Good place to live in London?

[Dr House]

So I am not too thrilled about living up north, I lived in Prague for 10 years and now have moved to the north of the UK where I have been for a year.

I may be able to get my wife onboard to moving to London, at least to try it out for a year or so. I would probably keep my place in the north just incase we want to come back.

So where is a good area to rent, my wife will find work anywhere and I work from home but networking and meeting people is very important for me. I can budget £1 to £2k PCM for a 1 bed but we must be able to park one car.

if we move back long term Blackheath seemed really nice but for now something more central and fun would be good.

Any ideas?

 

[badcompany]

Is there a good place to live in London? I wouldn't live there even if you paid for my accommodation.

 

[McBain]

My idea is, don't do it.

 

[Diddums]

I've lived in London for 8 years and I can't see myself moving away. It's far from perfect but I've seen some of the places in this country and I just prefer the hustle, bustle and stabbings of London.

House, where do you work? What access do you need? Does the price include bills, or just rent?

 

[dowie]

So where is a good area to rent, my wife will find work anywhere and I work from home but networking and meeting people is very important for me. I can budget £1 to £2k PCM for a 1 bed but we must be able to park one car.

if we move back long term Blackheath seemed really nice but for now something more central and fun would be good.

well that's about the right sort of budget for Blackheath....

I would suggest Angel or surrounding areas in Islington too if you want something more central but for a nice place you'd be getting more towards the upper end of that bracket.

 

[Freefaller]

I live not far from Blackheath (15 min walk), it's a lovely part of London with great links into town. It depends on what you want, you can get a 2 bed flat for around £1,300 in the surrounding areas. You could even get a house for around £2k pcm.

 

[Dr House]

I've lived in London for 8 years and I can't see myself moving away. It's far from perfect but I've seen some of the places in this country and I just prefer the hustle, bustle and stabbings of London.

House, where do you work? What access do you need? Does the price include bills, or just rent?

I work form home so access is not a issue, my wife will find local work. I dont mind bills on top but I dont want to go crazy as we will still be paying a mortgage.

well that's about the right sort of budget for Blackheath....

I would suggest Angel or surrounding areas in Islington too if you want something more central but for a nice place you'd be getting more towards the upper end of that bracket.

Thanks, I was in Angel last week to visit someone and was surprised how nice it was.

I live not far from Blackheath (15 min walk), it's a lovely part of London with great links into town. It depends on what you want, you can get a 2 bed flat for around £1,300 in the surrounding areas. You could even get a house for around £2k pcm.

I really liked blackheath and its somewhere I would consider buying if we do make the move back to London.

 

[Caged]

Islington is nice enough. £24k a year in rent is an eye-watering amount though, I would seriously consider whether you actually need to be 'in' London or not.

 

[dowie]

Thanks, I was in Angel last week to visit someone and was surprised how nice it was.

Was the first place I moved to in London as I'd just landed my first job in the city and needed somewhere to move to quickly... soon moved further out to Holloway though as was paying way too much in rent then bought a place about 15 mins from Blackheath. It is a really nice area and if you're happy paying that amount in rent then its definitely worth a look, some nice places near the canal too. Barnsbury is another area of Islington that's very nice and worth a look, right next to Angel...

 

[Freefaller]

Islington is nice enough. £24k a year in rent is an eye-watering amount though, I would seriously consider whether you actually need to be 'in' London or not.

Depends on what you can afford. For me that would be an impossible amount to pay by myself - as soon as you split it 2 ways it becomes affordable. Dr House isn't short of a few bob

 

[Diddums]

Most people forget that although London is expensive, most jobs pay a bit more than out in the country too. My line of work would put me down about £10k out in the country.

 

[JohnnyG]

If you're serious about being happy paying £2k PCM for a 1 bed then you should be looking at places like Kensington & Holland Park, there are some fantastic properties in fantastic areas available for that.
Other areas of London in that price range are utter tat.

 

[coltpython3]

maida vale?

 

[Xordium]

I was paying that a fair few years back in Bloomsbury which is a great place central but strangely quiet. It will depend on what you and your wife want to do - you quit medicine if I remember correctly so you won't get the bonus of being by all the good hospitals but you do have finance and law work very close if that's what you do now and you will have proximity to some good practices for your wife to work in (she's a GP isn't she?) which will have the benefit of incentives for working in such areas.

 

[Dr House]

Thanks, I will take a look at the areas suggested, you don't seem to get very much for your money lol.

Islington is nice enough. £24k a year in rent is an eye-watering amount though, I would seriously consider whether you actually need to be 'in' London or not.

I agree, its a silly amount of money but we are looking at having kids soon and it would be nice to experience the London life for a while. We have a lovely house but there is just nothing to do up here.

 

[Dr House]

I was paying that a fair few years back in Bloomsbury which is a great place central but strangely quiet. It will depend on what you and your wife want to do - you quit medicine if I remember correctly so you won't get the bonus of being by all the good hospitals but you do have finance and law work very close if that's what you do now and you will have proximity to some good practices for your wife to work in (she's a GP isn't she?) which will have the benefit of incentives for working in such areas.

I finished medicine but do not practice but my wife is a GP yes so it would be helpful if can find a few good places to do Locum work.

 

[albert]

£2k a month in rent? I'd ask for 2 parking spaces just to make sure your getting your moneys worth.

 

[Caged]

I was paying that a fair few years back in Bloomsbury which is a great place central but strangely quiet. It will depend on what you and your wife want to do - you quit medicine if I remember correctly so you won't get the bonus of being by all the good hospitals but you do have finance and law work very close if that's what you do now and you will have proximity to some good practices for your wife to work in (she's a GP isn't she?) which will have the benefit of incentives for working in such areas.

Bloomsbury is lovely. Central but very quiet, it's like a village inside London almost.

Depends on what you can afford. For me that would be an impossible amount to pay by myself - as soon as you split it 2 ways it becomes affordable. Dr House isn't short of a few bob

I've seen his posts in Home & Garden, £2k is probably small fry compared to what the electricity bill for lighting used to be

 

[Rich_L]

Limehouse IMO loved living there and some great places on the water. City and Canary Wharf are a fiver or so taxi away, and if you really want to go west it's dead easy either on the Underground straight into Bank and change or cabs can take you along the North Bank of the Thames to get to and fro easily.

For your price range you could easily get a lovely 2 bed apt with a river view and private gated parking etc, at our apartment looking on to the lock there were always quite a few tasty cars in the parking area. It's amazing how open it feels when you are looking on the Thames or back on the marina vs being in your usual London terrace.

 

[StoutMeister]

Anywhere near Golders Green, Hampstead, Highgate...super. Can't comment on rent I'm afraid. Edit: It was a while ago.