Where to live in London. Looking for similar areas

[itscorn2244]

Hi all,

Looking for similar areas to:

Herne Hill
Dulwich
Hampstead
Muswell Hill
Stoke Newington
Chelsea
Islington
Clapham

Ideally with good train links (with the odd exception eg. Muswell Hill)

Looking for a lively, village-y, safe, clean atmosphere. Ideally with a naice local market.

For a young single woman moving to London and looking to let a studio.

Crystal Palace

Good community, green and 3 train lines

Wimbledon Village? Lovely farmer's market on a Sunday, some great food shops, very safe and friendly, super easy to get into Central London.

www.zoopla.co.uk/to-rent/details/62312562/?search_identifier=2f84cf973c1e0ea78f6eb99598f69848

I would avoid Camden and Stoke Newington. I have lived and worked in these places.

Camden gets very crowded and noisy due to the market and bars

Stoke Newington and Hackney in general are not the nicest place to live in if you are not used to London life.

To commute to Oxford Circus station stick to places like Hampstead, Maida Vale, Chelsea, Notting Hill, Clapham and parts of Islington.

If you don't mind a longer tube journey then Wanstead and South Woodford are on the Central line and will get you to Oxford Circus and they are really nice areas with a village feel and access to green spaces.

Queen’s park for sure, the farmers market is great and the oxford circus commute is super easy, plus you have Portobello nearby. She might have to go towards Kensal or Kilburn to find something, but I think it should be doable.

We looked at Walthamstow Wood Green and Epping. Would have liked them but had to move West side of London.

She might think she doesn't mind a longer commute but she needs to look at how many changes /how far down the line she gets on, not just the journey time. No good bringing a book if you have a bus and then two changes on the tube and you aren't getting on early enough to get a seat.

Some of these places are really very family friendly. Lots of areas have village like bits - Bellenden road in Peckham, Nunhead lane in Nunhead for example.

I don't know about rental prices but I think you need to be a bit more specific about what she's looking for.

Brixton, Peckham, Bermondsey all have lots of amazing places to eat. Borough isn't far from Bermondsey.

Hi all, thank you so much for all your posts - I'm blown away by the helpful advice.

To summarise everyone's suggestions:

Alexandra Palace (Specifically around the market)
Barnes (Very villagey. Even has a duck pond)
Beckenham/Bromley (Plenty of green spaces, good shops, direct trains to Victoria then short tube journey to Oxford Circus)
Belsize Park
Bermondsey (May be more fun than other suggested areas for a single woman. Amazing places to eat, also close to Borough)
Blackheath (Open space, villagey)
Bound Green/Bowes Park (Near tube. On the up, close to Muswell Hill)
Brixton (Amazing places to eat)
Burnt Oak (Mixed responses but some posters say they love the community feel)
Chiswick/Acton
Crouch End (Really nice. Self contained has good mix independent & chain store)
Crystal Palace (Good community, green and three train lines)
Ealing (Excellent transport links and a community feel)
Epping
Ham
Hammersmith (Specifically the end of King Street)
Highbury (May be more fun than other suggested areas for a single woman)
Hither Green
Honor Oak
Hornsey (Has a train into Moorgate. Easy to get bus to Turnpike Lane or Finsbury Park)
Kew
Lewisham (Good transport, has had a makeover)
London Fields/Broadway Market
Maida Vale
Marylebone
Notting Hill
Nunhead (Specifically area around Nunhead Lane)
Peckham (Specifically area around Bellenden Road)
Pimlico
Primrose Hill
Putney
Queen’s Park
Ravenscourt Park
South Woodford (Really nice area with a village feel and access to green spaces)
St John's Wood
St Margaret's
Telegraph Hill
Victoria Park Village
Walthamstow Village (Has that villagey atmosphere & there's a market in Walthamstow too. Also the area around Blackhorse Road in Walthamstow has lots of new flats)
Wanstead (Really nice area with a village feel and access to green spaces)
West Hampstead (Fortune Green end is very leafy and a quick walk to the main shops)
West Norwood (Great monthly market, lots of local community events, picturehouse cinema, but the centre is not as village like as HH or Dulwich, although those are bus / bike / walk away, including weekly markets at each)
Wimbledon Village (Close to the common, near Wimbledon for transport. Lovely farmer's market on a Sunday, some great food shops, very safe and friendly, super easy to get into Central London)
Wood Green

Thank you so much.

I wouldn’t have Wood Green on your list for a single female, it’s not village like, it’s close to other areas that are, but not the same at all, I’d say East Finchley would be a much better bet.

Take off Wood Green and Walthamstow, they are really rough.
consider Bounds Green, Bowes park, both are very near muswell hill and Alexandra palace and crouch end.
but they are cheaper and have much better transport, Bowes park the trains go directly to the city and Finsbury Park, Bounds Green is on the Piccadilly line which goes straight to the west end.

Not wood Green.

I lived in muswell hill in my late twenties and loved it, I didn't mind it's family. I'd lived in central London and I wanted a different pace of life with coffee shops, nice food options and lovely places to walk. Just to say it's not just a 40+ area, it depends on the person. I paid £1300 for a lovely one bed right in the centre

I would remove Wood Green and Walthamstow.

Have you thought about Blackheath or Greenwich . There are green spaces and great shops and also lots of stations nearby with direct trains to London Bridge etc.

Yes! In fact she was looking at this flat in Greenwich the other day. The street is very cute and the flat could be lovely if she negotiated unfurnished.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/126533903#/?channel=RES_LET

All I can say is…. Good luck!!

The Greenwich one says Let Agreed on Rightmove..

It's just an example. She's not moving for another few months.

Take a look down the district line between earls court and Wimbledon. A nice neighbourhoods.
Battersea/wandsworth/Clapham Junction.

It might be easier to narrow it down a bit or else you might drive yourselves potty looking at all those very different areas. What will be her main priority, the travel, green spaces, local facilities.

I think it's very much a "take what you can get" situation in London at the moment, so in that sense it's nice to have a long list of potential areas. Green space, short commute etc are "nice to haves" for her - her biggest priority is the safety and atmosphere of the place, and again that villagey feel.

I should add she's not a big outdoor exerciser - more of a homebody/bookworm

How about something like this OP- crouch end is villagey and nice with good access to Ally Pally etc - this is brand new and a nice layout

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/127290026#/?channel=RES_LET

Or this in Wimbledon village- doesn't get more villagey than that!!

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/126554969

Blackheath Village has a very good quality green grocers, butcher and multiple delis, if that’s her thing.