North or South London for a 25 year old?

[tramtracks]

We are helping our dd buy a 1 bed flat and she is fixed on North London. Our ds (older) says she should definitely live in Fulham/Wandsworth/Clapham etc but she is concerned that its miles from her friends and the lack of tube stop bothers her.

I've never lived in London and so I'm not sure. I am hoping that this flat could accommodate me too from time to time. Any advice on what areas of north London you could buy a nice 1 bed with a budget of around £550k.

Walthamstow. Great for young folk. Very well connected transport wise. She could get a really nice 2 bed for that. Something like this www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/160391378

DD is a bit younger and we bought her a 2 bed/2 bath in a gated development near Mile End. There’s a community round there and it works well for central and Canary Wharf. Obviously not as fashionable/aesthetic but works really well for her and her boyfriend. Great transport, parks, restaurants and pubs.

She has friends in Fulham/clapham but commute would be grim for them and bang for buck was much lower. When she goes over there she says she doesn’t really feel any safer despite some people getting a bit nervous about “east” where she is.

I'm bias, because I lived between zone 1-2, north of the river for 18yrs. Yes, there are many more tubes north of the river which is much quicker than buses.
Which part of the city does she work in? Where are her friends? How far would she want to commute?

Rightmove have over 5000, 1 bed properties within the budget if looking at North/East london.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?searchLocation=Stratford%2C+East+London&useLocationIdentifier=true&locationIdentifier=REGION%5E85312&buy=For+sale&radius=3.0&minBedrooms=1&propertyTypes=flat&_includeSSTC=on&maxPrice=550000&index=0&sortType=2&channel=BUY&transactionType=BUY&displayLocationIdentifier=Stratford

Our ds (older) says she should definitely live in Fulham/Wandsworth/Clapham etc but she is concerned that its miles from her friends and the lack of tube stop bothers her.

these areas haven't been cool for a long time tbf

Walthamstow is a good shout

North or east at that age. Clapham is a dump and full of stag dos. Fulham is dull, and Wandsworth is a bit dodgy.

She’s young, if I were that age I’d prefer somewhere fun with a bit of life.

What kind of person is she and what kind of vibe does she want? Fulham, Clapham and Wandsworth are very yummy mummy/rugby/finance bro. Is that her scene? Whereabouts in North London does she like?

I find Walthamstow ok, but it’s very 30-40yr old young parents. The pubs are packed with children at the weekend. It’s not a particularly ‘young’ area, the breweries are fun but it’s certainly an older demographic (Lycra dads with beards!).

North - Cockfosters/ Barnet that area is better full of young people.

anywhere else in north London is also a dump

south London is a dump

@Atarin families have defo moved into the area but I know loads of late 20s who live there.

There is that side, but also a lot of younger people as well. I know lots of 20 somethings living there and having a whale of a time. Plus having 30/40 something families isn't a bad thing as they are often the ones with the disposable incomes to keep the nice independent coffee shops going etc, and it makes the place feel safer.

Where do her friends live?

I lived N when all my friends lived S. It was practical for work and a nice areas but in hindsight I missed out on a fair few impromptu drinks in the local pub etc.

It’s not a particularly ‘young’ area

You won't find this much in inner or central London tbh!

"Ageing in the fast and slow lane reveals that while the average age in the UK has been increasing slowly but surely, as it is across all developed countries, this is not true throughout the country, with some places ageing rapidly, while others get younger."

"most of our large cities (including Bristol, Newcastle, Cardiff and Nottingham) have actually been getting younger. In Salford, the median age has fallen by three years since 2001. Both Newcastle and Nottingham have seen a drop of two years."

"However, London is the one major city which bucks this trend, with the median age in the capital increasing from 33.8 to 35.8 between 2011 and 2023."

I lived North of the river for about a year till I saw sense! Moved increasingly further South from Kennington to Streatham and Crystal Palace. If I was looking now in my early 20s I'd be trying to get back into Kennington or Brixton

south London is a dump

does this mean you are not a fan?!

So everywhere in London is an entire dump apart from Cockfosters or Barnet 🤔

OP; Brockley, Nunhead and Peckham

go where her friends are.

my lot were around Fulham/ Clapham but that was 10 years ago. My siblings lot were all around east London Shoreditch. Trends change, I don’t think Clapham is as cool as it was a while back

North.

I was raised in the Willesden area before moving slightly Eastward eventually settling in Ally Pally where I lived for 30 years (God I’m so old!)

I moved out of London 6 months ago though, and now live in Frome, but if I had my time in London again I’d choose the same area or thereabouts.

She should ignore her brother and live near her friends. There are young people in north and south….

The young people in my office either live north west (Kilburn Park, West Hampstead) or south east (Brockley, Dulwich, Forest Hill).

Where do her friends live? Where does she need to get to for work? Both of these may change over time I imagine. Fulham has not been cool since forever and Clapham hit it's peak for 20somethings back in early 2000's surely.
If her friends are clustered in a particular area, I would go for that if you can find something within budget and half decent area with half decent transport links.

This is fantastic advice / thanks !
She says she really isn’t a Fulham ‘type’. She’s v happy reading a book in Regent’s Park or Primrose hill. Chalk Farm would be ok- she’s ex UCL so has rented around there for 5 years or so now - but what do you think of Islington? Are there any nice roads close to a tube stop?

I love Islington, such a great area.

To echo what others have said, Clapham and Fulham are not really the cool areas that fresh graduates are flocking to, as they were 10-15 years ago. I moved to London in the early 2010s and lived in Fulham and then in Balham. If I was moving to London now I would definitely look north or east. I would probably live in Hackney or Islington.

My favourite place that I lived in London was West Hampstead but I was in my 30s by then, wouldn’t live there in my early 20s.

They’re both boring and 45 mins on the tube from anywhere.

I live near Mile End on the way to Victoria park and it’s actually really nice, much prefer it to Muswell Hill where I was before!