London is a great place to live if you have 2 of the following 3: lots of money to be able to afford to live in zone 1/2, don't drive and don't have kids.
I've always lived on the outskirts or just outside London. Cleaner air, less crime and still easy to commute to anywhere. 5 mins drive to the train station and then it's a 20mins train to London Bridge or 25mins to London Victoria. I can also drive to the M25 in 5mins or Brighton in 35mins.