Where to rent in East London?

DH works in Upminster in NE London and needs to drive to work.  I work in Camberwell in SE London (Oval on the Northern line is the closest tube station) and need to take public transport to work.  Neither of us want more than 45 minutes commute if possible.

Right now we live in Essex and I'm sick of my commute.  It takes me over 90 minutes to get to work everyday.  Our commutes are dependant on each other because rather than pay £18.50 and have a 120 minute commute to go from the station by us, DH drives toward his work in Upminster and drops me off at Upminster Station on the way.  It saves money us and cuts my commute down.  But we're done living so far out of London to try to save money especially as both of our situations are looking longer term.  We can't move for another 4 months when we have a break in our lease, but I want to start researching areas now. 

Any recommendations?

Canary Wharf/Docklands has some nice places and can be quite buzzy.  Not sure how parking would be, but it should only be a 30 minute drive to Upminster and a 30 min tube journey to Oval.  A few friends I have live there and say it's nice.  I guess it's quiet on the weekends, but they say that it forces them to get out and see other parts of London.

Where in Essex are you?  We live in Purfleet and there is a direct train into central London that takes about 25 minutes.  Also, we go to Upminster as that's where our nearest Pizza Express is and that is about a 15-20 minute drive.  The further go towards London the more expensive it will start to get.

some info here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_London%2C_England

Docklands is expensive and the area around Stratford will be expensive as people are already cashing in on the olympics. with jack the ripper long gone Whitechapel /Wapping area may be worth a look. some parts are a bit dodgy but the area is very culturally/racially mixed.

Hoxton/Shoreditch is now a very 'arty' area and worth a look
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Cube


I would avoid Beckton, Silvertown and Canning town areas

Whisper, I live in Brentwood.  We have a line into London Liverpool Street that takes 45 or so minutes.  Then it's a bus for another bit.  Getting into London isn't the problem, it's the amount of time (2 hours, 10 minutes it took me the last week) and daily expense (£18.50 or almost £3K/year if I had a season ticket).

Karin, thanks for the suggestions!  It looks like those areas are pretty expensive.  That's the issue with East London, it's either fairly dodgy or expensive it seems.

Englishbloke, thanks for the wiki page.  I'm going to find the one on South London as well since that one only includes NE London.  I think I prefer SE London but that's probably because I'm more familiar with it   We have a friend who lives in Whitechapel and likes it well enough.  It looks like from Whitechapel DH would spend about 40 minutes commuting and I'd spend about 45 minutes.  I'd need to sell it to DH, he's pretty biased about areas which is making this harder!

Whisper, I live in Brentwood.  We have a line into London Liverpool Street that takes 45 or so minutes.  Then it's a bus for another bit.  Getting into London isn't the problem, it's the amount of time (2 hours, 10 minutes it took me the last week) and daily expense (£18.50 or almost £3K/year if I had a season ticket).

Karin, thanks for the suggestions!  It looks like those areas are pretty expensive.  That's the issue with East London, it's either fairly dodgy or expensive it seems.

Englishbloke, thanks for the wiki page.  I'm going to find the one on South London as well since that one only includes NE London.  I think I prefer SE London but that's probably because I'm more familiar with it   We have a friend who lives in Whitechapel and likes it well enough.  It looks like from Whitechapel DH would spend about 40 minutes commuting and I'd spend about 45 minutes.  I'd need to sell it to DH, he's pretty biased about areas which is making this harder!

  tell me about it! For all the good public transportation is its also a lot of wasted time in a person's life! All the waiting around for trains and buses. To be honest as expensive as tickets are it is not much different than driving! I miss being able to just hop in the car and be where i want to be in on time!  Btw if you make it to lakeside often you will have to pop into my shop and say hello!

If your looking at s/e London - Greenwich and Blackheath are worth a look....

Hi Larissa –
Sorry to hear about your commute!

I don't know if any of these areas fit your needs exactly but have you considered NE London, specifically Walthamstow at the end of the Victoria Line? It’s about 35-40 minute journey to Oval, with a change to the Northern Line at Stockwell, which puts you at the top end of you preferred commuting time but it is on a tube line and has an added bonus of also having a mainline station into Liverpool Street, which you are already used to (and very handy in case either line is out of action).

I’m not a driver, but looked up driving times to Upminster online and it looks like the journey from Walthamstow would take about 30 minutes or so (and it would be against rush-hour traffic)

There’s also an overland train to Barking, where you can change to the District line to Upminster if your husband found himself without the car for a day.

Many of my colleagues live in Walthamstow and are generally happy there, especially the old bit east of the station and it’s less expensive comparatively to East London neighbourhoods without a tube connection

To the east of Walthamstow is Chingford, near Epping Forest. No tube but an overland train into Liverpool Street and a very nice, feels small town-ish with a nice high street.

I also have a few friends in Leyton/Leytonstone on the Central Line. We visited a few weeks ago and the house they bought was quite nice and the area seems fine, though I’m not that familiar with it. If I had to live east I would consider it a possibility.

One other area that comes to mind is Bow on the District, Hammersmith & City tube lines plus DLR. It’s gotten expensive with spillover from Bethnal Green but you may be able to find something decent. Very handy to Victoria Park.

good luck with your search

Not a bad idea....from Victoria you can jump on an overground train to Denmark Hill which will be much quicker than Oval plus bus.  However, 30-40 mins from Walthamstow is probably a little optimistic.  It's still probably an hour door to door.


Vicky

I was hedging a bit but you're right Vicky (as always ), 30-40 minutes is probably unrealistic. I was hoping the journey from Oval would be a short one. But I like Walthamstow because of the transport options. If the tube is down at least you can hop on the train and vice versa plus your not far from North London hotspots.

Hmmm.  I'm a North London girl, and I wouldn't live in The 'Stow.  North of Finsbury Park on the Piccadilly Line - lovely.  North of Finsbury Park on the Vicky Line - not so good!


Vicky

If I were a native Londoner I'd be a Northern myself! And I'm with you on the areas north of Finsbury Park (was up in Winchmore Hill for a visit to my favourite Italian cafe/pastry shop last weekend), if only they were convenient commute for work and it's all about the commute for me.

Agreed that north of Finsbury Park on the Vicky (Seven Sisters and  Tottenham) wouldn't be my first choice (or second if I'm honest) but Walthamstow at the end of the line seems decent and affordable or what passes for affordable these days. I might end up there if rents continue to rise Finsbury Park as they have been.

And I'm with you on the areas north of Finsbury Park (was up in Winchmore Hill for a visit to my favourite Italian cafe/pastry shop last weekend),

I know the one!    It's great round there - my mum lives round the corner - but not commutable to Denmark Hill, sadly!


Vicky

My wife has accepted a position at the Hospital in Whitechapel, and we are looking to rent a flat that is somewhat close to the Hospital.  We know very little about London, and are trying to research the area.  We are hoping to find something in the $235 to $285 pcw range, and must accept our dog, Sassy, too.

Any advice on neighborhoods or reputable landlords or letting agents is much appreciated!

Aaron

DH used to live in Limehouse when we first met.  There is a nice pub there called the Narrow which is owned by Gordom Ramsay.  It's right on the DLR line.  Just a question.  The price you quoted... do you mean dollars or pounds.  Because if it's dollars once you covert that to pounds you might have a hard time finding something at the price unless you are looking to flatshare.