Moving to London - where should we go?

[Sorryforthechange123]

Hi everyone,

I was hoping you would be able to help as I am about to go crazy.

My partner and I start new jobs in London in October. We will be moving from Scotland. We are now down here viewing flats (we've had 13 viewings just today!!!) and we narrowed our choices down to:

• Greenwich Penninsula/North Greenwich
• Royal Docks (Royal Victoria station/Emirates Airline)
• Limehouse (nice part next to the Narrow)

I will be working in Canary Wharf and my partner in London Bridge area. We are wondering if these areas are fairly safe and what would you say about each of them? We don't want to spend too much time commuting, we want to feel safe walking home at night as well as have some amenities/restaurants/pubs within a walking distance. We don't have kids at the moment.

Would you be able to give me some insights/advice?

Lived near both and both great in many ways.

North Greenwich you won't be hanging out in the neighbourhood- you'll always travel into Greenwich itself, Blackheath or CW/Central London for weekend brunch or whatever. But it is well connected transport-wise, and has good amenities as you say for everyday life. Realistically you'll spend most time away from the flat between work/commute/social life if you don't have kids, so it's a good choice. It's clean & green compared to the East End. The Blackwall Tunnel can be an arse, but otherwise a car is useful for escapes to Kent and the coast.

Limehouse is historic and quirky- but again, not necessarily full of weekend brunch options & coffee shops. It's certainly more of a community, though. It's more convenient for taxis back from central London than NG, but also slightly less convenient on public transport generally as you don't have the Jubilee line. Driving is a bit of a nightmare, and harder to get out of town.

Both areas are genuinely great in their own ways, though, and you'll love living in London and exploring, and both are ideal for your commutes. We moved out because of rental/property costs (£2,000 pcm is no surprise to me, but still eye watering!). I have a big soft spot for both areas, so I think you're really lucky to have this choice - embrace it!

NikiBabe, I can't really profoundly comment on that but I get an impression that it depends on which side of the dlr tracks you're on?... not sure tho, maybe someone else can comment.

With regards to your earlier post about safety - I'm sure London is a safe city, but what I was trying to say is that everyone town has more and less rough parts. I.e. We live in Aberdeen ATM which is very safe, but there are some parts I wouldn't particularly want to live in...

NoSquirrels - thanks a lot! Is there anything to do around NG? Or would we always have to travel to Greenwich/CW/Central London? I presume it's a pretty green area? (Sadly didn't have much time to explore during the day). It seemed a bit like a big building site at night but then maybe we didn't go to the right places? It's hard to know where to go if you have only been there for a couple of hours.

NG - location is pretty sh*t and there's nothing around apart from the Pilot and O2.

Not within staggering distance, perhaps, but within a reasonable walk you have all of Greenwich and its riverside pubs (East Greenwich, very close to NG/Milennium Village has awesome pubs) - you don't need to be right into the Village and this mostly avoids the tourists) and Blackheath Standard and Blackheath Village (both a short bus hop up the hill) is positively awash with brunch/coffee/wine/restaurant opportunities. Plus lots going on at weekends around the Museums & parks e.g. music/arts/book festivals, theatre etc

I've name changed specially so I can advise you without outing myself!

I've lived in Tower Hamlets for many years. Definitely Limehouse over North Greenwich. Loads of history, character. Nice pubs and cafes. Just a bus ride away from Spitalfields market and Brick Lane. Very, very central. You can get the DLR to Canary Wharf in minutes, or walk in 20. Your partner can go 2 stops to Bank on the DLR and then one stop on Northern. The DLR is a very reliable line. I travel on it every working day. The only downside is getting on at Limehouse is busy going to Canary Wharf, as there is another line that people interchange from.

You can still get to Greenwich Park really easily from Limehouse, going to Cutty Sark on the DLR. You can also get the bus to the beautiful Victoria Park.

jetty.greenwichpeninsula.co.uk/

www.cuttysarkse10.co.uk/

craft-london.co.uk/restaurant/

Lots more here - you've probably explored it already.
greenwichpeninsula.co.uk

But for instance there are always art installations going on, this summer they had a traditional "village fete"!, there's the ecology centre which is nice for a wander once in a while, there's pop-up festivals etc. Essentially as it's a large open space well served by public transport, but slightly out of the way, it's good for things that are a bit off the wall.

NoSquirrels, if you were to move to London again, living in both areas before, which one would you pick and why?

I'm from Aberdeen
Either place is a big change and you'll be used to driving everywhere so just go with one and forget about the other. Have you a 6 month break clause?
You might end up staying for a year or so and in that time find somewhere else completely that you want to settle cos London is so big.

Hi sorry - if it was pre-kids me, in your specific set of circumstances, I think I'd pick Limehouse. On the basis of late night taxi costs and coffee options! All of the excellent bits of Greenwich etc will be open to you easily on weekends via DLR, foot tunnel etc so best of both.

We don't want to spend too much time commuting, we want to feel safe walking home at night as well as have some amenities/restaurants/pubs within a walking distance. We don't have kids at the moment.

Your first post about Limehouse said the flat was lovely & spacious, and it overlooks the basin with a stunning view.

Unless the interior of your home will make you miserable - it wouldn't me, I would adapt - then I'd go with that. I suspect as you're moving from your own home you're just panicking a bit about somewhere not feeling like "yours", but that will come. Unless the furniture is really OTT, or something. We always rented unfurnished so it wasn't an issue. I look more at natural light and position (e.g. top floor, balcony etc) for happiness. Something to remember is that you can ask the LL to remove & store any furniture you definitely DON'T want (after credit checks/paying deposit etc).

Check the letting agents are good - no restrictive clauses about inspections etc- and the LL's circumstances- its obviously been a home, not a BTL investment, so how long has LL rented it out, are they abroad & likely to move back next year & chuck you out/had a family but kept it to let (we did this!), had tenants before etc.

I think you'd be happy in both, but if decor and furniture and homemaking (inside the flat) are more important personally than general social life outside the flat, then NG. It's getting better all the time for things to do etc, but it isn't ever going to the East End for buzz.

No idea if this will help at all but before I moved into London I had a 4 bed with shed/garage/office/parking and I worried constantly about finding the right place.

Once I got here my entire focus changed - it was like a bracing wind went right through my life. I just didn't give a toss anymore as I went out all the time and felt like I was really living, really enjoying myself. In my last place I was so much more obsessed with my house and making it nice and really enjoyed being a home buddy - but that's because there really wasn't much to do and everyone drove everywhere.

My life has totally changed since moving here. We got rid of one of the cars, really happy to hop on and off the buses and the trains. The clipper service at the bottom of Greenwich park is something we get all the time - still feel like a tourist on it even though I often use it for commuting as the views and the changeable river is so great.

I didn't expect my focus to change so much at my age (late 40's) but even though we only rented for 6 months and then bought somewhere I still care less than I used to about the 'house'. I really can't stress enough how much I cared before.

I used to live on that development in Greenwich. We had a fab flat with wonderful views. Holly Court was the name of the block.
I found at night it was quite loud with people and buses. But we got used to it.
Look at Rotherhithe/Canada Water. It's lovely and there is more to do and it's a bit more peaceful. It's just across the river from the wharf and the ferry is a great service. Plus they are building a foot bridge soon hopefully.
I own a flat there and rent it out for 1200 a month so not too bad.

You are all right. I am totally used to driving everywhere but also, the place we live in Aberdeen, has a real community feel (Rosemount) and there's a lot of amenities/cafes around (and I do like my lazy Sunday morning with a long breakfast that turns into brunch). We also have a beautiful modern flat that is very "ours" and it will be difficult to part with that. But hey, on we go to the new adventures! Sometimes you need to get out of the comfort zone :)

We are about to make an offer for the Limehouse flat and ask for some furniture to be removed. I'll keep you posted how it goes!

Good decision, sorry - bet you'll love it there. I am a lifelong London fan - it's great, you absolutely won't regret the move, I feel sure of it. And even if you do, you can go back to your lovely flat and say you've been there, done that. Do keep us posted!

Well done! Good luck.

I hope things go well with the Limehouse offer. If you do end up looking any further, definitely look at the Westcombe Park and Blackheath standard area. I think it will fit more of your criteria than North Greenwich and you can get a decent flat for your budget.

Or possibly Canada Water/Surrey Quays, good commute for you both and lots of new flats.

Good luck!

I thought it wouldn't be fair if after all this help and advice I wouldn't update you where we are.

We made an offer for the flat in Limehouse, but we haven't heard from the agent or the landlord since Saturday. Initially, they didn't like our move in date but we can't amend that as that's the earliest we can do (have a notice period at work in Aberdeen...). So I thought, making us wait probably until they get a better offer is not really fair...

Then we decided to make an offer for the NG flat. It was all going well until someone made a counteroffer and put 9 months rent in advance! I don't even know how you can compete with that... so we lost with that.

Looks like we're back to square one, looking for flats again... This means, another trip to London probably at some point next week. I'll take a note of all the areas you recommend to look at, but I must admit - it's such a disheartening thing to do to be looking again :( ...

Oof - annoying! Do chase the Limehouse agents though if you haven't heard - London letting agents can be spectacularly crap sometimes.

Apologies for sounding like a broken record (and sorry it fell through in Limehouse - which is nice and would be a good area for both of you!) - but have a look around Borough (close to either LB or Southwark for Jubilee line if you get a chance)

Oh dear, I am sorry. I know how difficult it is flat hunting from a distance. Maybe you will find somewhere you like even more now though.

As someone who's lived in East London for many years, for the right job I'd gladly move to Scotland.

Have a look at Wapping on Rightmove there's lots of 2 bed flats within your budget there

This development is new and really nice, the flats that come up are often furnished though. Ask about parking spaces in blocks like this if you need one, sometimes they are extra.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-61930918.html?onetime_savedPropertyId=61930918#summary61930918

Hello again everyone,

We're back in London for our flat hunt and we're back to the drawing board.

We took all comments into account and widened our search to include areas like Wapping, Southwark, Isle of Dogs etc.

We had a few viewings yesterday, one today and a full on day tomorrow, with the view that tomorrow night we will be in a position to make the ultimate final decision (high time as we have to move in 2 weeks time!).

From what we've seen so far, we've narrowed our choices to 2 flats.

1. Crossharbour

A really nice, modern flat in a new development. Around 75 sqm. 30 min commute to work for both of us, I could possibly even walk. Close to all amenities around crossharbour and CW.

Comes with a gym and a swimming pool, but we would need to factor in additional £130 pm for parking... and a flat itself is at the very top of our budget.

1. Blackheath

A lot of you said a lot of positive things about the area so we went for a wonder and really liked it. Very residential, green, village-like feel. Greenwich park 5 min walk, a really nice pub 10 min walk, 40 min to walk each. Here's the perk: it's almost a house (just over 100 sqm), comes with parking, and a huge garden. It's below our budget as well so if we want to we can easily fit 2 gym memberships.

Question is - how well is blackheath communicated with the rest of London? Will it not be a hassle to go out and about?

Any other opinions and advice very welcomed! :)

Blackheath is my local station. It’s VERY well connected. You can go to Victoria or Waterloo or Cannon Street.

Which pub did you like? Sunday lunch in the princess of Wales or Hare and Billet?

I did more digging and it's actually more of a Westcombe/Maze Hill area (5 min to each station) but I think it falls into SE3 postcode.

I believe the pub was called The Vanbrugh?