Talk to me about London living?

[iloveeverykindofcat]

Here's the situation - I'm a college lecturer in my late twenties with 2 cats. I'm currently working on a fantastic but temporary contract in Wales, after which I may have the opportunity of a central London position on about £36k. What kind of place would I be likely to rent for this? (Could live outside London and go in by tube). Could I make a deposit on anything? Could I get a garden for the kitties - their welfare is very important to me. Obviously the social scene would be amazing for me - I'm a vegetarian and huge alternative/post-punk music fan and I'm really missing the Cardiff scene where I am now, which is rural, but how would the rest of my life be? Thanks

Obviously SE isn't on the tube but it does have the East London Line (overground) which goes 24 hours next year. It was my understanding that SE was less desirable because of the transport links but transport links are pretty good now.

Can you tell I live in SE London?

Thameslink or bus to E&C from Streatham, lots of 1 bed flats to rent for £1200, some £900, even with gardens. Gumtree tends to be cheaper and more flexible than Rightmove. Advertising yourself on Gumtree as a tenant can also work.

Tooting could also work, though fewer gardens - but if all you need is a catflap and access to outside for the cat, there's more of those.

£36k is not a bad salary but if you want a flat rather than a houseshare it'll be a bit tight.

Oh yes the entire area of SE London is basically one big ghetto. I can't walk the streets for fear of being mugged/beaten up/walking on syringes. Dulwich, blackheath, Greenwich, forest hill, crystal palace, borough, Kennington, Stockwell, Peckham, Brixton, telegraph hill. All such absolute dumps Ffs Artandco you're spouting absolute rubbish.

There's shit, grotty areas everywhere in London. But feel free to perpetuate the myth of SE being a dump (only said by people who don't know it usually) maybe it'll help keep people out and keep prices down

But seriously, OP have a look in SE. I'm a landlord and have no problem with tenants having cats. 2-bed flat in areas like camberwell (trendy and def has great arts/music scene you might like etc) can be approx £1600 pm so doable for you.

OP- SE London is great!

It would also be your best bet if working in E&C, in terms of making the commute to work easier.

Lewisham is a place that has changed so much in recent years- it has the mainline train station and the DLR, and many many bus routes passing through.

On your budget though, you would be probably be looking at a houseshare set up or renting a studio flat.

Good luck with the search

How about New Cross or Nunhead? Both close to E&C. Have noticed lots of studios around NC like this one: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-55910869.html

There seems to be lots of places available to Norwood but not sure how happening it is down there. Probably quite suburban.

Thank you everyone, I'm looking at SE places now. It wouldn't be immediate as my contract isn't up yet, but this thread has definitely improved my research. London looks so alive....

I miss cities [cry emoticon].

I lived in Bromley and went to uni in elephant. Was only half hour train and you get so much more for your money there.

SE is not a ghetto!
Sure it has some less then desirable areas like anywhere else.
I've lived this side of the river all my life in many different places including Kennington SE11/ Walworth SE17 which E&C is in the middle of.
OP come this side you will be fine

Warning - while trains can be unreliable, the buses to Elephant may look plentiful but can take forever and waiting in the rain around the E&C gyratory and crowds trying to get on a bus is a special circle of hell. The tube, Thameslink/other trains, or walking or cycling are better unless you're near enough to not mind some standing.Peckham might suit you - between the gentrified streets and scuzzy estates there's lots of other flats.

I live in Peckham and love it. It's become very expensive over the last few years though. I would second pps suggestion of Nunhead, Forest Hill and Crystal Palace. All have their own thing going on and should be easy enough to get to E&C. House sharing will be a great way to get to know new people too.

Croydon doesn't even have an SE postcode FFS

Elephant has a rail station as well as a tube stop, so in terms of transport to your role (and convenience for work), you may be best looking 'along' that line. It takes in Nunhead and cheaper places like Bellingham which might work well for you.

I'm going to be blunt here: you're not going to have a lovely life with a garden and two cats on that salary anywhere alone within zones 1-4. Commuting is possible if your hours are predictable, but it's expensive and overcrowded. You will be miserable. A shared house is absolutely possible and how nearly all of us started out in this city, but it's no way to live unless you're still in your 20s.

Manchester, Leeds and Edinburgh are all like mini-Londons in terms of cultural scene and diversity. You will be able to live well. A salary of £36k will buy you a 2 bed ground floor flat in a leafy street near the university in Manchester. Why anyone would choose Catford in preference is totally beyond me.

SE and SW commuting is also very unreliable. A colleague's journey from Beckenham (very nice) can take anything from 40 minutes to 2 hours. In Leeds you could afford to run a car.

I kinda agree with W8woman (and I love london) Leeds or Manchester would give you a much better life style whilst still having a good city vibe.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-61791881.html

To rent in blackheath (naice part of SE) with garden easy to Commute to E&C 53 bus will take you there.

W8 I don't disagree that other cities are worth looking at, but it's just not true to say OP couldn't afford a 1 or 2-bed (shared) flat inside z4. 2-beds in eg camberwell (z2) can be well under 2k pm.

Also why would running a car cost more in London? Petrol, mot, tax the same everywhere. Insurance might be slightly higher in some areas, but that can be easily offset by a cheaper car. And your colleague's commute from beckenham - a 40 minute commute anywhere into central London is totally normal. 2 hours presumably only if a train strike, or she drives in (which is quite crazy if working centrally), or she works the other side of London altogether.

You missed out the most important aspect of running a car in London, Bialy: parking. I swear I've lost years of my life looking for spaces, and when you spot one it's bastard £4.90 an hour to park (for a max of 4 hours).

As for being able to afford somewhere: yes, there are habitable even comfortable places the OP can afford, but they don't really compare with what's available elsewhere. The £2k a month figure you mention would rent a 4 bedroom in South Manchester; the same money as you'd pay for a garden flat in f'Acton.

The link above is only in Blackheath if you're an estate agent. That's Charlton. Rapidly gentrifying, of course, but from a very low base.

40 minute commute being "totally normal": er, you're just proving my point.

I love this city, don't get me wrong, but it's a miserable place if ypu don't have money. The identical lifestyle/location you'd have in Leeds or Manchester on £36k would realistically cost you about £80k in London.

Croydon is only about 17 mins to victoria and 25 to London Bridge. Very easy to get in and out and still affordable. It won't be for long with all the regeneration going on. It's a decent area.

Also, consider square footage: most 2 bed flats in London are less than 750 square feet. In Manchester, that would be a couple of bedrooms.

A garden will be 30 feet long if you're lucky, and probably paved. A lawn is a modern status symbol here.

Sorry wine has been taken. I meant in zone 3 for example, the entire flat would be 750 sq ft, not just the bedrooms.

Theeads like this make me wonder why I still live here and then I remember that DH will not leave while there's work to be had.

I know the area v v well.
New Cross, Queens Road Peckham, Numhead, Brixton, even, gasp! Borough and Bermondsey.

All these will be great arty places with loads going on, and with a bike you'll get to E&C in 15 mins.

Seriously: rent in these areas, enjoy them, they're the bees knees. Buy a small flat buy-to-let further out and wait for the culture to move outwards - Crystal Palace for instance.

Ooh - cats - are they house cats?

I love this city, don't get me wrong, but it's a miserable place if ypu don't have money. The identical lifestyle/location you'd have in Leeds or Manchester on £36k would realistically cost you about £80k in London

I left Leeds on £34k and thought I'd be minted on my London £50k salary I was moving to. Ah ha. Ha ha. Ha.

Still, it is amazing living in london. It's the cats that complicate it for the OP. Plenty of nice house shares/flat shares that I'd rather live in than a studio on zone eleventy three.