More location/living advice sought!

O wise Oracle of UKY, I have yet another request...

My OH has finally ended her work relationship in Chiswick and gotten a new one over in Blackheath. We currently live in Fulham, and, given that I work in Canary Wharf, both commutes are pretty miserable. Her shift starts stupid early (06h00), so we need to be within 30 minutes commuting distance of Blackheath, which puts is in the following areas:

• Greenwich and it's environs (New Cross, Deptford, Lewisham, et al)
• Blackheath
• Denmark Hill, Peckham Rye, etc
• Shoreditch (via London Bridge rail to Blackheath)
• London Bridge

Now, I know I've railed against Shoreditch before, but I believe that we're a bit more  immune to street noise now and have industrial-strength ear plugs that no longer bother us when we sleep with them in. That said, I'm very familiar with Shoreditch as a living area, but less so with the Greenwich/Blackheath/London Bridge area. Blackheath is likely out as it's a bit TOO sleepy. We're generally street-smart and don't stay out late, but the OH will be walking areas at 05h00 in the morning to catch a train or a bus, so safety is definitely on our minds.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the other areas and relative safety at that time for a young woman?

Cheers!

Not exactly sure if this helps, but I work with someone who lives in Blackheath and takes the train from there to Waterloo East station. I don't know much about the properties in/around  Waterloo, but another colleague (early/mid 30's) lives in this area. 

I'm just thinking if safety is a concern for your OH, perhaps minimising the number of changes required (by taking a direct train from one of the central hubs) could be something to consider.  The Jubilee line would obviously suit your commute into Canada Water also.

Thanks, PickledSakura! Yeah, Waterloo I wouldn't mind, but the property out there's bloody expensive! (We already have a pretty liberal budget and can't afford that area, so everything that does fall within it tends to be a bit lacking.)

The train situation is surprisingly good; we can live basically around Farringdon, Charing Cross, Waterloo, London Bridge and Greenwich area and she can make it to work in < 35-40 mins from pretty much each one of those locales. The problem is invariably the rent. For a New Yorker, I thought I would get used to the amount of money we're coughing up, but still.. wow. :p

I'm just now seeing this so I don't know if I'm too late to the discussion.  But here goes just in case you're still looking.

We stayed on holiday near Denmark Hill train station last September.  This part of the area is undergoing gentrification.  I felt safe there and I'm not a big city girl.  I think if you looked for something in the radius of the station, you'd feel comfortable.

I really enjoyed staying in this neighborhood.  It's quite diverse and the transport is quite good.  I think the train from Denmark Hill got to Waterloo in under 15 minutes?  I didn't find the lack of an underground station to be problematic.  The buses were plentiful and frequent.