Moving to London. So much conflicting information.

Hi all,

My wife and I are moving to London soon. Of course the people we know think we're crazy as anyone who doesn't live in London always does. We're currently in Leicester, so I think they're crazy for not moving to just about anywhere else.

My main question is where to move? We don't want to live too far out, and do want be near the tube if possible. It seems like anyone you ask says the only decent places are in the West. Of course, these are the most expensive areas
, generally. Most people tell us if we go south or east it will be dreadful and dangerous. Now I know in a city the size of London there has to be decent places in all areas. Looking at the Met Police Crime Map http://maps.met.police.uk/, most of London falls within the average crime rate with the exclusion of central, north-central, and west-central.

I have spoken to a few who have lived, or do live, in the East and South and quite like it. The problem is opinions are like, well you know, and everyone has one, and they're usually ugly. Of course, they usually have minimal or no experience of living in London, as well. My wife lived alone in Bloomsbury (albeit 20 years ago) and never felt unsafe even though it's one of the highest crime areas. Having lived in Phoenix and Sacramento, I often think the English (no offense) have a skewed view about what makes an area safe. At least there is very little chance of being shot here.

I would very much appreciate any level-headed advice on the subject. If you're just going to be negative, please keep your comments to yourself.

Also, if anyone knows of a good letting agent, landlord, or is a landlord themselves, please let me know.

It's hard to narrow down the entire region (it was for me, anyway).  Are you working in a particular part of London, or is there a specific tube line you want to live near?

I don't think it's right for people to simply say south or east London aren't nice. I lived in southeast London for a while in what most people would consider a bad area and never had a problem. Sure, there were some "rough" parts, but there are also some really nice places. You have to look more at specific areas and neighbourhoods. I don't think either the south or east are particularly dangerous for the common person. Most of the time it seems that you have to look for trouble to get into it. I have lots of friends living in dodgy areas of east London who have never had problems. I also have a friend living in Lewisham, which tends to have a bad reputation, but she's quite happy there.

But it's a bit hard to recommend areas of London without knowing exactly what you're looking for. What zone, for instance, would you consider to be too far out? Do you want an area with a busy nightlife or somewhere with a more suburban feel? And the biggest factor you're going to face is your budget: what sort of flat are you looking for and how much are you willing to spend? Any further requirements you have might help us make some recommendations. 

According to your map I live in the "highest crime" area.  What exactly are those crimes?  I have never felt unsafe in my neighborhood which is relatively close to Bloomsbury which I also wouldn't consider an unsafe or dodgy neighborhood.

London is about 659 square miles.  Like elle.davis suggested, you need to come up with some parameters besides not wanting to be too far out.  You should get a tube map and a map of London to get a better idea of what you're dealing with and to help you narrow down your search area. 

As for estate/letting agents.  They are very localized by neighborhood.  An estate agent in Notting Hill is only going to be able to help you with properties in Notting Hill and maybe anything just edging Notting Hill, but not the whole of London.

When I lived in South London, (Herne Hill, Streatham, Anerley, Croydon) in each of those locations local people said to me that they would never live north of the river. When I lived in Hackney a guy told me he had never been to South London, and never wanted to.

The thing about London is, and I know I keep repeating this OVER and OVER but people seem to ask the moving to London question every day, is that areas change in feel really quickly! There are no whole areas which are terrible or "ghetto" people are mixed together and weird things can affect the "safeness" of a street. One street maybe fine at one end and but dodgy at the other, you can walk through amazing areas separated by a streak of scariness.

Case in point I lived 2 streets from the Tower of London, you walked one street behind us, really REALLY scary dodgy street. There couldn't have been 100m from the tower and thousands of tourists to our house.

You need to work out where to live by what's the best commute for you, what kind of culture you want to live in (busy, leafy, etc) and then find a street which you feel comfortable on. It's ridiculous and premature to write off whole areas, regions, zones of London based on conjecture and hearsay, one person's "local colour" is another persons "zomg I'm terrified of being mugged"

Honestly nearly every single person I know who lives and moves house in London works out what commute they're happy with and then works out what their price range is along that commute and then finds a street/flat/house they're happy with.

If I were you I wouldn't bother asking people's advice, I'd get a tube map, a 6 zone travel pass and a cheap hotel room and start spending weekends in London seeing what you think, ride a lot of buses, go for meals in local restaurants, walk around and get a feel for the different areas but even after you move there will probably be a period of adjustment before you find the ideal street/house/area for you and your family.

Firstly, thank you for your responses so far, and sorry, I should have been a bit more specific.

Ideally, we would like to get a 2 bedroom or else we will have to pay for storage, and would also like to be able to host guests. My wife will be working in Central London so we are flexible as to where we will live, which is why I posted looking for some suggestions. She also has lived in W11 (again many years ago), which she loved, but is now quite pricy. Initially, we would like to spend no more than £250 per week until we get settled in. Once we get there, we will, obviously, have the opportunity to do more reconnoitering and choose a place to settle if we are unhappy where we first land. Zone 2 or 3 would be nice. We don't need a busy nightlife but do enjoy having conveniences nearby. Something a on the quiet side would be preferable to hot nightspots. We are 40 after all. 

In that price range range, there seems to be a few place in most areas and lot of places around New Cross, Brixton and Tooting in the south near tube lines and West Ham and Barking in east. Willesden and Brondesbury in the west also seem possible. I have one friend who lives in the south, and loves Brixton and have had others scoff at the idea. I have never been there.

I am mostly looking for opinions and insights. I have really enjoyed the time I've spent in London, and am thrilled to have the opportunity to live there. I just don't have much experience with the outlying areas.

Thanks for all the input and insights.

Here are some property websites:

www.findaproperty.com
www.primelocation.com
www.rightmove.com

This website will give you incite into neighborhoods:

www.upmystreet.com

A 2 bedroom for $250/week is probably going to push you into Zone 3.

I'm going to suggest Kilburn, Golders Green, Wilsden Green or Cricklewood as places in NW London that would be affordable, easy to get to central London and safe.  I live in Cricklewood, have lived in Kilburn and have friends in Wilsden & Golders Green.  We all feel quite safe in those locations.  While some people don't like it, I loved the feel of Kilburn as it was multicultural and there were a lot of cool pubs and restaurants (more toward the northern end).

The thing about London is, and I know I keep repeating this OVER and OVER but people seem to ask the moving to London question every day, is that areas change in feel really quickly! There are no whole areas which are terrible or "ghetto" people are mixed together and weird things can affect the "safeness" of a street. One street maybe fine at one end and but dodgy at the other, you can walk through amazing areas separated by a streak of scariness.

Case in point I lived 2 streets from the Tower of London, you walked one street behind us, really REALLY scary dodgy street. There couldn't have been 100m from the tower and thousands of tourists to our house.

This reminds me of Las Vegas and a lot of Brits like staying at the Stratosphere Hotel (cheap rates?) and having lived in LV I won't stay in that hotel  if you paid me. It is in a big drug area with all the related crime and when I was there a poor person was shot dead while waiting at a bus stop. Same thing as you referenced only it was a neighborhood at the back of the hotel.