Best areas of Central London for a first time flat?

[kkooddaakk]

City Lawyer and Doctor... Late 20s, budget £650kish
Ideally a 2 bed flat, but doubt that will happen so 1 bed. Not at all keen on 100 year leases etc, rather share of freehold or long long lease

I think it depends on your personal taste but I think maybe Islington. Otherwise if you don't mind a commute by bus then Highgate is lovel.

Where are you living now and what do you like/not like about it?

You're describing my flat (2 bed victorian conversion, share of freehold) which is zone 2 south London. We're about to list it for under your top budget, so it is very possible! It really depends where you need to commute to but you'll get more for your money south of the river generally I'd say

How about somewhere round Woolwich Arsenal? www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-79541348.html

Train (zone 4) from there into Cannon Street - handy for the City. Also DLR

Does it have to be central London, would they commute. They get a house for less than that on the suburbs. Do you know which station they need, it could be quicker to get a fast train door to door rather than tubes and buses.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-70699724.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-81291047.html

Surely it depends where you work. A good commute is key.

Also do you intend to have kids soon? Or is this definItaly a flat just for two adults.

And what do you like to do? Someone who loves cycling and being outdoors might choose to be by the Heath when someone else who loves late nights out might choose Hoxton.

There just isn’t one good area. It all depends what you like and need.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-61681293.html

Yes to where do you live now and what do you like/dislike.

There's (obvs) some great places to live in central London but do you want urban v village feel; Boutiques and coffee shops, or music venues and markets; short walk home or happy with the tube?

Very much depends where you work.
If UCH and Moorgate, for example, then I would look north (eg Crouch End). If Tommy’s and Canary Wharf then I’d head south of the river.

Look along the Central Line - I was in Shepherds Bush commuting to Bank-St Paul's area which was easy. Accessible for the West London hospitals too. In Ealing now and Crossrail will make getting to the City really fast (when it eventually opens...)

Somewhere around where the new American Embassy is? Loads of apartment buildings springing up there with gyms and swimming pools etc., and a 1 bed apartment would be in your budget.

Where is the doctor based? I would suggest Camberwell, especially around Denmark Hill. Easy access to Kings and the Maudsley. Denmark Hill station has Thameslink to Blackfriars and City Thameslink, southeastern trains to Victoria, and is on the London Overground line.

How central is central? I would buy in Balham if I could.

I have to ask, how are your occupations relevant? Am I missing something?

I imagine the giving the occupations was a shortcut to explaining how first time buyers had such a big budget, and preventing 500 posts asking this.

It’s also relevant to narrow down locations if access to the City is necessary.

Fair enough 😉

Well it depends on what areas of London you like and where you need to commute to. My favourite part of London is Hampstead/Highgate but that’s just me. I would avoid being sucked into ‘up and coming’ areas. With the whole brexit issue I get the feeling the process will take much longer than it typically has in the past ten or twenty years and quite frankly it’s not pleasant living in these places even with the trendy cafes popping up.

But if you are planning on kids soon then you may want to consider commuter towns instead. Much nicer.

West Hampstead is great (except for parking!)

I second West Hampstead. You could get a lovely 2 bed flat for that budget, the transport options are excellent, lovely shops and restaurants, a short walk away from Hampstead proper and all the green spaces of the Heath etc.

I lived there in my 20s and would move back there like a shot once I win the lottery

That would get you a 3 bed ex council house in some parts of zone 2 east London

Where do you live now?

Where do your friends live?

Where do you work? Where are you likely to work in the future?

What do you like doing?

Answers depend on all of that.

I never really understand these posts. Surely you must have some kind of idea about where you want to live?

But if you are planning on kids soon then you may want to consider commuter towns instead. Much nicer.