Where to live 'around' London and associated costs.

Skeptic

Skeptic

Skeptic

Soldato
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Hi all,

Finally going to up-sticks and move to be with the Mrs in London.

We're looking for a place which is near to the big City - preferably within a 30 minute journey to central places. I guess that means we're looking at one of the outer zones, or perhaps in the greater London area.

We're both fairly familiar with places - having had a great deal of time spent in Surrey - but we're after some recommended locations. I guess that we're both 'young professionals' in terms of demographics, if that's important.

Also, we have done research on costing, but find that the variance is huge. We've looked, for example, at Bromley - finding that the rent is reasonable there, to other places where the rent is nothing short of extortionate.

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. I guess we have a budget of around 1k a month on rent - but there is some leeway there.

Cheers all! :)
 
fus said:
We're looking for a place which is near to the big City - preferably within a 30 minute journey to central places. I guess that means we're looking at one of the outer zones, or perhaps in the greater London area.
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I think you're looking at zone 3 maximum to be a 30 min journey away from central places, unless you are just considering time sat on the tube.

Hampstead which is right on the edge of Zone 2/3 has a 20 minute tube journey to the river without any line changes.
 
Where in central London do you need to get to? It can bear a lot on how long it takes to get to work. Bromley is no good if you need to get to Liverpool Street for example, but great for Victoria and the west end.
 
PapaLazaru said:
That will be tough. OP might get a lock up to stay in? :D

OP, if you know Surrey, why not stay around there? Look down the mainline from Waterloo.
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Yup - howsabout Surbiton? My mate's just moved there, it's ridiculously quick to Waterloo on the train, not a bad area and Kingston's alright :)
 
30 mins away from central london or the city of london is going to be too expensive for 1000. You might get something in the east near bow and stratford stations. But generally a 1 hour commute (door to door) is standard in london. You could also try shepherds bush, i used to live in east acton which is right near QPR stadium and commute in to bank and it used to take me about an hour door to door. Now i live in romford which is further out east in essex and i have to catch over land train and central line and it still takes me an hour. Sometimes you can get some fast trains direct to victoria and waterloo from way outside london in less time that it would take you if you lived right in london. But then you pay more on travel and you still ahve to bus or walk or ride from those stations to your work. Right now my tube station is 1 min walk away from my office, which is handy.

Whatever your rent is, add the train journey cost on to that and then compare locations and fit it in to your budget.
 
We're probably not going to work in the Centre. I'll be working for a local authority, probably. She might be too.

We want to be able to go into London on an evening - otherwise there's no point in moving down near there and paying the extra!

Basically, we want to live near enough that we can experience all that the city has to offer. So, there's no place that we'd have to commute to! I hope that makes my choice a bit easier (though probably not...!).

Thanks for all replies thus far - food for thought certainly!
 
fus said:
Basically, we want to live near enough that we can experience all that the city has to offer. So, there's no place that we'd have to commute to! I hope that makes my choice a bit easier (though probably not...!).
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My friend had the same dilemma.

In the end he settled on Bethnal green. 1 bed @ £1200 pcm.

You won't do it eaily for £1000, up your budget. :)
 
fus said:
We're probably not going to work in the Centre. I'll be working for a local authority, probably. She might be too.

We want to be able to go into London on an evening - otherwise there's no point in moving down near there and paying the extra!

Basically, we want to live near enough that we can experience all that the city has to offer. So, there's no place that we'd have to commute to! I hope that makes my choice a bit easier (though probably not...!).

Thanks for all replies thus far - food for thought certainly!
Click to expand...
I'd wait until you find jobs before signing a long-term lease. Commuting across London is a nightmare, so you'll want to live somewhere with easy access to your workplace(s).
 
I lived right next to the royal victoria station, east london. My apartment was 1min walk to the station, and it took me 20mins to get to bank station in the morning.

Rents are still quite low, and you could get a 1 bed with an awesome view for around that budget. Its very safe around the new developments, and feels very modern. I loved it there!
Be careful with renting flats in old buildings. Lots to go wrong, and heating bills are always high.
 
We can live anywhere. The way my job works means I just need to pick a local authority. So far two options: Wimbledon and Wandsworth. Any other ideas?
 
groen said:
i used to live in east acton which is right near QPR stadium and commute in to bank and it used to take me about an hour door to door.
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Say what?

I work in North Acton, Tottenham Court Road is 25mins, Bank 35mins.

I commute from Morden to North Acton, and the entire journey is 1 hour 10 mins, that's with 10 mins walking and 3 different tube lines.
 
toshj said:
Yup - howsabout Surbiton? My mate's just moved there, it's ridiculously quick to Waterloo on the train, not a bad area and Kingston's alright :)
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Surbiton is lovely, but not cheap given how far out it is, so pricey rent plus pricey travel costs due to being a far out zone means probably out of OP's budget.
 
krooton said:
Say what?

I work in North Acton, Tottenham Court Road is 25mins, Bank 35mins.

I commute from Morden to North Acton, and the entire journey is 1 hour 10 mins, that's with 10 mins walking and 3 different tube lines.
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This.

I live literally around the corner from QPR stadium, about 10-15 mins walk from she-bu station and it takes me about 45 mins to get to the gym door-to-door, which is about a 5-10 min walk from chancery lane station.

Dunno how it took you an hour to get to bank groen unless you lived and/or worked a fair distance from the tube station. Central line is rather zippy, although always crowded...
 
fus said:
Hi all,

Finally going to up-sticks and move to be with the Mrs in London.

We're looking for a place which is near to the big City - preferably within a 30 minute journey to central places. I guess that means we're looking at one of the outer zones, or perhaps in the greater London area.

We're both fairly familiar with places - having had a great deal of time spent in Surrey - but we're after some recommended locations. I guess that we're both 'young professionals' in terms of demographics, if that's important.

Also, we have done research on costing, but find that the variance is huge. We've looked, for example, at Bromley - finding that the rent is reasonable there, to other places where the rent is nothing short of extortionate.

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. I guess we have a budget of around 1k a month on rent - but there is some leeway there.

Cheers all! :)
Click to expand...

Greenwich.

Nice area
Close to the City
£1000 will get you a nice 2 bed maisonette near a station
11 mins to London Bridge
15 mins to Cannon St/ Charing Cross
On the Jubilee Line
Zone 2/3 so still central-ish

/thread
 
i live in shepherds bush, paying 900 p/m for a studio inc heating and hot water & council tax. it's a pretty quite area and haven't had any serious problems. it it feels a bit third world compared to the home-counties. wouldn't want to be raising a family round there.
 
Bes said:
Greenwich.

Nice area
Close to the City
£1000 will get you a nice 2 bed maisonette near a station
11 mins to London Bridge
15 mins to Cannon St/ Charing Cross
On the Jubilee Line
Zone 2/3 so still central-ish

/thread
Click to expand...

On the jubilee line though which always has problems

/re-open thread
 
FNGsam said:
On the jubilee line though which always has problems

/re-open thread
Click to expand...

Also on a mainline train route to London Bridge/ Charing Cross/ Cannon St with up to 6 departures an hour, and the DLR from Greenwich/ Cutty Sark feeds right into Bank via the Docklands

/thread :p
 
toshj said:
Yup - howsabout Surbiton? My mate's just moved there, it's ridiculously quick to Waterloo on the train, not a bad area and Kingston's alright :)
Click to expand...

This. I currently live in Surbiton and my last flat here was £750 a month and it's so easy to jump on the train to Waterloo. £1000 a month can get you a 1/2 bedroom house or flat.
 
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