Where to live 'around' London and associated costs.

Soldato
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Shortlist of Wimbledon, Wandsworth and Richmond thus far...need a couple more options. :)

Wimbledon and Richmond are very nice but I hope you're flushed with cash....

Also commuting is a pain. Right at the ends of the district line (slow / lots of stops). If you work in the City, make sure your iPod charged up for the long journey home.
 
Soldato
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I guess we have a budget of around 1k a month on rent.

That will be tough. OP might get a lock up to stay in? :D

It'd be a small lock up as well ;)

Really, you're kidding - right?

I've been to England quite a few times and Wales as well. Though I've never been to London, I'd would love to visit. But is it really that expensive to stay there?

I thought Edinburgh was bad?
 
Caporegime
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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.

Try blackheath, Lee, Greenwich etc... (obv avoid Lewisham, Catford).

20mins or so to Cannon Street.

My commute is about 30 mins door to door - 5 mins to station, 20 mins to cannon street, 5 mins to office..

I don't rent but I reckon the OP could find somewhere for £1k a month.

Then again, the important factor, which the OP hasn't revealed, is where he'll be working...
 
Soldato
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I live a five minute walk from Canary Wharf, I would say detour this area as much as you can. Monday to Wednesday, the bars and clubs are empty. Thursday and Friday, is just as bad but packed. A lot of people say Isle of Dogs/Canary Wharf has no personality, and that it is sterile. That is rubbish. I live near South Quay, a 5 minute walk from mudchute farm in one direction, the other? Two massive shopping centres. But what makes it fore me, is Greenwich being a walk away. The Observatory is good, Queens House is good. But the pubs, and second hand stores 2nd to none.
 
Soldato
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Really, you're kidding - right?

I've been to England quite a few times and Wales as well. Though I've never been to London, I'd would love to visit. But is it really that expensive to stay there?

Yep, I'm afraid it is, depending on where you live. Hampstead is one of the more expensive areas of London. London property prices (buying and renting) are also in the stratosphere generally compared to the rest of the UK.

Go onto Rightmove and search for 2 bed flats in Hampstead, max £1,000 pcm rent. Look how many results there are.

As mentioned before, your choice of location isn't going to be dictated by where you want to live (ie the best/nice places) but your budget and ease of commuting.

Buying prices are even crazier.

1 bed studio in Greenford? That'll be £180k, Sir.

3 bed terrace in Hammersmith? That will be £500k, Sir.

To visit its cheap enough though! Not really much more expensive than staying in a decent B&B/hotel in Edinburgh.
 
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Soldato
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You would be surprised how fast you can get into Central London from further away by using mainline only.

Whoever said dont do Bromley for Liverpool street is wrong as you go to Cannon Street which is a couple min walk away.

I recommend you check out train maps and avoid the tube at all costs for regular commuting because it is horrible. I'd also suggest if you stretch to 45min you really widen your options.

If you are going down South Zone5/6 look at coming into Waterloo/London Bridge as they are well connected for West/North and Docklands.
 
Soldato
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But what makes it fore me, is Greenwich being a walk away. The Observatory is good, Queens House is good. But the pubs, and second hand stores 2nd to none.

Greenwich, particularly Greenwich Village is lovely. If I lived in London and didn't mind being slightly out on a limb, Greenwich would be my choice (if I had the cash), along with Kew, Wimbledon etc. It just feels that little bit more relaxed than many other parts of London.
 
Soldato
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Yep, I'm afraid it is, depending on where you live. Hampstead is one of the more expensive areas of London. London property prices (buying and renting) are also in the stratosphere generally compared to the rest of the UK.

Go onto Rightmove and search for 2 bed flats in Hampstead, max £1,000 pcm rent. Look how many results there are.

As mentioned before, your choice of location isn't going to be dictated by where you want to live (ie the best/nice places) but your budget and ease of commuting.

Buying prices are even crazier.

1 bed studio in Greenford? That'll be £180k, Sir.

3 bed terrace in Hammersmith? That will be £500k, Sir.

To visit its cheap enough though! Not really much more expensive than staying in a decent B&B/hotel in Edinburgh.


I dunno, I pay 1400 a month for a one bedroom flat near Canary Wharf. Which makes zero sense, as I have had a job for the last 18 Months that requires me to travel from my house (Canary Wharf) to Heathrow, well, Hayes and Harlington. And I work 12x4 shifts, so, on top of a 12 hour shift, I have 2 hour travel either side. Still, it is pretty good money, and I do get 4 days off. What sucls though is the weekends, so much social life missed. Also I'm a contractor, and have not had a holiday for 5 years, I feel onr day a twictch will erupt into a case of multiple homocide, involving the Jubilee line between 7am-8am.
 
Soldato
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^ You've answer provided the solution in your own reply. Hayes is a lot cheaper and a lot nearer.....

You'd be surprised, it isn't that much cheaper, and apart from working in that area, i know no one. I grew up a 20 minute walk from where I live now, And as I work there, I know what the area is like. From where I work to the train station, in the last year and a half, I have had to defend myself 3 times. Luckily, I have quite large shoulders, and a gut to go with, and a temper to match. But I'd rather not need to extend my feathers like a peackock every day!
 
Soldato
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You'd be surprised, it isn't that much cheaper, and apart from working in that area, i know no one. I grew up a 20 minute walk from where I live now, And as I work there, I know what the area is like. From where I work to the train station, in the last year and a half, I have had to defend myself 3 times. Luckily, I have quite large shoulders, and a gut to go with, and a temper to match. But I'd rather not need to extend my feathers like a peackock every day!

I really don't know whats stopping you from moving, because you've just given (again) every reason to move. There seems to be some mental block holding you back.....

I used to commute from Ealing to Hackney, change tubes/trains 2 or 3 times per journey and after 2 months, I felt like a zombie. A 2 hour 'hard slog' of a commute everyday is soul destroying.

Seriously, do yourself a favour and either move closer to where you work or get somewhere in between.
 
Soldato
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Not in my opinion. Hampstead / Rosslyn Hill just has too many pretentious / spoilt / superficial types knocking around. Trust fund kids, spoilt brats, wealthy absent parents, Gucci wearing brigade etc.
Have you spent much time in Hampstead? It sounds like you're describing Islington, parts of Chelsea and Kensington.

Trust fund kids wouldn't want to live in Hampstead because it is comparatively boring. Hampstead and Belsize isn't a yuppie place by any stretch of the imagination - it's simply full of families, the 'rich but don't show it' type and the odd celebrity who want somewhere relatively quiet to live.

You're hard pressed to find even any exotic cars down the most exclusive streets and courtyards in Hampstead (except perhaps in the large, walled detached properties).
 
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