In which bit of London would you choose to live?

[spacemonkey]

I moved to Islington in the summer. As I expected, it's a very mixed area - some posh bits, some rough bits. I know the whole of London is like this, pretty much, but this area seems particularly polarised. Anyway, to get to the point, I am thinking about moving again in the new year, in fact I'm going to look at a flat in Bayswater this weekend, and from the minimal investigations I've done it seems to me that Bayswater will suit me much better.

I'm loving living in London, and ideally I want to be somewhere central, buzzing (i.e. not quiet residential but lots of shops/restaurants etc), not too posh, not too rough and preferably further west.

Any recommendations for me? Where would you choose and why?

Chiswick is great for families and has a nice atmosphere, although not quite as central or buzzy. It is possible to get to Notting Hill on the 94 bus in 15 minutes, though, on a very very good day.

I should add it's just me and my teenage daughter, I haven't got any little ones any more, so I'm not really looking for anywhere particularly family-oriented

You could also try evil S of the river Blackheath, spacemonkey...[horned and cloven-footed emoticon]

she wants to be within 30 mins of earls court though marina

Get thee behind me temptresses of Spacemonkey, she shan NOT be cast out to the south of the river!

spacemonkey - do you drive? I ask because some appealing parts of London are fantastic for non-drivers because of good public transport and ability to walk to most things. Other areas are appealing, but I wouldn't consider them if car-less.

What things are important to you? Other than the posh but not too posh and not rough comment.......

Doh, Lou, that is not do-able. Some days you're not within 30 mins of London Bridge courtesy of SE Trains
Sorry SM.
Barnes is supposed to be nice but if Earls Court is the deciding factor then I'd certainly try Chiswick and Maida Hill (less posh bit of Maida Vale).

Brackenbury village, even though it's Hammersmith?

Buckingham Palace, theres loads of room and a nice garden and a lovely balcony to sit on at eat my cornflakes whilst watching the world go by.

I can drive but I don't have a car any more, so the more central the better earlybird. Within half an hour by public transport of Earl's Court would be a bonus too. It's just me and my teenage daughter, so family-friendliness isn't a priority, and I don't need to worry about schools. I like being anonymous, so the transient nature of Bayswater is actually quite appealing.

Does Earl's Court appeal to you? Would certainly make it easier to see dp......but, I'm guessing you've decided against looking there for some reason....

Earl's Court does appeal yes, but tbh I don't want to be in dp's pocket!

imo baron's court or shepherd's bush would probably suit your needs.

Personally I'm another evil one but love where I live and wouldn't move for anything

I travel to Holloway Rd 3 times a week and have never spotted the nice shops you speak of!

I'm with Azure, Brackenbury Village or anywhere in Ravenscourt Park could suit. Straight up the District line to Earls Court too, or easy walk to Goldhawk Road for Kings Cross or the City. I think it has a special feel, quite human-scale.

In Chiswick, the Bedford Park area is supposed to be lovely, or Turnham Green is IMO the nicest bit, buzziest and only one stop further down the line than Ravenscourt Park. Trouble with Bedford Park is it contains my xh...

If you do venture south of the river, have you looked at the Balham streets that border Tooting Bec Park? TBP is the most underrated park in London IMO.

aha, I didn't say the shops were nice, they're more "quirky"!

sm - i'll give you quirky and it would certainly save you money, I've never been tempted to buy anything when I'm around there!

Personally, I wouldn't go for Chiswick, Clapham or Battersea without a car - unless you were willing to live fairly close to the public transport links. I spend alot of time in Islington, and I think it is nicer and more charming than when I walked the area around the Clapham Junction train station about a month ago (for some unknown reason my hairdresser is there!). I know that there are some VERY lovely areas in Clapham and Battersea, but my impression is that you'd need/want a car. But, I have never lived there, so am hardly an expert.

I also like the area around Marylebone alot. Shops on the high street are great. You can easily get to Oxford Street, but are tucked away from the madness. You also would have good access to Regent's Park with Primrose Hill being walkable. I think IlanaK lives around there, so perhaps she could give you a resident's point of view.

Another area that appears nice (never lived there), and would be accessible to Earl's Court is Parson's Green. Though might be uncomfortably posh. I'll keep thinking.....

My MiL lives in Marylebone, it's fantastic and not as expensive as you'd think.
Parson's Green was horribly full of braying buffoons when I used to live there but that was 15 years ago.
I love Barnes, but you'd need a car.

Does anyone know Broughton Street in Battersea? Am enquiring about a rather nice looking house there, but don't know the area.

spacemonkey, have you looked on upmystreet.com? or whatever it's called..

haven't checked out broughton street on there, no, but will do bundle. Thanks everyone for your advice

Another area that's very central with lots of cool cafes/shops is the area just north of Oxford Street and west of Tottenham Court road - around Charlotte Street. Think it's called Fitzrovia. Not at all sure what it would be like to live there, but it certainly has a "vibe".....though still like Marylebone High Street area better.

The place in Bayswater looks nice from the outside. It's a two storey maisonette (2nd/3rd floors) in a house conversion - one of those big white houses with the pillars either side of the front door. Just round the corner from westbourne grove.