I'm in the market for a 3 bdrm house/flat in London

[beenee]

Can anyone suggest a good independent source for reviews and comparisons of the different London boroughs and neighbourhoods?

Also, could someone here suggest nice areas - these are my specifications:

-- a decent neighbourhood (ok ok verging on posh but not as expensive as chelsea etc) -- residential with pleasant surroundings -- a good high street with nice bars and restaurants / up and coming -- up to zone 4 on the underground --

I know of the obvious locations like Kensington, so am hoping for lesser known nice areas please. (By the way I'm sure everyone answering means well but I'd appreciate replies only from people who actually know london and its boroughs.) Thank you in advance

[incitatus]

turnham green has some very nice bits. if you are willing to venture past z4 a little there is twickenham, which is nice and very low crime.

[Dave Potts]

WEST IS BEST! As Incitatus said CHISWICK could be well worth a look, more specifically Turnham Green or Bedford Park. www.upmystreet.com is a good source of independent info on any London borough and www.myvillage.co.uk is a excellent site for reviews of London (and other) neighbourhoods and what they have to offer. Chiswick offers quiet, tree-lined residential streets, excellent shopping on Turnham Green Terrace and Chiswick High Road and overall it is a generally affluent area (but not overly posh, and certainly not as expensive as Chelsea, Kensington or Notting Hill). Well served by public transport (3 tube stations ' zone 3), good transport links for the M3 and M4 by car and parks and the river all close at hand (including the gorgeous Kew gardens). Very much on the up and up', Chiswick is slowly catching up with Clapham's reputation as 'nappy valley', and there are lots of families and young couples living in or looking to move to the area, which means house prices can be quite high - I don't know your budget but 3 bed flats and houses are generally available from upwards of �400K, and the sky's the limit. The usual mix of really good gastro pubs, wine bars, excellent restaurants and coffee shops, and (most recently) a 'Gourmet Burger Kitchen'! All the usual bars and mainstream shops along with a wide variety of privately-owned outlets, but no major department stores to drag in people from other areas, so most of the shoppers are locals and traffic and parking during the day is generally pretty easy. Plenty of really nice gyms, if that's your bag. Close to the Thames, plenty of nice parks, and handy for the gorgeous Kew Gardens, if you like Orchids :o)

[Dave Potts]

WEST IS BEST! (continued...) If you prefer it quieter and more secluded, Grove Park or Chiswick proper gets you closer to the river but is not as handy for the shops ' might be a bit pricier though. More specific info on Chiswick can be found at www.mychiswick.com and www.chiswickw4.com (community website). Incidentally, I'm not an estate agent, I don't live in Chiswick (I'm next door), and no, I don't have a house to sell you (wish I did!) - I was, however, born here, have lived all over London during my adult life and am also a taxi controller, so like to think I know London pretty well. After 18 years Chiswick is still one of my favourite spots. Good luck in your search! Barnes (SW13) is rather nice too! And Kew. And Richmond. :o)

[BadBob]

I know its personal but you really need to quantify not as expensive as Chelsea. Living in London is hugely expensive and people have been looking for value for years, this has inflated the prices in all area's but mostly in nicer area's. Its a bit simplistic but my general rule of thumb would be if its expesive its nice if its cheap (in London terms) it most likely a dump. I have lived in South East London all my life some of it is great Blackheath, Greenwhich for example and a lot of it is a dump, Lewisham, New Cross etc. Here's a good link however its by Borough rather than town so the figures for Geenwhich for example are a bit off as it contains some really bad areas also. http://www.imakenews.com/hometrack/e_article000058
865.cfm

[mikewith]

Nothing to add to the recommended websites, but can I point you towards Notting Hill/ Ladbroke Grove. expensive, but not necessarily as expensive as Chelsea. Decent? Certainly - and with a mix of people taht sums up all that's best in London. A real sense of community, which can be hard to find in London. Great -- I mean *great* -- food to be had, in restaurants and bars but also on the market. Oh, and I have a three bedroom flat on the market... ;-)

[beenee]

Wow! What excellent answers. Will be spending a lot of tonight browsing the sites and researching the areas suggested. Thank you! :o)

[beenee]

By the by: thanks expecially to Mr.Potts - you've convinced me to put Chiswick right up there on my list with South Ken, Hampstead and Notting Hill!

Mikewith: do please tell me more about your flat!

[incitatus]

beenee dont mov eto south ken- i work there and thats enough to put anyone off

[Dave Potts]

You're welcome beenee - its just plain old Dave btw :o) Hope you find what you're looking for...there's a GBK in West Hampstead too, not that I have a burger obsession or anything....

[mikewith]

beenee - you'll have to find the flat via the estate agents because there's no way we'll be allowed to swap contact details here. Still, I reckon it's the nicest, and best value, place on the market ;-) so you may track it down anyway!

[Dave Potts]

Nice roof terrace :o)

[froggequene]

What about North London? Islington has some lovely houses & flats, expensive though, look at N1 & N4, possibly N7. Tufnell Park & Barnet are supposed to nice as well, haven't been to Barnet in years though, so I couldn't really tell you for sure.

[froggequene]

...and Highgate, especially around the Village has some fabulous houses...

[rinkytink]

Check out

http://www.upmystreet.com/

You can just enter any UK post code and it gives you information about the place.