Is living in Central London ‘worth it’ for a few years?

[cofaidhagustaing]

Moving down from Glasgow for work. Salary is going up but rent prices are painful. A one bed is 50% more than our lovely two bed here. Always harboured a fancy for living super centrally in London. Won’t be forever, but maybe 2-3 years. Is it worth the expense?

Found a couple of flats for around the £2k mark.

Where I live- its fab
Which flats?

more Westminster
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/138139715#/?channel=RES_LET
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/140278760#/?channel=RES_LET
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/139579568#/?channel=RES_LET

this one is let but they come up often
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/140090729#/?channel=RES_LET

It is a borough but is also the area between Westminster square and Vauxhall bridge road and up to Greycoats.

Just to add
Westminster has just about the lowest council tax in the country typically and if you combine that with low travel costs the rent seems better.

Do it!

The Little Smith St one is lovely! I'd live there now if I didn't have kids, pets etc

PMSL at OP asking about central London and being told to live in Willesden or Parson's Green 😂How long until someone suggests Penge?

Pimlico is nice and some of it is quite smart and it's central without being noisy and crowded. But I'd give some thought to what being central means to you. To give an example, Portobello and Clerkenwell are both central London but to walk from one to the other would take you two hours. So have a think about what you actually want to do and think about proximity to the places you can do it, if you see what I mean, because central London is big and it would be annoying to pay the rent for a place in zone 1 and still have a long schlepp to where you want to go.

Also be aware that the desirability of an area can be very street-specific, so you really need to look in person and get a feel for the place at different times of day.

Westminster and Pimlico quiet at weekends and neither great for food shopping. I would go for Bloomsbury/Holborn, or if you go south of the river to Lambeth North you’ll get more for your money.

I'd say yes, living in central london is great but personally I wouldn't pick Pimlico. Pimlico is good for people coming for the weekend wanting to be able to walk to the theatre or Buckingham palace or Tate Britain but it's not a particularly characterful part of london! (Whilst perfectly nice in a benign way).
I agree with PP that Bloomsbury would be much nicer. Whilst still leafy and with quiet streets, it's much better connected and you can walk to a better range of things. I would also say Angel or Camden or Borough could be nice central places to live.
I wouldn't pick somewhere like Canada Water, you'd have to get the tube everywhere and it's not got much character- there are nicer places to choose if you're going to get the tube in!

I grew up in zone 1 and lived in a zone 1 area for 20 years as an adult (inc 5 years post dc). It really suited me as I like to get out in the evenings and at weekends, like to go to art/theatre shows and the ease of being able to travel in quickly meant I was more likely to go out. I'm also someone who doesn't mind the noise and crowds and I like being somewhere that tourists come to visit - not everyone is like that and just finds it irritating. So it depends on your personality.

Agree with @Sleepo regsrding the size of zone 1. I've lived more on the Eastern edge of zone 1 and I never spent much time in Pimlico, mainly visiting for the Tate or exhibitions at Chelsea College of Art. But the vibe seems fairly quiet, as others have said. I'd do a bit more thinking about where you'd want to visit regularly, and try to find somewhere within walking distance. It would take me 40 mins by tube to get to the Tate from my flat, which was far enough that it felt a bit of a hassle (and an inconvenience with a buggy), and we spent more time in our area going to places that were an easy walk or simple bus ride, or at least a tube journey with no changes.

We moved further out this year to zone 2 for schools and a house. Where we live is considered fairly central and quite touristy, but it's definitely sleepier than zone 1 life. There is a normal size supermarket and it feels more community minded and less glossy. So although a few posters have encouraged looking further out to get a nicer place, best in mind the vibe will be noticeably different (although ironically it's a much shorter journey from our zone 2 house to some bits of central than from our zone 1 flat, because of the shape of the tube). I think for a couple with no kids, a lot of the advantages of living further out aren't really relevant - they weren't for us before we had dc. No supermarkets isn't an issue with deliveries, and we were never involved in community matters, we just liked to hang out in places that were buzzy and see interesting things. We can still walk to work where we are, and I'd encourage that as a starting point in where to live (or at least cycling distance, though personally I'd never cycle in London) - it makes an enormous difference to quality of life.

I lived in London for 5 years and it was expensive as fuck and I wouldn't change a thing. Do it, OP. If you're wrong, you can leave.

I agree I probably wouldn't pick Pimlico if I was going for central London. I'm a bit if a north east London girl so id definitely be looking at Bloomsbury/ Barbican/ Farringdon or if I wanted to be on the river I'd look at borough market or somewhere on the south bank. Actually in your situation though I'd probably do for somewhere like Angel or Barnsbury which is central enough to be able to walk to a lot of places but feels like a neighbourhood where people actually live a bit more.

Central London has less of a community/real life feel a lot if the time. It's either very touristy or mainly offices so dead at the weekend/ evenings.

It all depends on what your priorities for activities are though. Let us know what you enjoy and we can help more

I lived in Clerkenwell and Barbican back in my London days. It was fantastic - so close to everything and a short walk to work for me. It felt like proper ‘old’ London, Bow Bells etc. We left when our kid was outgrowing our little flat. There was nowhere else we wanted to live in London so we left the city entirely and now live in a small university city an hour away.

I've lived on the eastern edge of zone 1 for 20+ years now and I love it. I walk to work (I work in the City) and pretty much everything I need is within walking distance from cafes to art galleries to gyms to food markets. With the Elizabeth line, I can get from my front door to standing outside the theatre on Tottenham Court Road in 10 mins (and on a nice evening will then stroll home). Tube / train strikes are never an issue as I just walk or cycle.

I'm not a fan of Pimlico. A friend bought a flat there but it felt very quiet and very transitory at weekends. She didn't stay long. As others have said, have a think about what you actually want to do when you're in London so you can work out what area might suit you best. I spent most of my time in Shoreditch / Brick Lane / City / London Bridge / Wapping / Hackney and 90% of my social life is in this area so the eastern side of zone 1 works well for me. Pimlico would be a nightmare (although at least it has a Daylesford Organic).

Do it! Agree with others I would go more Bloomsbury way, or Borough. Well actually Id personally go Barbican or Golden Lane but I don’t class those as quite central london either, more city fringe and if you’re not from here the very middle might be better.

Portobello road is not central london.

That Pimlico flat looks perfect for your needs and I would definitely live there rather than Essex Road, which is pretty rough. You'll save money walking everywhere and Pimlico is fairly quiet at weekends, which I'd see as a plus.

Definitely worth it! I'd prefer Pimlico over Westminster but Chelsea/Convent Garden/Marylebone even better but doubt you'd get a one bed for £2k as rental market is pretty hot. I rent out a small two bed (just 100sqft bigger than the flat you link to) for £2500 in Fulham on a busy road. I'd be living there myself if I didn't have a teenager and four pets!

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/140074505

Small one bed near Angel/Kings Cross- walking distance to west end and near Angel for nice village-y area, Shoreditch etc for going out.

Do it!!! I lived in Battersea before kids. I loved every minute and if I could afford a house there (not a chance) I would still live there now.

This.

I lived in primrose hill for 2 years.
It was fantastic.
I vote for angel, Marylebone or primrose hill /Swiss cottage and st Johns wood

My friend lived in pimlico in dolphin square. She hated it so did I. Soulless and no one could hear you scream at the weekends.