Where to rent for City of London Boys School/Canary Wharf

[BetteDavisthighs]

Hello
I am moving from India to London in mid-July with DH and DS (16). Thanks to the help of kind Mumsnetters on this board, DS has very luckily got a place in CLS for his A levels. DH will work in Canary Wharf. I work from home, mostly.

I have a relocation consultant, but would also like to ask on here for suggestions on where to rent. We are very urban people, so looking for an easy to maintain, modern 3-bedroom apartment with at least two bathrooms. We do not want a house with a garden as neither of us are keen on keeping it tidy. I would like DS to have as short a commute as possible, and for DH to have a commute of less than 30 minutes. I myself would like to be near museums, galleries,libraries, and parks, but I can commute. Our budget is around 3.5 k pm.

Does this mythical place exist? Most of my friends in London recommend Golders Green/Hampstead/North London. Nice flats seem to be scarce in that area. I am thinking of Greenwich, which seems to have a lot of modern new developments, with the right number of bathrooms!

Congrats to your son! I remember your posts on the schools. Well, Greenwich and Blackheath both have easy access to City of London (15 mnt train ride) and Canary Wharf (20 mnts). West Hampstead is the jubilee line into Canary Wharf. I would try commuting in the rush hour before you pick a place. I find the trains from Greenwich packed till about 8 but better afterwards.

For modern apartments, somewhere near North Greenwich is ideal but makes the commute to City of London trickier.

Bermondsey What about close to your son’s school is he can walk? Lots of things going on and your husband will be able to catch the jubilee line through.

Tanners Yard, 239 Long Lane, London Bridge, SE1
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-87628568.html

I'd go for Bermondsey too. Easy jubilee line commute for your husband, stroll across the bridge for your son.

Very close to Tate Modern, Bermondsey food market, parks and river very close

Would you consider the Barbican? Your son could walk to school from there and your husband can get the DLR from Bank. Friends live there and it’s terrific - they have private gardens and are really central.

This one only has one bathroom.

Actually, I’ve just reread - it has two bathrooms.

@Clymene we both posted the same flat - great minds think alike .

Certain parts of Bermondsey are what we call 'dodgy' but it would be convenient. For family life I'd look at Greenwich or the Greenwich Peninsula which has tons of modern flats/houses springing up and is one stop to CW and a few stops to LB (Jubilee Line North Greenwich).

Ha @LizziesTwin
It looks nice doesn't it?

I work near the Barbican and go for a run around the flat complex there. It's gorgeous!! Ideal urban living right by City school

Waterloo, Blackfriars, even Kennington will work. Canada Water, Greenwich, Elephant and Castle. Lots of new flats are available in those areas and you can get to CLS and Canary Wharf easily

Barbican is City of London Girls School.

Barbican or Clerkenwell. Or somewhere near Angel (more likely to be a house).

Thanks everyone. This is v helpful. I had not considered Bermondsey because I thought it might be too expensive, but I see some new flats have come onto the market. Barbican seems v expensive! It would be lovely for DS to walk. Glad some people have suggested Greenwich, as it has so many new flats, similar to our current living arrangements. ( I realise it would be most people's idea of hell:)

@LizziesTwin and Clymene, that is a beautiful flat and exactly the kind of thing we are looking for.

@TypsTrycks I definitely won't be firming anything without doing the commute first. When we were in London we did use the Tube in rush hour before 8 am, and did ok, but I guess it is different on a daily basis.

I think you should focus on your son as he will have a lot of homework and if you are close to school it will be easy to reach his friends. Your husband won’t be making a completely new life for himself, he has his life partner & career.

Lizziestwin boys come from all over London to go to City though so living near to the school wouldn't really hold that many advantages?

There are lots of great new apartments in Canary Wharf itself or on the waterfront at Greenwich.

Both offer the advantage of having 2 separate routes into town (DLR/tube and train/DLR respectively) which is pretty important when commuting.

Shad Thames is lovely.

Lived in Bermondsey and Rotherhithe for years and loved it.

Rotherhithe is a very nice place to live and lots of river-front apartments. There are 3 tubes - Canada Water (one stop to Canary Wharf), Rotherhithe (overground) and Surrey Quays. There are very frequent buses in both directions round the pennisula, so you are never more than 5 minutes from a tube station from the most distant point - takes a bit longer if you want to walk.

There is also LOADS of parking there which is like hens teeth in London.

@DarlingOscar that’s exactly why living near the school is good! If you live in Highgate & your best friend lives equally far away in the other direction it’s a pain meeting up. If you are central you don’t have to travel as far.

City of London School for Girls is the school in the Barbican - City of London Boys is just down the road, opposite St Paul’s Cathedral.

Much easier if you live really near school. Plus you are popular with all your mates as they can nip round after school (may not be what the OP is hoping for though )

Much as I love Islington, the jubilee line is a hell of a lot more reliable than the northern line

@Clymene Which London day school boy has time to pop round to their mates after school, especially at 6th form?

@BetteDavisthighs there are lots of flats on Borough Road/Newington Causeway (towards London Bridge) that are worth looking at depending on your budget. That's central enough for you to use buses, tubes and trains to anywhere. There's Borough Market a few minutes walk away, a library, coffee shops, restaurants and so much more on your doorstep, enough for you to do so that you don't feel isolated when working from home. I can't say that for the flats in Greenwich, Canada Water and even some parts of Bermondsey.

They do! I know boys at Westminster who do & if he’s in orchestra or a play being close is really useful

What's your rental budget? That's likely to be the biggest factor in location.

OP says £3.5k in opening post.

I don't know any at CLB but the ones I know at USC certainly have time for a bit of social life!