Moving to London in the Spring - Any advice?

Hi all,

I'm new to the website and I'm really pleased to find what appears to be such a helpful community with terrific resources. I'm hoping you can help get me started planning our move to London in the spring--I've only just begun to research, so I'm starting at square 1 and would appreciate any advice.

My husband and I will be moving from central Europe with our 2 year-old daughter. I will most likely be working in Bloomsbury, and my husband's position will be near Brent Cross/Golders Green, though he will probably be working largely from home. Therefore, we will most likely try to move somewhere that will make the commute easiest for me - but it would be nice to be near both the piccadilly and northern lines somehow. We plan to budget up to 1600 pounds max per month for rent, and would like to rent a 2 bedroom flat in a safe neighborhood, not too far out (zones 2/3, if possible), with good access to Central London via public trans as we won't have a car. I know there is a "great divide" between preferences for North vs. South London, though because we are newbies we don't really know where we'd fall in this debate--in other words, we're pretty open to suggestions.

Any thoughts on where we should begin our search, favorite neighborhoods or up-and-coming places to look with reasonable rents for decent space (perhaps even a little garden)? i'm sure this is the type of question often asked on the boards, though certainly everyone's situation is different.

Thank you for your help!

NG.

£1600 a month for zone 2/3 is more or less the low end of the market, so you're going to need to be quite careful about neighbourhood lest you find yourself next to -- or in -- someplace unpleasant.

Zoopla property search is quite useful, and Rightmove gives you a better idea of the market since you can look at rentals.

Ah, thanks! I should have written zones 3/4. Is 1600 pcm still on the lower end for these zones for a 2 br? And thank you for those websites. I've been seeing them mentioned frequently on the boards so will start checking them out....

You can probably do quite well for £1600 in 3/4. Standing in Blackheath/Greenwich yesterday (which is very nice and in zone 3) we noted you can get a nice 2 bedroom or small-ish 3 bedroom in a decent enough area for £1600. You'd definitely be all right in zone 4; we're in 5 and there's not much difference in it, really -- £1600 for a 2 bedroom would get you something nice.

Where in Bloomsbury?

It makes no sense to live in South London if your husband is working in Golder's Green and you're working in Bloomsbury, unless you hate him & want to subject him to the Northern Line S/N commute hell.

Your choices are East London and North London. Which is good for you as East London is cheap.

Finchley? Finsbury park? Crouch end? Somewhere on the overground will be cheaper.

Leyton? 45 minute commute from Leyton to Golders Green and 20 minutes into central London.
Can get a 2 bed house for £1400 a month in Leyton - http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-39500582.html

Or live in the Leyton Orient football stadium!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-38887373.html

Thanks, Gwen666 and cheesebiscuit! Cheesebiscuit, this was my hunch, too, though not knowing much about London I wasn't sure which commuter lines were the worst and if south was feasible at all. Good to know about the Northern Line.

Someone else recommended Chiswick to us, and points West. How do you feel about that area? I'll be in Bloomsbury not far from Kings Cross. Another said Islington or Angel, which as I see is probably not within our budget.

All of these are great suggestions that we'll research. Clearly East London is cheaper than North London--are these areas generally considered safe? I assume (as anywhere) there are pockets of streets/areas to avoid. We won't take anything sight unseen and plan to come early next year to start looking in person. But I'd like to have a good idea of areas to start!

The house in Leyton is really lovely, though my husband the footy fan was really taken by the stadium one!

Thanks again for these suggestions! This is exactly what I was hoping to learn....

I love Chiswick but it isn't cheap, it is very safe, and you'll have to decide if you want to live on the slow ars* district line, especially if you're commuting to somewhere like Golder's Green and the bus links aren't great which you may prefer with a two year old if you use a pram (I have no idea how old kids are when they stop needing prams)

Safe is a relative term in London, one street is fine, two streets over; crack den *shrugs* You'll have to go out and see those places and get a feel for the area, there are no really safe areas in London except potentially very South West London. I live in Soho and the crime stats are through the roof yet I always feel really safe wandering about.

I don't really know East London at all I've only lives West and Central, aside from occasionally going to Dalston to listen to Dubstep against my wishes.

Somewhere like Crouch End/HAmpstead/Belsize Park are all very family orientated, when you're looking at places that's what you're looking for really, houses, families, cars but then you're going to price yourself out pretty quickly.

Thanks again, cheesebiscuit. All good points. Having lived most of our lives in big cities, we're okay with all that brings, both the good and the bad (namely, crime). But this is definitely good info to start with re: potential areas that might be suitable.

The Northern line isn't that bad! I'd suggest Tooting for overall awesomeness and super ease of travel. Lots of buses and of course the tube line right there with easy access to the Victoria line, etc. DH commutes to Kings Cross from the area. He used to live near the Tooting train station which was basically a direct ride to Kings Cross. An easy peasy commute and he always had a seat! Also, I would argue, you can get the best curries (among other yummy food) in Tooting.

Oh, and Tooting Common (park) nearby as well as the pool (lido). Lots of shops...

Thanks for this recommendation, too, Gotta! I will check it out!