Living in the City of London

[wlawla]

DP and I both work in the City. Our jobs have mandated a 5 day office attendance.

We moved to Clapham for more space, but the forty minute commute at rush hour is gruelling and stressful.

We are seriously thinking about moving to live in the City, potentially in the Barbican Estate.

Has anyone got recent experience of living in the City? Is it worth the extra cost / restriction on space?

I can't comment on the cost v space, but have you spent time there at weekends etc.
I'm amazed at how dead some places are at weekends. There's times where I've struggled to find coffee shops etc which would usually be buzzing through the week.

No but I lived in Shad Thames and loved it. If I didn t have kids now I’d be back in a shot. Loved the walk along the river in the morning and in the evening. It’s a bit removed from the city but still super close. I walked everywhere. I miss it so much.

Are there any AirBnBs you can hire for a couple of weekends?
I don't live in the City but love being there on occasion for the peace and quiet compared to how hectic it is in the week. It's so convenient too.

Agree- Shad Thames is great.

Barbican service charges are absolutely mad. Maybe better living just away from there, south Islington is a bit cheaper I think but very similar in location. Postcode EC1V.

I lived in the City for 4 years and would do again in a heartbeat. The ‘places closed’ at weekends is what makes it! You get to know your manor and the shops get to know you. It’s a wonderfully small but enormous space.

If I could afford to buy in the Barbican, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Beautiful place to live, incredible community and eminently resale-able.

What a wonderful choice you have!

Lived in St Katherine's dock for a while- that might be worth looking at. Unlike most of the city, stuff is open at weekends due to the tourists.

Me too! And I feel exactly the same. I miss it so much.

I would def buy in the Barbican, lived there for a few years and absolutely loved it.(without kids though)

Look at Wapping - beautiful cobbled streets, old pubs nice and quiet , converted warehouse apartments but a short bus ride/ walk cycle to city or docklands .

Angel would be a lot nicer and you could walk or get quick bus.

I live just above the Barbican and moved from Monument a year or so ago; it's much livelier here on weekends and more things are open, but north of Chiswell St is Islington which added a big whack to the council tax (which in the City is next to nothing).

Be aware that the Barbican itself has a lot of rules for residents right down to the plants on your balcony; I looked at a couple of flats there but I'm glad I found the one I did. The area around Whitecross St especially is great, you can get on the Elizabeth Line at Moorgate and Old Street is just up the road with lots of buses and more shops

My friends live in the Barbican. They love it .

Take me back 😭😭😭

Obviously I love my children but my goodness I miss the life we (me and my OH who I now have kids with) had when we lived there.

Friends lived in the Barbican and they said there were alot of rules. I always felt it was desolate on weekends too.

We lived between zone 1-2, just Eastwards of there for many years. I walked everywhere, Bricklane, Columbia Flower Market, Shoreditch and to the city etc. Victoria park is a lovely green space and I've heard good things about living in Victoria park village.

I forgot, also had a friend live on the Regents Canal near London Fields. It was lovely to walk along there early morning. Also nice places along the canal towards Islington.

Ever since I lived just off Tottenham Court Road as a student I have wanted to live right in the centre.
I am borderline obsessed with property in the city itself. And like a previous poster I love the idea of it being quiet at weekends as in post apocalypse quiet, that's what it was like in TCR.
And nice though Clapham is the Barbican would be second only to Soho for me. Go for it!

I think it depends where exactly you work.
I lived in Wapping but worked near UCH.
It took at least 40 mins commute.

I would look at Wapping or Limehouse.

Lived in clerkenwell before kids. Great area and would be back there if we weren't now tied to schools.

It’s obviously going to be more expensive the closer to Central London you go. Can you afford it?
My friend moved to the city for work a few years back with partner, the apartment they rented was £2.6k a month! The property was a small 2 bed with shared laundry facilities! Granted they both are in very well paid jobs as they work in the finance sector both in senior positions.

Are there other jobs in your industry outside of London that you could look at a relocation?

I wish my 1 bed was £2.6K a month, @good96 🤣

Although I do have a washer dryer. I looked at a huge flat on Lothbury about five years ago which had a shared laundry in the basement like some New York tenement and it put me off completely.

They don't pop up that often and they go quickly, but there are some great blocks around Farringdon too? Again, not far from Barbican 👍

If I didn't have DC I'd probably live in Central London. I lived in Chelsea pre-DC and loved it. Not a fan of the Barbican (or its prices), but speaking as someone who has a 1 hour 15 minute commute, I can see the appeal of working so close to work that you could walk in.

On a studio it's £500 per month.

Friends have lived in Barbican for years and love it.

As PP said, the areas immediately next to the City, but not in it, are generally your best bet (although the Barbican is nice). So in more or less clockwise order, Clerkenwell, Kings Cross, the Angel end of Islington, De Beauvoir, Wapping, Shad Thames. A 30 minute walking commute is, IMO, pretty much the optimum for health and happiness.