Need your insight to decide between Reading or Paddington?

[USA2UK]

I do telecommuting but my partner has offices in Reading and Paddington and frequently travel to keep Heathrow commute as another consideration in our house hunt. Which areas are best for his commute? We are looking for safe, nice towns with easy access to tube, lively and walkable downtowns. Our collective maximum rental budget is 4,000 pounds per month. Its just two of us, both in our late forties so schools aren't a consideration and space is not the deciding factor, a posh flat in a lively area would work as well as a small country house in a lovely village.

Paddington is a horrid area. Very very urban down market. Attracts all the types of undesirables you would espect around a large transport hub. Known as the brothel capital of london. As well as being plagued with cheap b&b's and hostels full of homeless and asylum seekers.

The edgeware road side is very middle eastern. So think lots of shisha cafes and coffee shops.

The area around paddington basin has had a bit of a reverb but is very corperate come 5pm or weekends its a ghost town.

If I had to commute to paddington again like I did for 5yrs. I would live st johns wood, maida vale, westbourne grove, south ken.

Not a million miles away from marylebone if you wanted to commute from anywhere on the amersham line. If you wanted to live out of town.

Look anywhere on the chiltern line right upto oxford/gerrards cross/higher wicom/denam type areas.

Have a good look at Henley on Thames.

Or, and this is the leftfield option, have a look at Bath.

Beautiful Georgian city of yellow stone. Lots of theatre and culture. 60mins train to Reading, 90mins into Paddington. I live on that train line (GWR) and it’s not at all bad.

For your budget you’d get something lovely in the heart of the city.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E116&maxBedrooms=3&maxPrice=4000&minPrice=2000&sortType=2#prop65310133

Or, and this is the leftfield option, have a look at Bath.

Beautiful Georgian city of yellow stone. Lots of theatre and culture. 60mins train to Reading, 90mins into Paddington. I live on that train line (GWR) and it’s not at all bad.

For your budget you’d get something lovely in the heart of the city.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E116&maxBedrooms=3&maxPrice=4000&minPrice=2000&sortType=2#prop65310133

In your situation I’d look at Little Venice and Maida Vale (both walking distance to Paddington) or if you want Cotswold like near Reading I would look at Sonning, Pangbourne

Have you visited any of these areas? If so I think you'll be able to winnow down really quickly - if you love Henley on Thames then St Johns Wood is probably not for you and vice versa. Personally I love rural countryside or inner city but not the suburbs or commuter villages so a lot of the areas mentioned outside of London would not be for me... But my sister and in laws live in some of these places and love it. Def worth a trip!

Have you visited any of these areas? If so I think you'll be able to winnow down really quickly - if you love Henley on Thames then St Johns Wood is probably not for you and vice versa. Personally I love rural countryside or inner city but not the suburbs or commuter villages so a lot of the areas mentioned outside of London would not be for me... But my sister and in laws live in some of these places and love it. Def worth a trip!

Windsor. Expensive though, but a lovely town.

"I want to enjoy lively life of a nice area in central London but not sure if i would enjoy a small apartment and hustling crowds on daily basis"

If that's the case don't look rurally then!! I suggested Nottinghill, parts of Bayswater... but Holland Park is good too and quieter. Maida Vale and Little Venice are both excellent suggestions too.

Honestly in the residential streets there aren't bustling crowds! There are in Portobello on a Saturday... but you should see places like Marlow on a sunny day!

... or spend a lovely year in a great area of London and then relocate to somewhere like Windsor or more rurally (but I bet you will love London and won't move....)

Paddington!!!!! Lived on Southwick Street for two years and LOVED it. (Moved out last summer.)

Funnily enough, agree with previous poster re description but I loved those aspects- you’re on practically every tube line and many bus routes, we had a 5 min walk to Paddington then Heathrow express gets you to the airport in 15 mins, Hyde Park was a 5 min walk, Oxford Street and Mayfair a 20-30 min walk, Marylebone is very naice and again- 10/15 mins...! Yes, Edgeware Road is very Arab - the restaurants and cuisine are SO good (and if you want fine dining instead we used to walk to eg Nobu Park Lane), and because it is a Muslim area there were no drunk people on the streets late at night even on weekends- just families! I felt really safe. Ramadan was the best, you’d see so many people and kids out at all the restaurants after dark. From Paddington you can get to Oxford, Cotswolds etc within an hour I believe.

Some lovely lovely properties round there, with beautiful communal gardens. Ahhhh.... so much nostalgia. I’m now in West Hampstead, so up near Swiss Cottage, and it’s more suitable with a baby but I really do miss the Paddington days! Go south of Sussex Gardens and you’ll be grand 😁😁😁

BUT I would say you need to be within about a ten-fifteen min walk of Paddington to reap all the benefits. Personally I’d not look at Maida Vale or Little Venice as you’ve only got the Bakerloo line, you lose Hyde Park being a walk away. Honestly, I can not recommend the Hyde Park Estate (that’s what it was called!! It’s church-owned but managed by Knight Frank, I believe, not that either of those facts affect your day to day life there) highly enough. Ahhh. Okay, I’ll stop now- feel free to PM if you want more info 😂 I swear I don’t work for them!

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E87522#prop73954499

If you search in rightmove by Marylebone, there are some lovely apartments within your budget. The streets at the back of Oxford Street towards the North ( think Harley Street and parallel) are surprisingly quiet, but only minutes away from all the buzz. You can walk to Paddington in 20 minutes from there