Any advice on the following neighborhoods?

I'm being rapidly transfered (30 days) by my company and need to plan a trip in the next week or two to start scouting for flats. I want to be close enough to work (Goodge St Station) that my commute won't prevent a social life (since I'm single) and I can enjoy all the city has to offer. Neighborhood can't be terribly expensive as my budget currently stands at 250 pw.

From what I've read on here most estate agents are incredibly neighborhood specific so I want to narrow down my search. Any advice about the following or any I may be missing?

• Bethnal Green
• Spitalfields
• Finsbury Park

What kind of advice are you looking for?

I used to work in Finsbury Park, and it wasn't a terrible neighborhood, but not the best either. There were lots of things around, and it definitely has easy access to the city.

Thanks Princess Lemons!

I'm mostly curious about whether or not they are good places to live. What is the vibe in the neighborhood? Does it have a bad reputation for crime (and is it justified)? Is there a lot in the area like good pubs or restaurants and as you mentioned, easy access to the city.

Thanks Princess Lemons!

I'm mostly curious about whether or not they are good places to live. What is the vibe in the neighborhood? Does it have a bad reputation for crime (and is it justified)? Is there a lot in the area like good pubs or restaurants and as you mentioned, easy access to the city.

I didn't work there for very long, so hopefully someone will chime in! It didn't seem any worse than where I live crime-wise. Certainly didn't put me off at all. Pretty good restaurants around. Lots of little cafes, which were cheap and really tasty. And a few nicer restaurants. I still travel there to go to a really nice sushi restaurant I found there.

Good luck on your move!

My wife and I lived in Finsbury Park for a little over a year when I first moved to the UK in 2007, and we really liked it.  We lived on a side street that backed onto the Parkland Walk (former railway that's now a nature walk) and Finsbury Park (the actual park) on the other side of that.

There are parts of the neighborhood south of the tube station down Blackstock Road that seemed a little rough, but if you go north of the tube station up Stroud Green Road it gets progressively nicer.  It seemed to be gentrifying; I haven't been back recently to see how it's changed since 2008.

There were a number of pubs within walking distance, one of which (the Faltering Fullback) has excellent and cheap Thai food.  We also liked CATS, another Thai restaurant, and Pizza Pappagone is the best Italian food I've had in the UK.  There's a Tesco Express that's big enough to do your regular grocery shopping, and a couple of little Kwik-E-Mart type places in the area, a butcher, a hardware store, several barber shops, and a couple of little funky gift places.

The transport links into the rest of London are great, with the Victoria and Piccadilly lines at the tube station, and a decent range of busses, too.  All the housing is row houses that have been converted to apartments, and our one bedroom place was £900/month.

We eventually moved out to get a place in the countryside (my wife is a country girl at heart) with outside space.

Fantastic information camoscato thank you! I've been searching through rightmove and I've seen a lot of great 1 bedroom places. I'm from Philadelphia so very familiar with living in a converted row home. This definitely sounds like a great option.

Have you taken you commute into account?  You might want to consider places that are along the Northern Line to give you a direct route to Goodge Street (or the Central Line at Tottenham Court Road which is a 5ish minute walk) without complicating your commute with changing lines during rush hour.  Believe me, it's not the most fun thing to do. 

Bethnal Green has not always had the greatest reputation.  I would pick Shoreditch over Bethnal Green.

Spitalfields is near The City (the financial district) and has also been going through a gentrification process.  There is a market there and lots of restaurants and shops have popped up around it.  It still has some rough edges but I think it is generally safe and has enough going on.  It's proximity to The City might make flats a little pricey for your budget.