A bus or tram journey is £1.45 regardless of distance, but in Manchester a tram journey is over £3, in Birmingham over £2, in Edinburgh £1.50.
London's tickets are also much better integrated -- only a couple of express train services to airports have special fares, and they all have non-express, cheaper alternatives.
Among international big capitals (which is what you can really compare London to) it has to be the worst. The fact that going to other cities in the UK is prohibitive makes it even worse (it's cheaper to fly to many places in Europe than going to most other UK cities by any means of transportation). If you want to move medium distances within London in reasonable time, it's tube/Overground/DLR and it's prohibitive. Using the Oyster card it's better but still rubbish really.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/04/most_expensive_train...
Like many European cities, paying by cash is being phased out. It's annoying for visitors, but London is ahead here: Oyster cards are refundable, let the user go overdrawn (into the deposit), and contactless credit/debit cards are accepted.
The actual Zone 1 fare is £2.20. A central zone Berlin ticket is €2.60. Copenhagen ~£2.60. Munich €2.60.
A bus is a terribly ineffective way to move around London, especially for commuting to/from the center.
A single fare tube ride is 2.20 in Zone 1, escalating quickly with distance.
London isn't all that dense, and the density is fairly unevenly distributed. There are forest areas within the boundaries of the city. There's a lake near my house - in the middle of suburbia, where people go fishing. I'm 10 minutes on a tram away from farms.
When I lived at Marble Arch and worked in Holborn (find "Oxford Street" on a London map - one of the busiest shopping streets in the world - and they're pretty much opposite ends) there was people everywhere most of the time, but even then finding quiet spots in the nearby parks, or by walking the back streets, was never hard.
Also, I had the ginormous Hampsted Heath park at a 10 minutes walk, parts of which are quite empty all day long.
Unlike many European cities, where the vast majority of buildings are medium/high rise apartments, many boroughs of London have parts more similar to American suburbs.
I certainly miss having a backyard.
I wonder to what extent human psychology is prepared to cope with such relationship overload after 10s of millenia in small communities.
It is quite fascinating to get on trains out of London. With each stop out, the atmosphere loosens up, and the chance of someone talking to you (!) or giving eye contact increases.
What I don't want is irrelevant conversation. I've spent the day at work, the train home is a chance for a break and a rest.
I guess I've become accustomed to the fact of being constantly surrounded, at almost any time of the day or night, although this feeling of permanent busyness is not exactly tangible.
As long as you remain aware of the fallacy of these interactions and don't expect anything from them, you're fine.
In the 1930's London was more populated than it is now, and there were no devices. It was probably a lot smellier, louder and grimier too. I can't imagine coping in that city.
And about the last part of your message, actually most places in London are deserted rather soon in the afternoon. It's just a few selected places that are always busy. Honestly there's a lot to this place, but yeah it's a rather stereotypical big city.
I spend most of my time in the office/lab, which are far less busy, and go a long way towards alleviating any feelings of suffocation.