Climate
Edinburgh logs 0 outdoor-dinner months a year to London's 3 — London wins by 3. London also leads on sunny days by 16.
Edinburgh
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
London
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
Cost of Living
Edinburgh is $1255/mo cheaperEdinburgh runs about $2,482/mo for a balanced lifestyle against London's $3,737/mo — Edinburgh comes in $1,255 cheaper each month, roughly 51% less.
Edinburgh
$2,482monthly · balanced
London
$3,737monthly · balanced
Mobility
On mobility, London scores 4.0 vs Edinburgh's 2.8 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on public transit. Edinburgh still holds an edge on car efficiency.
Culture
London's culture score of 4.9 sits well above Edinburgh's 4.0, with the biggest gap on arts & culture.
Nature & Outdoors
Edinburgh's nature & outdoors score of 4.3 sits well above London's 3.8, with the biggest gap on mountain access.
Safety
Edinburgh's safety score is ~1.4× London's — in the middle of the scale, while London lands in the middle of the scale, with the biggest gap on property crime safety. London still holds an edge on flooding safety.
Career
London's career score of 5.0 sits well above Edinburgh's 3.4, with the biggest gap on career opportunities.
Social & Community
London's social & community score of 4.0 sits well above Edinburgh's 3.8, with the biggest gap on multicultural mix. Edinburgh still holds an edge on expat integration experience.
Food & Dining
On food & dining, London scores 5.0 vs Edinburgh's 3.6 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on vegan & vegetarian options.
Family
On family, London scores 4.6 vs Edinburgh's 3.2 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on international schools.
Healthcare
On healthcare, London scores 3.4 vs Edinburgh's 2.7 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on private healthcare quality.
Air Quality
Edinburgh averages 6.8 µg/m³ (good) PM2.5 annually versus London's 8.6 µg/m³ (good) — Edinburgh breathes ~21% cleaner air (1.8 µg/m³ lower).
Edinburgh
London
PM2.5 annual average
WHO classification
City Scale
Both maps at the same real-world scale — 1 cm on either map is the same distance.
Edinburgh (530K) and London (10.4M) are 20x in population — London is the larger metro, Edinburgh the smaller; on land area London spans roughly 13x more ground.
London is roughly 16x the scale of Edinburgh
Combined population & area comparison
LondonEdinburghCity Scale Rankings
London10.4M20xEdinburgh530K1xLondon1,649 km²13xEdinburgh130 km²1xEdinburgh
London
Who Thrives Here
Edinburgh favours the mountain seeker, while London suits the big city energy. Both cities work well for the english speaker.
Also compared
Frequently asked about Edinburgh vs London
▶Which is cheaper, Edinburgh or London?
▶How does the climate compare between Edinburgh and London?
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