New Job In Central London But Where To Live?

[sam100]

I've just been offered a job in central London and I will be relocating from Bristol. I realise that living in the city can be costly and that many people choose to live in the home counties and commute in.

Not knowing the area well I wanted to ask your opinion on where would be a suitable area to start my search.

I'm a 30 year old lady looking to live somewhere with a train station that serves the London area, has lots of nice trendy, bars and restaurants for those evenings when I don't want to spend it in the capital. Ideally no more than an 45 minute train ride from London.

Any advice gratefully received.

[Maydup]

Congratulations on your new job. Can you give us any idea of your budget for rent? It really does influence your choices, but off the top of my head at an average type price, i'd suggest something like this in the beautiful area of Kingston upon thames. Just my type of place, what's yours?

[Maydup]

Ooops forgot the link!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-29807703.html

[237SJ]

Richmond upon Thames (fast train from Waterloo and on the District line)

[ladybirder]

Yes K on T is great I used to live there. Richmond, Putney, Barnes, Surbiton all lovely but still expensive. And Wimbledon.

[Maydup]

Alternatively there are loads of new apartments in the Docklands area. They are safe being up high and have good gyms and shared facilities plus easy commute on the DLR. A little less rent than the west and more modern/urban. Eg

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-43726606.html

[boxtops]

Brighton's not far from London for a daily commute, and it has absolutely everything you could want for the evenings.

[ladybirder]

But it's jolly expensive Boxy plus you have the train fare which is scandalous.

[decmangan]

Are you sure that you want to go there? My 31 yr old daughter recently took a drop of 10k to get away from the big smoke. It is not all it is cracked up to be.

[black_cat51]

that docklands one is nice but it's a 1 bedroomed flat share??? do they take it in turns for the bedroom or something?

[Maydup]

Just what i was wondering black_cat. Top n tail maybe!

[snags]

''I'm a 30 year old lady looking to live somewhere with a train station that serves the London area, has lots of nice trendy, bars and restaurants for those evenings when I don't want to spend it in the capital. Ideally no more than an 45 minute train ride from London.''

East Dulwich. Greenwich. Both can be expensive.

[jno]

the places with good transport connections, especially tubes, are the expensive ones.

[sam100]

Thanks for all the advice so far - i'm looking at spending 1K max a month for a 1-bed? is that about right?

[Buenchico]

Beaconsfield is very pleasant, with some good bars and restaurants. (It's the sort of place where even the chippy has a decent wine list!). However it's not cheap. [Around half an hour from Marylebone].

Barnet is likely to be (a little) cheaper but it's still got good bars and restaurants. It takes 32 minutes on the Tube to get to Kings Cross from High Barnet, or 22 minutes by First Capital Connect from New Barnet.

Islington (from where you could walk to Kings Cross without much difficulty, or take a short journey by bus, Tube or National Rail) is full of arts & music venues, accompanied by the types of bars and restaurants that you'd expect to see alongside them but it's very pricey!

[snags]

''1K max a month''

Forget my earlier suggestions then and anywhere half decent near a tube. Flatshare?

[Buenchico]

>>>Thanks for all the advice so far - i'm looking at spending 1K max a month for a 1-bed? is that about right?

Regrettably not. Foxtons estate agent cite the average price of 1-bedroom accommodation in London as £401 per week, which (according to my calculator) equates to £1738 per month:
http://www.foxtons.co.uk/living-in/london/rentals/
Remember that's an average. For 'better' areas it's often necessary to pay well over £2000 per month. See here for some current average rental prices by area:
http://www.londonpropertywatch.co.uk/average_rental_prices.html

[Buenchico]

This link, from the Greater London Authority (based on data from the Valuation Office Agency, so it should be authoritative) will help you see the level of rents in different areas:
http://www.london.gov.uk/rents/

Remember that living just outside London often isn't much cheaper than living within the city itself (because so many people commute in daily). Indeed, living in some areas just outside of London (such as the fashionable towns to the south-west of the city) can cost substantially more than living in the city. Things only start getting (a bit) cheaper when you live over an hour from central London (with the obvious downside of much higher rail fares) unless you're prepared to live in a grotty area, such as Grays (which is convenient for London, with surprisingly cheap accommodation but is a total dump).

[Buenchico]

Just a thought:
Chelmsford is definitely 'on the up' as a place to live but not yet wildly expensive. It's 40 minutes from Liverpool Street.
http://www.visitessex.com/chelmsford/
Possibly worth considering?

[ladybirder]

You'll get a nice one bedroomed flat in Surbition for £1k/month. Surbiton is on the Thames and it's a lovely walk along the river into Kingston, it's not far into beautiful Richmond Park, Hampton Court is just down the road, what's not to like. Fast trains are 16 mins to Waterloo. Have a look on Right Move.

[boxtops]

Yes, you have to factor in the train fare from Brighton or anywhere up that line, but it might be factored out by somewhat reduced rental prices. I have relatives in Dalston and Stoke Newington - very easy to get into the city, you could consider there too. Your £1K a month is quite understated though, as others have said.

Good luck in the new job - I've worked in the city and the buzz is exciting, but I'd never want to commute again!