Where to move for a two bed rental in London?

[OurMary]

So DD and her boyfriend moved to London 18 months ago for their first graduate jobs. They fell into the usual graduate trap of picking out a lovely 1 bed flat in zone 1 at the top of their budget (£1800 a month).

Now working from home is kicking in, they realise they need space. A two bed in their current area would cost £2,500 a month which is out of budget.

Their combined take home is roughly £5500 a month after tax, student loans, and good pension contributions.

Can someone recommend any good areas for a period 2 bedroom flat? Ideally they want to spend less than £2,100 a month and not have a huge commute.

It really depends where in London they are commuting to.

Look at Brockley, SE London.

Maybe East Dulwich, though the commute will suck.

Somewhere equidistant between East Dulwich and Peckham Rye would give more transport options.

Though Rye Lane will be a culture shock after living in zone 1!

Commute? They work from home.

It depends where they want to live but there are cheaper places available on the outskirts, such as Sidcup. I know someone who rents a (very small) three bed house for £1200 a month. It has a decent sized back yard where you can park a car and can get resident parking permission on the road. It is near supermarkets, pharmacies and restaurants, literally off the high street, and not far from the station which has regular train service into central London. Lots of buses too. Quite a pleasant area as long as you don't go down the hill towards 'the Crays' and in a different direction, Blackfen. Avoid DA15, look for DA14. Near to lovely parks. There are plenty of flats available too. However they may not want to move out that far.

It’s sleepy and suburban and poorly connected, though. More somewhere for late 20s and older.

It's zone 2, I wouldn't class it as poorly connected.

90sqm on Lordship Lane, East Dulwich. Nice shops downstairs too!:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/133930286#/?channel=RES_LET

Brockley has great connections, and is very trendy! I'd also look at Streatham, Peckham, Tooting if they want south. You mentioned period property, I'd avoid these are they are so hard to keep warm and usually tiny rooms.

Do they need to commute anywhere, and are they pub / club / theatre / whatever types?

I’m usually the world’s biggest cheerleader for SE London (and Brockley is very well connected), but it’s not a natural choice for young graduates imo.

And East Dulwich is extortionate. Save that for when they have kids and are trying to get into a decent primary!

I am a big Walthamstow fan - great connections to Liverpool Street, west end and stansted airport

Where do they need to get to? We used to live in Shepherds Bush and loved it, you could easily get a 2 bed under their budget and my commute into Soho was less than 20 minutes door to door!

Putney with excellent train, bus and tube links
https://www.zoopla.co.uk/to-rent/property/london/upper-richmond-road/sw15-6sy/?price_frequency=per_month&q=SW15%206SY&search_source=home

They’d probably be looking at an hour, door-to-door, to get from their flat to somewhere in Soho. If they socialise in the West End it’s not easy or convenient at all.

I am writing this a 15 minute walk from Brockley station myself!

Where do they work? Where do they socialise? What jobs do they do? What kind of people are they?

We need a lot more info here OP

Anyway I’m sure the answer they will pick will be Clapham / Wandsworth / Balham, maybe also Streatham and Tooting.

Those areas are where the vast majority of young professionals want to live in zone 2.

The 20 somethings in my office tend to live either in East London or Balham/Clapham.

Many of the areas suggested on here are more for families - naturally really!

Only a matter of time before someone comes in to suggest Beckenham or Bromley

Seconding Sidcup. Lots of converted 'mansions' there with big flats with high ceilings. Also seconding the advice to avoid the Blackfen direction of it.

Bexley Village is lovely, if quite pricey these days. Bexleyheath, as a rule, is generally not a very nice place.

Same sort of flats available in Hither Green as mentioned above.

Why do they want a period property rather than purpose built?
With current heating costs a well insulated newer property will be more comfortable and most come with decent internet.

I've always had bad luck with noise or damp or mice in period rentals in London and am so much happier in a warm new build with better sound and heat insulation.

But agree with above if that's what they are set on that south west London is great Balham/Streatham/tooting/Brixton.

If they are young grads then most places MN will suggest will be entirely unsuitable 🤣. In my 20s, i lived in Stockwell, Clapham, Brixton - would also now add Nine Elms, Tooting, Balham, Streatham (although Streatham has no tube) to that list as Stockwell is probably over budget now? Lots of my friends lived out east - Stratford, Peckham, Shoreditch etc. Im not sure what prices are like there now. Realistically, trying to stay as close to the centre (especially on the Night Tube) as they can whilst they are young and can enjoy themselves will be better for them. Plenty of time to move out to the suburbs once they start to settle down.

That's one type of 20-something in one kind of industry.
My 20-something and her 20-something cousins would think Clapham far too "rah" and would pick Hackney / Dalston or maybe Peckham over anywhere in SW London any day.

Elizabeth line for def!

Of course there are more than one type of 20 something, was just talking about the ones I knew.

Hackney/Dalston was what I had in mind by east London, though I think Leytonstone also seems popular

Just to counter that, I've lived in three and never had any of those problems!

And probably because you get nice, big rooms and fewer neighbour noise issues than new build, I'm guessing. Idk.

I wouldn't want to live in a big period flat and heat it right now, I know that much.

Acton near the Elizabeth Line?