Would you live in Central London or Zone 2/3?

[pinktinge]

We are going to move flats soon.

Option 1: Live in the middle of Zone 1 (near St Paul’s) and be able to walk to work in 20 minutes. Flat in a block with porter, balcony, urban setting.

Option 2: Live in leafy Zone 2/3 borders, 35 mins commute to work on tube. Garden flat in a victorian house.

I would prefer to enjoy the super central urban lifestyle but dh prefers something a bit more relaxed.

St Paul's/Barbican seems an odd choice. My DC and their friends seem to populate Borough/Shoreditch/Islington and they were all originally from SW London.

Clapham/Balham - it depends which part of Clapham. I'd say not Balham. I'd imagine Camberwell, Oval, etc., would be the places to be nowadays. Clapham/Balham/Wandsworth were pioneered by my generation and we are in our 60s now.

I think option 2 for me. I absolutely love London but I always say I'd only live centrally if I was a millionaire.

I used to live in Clapham and that would be my choice.

It is a quick commute to Central London anyway and you would get some green space.

Would Farringdon be an option? Not far from your zone 1 places.

I’ve read all your replies and don’t see this question answered- will you be renting or buying?

I would just warn you that Victorian homes can be quite annoying in terms of upkeep, whereas a new build flat will be easier to manage. But if renting that is obviously not your problem!

I’m confused about the walk to work thing, if I have this straight the options are either a place in zone 1 where you can both walk vs a place in Clapham where neither of you can walk?

What about a place in Zone one where one of you can walk and the other can cycle or go a stop or 2 by tube?

Also, do neither of you ever WFH? If you do WFH then maybe a bigger flat is better, balanced against the longer commute not being done every day?

If you are happy going to office most days, my recommendation would be stay in zone 1 for a couple more years while you are probably both working crazy hours- a short commute is a good thing at that stage, living centrally is pretty cool and you have years and years to live further out with kids.

If moving out a bit, personally I prefer North London to Clapham/Balham, and it’s worth looking beyond tubes to short 10-20 min train commutes. Northern line in rush hour is a bit shit.

You’d have friends in the block at St Paul’s? How cool would that be!
I lived that centrally when I was 28. Happy times. Loved walking to work, easy cabs home after a night out. It wasn’t a time of life when I valued my home as a sanctuary (garden, birdsong, fresh air, etc) so being in the thick of things worked for me. I went out multiple nights a week at that stage of life, usually straight after work. I didn’t need a car with my lifestyle at the time.

Some people (like me 😁) find gardening a major pita and time-suck. You both work long hours. Do you really want a garden?

Your option 1 is my happy place. I and many friends have lived in and around that area for years (we are now mid-late 40s). One friend and her husband are in the process of moving back having waved their kids off to Uni from a suburban house.

Other friends have brought their kids up in flats in the area. Most of the kids are now older teens.

There are so many things round there - places to buy food, restaurants, cinema, theatre, galleries and you can walk to so many places. The weekend thing has really changed especially if you walk up towards Liverpool street which positively jumps.

My only hesitation would be that you may end up commuting out for social stuff if your friends don't live so centrally.

It’s funny, I work in the City and am in a few days a week, it’s busy but obviously the demographic of people with whom it is busy is very city worker. When I WFH I am literally car for school run then at home in a residential street.
At weekends I go into the “village” bit of my zone 3 London area, or shopping in Morrisons, and I realise that I have gone a whole week barely seeing an old person or a non city-type. It’s good to be reminded that our community is wider than those we work with.

On the other hand, I do like the City at weekends on the odd occasion I have reason to be there. That 28 days later vibe and peace to look up and properly enjoy the buildings. And the eating places in the square mile are shut but Borough Market and Spitalfields are buzzing.

Neither? I’d go for the Barbican. I can’t imagine they allow air bnb.

Which I suppose out of your choices means St Paul’s.

service charges for a flat would worry me though. I’d like a bit of outdoor space too. After living in a new build flat I find a balcony didn’t really cut it.

Not Clapham/Balham as in my mind it’s a bit ra. An odd cross between Sloane and Australian and SA backpacker. If I was going for zone 2/3 I’d go North. But I’m probably full of N v S London prejudice.

It is a short walk from Borough Market

Probably option 1

For option 2 to be worth it I’d want somewhere with proper green which means zone 4 or Hampstead and a longer commute

Those areas are very much families with children.

I don’t think you’ve been to the Hebrides

I don’t think you understand hyperbole.

@BoneshakerBike Borough is on the other side of the river, not part of the City and is a good 20 min from St Pauls.

Having read your updates, I would stay central.
Walking to work, porter, no airbnbs, central London on your doorstep I would say are bigger plus points than Balham.

Indeed. I live on the other side of the City to St Paul's i.e. near Aldgate and the City no longer being dead at weekends drives me nuts!! Bloody tourists and out-of-towners everywhere! I long for the days of the City being dead at weekends, it was blissful!

It is almost exactly 1 mile and 20 minutes walk with Bankside/globe etc closer
I know as I walk it every Sunday to go out for lunch
That is a short and very uplifting walk
The river doesnt matter as it has bridges and at that point they are frequent!
It is actually further to drive as you cant do the millennium bridge and cut through

I've lived in both (well, very near St Paul's) and Zone 1 all the way! I LOVED how quiet it was on weekends. You can literally walk 10 minutes in any direction for more action if you want, but equally enjoy the peace!

You mentioned you have friends there already; I'd just check what the noise is like in the mornings. If you're next to businesses, they often have deliveries/rubbish collections at the arsecrack of dawn M-F.

And?

Anything outside of South Ken is a no go.

Blimey. I wouldn't live in South Ken if you paid me!

I have lived centrally (but both more West and more East) and would go for Zone 1 but maybe shift a bit. Spitalfields is great.

Only Knightsbridge is worse than South Ken.

I lived in Zone 3 until a few months ago. My flat was right by a long riverside walk with parks on either side, leading to a huge country park on one end, and miles more of more curated parks and river on the other, near sweet little high streets with bakeries and cafes... Most of London is actually quite normal residential areas, and the sheer size of the parks are just unparalleled.