I already have made the decision to move elsewhere, I'm just saving up the money to do so. I was treated like garbage my whole life in London, but I have been treated very well in other places I have visited and spent extended periods of time in.

London is already a lost cause for me, but that doesn't mean it has to be that way for future generations.

A lot of comments I am seeing are not just London issues. As a people we do not care about anyone but ourselves. If there is "nothing in it for me" then it is not worth doing. The fix? Stop building. Stop trying to be a "world class city". Start fixing our city from the bottom. Start caring about individuals over corporations. Our schools are important, yes, but there is more to London than that.
I have been here my whole life (55years) I do not want to move away to find a job in a strange city with strangers as neighbours and I don't want others to feel they need to either. I am an anomaly. I care.

I was born and raised in London, and the more I experience in the world, the more I'm grateful I escaped the mediocrity that that city exemplifies. Even when I was a kid, I found London's delusions of grander in trying to establish itself as a world class city absolutely laughable. It has a couple of good schools. That's it. What is London? Best seen in your rearview mirror.

Good Luck with that Trevor. Until the populous of London starts really caring and taking an active stand for what they believe in nothing will be accomplished except lip service. It has been that way for years.

I see we're great at figuring out what's wrong -- now let's figure out what we can do about it.

I totally agree...the winters here are too long making the working people and residents grumpy for 7 months of the year since there is absolutely no sun for months. It snows too much and the attitudes of the newspaper and city government is very provincial, narrow minded and backwards....!

I totally agree with A 3rd rate city. I moved to this place 5 years ago because my husband's job moved here. I'm orginally from Toronto and this place is full of intolerence and nepotism. The only thing going for London right now is UWO and Fanshawe. As for jobs go nepotism is very high here and lack of jobs as well. If there no jobs in a place people will leave and go to where they are. A lot of students and even young Londoners (those under 29, yes I am over 30) tell me how bad it is here and unfriendly. Transit also is the one of the wrost I've seen here and I can see why people live out of their cars here. Also Toronto is safer than London. At least in downtown Toronto you can walk around without feeling like some is going mug you. I saw a man get mugged at Dundas and Richmond a year ago (Regent Park in Toronto is safer for those who know what area it is); and I was the only one who helped him up. InToronto many people would help no matter what kind of neghbourhood you're in. This is why I'm selling my home in a upscale neghbourhood and going back to Toronto. My children also be safer and have more to do instead of drinking and drugs. My husband orginally was born and high tailed out of here after high school. He told those are the only things for teenagers to do here and work if they can get a job.

Gary - only lived in one city all my life - London. In our travels we rarely came across anyone who had not heard of London ON. Most comments were a true reflection of the City. A few were extremely harsh, very few were complimentary. Statistics are just that - statistics. Not fact - just a compilation of report data, most never gets into the data stream. To live it is to know it. London IMOH (and many others) is the sewage system of Ontario, not just based on Crime percentages but also on living conditions, education, cleanliness, road repair, infrastructure etc.

Gail: Not sure that you have lived in many different places but I have, and in my experience most people don't even know where London is.."somewhere in Ontario". According to Macleans magazine, it is the 37th ranked city for overall crime....which means if you live in any "city" now, there's a good chance its' crime rate is higher tham London. In my experience, more people associate London with "Sleepy Hollow" than a crime city. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience but statistics don't bear out your generalization.

I have to admit, London's reputation outside of its own borders is not what it could be. When I was at Western, one of the complaints I heard from students from Toronto was the intolerance of others in this city. This came up after an alleged "hate crime" was committed in which a homosexual was attacked. Once students read about that in the Gazette, that kind of story makes its way back home with the students, and it's not something we should be known for.

Randy, I was going to say I did not change but I did, I had to. To be able to survive in the City. It is no longer a safe place to live or raise a family. Afraid to walk down the street after dark. Lock my doors when I am home. Alarm System, Security Cameras. And to think we lived in a ""Good Neighbourhood"" I always said if I ever had to live like that I would move -- and I did. London was my home - my Parents Home. I will miss it - the Old London - not what it is today. What changed me Randy? - Becoming a prisoner in my own home - neighbourhood - city...............

Gail, what changed for you?

Lived in London all my life - 54 years - It was the BEST City. So much to do. A safe environment. Lots of job opportunities. Awesome Educational system.
I packed up and moved last month never to return. London is the sewage of Ontario. When people ask me where we are from - both my Husband and myself state Ontario. We NEVER say London. We have found that there is no respect for London ON in Canada and certainly do not want to be associated to that City

I'm sorry, are you saying spend all of the city's money on UWO? Last I checked, London had a population of 489,274 people who DON'T go to Western. London is a city, not a university. This comment is very selfish and typical.