Where to live in London?

Hi all,

    My husband and I are going to be moving to London. Can anyone suggest some areas where we can go apartment hunting? We will by flying out there in a few weeks to look at places but I kind of want an idea of where to start. Hubby's job is located right by the Liverpool station. He doesn't want too much of a commute. Any help that can be provided will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Ria

Hi Ria, and welcome.

There are a lot of questions one would ask in order to qualify your requirements, but I'll start the responses by saying that one area I would suggest exploring is Essex.

You can find maps of the underground and overground trains that service Liverpool Street station and various parts of Essex using this link:  www.tfl.gov.uk

In particular, have a look at this map:  http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/tube-dlr-trams-and-train-travelcard-zones-map.pdf

Of course there are more areas in Essex than depicted on this map, but they will also be further away and potentially longer in terms of commuting time (though you'll often find overground journeys faster than underground journeys).

Hopefully that helps in terms of suggesting an area to start with.

Good luck and let us know if you have any more questions!

Although not the OP, this is something I'm trying to sort out, as well. =) Perhaps you (and/or others) can offer some advice, based on a slightly more qualified focus? My wife and I are moving over in about a month and, although we'll be staying with relatives in Norwich initially, we're set on London and it's a bit daunting to look at all the various neighborhoods and pick out decent ones.

As a bit of background, we're 25 and 32 and coming from Berkeley, CA. Although not at all hippies, we're also probably not at all yuppies. Perhaps more bohemian / nerdy? We love little cafes, museums, galleries, etc. and generally don't really feel at home in pubs or huddled around a football match. (e.g. <3 Montmarte in Paris) We want to live in a reasonably lively area with a good High Street, but clean and as safe as possible. We're thinking somewhere around Central London? I'm sure this is pretty much what everyone wants, whose looking to live in London. =) Although we don't want to dump all of our money on rent, our combined income is healthy enough and I suppose something in the £1000-£1500 range for a one bedroom is still well within our comfort zone. We both recently found out from our current employers that they're happy to let us work remotely (although still sorting out whether we're paid out of the US or UK), so location isn't too key from a commute perspective, but we want to be in the 'center of things' more-or-less. South Kensington seemed nice, for example, but perhaps a bit too posh and stuffy. Would any of this change your previous suggestion?

Thanks so much!
Aaron

Hi Aaron,

I've lived in various parts of London in my 8 years here (all in either zones 2 or 3) and have played tourist quite a bit too!

Based on what you have said, these are the areas I would suggest exploring the following in the order that your requirements seem to indicate:

- Camden Town/Chalk Farm/Belsize Park/Hampstead (this is moving from south to north, going from more hip San Fran-like Camden Town to the more posh but very pleasant Hampstead)
- Clapham/Battersea
- Islington
- Greenwich
- Richmond/Chiswick/Kew (this is my personal favourite area, but last choice recommendation for you because it reflects my own bias and not necessarily what would suit you best!)

Avoid areas like the City (square mile) because they are not lively at weekends when the commuters are not around.  For example, you might like the Barbican area for some of its plus points, but would probably find it too dull as a place to live on a full time basis.

Personally, I would not be interested in living in South Ken, but only because it's not my style.  I think it's got a lot going for it in terms of amenities, but lacks some of the character that these other areas have (in my opinion).  If you do settle on that area, perhaps the outer fringes would offer the best of both worlds.  Over towards Holland Park you have some very nice boutique type shops, cafes, etc.

Let us know how you get on! 

Aaron - like the previous poster, I also recommend Clapham - especially Clapham South by the Old Street.  That's going to have your little boho shops and small coffee houses.  Clapham High Street is good with lots of restaurants and bars and good cultural life.  You won't find museums/galleries in this part of London much, but central London is a short Tube ride away.

To the OP: I'd look at Essex, like someone else said - reachable on train OR Tube, it is a bit cheaper than central London.  You can also try south London, but the transport links to Liverpool Street aren't so hot there.  My advice would be to explore the transport links from Liverpool St and then focus your search from those places.

If you wish to be in the centre and in an area with a bit of a buzz then Camden Town is certainly worth a look.

Thanks so much for the suggestions!   

I've been looking at flats in Camden Town. We want to live in an area that's hopping all the time. We are currently living in NY. We are looking to stay away from areas that are dead after work hours. NY's Financial District is like that. On the weekends, it's a ghost town, with closed shops and no one around!

Foxton's site has a great feature where you can search for flats based on tube/train station. Any thoughts on Whitechapel? Shoreditch?

Budgetwise, we've alloted 2200 pounds/month for rent. Is this a realistic amount if we want to live in the center of London in a nice 2BR place?

Thanks again!

Wow, that's a huge budget, I've never had that much to spend on rent!

With that said, and the fact you said you were looking at Camden - I'd suggest you look at nearby Primrose Hill too.  I don't know if you could get a 2bdrm place there on your budget, but I would think that somewhere in that general area, between Camden and Belsize Park/Hampstead and between Camden and Primrose Hill, that you could find something to suit what you are after.  I would think Camden is buzzing 24/7.... it always has when I've been there at various times of the day/night.

If you want to live right in the centre of London for a 24/7 area, you could look in Soho.  I have a friend who has always managed to find a decent place in that area for the past 7 or so years, which I wouldn't have expected.  Please define what you mean by centre of London - do you mean zone 1 only, or is zone 2 OK for you?  Even zone 1 is quite a wide area, how would you wish to narrow that down (if at all, at this stage)?

Personally, I would not wish to live in Whitechapel or Shoreditch, but many people do.  I have only whizzed past those places en route to other places, or when I was having dinner in the Brick Lane area and I have not really seen them in a morning/afternoon/evening in depth kind of way as I have the other places I suggested.

findaproperty.com lists six 2 bedders in Soho in the range of £1900-2200 per month (I started low to account for council tax, etc.):

http://www.findaproperty.com/searchresults.aspx?loc=Soho&minprice=1900&maxprice=2200&weekly=0&bedrooms=2&furn=0&res=1&salerent=1&edid=0&areaid=5382

There are 61 properties in the Camden Town area and 70 properties in Primrose Hill in that range as well, so you should be spoiled for choice!   

Budgetwise, we've alloted 2200 pounds/month for rent. Is this a realistic amount if we want to live in the center of London in a nice 2BR place?

Wow - that really is a huge budget... higher than the average UK salary !

I'm from the Bristol area (south west England) and personally wouldn't want to pay more than £600/month or so for a one or maybe a two-bed flat, although since I haven't actually rented in a few years, I'm not sure how realistic my ideal price is anymore . Rents are higher in London, but I'm pretty sure £2200 would still get you something in a very nice area .

Yeah, with that budget you can take your pick!

The budget sounds about right to me.. we had 1500 pounds/month from the company, and had to compromise a lot.  And go over the budget, even so.  Not including utilities or council tax.

Of course, we needed off-street parking (husband cannot parallel park) and I demanded garden space. 

I'd recommend Primrose Hill for the OP -- who is in NY right now.  Camden is right there, which is lively, and you also have Regent's Park with all kinds of events and just a nice place to hang out --- and Primrose Hill park too.  It's close enough to St. John's Wood to enjoy their high street for a bite as well.  We used to live in the area and loved it.  Incidentally, we are in the TriState area now.   

Second poster, the fact that you said you weren't into pubs, tells me that you too should consider a place like Primrose Hill over Camden; that way you have the option of going to Camden for the vibe if you'd like, but you could avoid the super busy pub atmosphere there when you want to.  Primrose Hill, as I mentioned in the paragraph above, would give you the option of enjoying the surrounding areas...including SJW and Hampstead and Belsize Park.  (Primrose Hill also has a few houses that always reminded me of San Franciso, btw).  Actually, I would really consider Belsize and Hampstead...and parts of West Hampstead if I were you too.  You might really like them.

Good luck! 

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. =) We'll check out many of the suggested areas, they sound great.

Although not the OP, this is something I'm trying to sort out, as well. =) Perhaps you (and/or others) can offer some advice, based on a slightly more qualified focus? My wife and I are moving over in about a month and, although we'll be staying with relatives in Norwich initially, we're set on London and it's a bit daunting to look at all the various neighborhoods and pick out decent ones.

As a bit of background, we're 25 and 32 and coming from Berkeley, CA. Although not at all hippies, we're also probably not at all yuppies. Perhaps more bohemian / nerdy? We love little cafes, museums, galleries, etc. and generally don't really feel at home in pubs or huddled around a football match. (e.g. <3 Montmarte in Paris) We want to live in a reasonably lively area with a good High Street, but clean and as safe as possible. We're thinking somewhere around Central London? I'm sure this is pretty much what everyone wants, whose looking to live in London. =) Although we don't want to dump all of our money on rent, our combined income is healthy enough and I suppose something in the £1000-£1500 range for a one bedroom is still well within our comfort zone. We both recently found out from our current employers that they're happy to let us work remotely (although still sorting out whether we're paid out of the US or UK), so location isn't too key from a commute perspective, but we want to be in the 'center of things' more-or-less. South Kensington seemed nice, for example, but perhaps a bit too posh and stuffy. Would any of this change your previous suggestion?

Thanks so much!
Aaron

Hi Aaron. I'm also moving from Berkeley to London. Though I used to live near the Circle, Berkeley to me will always mean spelt bread, Tibetans and lesbians, which is why I'm moving to Stoke Newington.  It's not accessible by Tube, and the locals prefer it that way, but there are numerous busses.. and natural grocery stores, of course.