Would you rent a pretty flat or a central flat?

[taxit]

Looking at moving rental flats. We have whittled it down to two options. Both cost the same (accounting for travel expenses) and are the same size.

Flat A: Very pretty road with lovely victorian houses. Tall ceilings and fireplace. A very naice area. Delis and restaurants and winebars etc. 40 minutes train to work.

Flat B: Bit of an ugly area, mainly 1960s-modern developments with older buildings mixed in. Flat has a small balcony. 15 minutes walk to work and walking distance to the theatre, museums, cinema etc. More chain type restaurants.

Would depend on my stage in life, but if I had children and wasn't working mad hours, I would go for the pretty flat.

How far is flat A from the station?

Normally I’m all about making a sacrifice to live more central, but flat A sounds much nicer, including the area. If it’s close to the station then that’s ok.

if you find you miss living more central you could move further centrally after a couple of years, but I sense you will be happy in Flat A!

Very life stage dependent. Do you need to worry about schools, even in the future?

depends on your lifestyle. Flat B if you are going to appreciate the nightlife.

Well are you a homebody or not?
I don't care about tall fireplaces, ceilings etc so I'd go for the flat closer to work. Being able to roll out of bed an hour before your commute must be an amazing feeling!

Flat B as you’ll have everything in walking distance.

Flat B
After spending years commuting to work I can see the benefit of a 15 min walk to work.
More “ you” time and who cares if there’s a looming rail strike ?

I would choose flat B because I wouldn't want a 40 minute commute every single day. However if you just had to go into the office just one day a week then I would choose flat A.

I would like to have a balcony as well.

I would go for the outside space with the balcony. So much better for the psyche.

Flat B. I've always lived centrally, including after having kids. So much more convenient and interesting to be near all the action.

So your dilemma is city or suburbs?

I’ve done both. City in my 20s, suburbs in my 30s and 40s. It depends on your lifestyle and where your friends live, really. It’s more fun to live amongst people in the same life stage as you.

That's a great point - but it seems that the suburbs like Clapham and Balham are where the 'young people' are, and it's more centrally that's an older crowd.