London isn't perfect, it is a city with issues, high costs, high crime, little small talk. There are a few perks to London. Most of the important landmarks are by the river, you can walk along the river Thames ("tems") and see most of the important landmarks, Elizabeth clock tower with the Big Ben mega bell inside, Houses of Parliament, London Eye observation wheel, Tower Bridge, Tate Modern art gallery, Tower of London, St Jame's Park that leads to Buckingham Palace, Restored Shakespeare's Globe, St Paul's Cathedral, the Walkie-Talkie, The shard and various others. They're all together in a 1 hour walk by the river. Even Chinatown, Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square are a 5 minute walk from the Thames; remember it's pronounced "tems" not "Faims".
For me there is a special perk, You can go across the city and use the subsidised TFL zone to get to the Thames Estuary smoothly. If London were a clock, Uxbridge would be where the number 10 is on the clock face. I can go on the Train from Uxbridge and get to Barking near the number 3 on the clock face and get change from a fiver, £3.60 during off-peak time. The distance is 50km, if I drive 50 km, the fuel costs a bit more than £3.60. The route that is smoothest is the one I use to get to Southend on Sea for a short break. I take a bus to Uxbridge, then I get the Metropolitan train at Uxbridge Station; it's a terminal station so all trains head east from there, then I get off at King's Cross, I stay on the platform and catch a Hammersmith Train to Barking and tap out on the platform. Then I use my C2C ticket to board a C2C train to the Coast in Barking Station , sometimes it comes on the same platform island as the Hammersmith train. It's not the quickest route but it is the smoothest, I get there very fast and don't walk very much. Remember the Uxbridge Line and the Hammersmith line share the same platform at Kings Cross so I would just step off the Metropolitan train and get the Hammersmith train where I stand.
If I took the bus to Slough and took Cross Rail, I would get to the east side of London a lot quicker but I would have to do more walking and I think it would cost a bit more.
Using London to chip the price off a journey, yes please.
