There are lots of London-based ilxors but possibly a certain fatigue at discussing house prices, new restaurants, bad public transport and the like which seemed to have been the mainstay of local talk in the last few years. There's still the London realness thread:

And of course the Transport in London is Shit thread.....Are people still arguing against that premise?

https://metrouk2.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/ad_1553866241.jpg?w=1000&h=455

purple hair snapback lady v striking in that pic

Answer to original post: I believe ILB London FAPs are still going strong.

What is happening in that photo? Is that an example of a London metro station on an average Monday morning? Couldn't be.

DC still posts! Gareth is still occasionally here but he tends to call himself things like "curb" or "tyre" or "plate of shrimp" these days.

Other people have children, exciting dayjobs, other places on the interwebs that cater to their tastes better.

ILB still FAPs, just not as often or as large (which is kind of a relief, because large FAPs got kinda hectic.) I had drinks with an ILX0r 2 days ago! But ILX0rs don't need the excuse of ILX to get together for a drink any more.

folks like marianna, rob bolton, tom ewing, stevem, carsmile, gareth, matt dc, colette, hell even ken c tbh

ken c posted the other week... from Melbourne

many of the others still FAP and socialise in London though not on ILX ime. ILB cru are totally social and posting and charming. Rob Bolton left LDN & ILX at the same time afair

That's a photo of St Stephen's Day, where a perfect storm of mishaps took out three major train stations - London transport is generally excellent considering, but complaining about it is part of the local character.

Twitter is where you'll find the original superstars of London ilx.

They are still big, it's ilx that got small.

Coincidentally the Freaky Trigger related lot are having their pub crawl later today.

yeah, I almost made it to one, but am not in the area any more

The last few times I have been down to London, I haven't organised a FAP but often find myself in pubs with various current and erstwhile ILX types. Usually arranged via Facebook and email now though.

There are still plenty of London ILXors but they don't tend to socialise together in any kind of organised way, through the boards at least, so I tend to assume that most newer London-based ILXers don't know one another in person (unless from offboard). The exception of course being ILB which still organises regular FAPs, successfully I believe, but not at the level of 03-05 or so when it would be common for 20+ people to get together on a virtually weekly basis.

The original friendship group (or group of groups) that formed through ILX still exists, but has expanded to include lots of people who have never posted here. And obviously some people have left London as well. Social media has pulled the epicentre elsewhere though, virtually everyone is connecting and regularly interacting on Facebook and Twitter and to a lesser extend Tumblr, and FreakyTrigger is a lot more discursive than was during peak London ILX.

Also we are all too old to continue going to the pub at the rate we were ten years ago, especially given how many people have kids now.

I'm kind of curious as to what the most socially active ILX city is these days, does anyone FAP regularly any more?

I suppose the watershed moment was the establishment of a now defunct parallel Livejournal community in like 05 or thereabouts but social media in general means that ILX is no longer its own self-contained community.

nakhers is throwing a houseparty in 2015 I heard

Chicago ILX is still pretty social, but like London a lot of the socializing is organized off the board since after ten years, ILX is no longer the social epicenter. A lot of regular ChILXors don't post here much. Plus like London ILX we're old and have children and don't party as hard as we used to.

I would guess Chicago ilx for most socially active. I think part of the death of FAPs is to do with the boards being so longstanding that friendship status has taken over ilx0r status for many people - I see most of the Brighton posters fairly regularly, but we ain't FAPing.

xp

I think the elephant in the room regarding the death of public London ILX FAP-ing was a certain drink thrown at a certain funeral.

When one advertises where a certain group of people will be at a certain time in a public and uncontrolled forum it means, unfortunately, that not only people with friendly intentions have access to that information.

Yes, I know, Branwell bringing everyone down with tedious public safety concerns... *rolls eyes*

Tedious, maybe, but that is something I consider when deciding whether to issue an open invitation on ILX, definitely.

Tim still pops into the Beer in the New Era thread on occasion. I believe he is one of the London people that has been around for the longest that is actually still posting from time to time.

The strange Tuomas non-FAP in August 2009 seemed a landmark non-moment in the death of public ILX-FAP-ing.

Branwell - on the other hand the golden era of the monthly Poptimism club (with was promoted on ILX as well as other places) was after that point. I suppose around that time ILX socialising became more about dancing (or walking, or bowling) than just sitting in a pub and that's when people really splintered off into little groups.

The strange Tuomas non-FAP in August 2009 seemed a landmark non-moment in the death of public ILX-FAP-ing

I would like to hear more about this

I've always been afraid that when I announce on ilx that I am going to be somewhere that a lurker will watch me while I'm there.

here you go NB&S

Tuomas (and friend) in London from 25th to 31st of August: FAP at THE OWL & THE PUSSYCAT on Thursday the 27th

wtf @ branwell's post

Did Tuomas go to Poptimism, in the end?

Thought you might have been talking about this Tuomas non-FAP: I (Tuomas) am coming to New York in July, would like to hear some recommendations, also a FAP might be nice?

Tuomas only FAPs in front of babies

wins, I wasn't there but someone who was could message you offboard? seems like a terrible episode from what I've heard, and the man involved was very troubled

for my part I am always keen for London meetings and may in fact issue an open ILX invitation to a houseparty of my own at some point (nakhers will be there, tied to a table and forced to recite the dictionary)

feeling bad for tuomi suomi :(

still waiting for the secret island location of world fap 2020 to be announced btw

it is on...

[spoilers]

reddit island

When I'm in London (or Brighton or any place w a few ilxors) it's usually cause I have stuff to do & ppl to see otherwise I'd make some sort of an effort to arrange something. Cambridge ilx contingent = me & seandalai I think? Not much scope for a fap

Xps to lj I don't think I wanna know

We had a MASSIVE Cambridge FAP once upon a time - with Pink Panther, TISSP!, Fritz and a couple of others I have forgotten? in residence - while a gang of the rest of us came up for the day.

But, y'know... the past is a foreign country.

What became of Pink Panther anyway?

Had a kid, went over to the dark side Facebook.

Yeah, I see quite a few old ILXors over at the F place, actual interactions are fairly limited though, due to the nature of the beast.

We had a MASSIVE Cambridge FAP once upon a time - with Pink Panther, TISSP!, Fritz and a couple of others I have forgotten? in residence - while a gang of the rest of us came up for the day.

But, y'know... the past is a foreign country.

― Branwell with an N, Monday, December 29, 2014 6:02 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Really great memories of this one. I think I have photos, like actual photos as opposed to Facebook snaps of this somewhere.

I miss Pink Panther on ILX. Great poster.

How long ago was the one in a speciality beers pub apparently run by a p/t ilxor? Matt DC, Lex, Imago, Colonel Poo, Carsmile, Suzy, Geeta, Woof and many many more attended.

that was on bethnal green road iirc abooooout 4 years back

we saw geeta the day lou reed died, in the lexington.

nakhers is throwing a houseparty in 2015 I heard

― imago, Monday, 29 December 2014 13:28 (8 months ago)

heard this was a thing in October, end of October time maybe?

(Also is the job actually London and not say Redhill)

ingratiate yourself with a "british bobby" (policeman) by reviving the traditional greeting of placing the palm of your hand over their entire face

While haggling is generally restricted to immigrant shopkeepers, a sufficiently spirited display may unlock the 10% 'geezer' discount from London's taxi drivers.

London's many picturesque blacks and homosexuals will be only too happy to stop and pose for a selfie with you- but be respectful and always ask first!

don't miss the chance to dine on a wide range of cosmopolitan flavours at ridley road market

^ this is actually good advice if the old Trini lady that sells doubles is still around.

yeah i guess i was just thinking of them getting arrested for selling rat or whatever.

I suspect this was it:
https://www.linkedin.com/jobs2/view/44217160

this is all excellent advice I can't believe I didn't know these tips before

btw is this actually accurate please respond with specific stop names and your estimated offsets

https://www.thrillist.com/lifestyle/london/london-underground-rent-map

Living within 1km of the tube? Are you made out of money? Everyone I know lives around the overground stations and even that's becoming unaffordable.

Many of those numbers on the rent map actually seem kind of affordable to me? I was surprised how low russell square was but that's why I'm asking, median 1BR price doesn't necessarily take into account scarcity, etc. Also the "comparable" here is Boston, NYC, DC or SF, so an assumption that the "no more than 1/3rd income on rent" rule is ancient rubbish.

Rightmove should give you a steer. Those prices look plausible for the lower end of the market but a lot of 1BR flats available are either very small new-builds or conversions. You can probably add at least 20% for somewhere pleasant.

like, 20% more of your hand on the bobbies' faces? I'm confused

xxp It doesn't sound like that job would be on Deloitte's Starveling Track, either.

yeah she's getting Horporate Cousing for the first month. def not on the starveling track.

I don't live in a world where £1500 a month for rent is even a possibility, BUT, I would wonder, with areas like Kings X or Russell Square, whether that is "average rent" including or excluding council flats and student accommodation and things would will drag the *average* rent down, but are just not available to someone planning to move to London.

The other caveat I would always, always say to Americans considering moving to the UK: do not underestimate how much higher the cost of living is here, and I'm not just talking about rent. I'm talking about groceries, clothes, transportation, eating in restaurants, *everything*. Because a salary in £££ may compare in exchange rates to a salary in $$$, but do not assume that everything else is, too. Even having lived in NYC, walking into shops in London, nothing was 60% of the cost of American groceries, it was just take the American price and stick a pound sign in front of it. So you have to get used to the fact that either you have an earning power 60% of what you think you are earning, or that every single thing you buy is 1.5x more expensive than you are used to.

This is very so: We were amazed when told how New York was expensive shoppingwise, until we got there and found it seemed cheap having been used to London prices.

The thing to remember about that rent map is that it's the average price of a one-bedroom place. Flat shares, even in the most expensive areas, will be significantly cheaper than that (and if your friend doesn't know anyone then sharing is probably the way to go).

Prob pay about 700 a month to share in a nice area on the tube, though there are still cheaper places out there, I know friends paying 450 or 500 to live in Hackney/Mile End/Bethnal Green. Nice places too.

That's more a lucky situation where a landlord doesn't bother raising rent for years, or doesn't care.

Is Mile End particularly worth even that much? I used to go there a lot a few years back and it felt really quiet and empty at night, but in kind of a desolate way, loads of boarded up pubs etc. Obviously it might have changed in the intervening time but it doesn't feel like it has the life that Hackney and Bethnal Green had even pre-gentrification.

It doesn't, but it's coming along. Mile End has a really nice bit by the Chisenhale Gallery, a lot of well-proportioned Georgian houses, and a lot of decent ex-council flats in nice redbrick blocks - and Central line is pretty fast, even with all the crowding.

Yeah some parts of Mile End are nice, Chisenhale Road is exactly where I mean. There are also nice bits near Tredegar Square. Some grim parts too, that big black hole behind the tube station (past the eerie graveyard).

Yeah the bit around the Tube Station towards Devons Road is the bit I'm most familiar with and I wouldn't advise anyone to live there unless they absolutely had to, and certainly not upon arriving in London for the first time. Don't know Chisenhale Road but anything closer to Victoria Park is almost guaranteed to be nicer.

Yeah I wasn't necessarily recommending those areas, more just suggesting it might be possible to live somewhere nice on a London wage. I pay about 70 more than when I moved, nearly 8 years ago, and I survived then on about 16k a year.

xxp That's the bit of Mile End that would be being sold as Homerton if there wasn't a park in between, all I'm saying.

(now wondering if the big black hole is my old flat on Mossford Street - I know the ceiling collapsed on to the kitchen shortly after I left)

There are several parks between Mile End and Homerton.

I'd imagine it's closer to Bethnal Green, also not sure the magic of the name Homerton is used as a selling point.

Recent recording about a leafy street in Mile End, it sounds like the kind of place a genial Sunday afternoon might occur

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEkW8TzmhNI

xp I.. apologise if I've offended you? Chisenhale is only really near one park, and the road nearest it on the other side (Wetherell Road) is listed as Homerton - not by everyone of course, but enough to sell it as such.

Homerton is north of the railroad tracks and possibly north of Cassland Road - anything E9 below these is Well Street Common, Victoria Park etc.

I wouldn't disagree with that, but it's not myself that you'd have to convince..

One thing's for sure, you'll need all your powers of persuasion in this meaningless hypothetical where Victoria Park vanishes and you are talking to an estate agent's marketing department.

I'd have thought the plummier sort of estate agent would be happy to call these E9 areas anything but Homerton, maybe something like Lauriston Village (south of the tracks) or Chatsworth Village (north of the tracks).

^ tombot these are the kind of conversational topics your friends can get involved in very soon.

on similar topics I assume Highgate flats being £84 per month on average cheaper than one at Archway is because all the ones at Archway are being marketed as "Highgate"

Homerton is north of the railroad tracks and possibly north of Cassland Road - anything E9 below these is Well Street Common, Victoria Park etc.

otm

I'd have thought the plummier sort of estate agent would be happy to call these E9 areas anything but Homerton, maybe something like Lauriston Village (south of the tracks) or Chatsworth Village (north of the tracks).

also otm!

fwiw (not much) - homerton as a place name still seems to be shunned a bit.

Someone should definitely tell these fellas:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=77+Wetherell+Rd+London+E9+7DA

(as well as my friend in we-can-all-agree-it's Homerton IE Glyn Road, who's been watching the amounts on the "Your house is worth £xxx" leaflets climb towards a million over the last 5 years)

That is Victoria Park and no mistake!

I used to have friends in Glyn Road and when I was living just off Cassland Road 20+ years ago, anything E5 was the back of beyond.

They bought about 12 years ago, same then. It shot up as soon as the Olympics was announced, they thought it'd drop off after, but it appears not.

i am genuinely thrilled that yall are still arguing about where different neighborhoods are located

london ilx is def still a thing

scanning through this conversation was like jumping back in time 12 years

Anyone knocking around btwn gates b32 and b48 at heathrow for the next hour nows yr chance to finally meet ms mac

I wouldnt recommend it tbh she was up early and one of her labels has been chafing her someplace she doesnt want to discuss

I couldn't get there inside an hour if I tried but it is a generous offer. ShariVari probably in terminal 4

Yeah i thought "if anyone" tbh

I am in glamorous Salford today, unfortunately.

tbf i shouldve flagged it but j just never know what security's going to be like do u

SV definitely involved in the Mourinho appointment

Was seen carrying a cardboard box full of Champions League and Premiership Winners medals.

Salford ilx definitely not a thing, sadly. Old Trafford isn't in Salford except in terms of Catholic diocese