Is there anywhere in Zone 1 you wouldn't live?

[LaurieFairyCake]

I'm eyeing up the regeneration zone round the Elephant and Castle which looks as if it's on the up. I'm guessing it's the least nice

What about other not-so-nice areas in Zone 1?

I grew up in a zone 1 bit of London and after living out of London for a bit, am now living in another part of zone 1. It's a gritty/trendy part rather than elegant and dignified like Bloomsbury, but I'm very happy here. We have a 2 bed flat with no outside space, and our nearest park is a bus ride away, so it wouldn't suit a lot of people, but that doesn't bother me. It is not a residential area and there are a lot of building/roadworks which continue late into the night (seems to be allowed later as the area is not viewed as residential although there are many flats here). But there are tons of bars, galleries, cafes, theatres, independent shops etc. I go out to places all over London and I never really check timetables/last tubes. I know I can get a night bus quickly from anywhere.

E&C and Cally are areas where I wouldn't opt for if I could help it, I know Cally quite well and the estates around there are pretty rough (but then, there are also rough estates near me tbh - doesn't affect me at all). OTOH though, if I had to choose between one of them, and a 'nicer' area in zone 2/3, I'd still prefer to stay in zone 1. There are a lot of arty things going on around both those areas and I'm sure they'll develop into safer/nicer places in time.

Are you going to do without a car? Parking? Do you want to be in the CC zone, or outside?

I wouldn't live in Elephant and Castle, the Old Kent Road, The City or the West End. Also, I agree Pimlico is not that nice given how much it costs to live there!

In general, I wouldn't live more than a 15 min walk for a substantial park which rules out lots of otherwise lovely places in zone 1.

Also, to the person who mentioned Chiswick: its zone 3!

Be careful of Caledonian Rd. A good chunk is owned by a single landlord best described as a modern day Rachman. Kings X is changing but Cally won't change unless the ownership along the road changes.

I know a fair bita about the regeneration at E&C and I still think it's an utter dump. It won't be chi chi Guardian readers and artisan doughnuts within your 5 year timeframe. It will be within 10 years though.

Canonbury and De Beauvoir town would be my pick of Zone 1 fringes.

A bus in London is not the same as a bus anywhere else IME. Londoners know you don't make eye contact whether you're on rails or wheels.

I'd live a bit further out somewhere village-y or look round Vauxhall. Elephant and Castle is still too rough for me. In a few years it will be great though.

rubybleu - which end of Cally road is that?

Db used to live between Borough and E&C - kind of on the fringes of both - that seemed to be a nice bit. E&C proper is a bit dire though I agree.

I remember an estate agent telling me Kings X was up and coming and the place to buy 18 years ago Glad to see it's finally happening. There's a lot of uncertainty in the market at the moment which makes me wonder whether more established areas would be a better bet? You may not get so much for your money to start with but they tend to hold their value better in uncertain times from what I've seen.

I would imagine you'll really struggle on that budget if you're not willing to look at ex-LA.

I wouldn't consider Walworth at all, it's grim.

Ex-LA in Zone 1 is usually really nice. Some of the Peabody estate places used to be actual slums but now go for a small fortune!

At lower budgets, in nice areas I'd definitely look at ex-LA - tend to be way more spacious and functional, as the period stuff's been carved up so tightly to maximise profit, you tend to get spaces that are really only borderline liveable unless you're spending megabucks.

I wouldn't do the weird cardboard ones, or the high-rises. But lots of brick ex-LA stuff is really quite nice.

Edgware road, £400k, period, 1 bed

Marylebone/Edgware Rd, £400k, ex-local, 1 bed

I like this one a lot. Great location and 2 bedrooms Shoreditch, £390k, ex-local, 2 beds

I saw in the Evening Standard property supplement last night, that the Mildmay area between Highbury/Canonbury and Stoke Newington is considered to be a "fashionista's paradise"? Err what? I saw some nice 1 beds, and some v nice low rise ex LEA 2 beds for the right money yesterday but discounted them as not a good area fit for the OP. But it's 10 yrs since I was last there. Transport's not great - is there a real cafe culture vibe there now?

Also - outside of budget but only slightly, Camden Council are building new flats for private ownership in Camden. Plans look beautiful but sketchy on timeline. Might be worth having a look at the article and seeing what's near there?

'fashionista's paradise' cracks me up.

It's a nice bit, up there - a slightly shabbier Islington or less vegan/pram focused Stokey, basically, which makes sense considering where it is. But it's a pain for transport. There are some good cafs behind Dalston, and a couple of nice pubs, but really it's a case of proximity to other stuff. Kensal in the east, essentially, I'd say.

Depending how you feel about living on Brick Lane, this is rather tempting.

Oooh, I LOVED living in Pimlico - there are some lovely spots tucked away and a fabulous Sainsburys on Wilton Road. Walkign distance to Kings Road; running distance to battersea park and st james park and number 8 bus to Oxford Street.

I agree MovingonUp. There are some stunning ex LEA flats on the market. A few evenings stalking the area will tell you fairly quickly if there's an antisocial issue but most are now entirely let or owned by professionals these days.

If you like the South Bank, live on the South Bank! It has changed so much in the last couple of decades and there is always something going on along the river. From the Oxo Tower down to the White House and County Hall there are some great properties and a river view if you're lucky.

And yep, it is about 30 mins walk to E&C from the South Bank.

I would kill to live on the South Bank, nappydays. I have absolute jealously and admiration for all the people who worked so hard to get the Coin Street Community going. They deserve the glorious place they now, have, and how I envy them for it!

There's nowt on the South Bank in my price bracket - how I would love to live there

That's far into Zone 2 though Hover and not really walking (unless I like the zoo)

You could have a big 2 bed flat with a garden in SE London, and still so close to the centre, fantastic transport links. Ooh dear, I'm getting nostalgic.

Come to Vauxhall/Nine Elms. It's nicer than Elephant and Castle, has loads of building going on and amenities arriving to support the arrival of the US Embassy (we're getting TWO Waitroses 0, is 30 minutes walk along the river to the South Bank, 20 minutes the other way to Battersea Park and great for transport.

You can pick up a 2 bed with outside space for a shade over £400k at the moment.

Primrose Hill flat is nice!