Wondering where we should be looking for a home...

My husband and I are being transferred to London  which is great news because it means better pay and better jobs.
However, neither of us have ever been to London (or the UK at all) but we're planning a trip to look for a place to live.
We have one daughter so we want 3 bedrooms, not horrendously expensive and *preferrably* without a terrible commute.
We'll be working in central London (when I look on google maps it has some place called "Whitechapel" nearby, not sure if that helps)
So if any of you know any areas we should look in, help would be much appreciated 

I think others are better qualified to answer you however I will give my two bits worth.
 I would live a train ride away with a no stop train into London. As you know London is one of the most expensive cities to live in in the world so go out to the 'burbs.

I think I've heard that Wimbledon is a good area and that is on a tube line, also try Windsor.

Where do you live now? Tell us that so we may know what you are use to.

How soon do you need a place? Are you going to rent or buy?
If you buy it can be ridiculous, £1 million for a one bed house and when you invest a lot of money it is a toss up if prices are going to go down.

Go on the website called RIGHTMOVE.COM  and see what you get for the money.

What do you consider horrendously expensive? 

What do you consider a terrible commute?

London is big, about 659 square miles and it's expensive.  Get a tube map and a map of London to see what you're dealing with.  A good place to start, since you mentioned commute, is neighborhoods on tube lines near Whitechapel which puts you on the District Line and the Hammersmith and City Line.  The farther you get out of Central London, basically, Zone 1 on the tube map, the cheaper things get and the bigger they get.  Bedrooms can be on the small side, like 10'x10' and closet space is minimal.  I can't remember where you are coming from, someplace on the West Coast I think, everything is probably going to seem "horrendously expensive", but you need to figure out what you want to spend on housing.   Also note that London rents are quoted as weekly. 

Some property websites:

www.primelocation.com
www.rightmove.co.uk
www.findaproperty.com

The best way to find a place to live in London is to walk around and get a feel for a neighborhood. 

You can find neighborhood info on this site:

www.upmystreet.com

10'x10'?  Most of the second "bedrooms" where we live are about 6'x5'.

I hate new builds.

This was in todays BBC and I thought it may interest you.

There are more than 600 square miles and hundreds of neighborhoods in London and deciding whether you want to live east, west, north or south is truly a personal choice. Many American ex-pats live in the west London areas of Notting Hill and Holland Park, while many wealthy second-home owners buy in Kensington and Chelsea.

What do you consider horrendously expensive? 

What do you consider a terrible commute?

Key questions for living/working in central London!  

Also, you (the OP) mentions a daughter -- is she going to be going to school and have you given any thought to the plan in that regard?  Schools tend to be a big factor in the "where" part of decision making for parents.  

It definitely depends how much you can afford to spend per month & what kind of living experience you feel comfortable with.

I love the whitechapel/brick lane area. We were looking at properties there last month and a 2 bed would cost about £1250/month (+up). It is a very urban area, so there was no outside space with the properties except for a few balconies.
I would recommend Bethnal Green which is close- about a 25 minute walk to Aldgate east- and you would be more likely to get something with a garden. We looked at 2-3 bedroom places there that were £1400-1800(+).

Wimbledon is good but you would probably prefer the east end of London as your commute would be much shorter.

One thing to consider, it may be cheaper for you to live in London than in the burbs. We currently are living outside of London. My DH commutes 1.25hours each way (we have a direct train from Hitchin-Kings Cross) and pays extortionate train fares. Those fares added to our council tax (which is higher than almost everywhere in London) means it is cheaper for us to have a £1200/m flat in London than to live in a £620/m one in Hertfordshire.

Also, you (the OP) mentions a daughter -- is she going to be going to school and have you given any thought to the plan in that regard?  Schools tend to be a big factor in the "where" part of decision making for parents. 

Totally agree! I think on findaproperty.com you can see the school performance ratings for any flats or areas you want to look at.

One thing to consider, it may be cheaper for you to live in London than in the burbs. We currently are living outside of London. My DH commutes 1.25hours each way (we have a direct train from Hitchin-Kings Cross) and pays extortionate train fares. Those fares added to our council tax (which is higher than almost everywhere in London) means it is cheaper for us to have a £1200/m flat in London than to live in a £620/m one in Hertfordshire.

Danielle - Your DH has my complete sympathies - I commute every day on the Thameslink line. And FCC is sh*t!!! Of course, it's not like the Tube has been doing well recently, either...

But this is a very good point these days. In some cases it is a lot cheaper to live outside and commute in, but with rail prices going up, you should definitely consider the cost of commuting alongside the cost of your housing.

Anyway, as everyone else has mentioned, there's a lot more you need to be considering when deciding on an area to live in. And when it comes to it, everyone is going to have a very different opinion about best places to live, so be mindful that our suggestions will be a bit biased. For instance: a lot of my friends love 'trendy' east London - I find it a bit dirty. I love south London, but a lot of people wouldn't even consider living south of the river.

Some people have mentioned getting a tube map, which is good to start with, but I'd recommend using the Oyster rail map, which will include overground and national rail services as well: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/oyster-rail-services-map.pdf (a bit complicated, but very worth considering as it can provide other routes for getting around).

 Many American ex-pats live in the west London areas of Notting Hill and Holland Park, while many wealthy second-home owners buy in Kensington and Chelsea.[/i][/size][/size]

All among the most expensive places to live in London no matter what your definition of expensive may be.

Hi Zarah,

As mentioned, you'll need to provide what you think isn't 'horrendously expensive' and what isn't a 'horrendous commute'  !!

Without involving anyone else, and just keeping personal between your family, you need to look at your realistic income levels each month, determine all your essential outgoings and evaluate just how much of your disposable income can go towards housing and it's associated costs. Once you know that, you can then look at property websites and filter the results for potential places within your range.

All areas of London and the suburbs as well as the home counties and the South East of England is very expensive, but the extent of the expense is something only you can evaluate for yourselves.

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!