Where to live in London?

mind_philip

saw the light
I have to move to London in a few weeks (eek) with a new job, and know virtually nothing about which part of the city to live in. As there are so many londoners here I thought I'd ask for suggestions of zone 2 areas of london where 1 bedroom flat rentals are about £600-650 a month, and which are pretty 'quiet'. Any help would be massively appreciated!
 

owen

Well-known member
heheh southampton is my home town as it happens, so congratulations on getting out! first place i moved to in london was new cross, which could hardly be described as 'quiet'...

it kind of depends where the job is really. zone 2 and quiet, cheap and nice is a toughie- brockley, honor oak and east dulwich is sort of like this, though is in the south east which could be on mars as far as many londoners are concerned....as for north of the river, bits of bethnal green are quietish....good luck anyway.
 

3underscore

Well-known member
My first thought, as someone who is currently working in London, living out in Kent (but looking to move in) - £600-£650 a month I would be more leaning towards getting a flatshare rather than a one bedroom flat.

Interesting to see what other folks say. For me, 95% of my decision will be based around the ease for which I can get to and from work, and what is about me. I am currently toying with Angel (though that is on the Northern, which counts against it) and Swiss Cottage. Mind, next week I will probably completely change my mind.
 

Backjob

Well-known member
When me and my mate moved to London from Edinburgh I went to East London and he went to South London. I lived in Limehouse, Bethnal Green and Hackney; he lived in Brixton, Herne Hill and Camberwell. He definitely made the better choice - from South London you hop on an overland train and you're at work in 15 minutes. From East London you get on a bus and get there in an hour, if you're lucky. The rents in the South are way cheaper and it's not significantly more crimey (also has better takeaway food and drug dealers). You've also got nice parks and walks and stuff. The cheapest decent 1 bed I could find was near Well St. in Hackney and was 670UKP per month (rents will have gone up since then) so I definitely reckon for 600-650 you should give up on that idea.

I reckon Camberwell has to be the new ripe-for-gentrification spot.
 

mind_philip

saw the light
I guess 'decent' is the important word there backjob, something I can't really figure out until I get there. I have heard rumours in the last month or so that the buy to let market is really over-subscribed, probably because of Sarah Beeney. The north/south issue is a big one, as I've never lived in London. My job is right next to T.C. Road tube station, so I'd just like to be able to get there without it taking a ridiculous amount of time in the mornings.
What's the difference in price between coming from zone 3 and coming from zone 2?
Haha I am so fucking clueless about London.
Def. don't want to flat share though, had enough of sharing my space with other people.
Bonus points for correctly interpreting 'quiet' as 'not crimey' though :)
 

mind_philip

saw the light
Ok changed my mind, I don't care which fucking zone its in, and I've got 700 a month. Is there nowhere in London within 40 minutes of TC Road where this isn't a laughable prospect?
 

martin

----
It's very hard to answer, sure there are opportunities for good deals but they're not publicised. OK, I saw a one-bed place in West Hendon, very small, £650 a month, communal swimming pool etc - you'll have to be bussing it or using Thameslink though. And what's the point of a swimming pool (which is probably shit) if you hate the area and feel isolated?

Most places can access TCR in 40 mins, unless yr really out in the sticks - it'll be easier to give you areas to avoid - Angel, Old St, Bethnal Green, Islington. Believe me, if these were available at this price, I'd be living in them now. Also, do you really wanna pay £700 and have a restricted social life? You'd be better off getting a mortgage.

NW London has some cheaper deals around Harlesden, etc, but you'll be living in a bit of a dodgy area, sorry I have to shoot off now, but I'll tell you more tomorrow
 

3underscore

Well-known member
Probably not - London is expensive. Look up North on the Northern Line. Might be some stuff up there, but you are talking zone 3/4. You would be able to get in on tube time 40 mins - but you have to consider the walk to the station, frequency of trains, etc etc

You would have to look out North-away, West-away, cos from anywhere a little South you are seriously going to have to arse about to get to TCR.

Alternatively, and I really think it is wiser, give up on the "personal space" problems and be done with renting with a few people. Or cash up to £1000 and you'll start talking, really.
 

mind_philip

saw the light
I need a flat rather than a room somewhere as my girlfriend will be living with me from May onwards.
What is Finchley like? Seems to be decent for transport, and www.findaproperty.co.uk shows quite a few places at around 700 a month...
 
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Backjob

Well-known member
Finchley was Margaret Thatcher's constituency.

It's petit-bourgeois and dull, but crime free and has a reasonable amount of greenery. Large tracts of it are miles away from public transport.

I reckon Camberwell or Clapham are your best bets. Fast overland trains to Kings Cross, which is then just a short hop away from TCR on the northern line or the bus (or you could even walk).
 

3underscore

Well-known member
You'd do well to find anywhere within budget in Clapham nowadays - full of city types. Rumour has it you need to show a girl your CV in pubs in Clapham to get a date...
 

mind_philip

saw the light
I went to Highgate today and liked it, and didn't get laughed out of the letting agencies when I mentioned a budget of 700 a month...
 

k-punk

Spectres of Mark
No, you don't have to be Nathan Barley to live in London, actually

This is one of the most ludicrous threads yet to appear on Dissensus...

'No, mate.. you'll need a grand....'

Totally ridiculous scaremongering... I lived on my own in London/ Bromley for the past four years and never even paid 600 quid, never mind more.... I know a number of people who live here on their own, none of whom pay anything like 700 pounds. Jesus, if I had to pay 650 to FLATSHARE, I'd kill somebody, that's crazy...
 
S

simon silverdollar

Guest
i'd recommend streatham. good transport links into the centre, and it's quiet like clapham but a bit more normal.
 

3underscore

Well-known member
k-punk said:
This is one of the most ludicrous threads yet to appear on Dissensus...

'No, mate.. you'll need a grand....'

Totally ridiculous scaremongering... I lived on my own in London/ Bromley for the past four years and never even paid 600 quid, never mind more....

The point wasn't as such that you would need £1000 k-punk, but thanks for the misquoting. I am sure you can live anywhere in London for any amount of money. The idea of looking for a flat on your own with a low budget is more you find out where your budget puts you. If you name a figure circa £1k, then you can start to name areas that you can live in. I find it works easier in that sense.

Mind, I am someone who isn't keen on spending all my time travelling as I spend enough time at work. Pick where to live and find out the cost. Each to their own.
 

Rambler

Awanturnik
I haven't got a clue what prices are like for renting single flats since I've never done it, but if you can find things in Highgate for a price you're happy with, then you've probably got a pick of anywhere nice (that isn't populated by trustafarians inflating things a la Islington). Plus, Highgate has an extremely favourable ratio of good pubs compared to Islington: 1/4 vs 0/millions. That stretch coming down the hill between Highgate and Archway, round where the cemetery is, has lots of flats, and if you walk downhill to Archway for your morning tube, it's zone 2 (uphill to Highgate is zone 3).

One tip to save rental costs is to look at areas that don't have a tube on their doorstep. In my experience this can chop quite a bit off the monthly rent for the price of learning a bus number or two, or braving natural light on a train. Places like Muswell Hill, Crouch End, Hackney, Blackheath, do quite well by this I reckon. If you're on time for your train you can get from Blackheath to Charing Cross in about 15 minutes, then just two stops by tube to TCR.
 
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