Future LSE Grad Student needs info on neighborhoods

Hello,

I am an fellow Yank (from Long Island) living in Italy, and I will soon be relocating to London to attend LSE. I am interested in information on London neighborhoods. I like to be able to go right downstairs and get a drink and something to eat, but I don't like drunk people screaming at 3am and vomiting on my doorstep. Restaurants, cafès, and coffeeshops are more important to me than pubs, and trendiness is generally good, but too much makes me queasy. I lived in Park Slope, Brooklyn; Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan; and the East Village, Manhattan. I now live in San Lorenzo, Rome (the university district) and I would be interested in similar areas. I don't like neighborhoods that shut down early. I will be moving with my girlfriend, so, it must be somewhere relatively safe. Thanks, and please feel free to ask me any questions about Italy if you have any.

Regards,

Brendan

Although similar, you won't find exact matches to New York neighbourhoods in London. But in my (subjective) opinion the following comparisons come closest:

Shoreditch/Hoxton/Spitalfields = East Village/Williamsburg
Stoke Newington = Park Slope
Islington/Upper Street =  UWS
Hell's Kitchen = no equivalent

The above areas are east or north London. I'm less familiar with areas south and west. Perhaps someone else can weigh in with alternatives.

You say too much trendiness makes you queasy but you named what can be considered three of the most sought-after NYC neighbourhoods so you must have a strong stomach for it!

Shoreditch and Islington are more central and both have quite the scene going on. Shoreditch is edgier or what passes for edgy these days. Islington is more mainstream? (can't think of the right word). Stoke Newington is further out (not by much) but isn't on a tube line so may seem remote. It's sleepier but Church Street is very much like 7th Avenue in the Slope.

Also, there's less of a distinction here between restaurants, cafès, and coffee shops and pub and bars -- all serve alcohol -- and people drink alot of it. You won't be able to avoid drunks.

...and of course, they are all very expensive.

Thanks for the info! Are these convenient to LSE? I am looking on Google Maps now.

Regards,

Brendan

The whole of London is convenient for LSE....

 

Vicky

That's very true...LSE is so central near Aldwych

I've researched several neighborhoods on google based on their closeness to a tube line which stops near LSE and the availability of rooms with rent for under 500 pounds per month. I'd appreciate any "local" input.

Kentish Town, Chalk Farm, Aldgate East, Whitechapel, Stepney Green, Bethnal Green, Mile End, Bow, Highbury & Islington, Holloway

Thanks in advance,

Brendan