Where can I afford to live in London?

[SweetCicely]

Where could I afford to live in, or in easy commuting distance to, London on c. £50k per year? Working near Farringdon and would just need a one bedroom flat - ideally within a 40 minute commute but happy to travel longer if it's simple (one train or tube). Don't know London at all but just been offered a job there -- not sure if I'll take it yet as I have a good job outside London and DH's career is also away from London. It is a really good opportunity but just not sure I can afford to take it and run the family home too (£850 mortgage plus bills and council tax - shared with DH) until DH can relocate. Would I be able to rent somewhere (modern 1 bed) on this income? Trying to work out if new job is financially viable based on our circumstances!

Further down the line -assuming DH could get a job earning a similar amount, where would we be able to afford a 2 or 3 bed place in a family area suitable for letting our cats outside to explore?!

Thank you for your help. Sorry I'm a totally clueless wannabe Londoner!!

[BananaPie]

South East London is the cheapest area. Have a look on rightmove and see what you'd get for your money (factoring in the cost of your commute). Both earning 50k should leave you fairly comfortable!

[grumbleina]

My husband and my combined income is just under £50k and we could comfortably spend £1300 a month on rent when we were renting. For that you'd have quite a few options and you don't need to look too far out. Would you do a studio? You can get decent ones and that would mean you could be more central, but you could also get a 1 bed.

However - are you saying you'll need to pay half the mortgage also? That changes things, doing that plus renting a flat might make things a bit tight.

Another thing to consider is where you want to live. Different parts of London have very different vibes. Are you sporty? Arty? Do you worry about safety more than the average person? What do you like to do with your spare time?

If you've never lived in London before I always think Islington, Camden and Kentish Town are good starter places as they're great for transport and not too much one thing or another.

With a combined income of £100k you can definitely afford the type of thing you'd be after.

[GiantGaspingSatanicCyst]

We moved to Sutton from the Midlands when DH got a job in Farringdon - you can get the train direct. Nice family area with good transport links. Not sure what rents are like now as the affordability wave seems to be reaching us and pushing everything up.

[cunningplan101]

You could take a look at Herne Hill. It's got a lovely park, nice roads of period houses, near Brixton for the tube and cinema, near East Dulwich for posh delis and shops and near Dulwich for the Dulwich Picture Gallery. The bit around Herne Hill train station feels villagey with a butchers, grocers, restaurants etc.

Direct Thameslink trains to Farringdon in 25 mins.

You could look on the streets called 'poet's corner' - all the roads named after poets (Chaucer Rd, Spenser Rd, Milton Rd, Shakespeare Rd, etc).

Link to nice one bedroom flat for £1450 per month

Link to smaller one for £1000

[cunningplan101]

But I also agree with grumbleina that for your first time in London, Islington would be a great place to live. It depends really on what proportion of your income you'd be happy spending on rent.

[Amethyst24]

If you were willing to compromise on space you could get a studio apartment within walking distance of work and save masses on transport - this for example www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-49349800.html Then once DH was in a position to move you could look for somewhere more suitable for you both and cats.

Bear in mind that a zone 1-3 travelcard would set you back about £150 a month.

[Hobbes8]

Farringdon is on the metropolitan line, which can take you as far out as Watford or Uxbridge on one train. It's also on Thameslink, which has loads of stops both north and South of London.

Depending on how far you want to walk and whereabouts your job is, you might be within walking distance on angel (Northern line), chancery lane (central line) or kings cross (several tube lines and overground to much of Hertfordshire and beyond). I think there's overground trains to moorgate as well.

In short a 40 minute commute could cover most of London and some of the south east! Do you have an idea of how much you want to spend on rent + travel combined? You could potentially live somewhere tiny and central, or if you want more green space go out on one of the commuter lines.

It's a fabulous part of London to work in - lots going on and lots of nice pubs and clubs and easy to get to shore ditch or the west end. I used to live near there and I loved it.

[PrimalLass]

We lived in Mill Hill years ago and OH got the Thameslink into Farringdon.