Where to rent in London for a reasonable commute to London Bridge

[Notyetthere]

I am asking on behalf of a friend I work with. She is currently in a house share but is desperate to rent her own place. Even a tiny 1 bedroom flat will do. She earns about £25k and is currently paying £1k in rent at Finchley. She was recently interested in a place at Clapham but they only wanted people who earned over £30k.

I have advised her that for her budget, she really ought to lower her standards a little if she really wants her own place. I recommended she looks somewhere cheaper in East London or South London. She says she wants to 'feel safe' where she lives. I find this statement ridiculous as I believe she has written off whole areas of London because of her preconceptions.

Anyway, is there anywhere that could fit what she wants? I personally don't think this exists in her budget in London unless she pushes her search further out.

[llangennith]

If you live further out you have the exorbitant travel cost. But you're right, she's going to have to lower her expectations.

[Lemond1fficult]

She is BU. I live near Brixton which, along with Clapham is mega expensive for a house share, but certainly not as much as £1k per month. Basically anywhere on a tube line in SE or SW London will be more expensive than somewhere served by overground trains only. So if she looked in East Dulwich, Nunhead, Croxton Park, Brockley, they all have direct trains to London Bridge, and I reckon she'd get a room in a very nice shared house for £750, perhaps a room in a 2 bed.

[LillyLollyLandy]

Hither Green, Lee, Lewisham and parts of Greenwich are all on a direct line into London Bridge. Tell her to have a look on rightmove for flats to rent there.

[Notyetthere]

Further out will cost more money but the good thing is that our travel is heavily discounted(75% off up to £2500) by our company so she can definitely look further out if she wants somewhere decent.

I live in Kent now but I grew up in East Ham which I will confess isn't the nicest but with her salary, I would definitely not have written it off the cards.

I would have considered Dagenham, Stratford(probably overbudget), Canning town, Plaistow, Beckton and the surrounding areas. I'm sure there are other areas I missed off the list. Not the nicest areas but ok areas, I thrived and I never had any problems with not feeling safe till I left at age 27.

[Notyetthere]

She is trying not to have a house share if she can help it. She has had a terrible experience with the current house share.

[Spacecadet14]

Tell her to look at Crystal Palace/Sydenham/Gipsy Hill area too – 1-bed and studios renting for £1,000 per month. I used to rent a flat on my own in GH and loved it for the three years I stayed there - the Crystal Palace triangle is fantastic for restaurants and bars. Trains to London Bridge and Victoria.

[JoJoSM2]

I'm surprised she can afford 1k rent on 25k - assuming she doesn't pay into a pension that still leaves her only about £650 to live on...

I think she does have a chance of renting a flat for less than 1k (including bills) in suburban S or SE London. She would be on a direct train line into London Bridge so it'd be a very pleasant commute. She could find an area that would definitely feel safe but she might find it a bit suburban and family-orientated which might not be that appealing to a singleton.

An annual travel card for zones 1-5 is £2248 compare to £1320 for zones 1-2 so would need to be factored in too.

[Notyetthere]

I did think of her moving to surburban areas (safer-ish) but yes you are right, she is a singleton so this might not be appealing but I will put it to her and see what she thinks.

As for travel, her travel card would be subsidised by 75% off (taxable) so even at £2248 she would only need to pay circa £450 after tax. This is why I live further into Kent for a bigger house instead a tiny flat in London; our travel is largely covered by our company.

[JoJoSM2]

Actually, you could suggest Croydon. It's never had a reputation for being safe or upmarket but it seems to be changing quite quickly. They've opened a Boxpark and there is going to be a Westfield Shopping shopping centre in the next 2-3 years. Studios for rent start from about 725 per month.

[FriendofBill]

Caterham
Upper warlingham
Purley

[FriendofBill]

That's southern rail though ^

[Notyetthere]

I did recommend Croydon. I believe she has now looked at West Croydon, which I believe is the more affordable part of Croydon. I will get her to check out East and South Croydon too.

It was actually on my list of places to buy with DH but we moved to Kent instead to live closer to family. I think it has only one way to go and that is up. Great transport links to a London, Airports and the shopping isn't bad at the moment so with Westfield it can only get better. I think it is a no brainer.

[FriendofBill]

West Croydon not great IMO.
I don't like walking through late at night.
24 hour off licenses abound.
People selling other stuff.

[FriendofBill]

East and South are fine.

Croydon has marked inequalities, I think it's approx 10 years difference in life expectancy between east and west of the borough.

[Helspopje]

Jpin poroject awesome who do free exercose at the 'scoop' on the southbank at more London. They advertise houseshares within the group in hipstery but generally decent areas within budget. There was one to share in a 2bed in wapping last week that looked good.
Ace group of people too.

[ACatCalledFang]

Forest Hill? Easy commute to London Bridge, a safe area. Definitely worth looking at Crystal Palace, Gipsy Hill and Sydenham.

[twilightcafe]

I grew up in Forest Gate, and I would not feel safe walking on my own at night in most of Plaistow, East Ham or Beckton.

[irie]

Eltham is 25 min direct train to London Bridge and can rent a studio for £750, near to nightlife in Greenwich blackheath etc but might be a bit boring for her still

[PineapplePunch]

£900 for 1 bed flat in dagenham.

[Dailymaildailyfail]

I rent a lovely 1 bedroom flat in Anerley near Crystal Palace for £1150 PCM. 25 mins direct into London Bridge, and although that line is served by southern you still have London Overground into East London if Southern go to shit like they normally do. Issue for your friend is that on a £25k salary she won't check out as the affordability calculator for renting a flat of £1k or more even though she can/has afforded it. You need to earn 30 x rent with most estate agents to get a flat as the sole tenant

[ShoutOutToMyEx]

Forest Hill is a good shout. She also might be able get somewhere in Canada Water area.

[seekerseeker]

How about the outskirts of sw London which are on the northern line. Morden, South Wimbledon, Colliers Wood & Mitcham all have 1 bed flats between 800-1000 pm, good transport links to Wimbledon.

[Notyetthere]

Thank you all for your suggestions! At least now she has a few areas on her list that she can consider.

[Kiroro]

Yikes on 25k/year she really doesn't earn much for London, especially not much to be living on her own.

I would look at the quasi lodger.studio set ups... so where people have converted their attic into a studio but it isn't a separate dwelling so you are essentially lodging but have your own bathroom and kitchen. That is about the cheapest way to get your 'own' space.

[Cloudyapples]

1k a month rent in Finchley for a house share?! Either she is being ripped off or has far too high standards of living. I paid 650 all inclusive for a lovely houseshare in Finchley and then the same amount also all inclusive in highgate (although slightly less posh house) and that was only In the last 2 years so can't imagine prices have risen that much since then?!