Average rent cost/month & location?

Hi everyone,

My company is thinking about transferring me to London for at least a year from Portland, Oregon. I am a 29 year old professional. I haven't made any agreements with them yet and since our London office is a new acquisition, I'm the first person they are moving over there. I'm going to need to negotiate with them/tell them what I need if I do decide to move.

My office is located at Rathbone St in Fitzrovia. Since this is a huge move I'm going to negotiate a deal where I am as comfortable as possible, which to me means living in a decent area that isn't more than a 20-30 minute commute from the office.

How much do you think I would need to budget for rent for a decent sized studio or 1 bedroom apartment in a safe neighborhood not more than a 30 minute commute from Fitzrovia?

I'm also open to recommendations on location. I'm going for a month in September to scope it out and get an idea of what neighborhood I might like to live in.


Thanks!
Rachel

Hi everyone,

My company is thinking about transferring me to London for at least a year from Portland, Oregon. I am a 29 year old professional. I haven't made any agreements with them yet and since our London office is a new acquisition, I'm the first person they are moving over there. I'm going to need to negotiate with them/tell them what I need if I do decide to move.

My office is located at Rathbone St in Fitzrovia. Since this is a huge move I'm going to negotiate a deal where I am as comfortable as possible, which to me means living in a decent area that isn't more than a 20-30 minute commute from the office.

How much do you think I would need to budget for rent for a decent sized studio or 1 bedroom apartment in a safe neighborhood not more than a 30 minute commute from Fitzrovia?

I'm also open to recommendations on location. I'm going for a month in September to scope it out and get an idea of what neighborhood I might like to live in.


Thanks!
Rachel

You can get good information about rentals from this site:-

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/Fitzrovia.html

There are apps that let you find neighbourhoods and gauge prices by commuting distance, and then target from there. Here's one: http://traveltime.propertywide.co.uk/# (But there are more.)

Angel, Islington, Camden, Kentish Town, St Johns Wood, Swiss Cottage, Finchley Road are all probably in your time range by tube or bus, but it'll depend on salary and what you're willing to pay. (Information that might be helpful: I'm in NW6, so about 35 minutes from Fitzrovia, and our one-bed that also has a reception room/office in addition to living room, kitchen, bathroom is £1300pcm.)

Check this site for to give an idea of what the various areas cost, and roughly what the neighbourhoods are like to live in:  http://www.rentonomy.com/london-rental-map

In the past 6 years, I've lived in W5, N5, SE3, and currently W2. Note that house sharing is pretty common in London even into your 30's if you're single. 

Places I've lived within your target commute time:
Paddington/W2 (~25 mins from Fitzrovia); Paying ~1300/month (incl bills) for a large (by London standards) studio. 
Highbury/N5 (~20 mins to Fitzrovia); Paid ~1400/month (incl bills) for a 1 bed

Check this site for to give an idea of what the various areas cost, and roughly what the neighbourhoods are like to live in:  newcomer link: http://www.rentonomy.com/london-rental-map [nonactive]

In the past 6 years, I've lived in W5, N5, SE3, and currently W2. Note that house sharing is pretty common in London even into your 30's if you're single. 

Places I've lived within your target commute time:
Paddington/W2 (~25 mins from Fitzrovia); Paying ~1300/month (incl bills) for a large (by London standards) studio. 
Highbury/N5 (~20 mins to Fitzrovia); Paid ~1400/month (incl bills) for a 1 bed

Thanks, that's helpful! And I think that's a realistic cost for my company. I'm definitely not sharing because I don't share here where I live and this move is not my choice and wouldn't necessarily have been my preference but it is a good opportunity and I do like London.

I had been looking at Paddington and other areas around there. I'm going to be staying for the month of September in an apartment near Marble Arch so I can check out the Paddington area and see what I think.

Also, is there such thing as an agent of some kind or something I can have my company hire to help me do this? I feel very overwhelmed by this process and would love to have someone help me, a la International House Hunters LOL...

When I transferred over, my company hired Sirva to assist me.