Son moving to London but where?

[Old4new2018]

My son, 20, has a new job in Bank, London. He wants to rent a room somewhere that is easy to get to both work and the nightlife. Can anyone guide us on the best parts of town?

What’s his budget? This will usually be the thing that dictates where

For someone young - old street, shoreditch type areas good but pricey, you can look east and it gets gradually cheaper along the central line - east is probably where he’ll get cheapest value for money in renting.
South - Clapham, tooting, Brixton are the traditional places for young renters and you can go out locally as well as get into central London easily on the northern line.
North would be a good option too but I don’t know those areas as well and can be pricey
Elephant and castle/Vauxhall/stockwell can have some cheap accommodation in a great location but the areas can be ‘mixed’ and the accommodation mostly council or ex council flats.
If he’s got the budget I’d go Clapham or shoreditch at his age.

you are going to provide more information, London's population is approaching 9 million, and one person's 'best' is another's 'worst'. Budget is a good starting place!

For bank he has good connections. DLR, Central and Northern Line will give access to a variety of locations but his rental budget will indeed dictate where. East London is cheaper than west. I'm in a station area just outside of Stratford East London. It takes me 20minutes to get to Liverpool Street via the TFL rail line (I don't change at all). To get to bank you would change at Stratford for the central line.

If he's going alone he may want to look for a house share, Canary Wharf is good for professionals in that sense, or up around Shoreditch/old street area. CW is a bit dead at weekends but pretty much anywhere you'll need to travel in

Yes if his budget is more limited go along both the northern and central lines and it gets cheaper as you go further out

I would avoid the use of central line as it's a complete nightmare especially in this heat. It's the budget that will dictate where.

Central line is fine TFL rail and overground services are just as packed and busy and hot in the summer

Sorry budget £650/700 pcm *

You get more for your money south of the river.

Look at bus routes not just the tube.

@Old4new2018 does that budget have to cover bills as well or is that just for rent?

Look in spareroom website for rooms to rent

@Kamma89 yes, to include bills

For that budget he'd be looking for a house share. For example, on the central line, we have a king size room in a house we own (MIL lives there) that we rent out to a lodger. £750 a month covers rent and bills including internet. Newbury Park is reasonable. South on the Northern line you'll probably get a bit closer in.

Don't discount all the lines which come in to London Bridge either, which is easy walking distance from Bank and opens up swathes of South East London too (which is generally the cheapest part of the capital to live in).

He will be entirely dictated by his budget rather than where he wants to live at the prices.

Suggest he gets on spare room and filters by price and starts Messaging people.

I’d look east on the DLR and central line. He’s a young lad, he might prefer lower quality accommodation over location. Shadwell, limehouse, mike end, Stepney, Stratford and Leyton. Probably no further than Leyton.

Central line is busy but they come every minute orettt much in rush hour and it’s only 4 stops from Leyton to Bank.

Or also north east along east London overground haggerston and dalston.

Plenty of shared flats in ex-LA accommodation in the places I’ve mentioned. Leyton it’s more house with yard/garden.

Hackney Wick is very cool if he likes raving, lots of club nights are morning there.

It’s much nicer to get a room in a shared house that has a sitting room. Most of the crappy ones turn it into an extra bedroom. A shared social space is much better for making it a nice house and social experience.

I’d prioritise being about to get home on 24h tube or an easy night bus

I wouldn’t go for a lodger situation either... nicer to be with other youngsters

I’d suggest he looks at Deptfotd. There’s lots going on there at the moment really easy to get to London Bridge/Bank and into central London. Used to be less desirable than it is now and yet certainly not peaked so rent is better than lots of other areas.

With that money and being young he will have no problem getting a house share somewhere central, old street, hoxton,... Go on spare room. There arw lots of good rooms, he will make new friends etc...

DD (22) is on a similar budget for her job in Fenchurch St which starts end of September. She would like Bethnal Green, but will also be looking at Mile End, Stratford and Stepney. Other areas she is considering (on the basis that friends already live there) are Elephant and Castle and Crouch End. One of her main considerations seems to be how to get home late at night and Central line has a 24 hour tube service.

Look at streatham Hill, Brixton, Clapham, Balham,

@twosunbathingdogs Stratford is very expensive from what I've seen. We have a house in Leyton as mentioned up thread. Most of these are 2 up 2 down style with a kitchen extension and 2 sitting rooms. MIL lives in one bedroom, her companion in another, and we rent the biggest bedroom out. Stratford at the moment is undergoing heavy regeneration and is mainly new build flats with houses similar.

Central line is lovely and safe, Newbury Park is somewhere we have considered moving to. Leyton has a lovely feel to it since they began the regen in Stratford. From the house in Leyton we can walk to both Westfield and Asda in 10 minutes.

For PP that suggested the South East, they're very correct, and it would give more opportunity for accommodating just bear in mind if it's a mainline train they stop earlier than some tubes.

Can't offer a comparison, but Elephant & Castle meets your criteria. Lots of the area (especially the north side) has been massively modernised in the last 5years, so don't go by its old reputation. Close to Waterloo & Borough night life. 24hr buses to pretty much anywhere in London and good tube connections. And walking distance to Bank.

Elephant is getting much nicer, and being really convenient for buses or even close enough to walk could save some £££ on commuting costs.

Look at spare room.com within his budget which will get him a room in a houseshare - here's Elephant & Castle as an example
www.spareroom.co.uk/flatshare/?search_id=697375930&

Hackney, Leyton, Leytonstone

Or could go to places like Stratford, Bow, Canning Town.

Haggerston, Whitechapel

Basically East!