To ask your advice about buying in London?

[SyrizaSalou]

...With a 420k budget, 2 bedrooms needed. Both commuting into Holborn/Euston daily. No kids so schools etc not a problem! Main factors are proximity to work, decent bars/pubs and restaurants nearby, good transport links. Oh and green space is always a bonus!

All and any advice hugely appreciated

Add 500k you might get a studio flat

I know Lily it's crazy

I would genuinely appreciate suggestions though!

Have a look at Ruislip and maybe Hanwell

South London might get you more, Sutton or Croydon? Good train links?

Hanwell is great esp as Crossrail is coming so an excellent investment. Also yes to looking south of the river. Don't know what prices in Earlsfield/Tooting are like, but worth taking a look. If you are willing to commute into Waterloo and switch to the Tube look on the South West train up to Twickenham.

try Crystal palace (se19), trains to Victoria and london bridge. or Bromley way, with trains direct to city thameslink and st Pancras.

Go south! Crystal Palace has great transport links, lots of bars and restaurants, and you might just find somewhere in that budget

Don't rule out ex-council. I live in a two bed maisonette with its own garden on edge of zone 1 (Hoxton) which was 330k two years One on for 400k recently. Nice neighbours, great location, can walk to work in the city.

Sorry crossed posts! As well as Crystal Palace try Sydenham, Penge ( not so great bars etc but near enough to some good places), Forest Hill ( pricier) Peckham, Brockley.

Not necessarily a first resort, but if you really struggle finding something within budget, look into the housing associations' shared ownership schemes- some really nice new build properties, central locations etc.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-42736201.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54533083.html

Main transport link is Walthamstow Central which is on the Victoria line. There are parks, you can get to Epping forest, there are also the marshes and a new wetlands centre coming soon. A fair few restaurants and bars, but it's easy enough to get back from town on the tube which will become 24 hours in August.

The end of the Nortnern Line - Morden. As close to the train station as possible - plenty of green space, travel to Wimbledon for more fun nights out

Houses for £350

My friend just sold a two bed apartment in Clapham South for £420.

East Acton. There's nothing on the doorstep but it's a short walk into Shepherd's Bush and on the tube (zone 2!) plus loads of busses going into central and west London. Undiscovered gem.

South East London. You can easily buy a nice property in Peckham, Camberwell, New Cross, Brixton etc for that (ex council but spacious, with garden). Brixton has excellent transport links. Peckham and New Cross are on the overground and have good train links to London Bridge and kings cross. Lots of buses too. Vibrant local areas. Zone 2. You don't need to go out as far as Croydon!

Peckham is a good suggestion:

Direct train (Thameslink) Peckham Rye > Farringdon. Walking distance to Holborn

Huge green space = the Rye itself/Peckam Rye Park

Lots of (increasingly trendy) eating & drinking opportunities.

£420k will still get you 2 beds.

S London good locations also include Streatham Hill, West Norwood (has an excellent Xpress bus service to central London as well as v good overground links), and Tulse Hill.

Another vote for se London and our excellent parks, bars, shops etc, but try not to end up with Thameslink as your only means into the city - it is unreliable/crowded even by London standards.

Otherwise, the far reaches of the northern line should work to make for an easy commute.

Crystal palace, East Dulwich, Peckham Rye, Forest Hill, Sydenham Hill, Tulse Hill. Basically, you will definitely get somewhere quite decent for that amount of money in SE London and for example the Thameslink trains will get you to City Thameslink (walking distance to Holborn) and Kings Cross (walking distance to Euston) in about 20 minutes.

Try South Woodford or Wanstead, central line to Holborn in less than 25 mins, lots of shops, pubs and restaurants in the area.

Hither Green. You'd get a lovely Victorian conversion flat for that money. Ours cost 340 a couple of months ago (no garden) so for 420 you'd get a nice big flat with garden I reckon.

HG itself doesn't have loads in the way of pubs etc but you are near Blackheath, Crystal Palace, Bromley etc which do.

Harrow. OK value and fast train into Euston from Harrow and Wealdstone.

Zone 3 east on the central line, or zone 3 east near any of the soon to be cross rail stations.

I think you'll struggle to get a nice ex-LA anywhere like Hoxton for £400, maybe a bit further out to Limehouse/Shadwell/Mile End.

Try South Woodford or Wanstead

Wanstead is lush! So green and the high street is great.

How long are you willing to commute? Some people are fine with up to an hour; DH and I drew the line at 30 minutes on the train and 45 mins door to door. We also limited ourselves to commutes with no changes of train. That helped narrow things down. We then went and tried out the commutes, at evening rush hour, and wandered round the streets looking at house styles and sampled local bars/restaurants in the areas when we got there- it was really good fun.

Take a look on the Channel 4 catchup for old episodes of Kirstie and Phil Location Location Location, which feature lots of couples like you. Prices will be out of date but you will get a good sense of the areas.

Good luck!