Sleepless in Shoreditch (Request for neighbourhood advice)

(Skip to end for "TL;DR")

<dons flame-retardant suit>

This is somewhere between a rant and a plea for advice, so apologies for the noise and move thread wherever deemed appropriate.

I've now been awake since 04h00 due to the.. ahem.. "vibrant" nightlife of Shoreditch. This is certainly not a "once in awhile" occurrence, unfortunately. When we took this apart^W flat, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We do adore many of the creature comforts here (nice restaurants, pubs, ethnic food, et al), but we absolutely dread every Thursday through Saturday evenings due to the incessant screaming drunks traversing our street. Even with double-paned (and closed) windows, we sometimes *still* have to sleep with earplugs to get a decent night's sleep. It's only mildly better since summer's over, but our lease is up at the end of March and we're anxious to start looking.

I know we should have looked/researched more before taking our flat, but we had just relocated from the States and had precious little time to assess the situation. That said, we'd really like to leverage the collective wisdom of the message board for new neighbourhoods. Specifically, we're looking here:
   1) Fulham
   2) Clapham Junction
   3) Putney

The ideal situation would be a place where we could sleep with our windows open on weekends (and without earplugs) that's an easy commute to Chiswick. Chiswick itself is out of scope as the OH doesn't want to live/work in the same neighbourhood. How do the above neighbourhoods stack up with those requirements as well as are there any other neighbourhoods that we should consider? We'd like to pay less than £400 for 2 bedrooms as we get a lot of guests, so I don't know how that stacks up in the equation. Are we simply expecting too much? Should we just invest in more earplugs?

If you've made it this far into the message, thank you for reading.

chs

TL;DR:
Can anyone recommend a quiet neighbourhood that's commutable-friendly to Chiswick that's not Chiswick itself? Looking to pay < £400 for 2 bedrooms.

Just to clarify, you mean £400 per week for two rooms, si? Have you tried around Hammersmith? It's zone 2, nice area, with connections on piccadilly line, hammersmith and city lines, district and circle lines.

Just to clarify, you mean £400 per week for two rooms, si? Have you tried around Hammersmith? It's zone 2, nice area, with connections on piccadilly line, hammersmith and city lines, district and circle lines.

Hi, RAR.. Yes, that would be per week. Hammersmith seemed like a nice area.. I don't recall why we weren't impressed, but it's highly probable we didn't give it a fair shake. Could you kindly recommend some streets to walk around and scout out? It's hard to know where to go in new neighborhoods without talking to people that live there..

Thanks!

I've lived in both Fulham and Clapham. Fulham wasn't the best experience for me; I was really near Stamford Bridge so had to endure the noise and hooligans of Chelsea FC. I was right by Fulham Broadway, which seemed really fabricated to me and I didn't like the people around there, but I think other areas around Fulham might be okay. Just be prepared for gridlock whenever Chelsea is playing.

But Clapham... I LOVED Clapham. More green space, great transport links and a good mix of people. There are a lot of young professionals in that area, so I liked that a bit better than Fulham. I felt like Clapham was more affordable as well, but maybe that was just my experience.

I looked at a flat once in Putney but never lived there. I did have a friend living there for a while and she thought it was the best place ever.

I think all three areas you're looking at will be nice to live in general, but it always comes down to the street itself, which you'll only be able to tell by visiting the areas. But I can highly recommend Clapham. Everyone I know who has lived there, including myself, has loved it. And if I ever move back to London, I'll be looking in that area.

Good luck!

I've lived in both Fulham and Clapham. Fulham wasn't the best experience for me; I was really near Stamford Bridge so had to endure the noise and hooligans of Chelsea FC. I was right by Fulham Broadway, which seemed really fabricated to me and I didn't like the people around there, but I think other areas around Fulham might be okay. Just be prepared for gridlock whenever Chelsea is playing.

Oh wow, this is good to know, thanks! I'm actually not a football fan myself, so this may be something this side of Hell. How was the noise overall in Fulham, if you don't mind me asking on non-football days? Could you actually sleep without earplugs if you left the windows open on the weekend? What about Clapham?

But Clapham... I LOVED Clapham. More green space, great transport links and a good mix of people. There are a lot of young professionals in that area, so I liked that a bit better than Fulham. I felt like Clapham was more affordable as well, but maybe that was just my experience.

<snip>

I think all three areas you're looking at will be nice to live in general, but it always comes down to the street itself, which you'll only be able to tell by visiting the areas.

That's great news, especially when the Highbury & Islington line connection rolls through. What streets over there would you recommend checking out?

Thank you SO much for the info!
chs

Oh wow, this is good to know, thanks! I'm actually not a football fan myself, so this may be something this side of Hell. How was the noise overall in Fulham, if you don't mind me asking on non-football days? Could you actually sleep without earplugs if you left the windows open on the weekend? What about Clapham?

That's great news, especially when the Highbury & Islington line connection rolls through. What streets over there would you recommend checking out?

I was on a caul-de-sac just a few minutes from Fulham Broadway station (Farm Lane). It was pretty quiet aside from the bin men who seemed to come around every night, and the garage that had a rather squeaky door. But in all the noise was minimum; my problem with noise was the people I was living with! But I think the streets between Fulham Broadway and West Brompton stations are quiet and pretty, albeit expensive. The cemetery there is lovely, as strange as that may sound! You'll have noise on game nights but not too late and probably not the lingering drunks like you have in Shoreditch unless you're right by a pub or restaurant. I can't sleep with windows open but the people I lived with had it open practically every night.

Where I was in Clapham (Larkhall Rise) was also very quiet. But my bedroom was in the basement so I could hardly hear anything to begin with. But I think so long as you're not right on the main streets it's fine. If you were to be living right on Northcote Road, as lovely as it is, you might have some noise issues. I would think most other residential roads would generally be good, so long as your neighbours aren't the partying type! I once looked at a flat just off the busy Wandsworth Road and amazingly couldn't hear anything but the birds singing. If you need both the overground to Chiswick and the Tube to Islington, I'd recommend looking at flats between the A3 and the A3036. So you'd have the Northern Line running along the east and the rail line for Clapham Junction to the west. Plenty of buses going up each road as well if you find yourself a long walk from the station.

Just a note that both of these areas are in the fight path for Heathrow. Some people struggle with it, some people get used to it. I seemed to vary by day, but I wasn't put off by it.

I sympathise with your sleep issues. And because of that I was just about to mention the flight path. All three of the areas you mentioned will suffer from airplanes ever 90 seconds or so, depending on the runway alternation (the rotating runway schedule). You will want to research this if you are looking anywhere west around the river, especially if you have sleep issues. And when you are looking for flats, try and do so on a day when the alternation is happening so you can hear/judge the loudness for yourself.

I lived further west on the flight path (Richmond) for a couple years and the only time it really bothered me was when it started up early in the morning just after 04:30, but I almost always fell back to sleep. We lived in a big block with single glazing, so it was a bit louder, however we had really thick window coverings, a fan with a towel over it for white noise and I wore ear plugs. Still heard the planes. It was more annoying on the weekends when we'd go have a pint on the green to watch the cricket with giant 747s flying overhead. Not completely peaceful considering the idyllic village.

That being said, all three areas you mentioned are fantastic. I really like Clapham Old Town - it's really quaint and quiet, like its own little village and a short walk from Clapham Common Station. There's a Marsh & Parsons there that will work hard for your business. Sadly Clapham may have good transport links, however it's a bit of a pain to get to Chiswick; there's no "easy commute" that doesn't involve multiple changes or venturing into zone 1, upping the cost. Unless he gets a bike, of course.

I second Hammersmith. Take a look at Brackenbury Village, W6, the area bordered by Padenswick, Glenthorne, Goldhawk and Hammersmith Grove. There is a fantastic pub called the Anglesea Arms that's on the Ravenscourt Park side of this neighbourhood. Highly recommend a visit if you are perusing the area. Brook Green is also lovely, it straddles W6 and W14, on the other side of the trainline from Brackenbury Village to Kensington Olympia. Walking distance to Westfield and High Street Ken and numerous transport links for an easy commute. Rents are higher in these areas, but I think you can find something for £400/wk.

Parsons Green is my fave part of Fulham so take a look around there as well. When I was looking there I personally thought the planes were too loud for me, but I am super hyper sensitive to them now. Thanks a lot Heathrow. 

All,
   Thank you SO much for the feedback; this is really great stuff!

You both mention flight path. I'm not sure how low the planes fly, but I used to live in Brooklyn directly under the flight path to Laguardia (Park Slope) and the planes would be fairly low and that didn't bother me. Now, if the planes are flying at 100m, then we might be talking serious noise issues (Please say they really aren't flying that low!)

Regarding the commute; I work in Canary Wharf, so I've accepted that my commute will largely be rubbish. For the OH, however, she needs a relatively quick commute (It's an hour now door-to-door). From Clapham, I *believe* that she can take the rail from Clapham High Street to Victoria and transfer to the District Line from there? Fulham's obviously a no-brainer from a commute perspective. Hammersmith's not off the table, and I'll definitely go check out the places you mentioned; I guess we just hit all the "wrong" parts of it on our last pass (We did the same thing in Shoreditch.. my first thought when we visited it Way Back When (tm) was I thought "wow, this sure is quiet".. At 3:30PM on a weekday.. sheesh)

Thanks again, everyone for the input.. I think we have some busy planning to do ahead of us. Hopefully, we'll find a new place to call home that won't involve belligerently screaming drunkards..

Around Brook Green in Hammersmith is lovely, next to the river is lovely, the rest....not so much.

The best map for working out your commutes in this situation is this - http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/london-rail-and-tube-services-map.pdf

Your wife could save shed loads of time on a clapham commute by walking or getting the bus to Clapham junction, then it's a 15 minute train every 15 minutes to Chiswick and she wont have to go via the hellgate which is Victoria. I'm sure it will be

Your commute to Canary wharf from Clapham is easy. Just pick a station where you can get to London bridge then jubilee line it. Easy peasy!

Both of your commutes will be around half an hour.

You both mention flight path. I'm not sure how low the planes fly, but I used to live in Brooklyn directly under the flight path to Laguardia (Park Slope) and the planes would be fairly low and that didn't bother me. Now, if the planes are flying at 100m, then we might be talking serious noise issues (Please say they really aren't flying that low!)

That's mighty low! In the areas you are looking in it's more like 3000 ft. The further west you get, well the lower the planes. They are at 1000 ft in Richmond and banking at the same time, so extra noisy.

I want to second using Clapham Junction to get to Chiswick. There's a fast train from C-Junc to Richmond that'll make getting to the High Street so much easier than the Hell-gate (love that, cheesebiscuit!), even though C-Junc is an adventure in commuting all its own. Is she working at Chiswick Park?

Around Brook Green in Hammersmith is lovely, next to the river is lovely, the rest....not so much.

"...via the hellgate which is Victoria..."

Duly noted, we may be checking this out today, as a matter of fact! (And, seconded on the "hellgate" reference -- HA!!  )

I want to second using Clapham Junction to get to Chiswick. There's a fast train from C-Junc to Richmond that'll make getting to the High Street so much easier than the Hell-gate (love that, cheesebiscuit!), even though C-Junc is an adventure in commuting all its own. Is she working at Chiswick Park?

No, she works actually smack dab between Turnham Green and Stamford Brook on Chiswick High Road, which makes the commute all the sh*ttier as it's really only accessible via walking from those stations. Alas, the Chiswick rail station appears to be too far to be easily walkable every day. 

Alas, the Chiswick rail station appears to be too far to be easily walkable every day. 

I lived close to Chiswick rail for a while and can tell ya the walk is at least 30 minutes to the high road. There are 2 regular buses that go up to the high road to Turnham Green, though so it's not a total loss.