 | Home > Off Topic > Moving to London - Where to Live? |
 
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| YeomanOfTheBar Member Since: 04 Nov 2012 Location: North Notts Posts: 206   
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Well, I finally had to break one of my own rules and move to London for work. Trouble now is finding somewhere to live - having been based in Gloucestershire for years, I don't really know even where to start looking for a place. Had a look on the likes of http://www.commuterguide.co.uk/ and http://www.locrating.com/, which is fine, but I've no idea what any of the areas are actually like, so was hoping some of you big city folk could at least help me narrow down my search.
Much as I would like to live close by, looking at rents on Rightmove is pretty scary  . So, what are my options a bit further out? Sooner not have an excessive commute (say, more than an hour at the outside), but would be nice to live in something larger than a shoebox and have space for the cars. Any opinions on the towns on the route into Marylebone (which seems a pretty fast line into the city)? Or Surrey perhaps (the guy that just served me coffee suggested somewhere like Caterham)? Anywhere else I should be looking?
Realise that all sounds like 'as cheap as possible, in a nice a place as possible, as close as possible to work', but at the moment I just need to narrow myself down to areas at least. Will be splitting my time between Cheltenham and London for a bit, so have plenty of time to look, but where to start? 2013 Defender 110 XS DCPU 2016 Ford Mustang 5.0 V8 |
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28th Mar 2014 10:13am |
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| sparkylee Member Since: 06 Nov 2010 Location: surrey Posts: 1455
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We are here mate
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/proper...-live.html Great place to live Might be worth a look  It's good to be back from the dark side
DC110 -2012 Black with black hood and black x-tech FFRR 4.2 vogue Renault traffic auto PT crusier convertible Laika x700 Motorhome |
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28th Mar 2014 10:54am |
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| Tiger Member Since: 06 Jul 2012 Location: Wales Posts: 2265 
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Where in London are you going to be working as this can make a big difference to you commute.
You don't want to be going into Waterloo if you work in Shoreditch etc. as crossing London will add 35-40mins to you commute. |
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28th Mar 2014 10:55am |
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| YeomanOfTheBar Member Since: 04 Nov 2012 Location: North Notts Posts: 206
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Thought I'd put that in - must have deleted it when editing. The office will likely* be in Fitzrovia - Oxford Street, Tottenham Court Road and Goodge Street are the closest tube stations...
*It's a startup company that doesn't have an office yet, but that's where they want to be... 2013 Defender 110 XS DCPU 2016 Ford Mustang 5.0 V8 |
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28th Mar 2014 11:41am |
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| Tiger Member Since: 06 Jul 2012 Location: Wales Posts: 2265
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Hmmm
Last edited by Tiger on 23rd Jun 2014 5:54pm. Edited 1 time in total |
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28th Mar 2014 11:45am |
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| Wangers Member Since: 19 Jan 2013 Location: West London Posts: 265 
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Ealing / Acton / West ealing / Hanwell are both good for commuting (trains and Tube) and are "nice" (i hate that word) places to live. Do not be decieved by the tube map as it is not geographically good for checking (ie on a map Ealing Broadway, Ealing Common, et al doen to Boston Manor are all in a line E-W.
If it is a pied a tere that you are after then I would recommend that you take a trip to the big smoke and actually drive around an area you are looking for. Marketing for flats (shoebox  cockroach convertions) is quite an art.
One bed, bathroom, living / kitchen combined expect £1100 + per month, without bills. I moved to London 7 years ago when leaving the forces and, call me stuck up or snobbish, whatever your like, but I have found: East, North of River, DLR, Whitechapel, Liverpool St, all of the Quays- lots of new build apartment blocks, owned by foreign investors, lots of Europeans. In the houses are you good old East Enders - terraced poor convertions. North Central - Anywhere up the Northern Line - Golders green area has a large Jewish community NW - Wembley, large Pakistani, Bangladeshi communities. West, Hammersmith is good but too clost to city thus pricy, Acton / Ealing / Chiswick is green enough, parks, good local pubs, highstreet and comfortable. Head further out towards Heathrow and it's moer small villages that are linked (Feltham, Bedfont) SW over the river, Kew, Rickmond, Twickenham - take a price and add 1, 2 or 3 0's on the end the further out you go. Sheen a good look as are the Putneys. South Central - Tootings moving inwards goes from terrace tennaments converted through to more industrial around Clapham. South East, South of the River - lots of South Africans / Ozzies / NZ around Bermondey, Canada Water - mainly highrise appartments. In general the tube does not "shut" for the weather, bus routes are clear and bus lanes everywhere. Moving from the country (even if you think you are in a city) there will be things to get to terms with. The general speed of transport in the big smoke is around the 3mph mark ie if you want to get from a to b, and it;s 3 miles, it's gonna take you and hour. Walking, with traffic lights and crossings = 1 hour. Driving with traffic and lights, one way systems etc = 1 hour. Tube - to walk to the tube station, get on, maybe a change, get off and walk to where you are going = 1 hour. It can take me from 20 mins to 2Hrs to go 4 miles from Chiswick to Park Royal. I am not being judgemental or anything else, just my experiences of living in London, and when you are working night shifts on the railway you get to see the parts of town that mostly hides during daylight hours. If you want to pop down and have a tour let me know when and see if we can do anything to assit. |
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28th Mar 2014 3:43pm |
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| keith Member Since: 15 Aug 2012 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 2217 
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Brighton ? It's a suburb . It's got a beach , a Marina , a gay community , it's even got it's very own landrover show .
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28th Mar 2014 4:12pm |
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| dnorrishill Member Since: 15 Jul 2011 Location: Hampshire Posts: 616  
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I live in Southampton and commute daily to Waterloo - have had contracts in Marylebone, Gresham Street, Southwark and currently Canary Wharf.
Its a long day, but manageable... just the price of the season ticket is pretty scary!! |
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28th Mar 2014 4:29pm |
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| Matthew_Mills Member Since: 16 Feb 2014 Location: Somerset Posts: 152
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Live in Somerset with family at the weekends - Great Portland St for work Monday to Thursday, Spare room with a friend during the week... Cheap for London and in Notting Hill. Easy ride on the 390 across the top of the park and Oxford St. Would I ever live in London with my family - never! Do I like to week thing - love it, works for me and Mrs M, been doing it for years. Where to live in London is probably the hardest question ever, if you're buying then I'd look along Cross Rail, cheap at the ends because getting in and out now would be a mare but in 3/5 years you're make a killing and be in and out quickly, And far enough that getting anywhere good for mud would be a lot easier! It's a really tuff question... Take a look at the places and times along the line: http://www.crossrail.co.uk/route/maps/route-map I hope it goes well - if you need any local knowledge close to your work area - just shout we'll meet up for a beer... I'm around the corner |
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28th Mar 2014 8:50pm |
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| Tiger Member Since: 06 Jul 2012 Location: Wales Posts: 2265
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Small world, my office is on GPS |
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29th Mar 2014 12:05am |
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| familymad Member Since: 13 Dec 2011 Location: Bucks Posts: 3481  
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Bucks.
Great schools for free. 17mins to Marylbone. A green and pretty land! 1951 80" S1 2.0 1995 110 300TDI 1995 90 300TDI |
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29th Mar 2014 6:12am |
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| AWOL Member Since: 31 Oct 2013 Location: UK Posts: 222 |
I sometimes see a tech firm in Fitzrovia: 15 minute walk from Euston. When I looked it didn't seem to be much quicker by tube by the time the walking/waiting was factored in. I know a few people who commute in from Milton Keynes to Euston but the season ticket is around £4500! Used to do a weekly commute to London a few years ago. Worked well at the time, but couldn't do it with kids. Not sure if it still exists, but there used to be a website for midweek lodgers (logic being that there were quite a few people who wouldn't mind a lodger in the week but would want their place to themselves at the weekends) that would be worth checking out if you consider doing similar. PS - Don't forget to factor in the time/cost of after work drinks. Quite easy to burn through a good bit of cash if colleagues are in to that sort of thing. |
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29th Mar 2014 6:59am |
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| bpman Member Since: 21 May 2008 Location: Oslo Posts: 8069 
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you don't say if this is a permanent move or whether you will be travelling back to the shires for weekends and holidays .. also if you will be doing extended hours in the office.
Consider towns between Oxford and London ? do you have children .. that opens up a whole hornets nest, schools, recreational activities London has everything except maybe peace and quiet, think about what you take for granted at the moment and make sure that is covered good luck with the move and make sure you get a garage for the defender |
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29th Mar 2014 7:17am |
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| Matthew_Mills Member Since: 16 Feb 2014 Location: Somerset Posts: 152
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I'm 84-86... Meet for a beer some time maybe... Your call. |
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29th Mar 2014 4:23pm |
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