Are Bethnal Green, Mile End and Hackney good areas for a first move?

[MyFluentCat]

Hello all!

My DD (23) will be moving away from home (Belfast) for the first time in June to start her first job in London. She's looked around and thinks that East London offers the best balance of commuting time to cost of living for her situation. She has mentioned Bethnal Green, Mile End, and Hackney. Apparently others from the office are living near those areas.

From a cursory look on street view, they don't look awfully inspiring. I know that side of the city was damaged in the war, so I wasn't expecting the architecture would be as nice as other parts, but they just seem a little run down. We live in a fairly mixed area of Belfast, and she's very streetwise, but she will be an ocean away.

She has asked around on some groups for young women that rent in London on Facebook, and has got very differing opinions. Some saying they've lived there for years and that those areas are perfect for her needs (good running trails/green space, hippy brunch restaurants, etc), and others saying they would run a mile from any of those parts of the city.

I was just wondering if anyone had experience one way or the other!

In London it more depends on exactly where in Hackney, Mile End etc. So what's the walk to public transport like? Well lit? Busy? Mile End there are some great places to live but also some ropy places. I wouldn't live anywhere that requires her to walk through Mile End park at night.
Hackney is a massive borough. Again with some great buzzy places and some quite rough areas. She needs to be way more specific tbh!
In terms of looks, I wouldn't bother about that too much. Those areas are not typically lovely looking but will be vibrant and loads of cheap shops etc. The key is what sort of accommodation will she be in and the walk to transport.

I lived in East London for the whole time I lived in London - Mile End, Shadwell, Bethnal Green. Very safe (for London) and friendly community places. Where exactly is she looking?

My DS is in Bethnal Green.

it’s next to Shoreditch which is the currently hip place to be apparently. He lives in a shared house and his area is absolutely chocka with young twenty somethings in their first job.

of course if she can afford Kensington and Chelsea knock yourself out but London is fucking expensive and most young twenty somethings want to be where the began restaurants, bubble tea places and nightclubs are which is currently Shoreditch.

I have a flat in mile end. Opposite old raggged school along the canal. I lived there for years until moving further a few stops further rto buy a bigger place. I would love to live on that area again. It's a great place to be in your twenties. Easy to walk to places. Lots of transport options. The canal is great. You can to canary wharf easily or Victoria park. Not a bad place to get comfortable cycling around the city. Central London isn't far. If we could have afforded a house that wasn't tiny we would have stayed. Fyi we rent flat out now.
I'm born and raised city girl from south London and enjoy the diversity the city brings. Could also never dream of/ afford Bethnal Green, even 10+ years ago. There are some great properties around there. Friends have always loved Hackney. I prefer having a tube option but transport has gotten better there now.

My 24 year old son shares a house with a male friend and female friend in Bethnal Green. It has excellent transport links via Bethnal Green tube and Whitechapel tube and the overground Weaver line us one stop to Liverpool Street station (which he can walk to in 20 minutes). He can get in Shoreditch by walking in 10/12 minutes.

I was really surprised how friendly and safe it seems when I visit and happily walk back to the station etc on my own across the park at night.

People who say they'd run a mile have never been to our neck of woods and go by some archaic map of London from the 50s. It's no coincidence that the best small gig and art venues are this way, and a huge investment of the new V&A in Stratford which just opened

I used to live on the same street as the ragged school museum in my 20s! Maybe we were neighbours at some point 🤣 Moved abroad for a bit then eventually settled in SW London but it was a great area in my 20s and an easy commute to canary wharf where I was working at the time.

Bit dodgy but no worse than Belfast.

That makes perfect sense! She is only starting her search now and is already showing me flats nightly...

Most of the ones she's shown me so far have been close to the tube stations. If I had any say, that would be my preference since it makes getting home from the centre later at night a bit safer.

My niece lived in London until about a decade ago and said she would steer clear of the major stations at night, but I assume that that doesn't mean the tube stops themselves...

That's great to hear! She seems quite interested in being closer to the tube stations rather than further away. Many of her friends live in west London so I suppose it makes it easier for both commuting and going over to them.

Best advice I was ever given on moving to London was never to be more than five minutes' walk from a tube station. And it served me so well.

My DD lived in Limehouse for three years and it was fine.

That's exactly it! Her friends are in Fulham, Marylebone, etc, but that's just not in her budget...

Vegan restaurants and bubble tea are definitely up her alley, thank you!

You are very welcome to send me a PM if you like - I will tell you all that I know! I went there first as a uni student - moved to Sussex to marry a pig (least said, soonest mended!) - and then went back to London. So probably more than a decade all told. Honestly, I get that it's a bit daunting but the East End is honestly the nicest place - I once topped up my Oyster at the local station rather than in the newsagents and when I went in next he said to me: "Oh I am glad you are ok nice lady - I was worried!" Proper sense of community. As I say, feel free to drop me a line - I won't respond tonight as I am about to turn off devices to lose a pub quiz in a team of one on a whim! But I definitely will before the weekend.

Great to know, thank you!

She cycles around Belfast currently, something I neglected to mention! Hopefully will get a helmet before she heads over... Her work is on Overground so Hackney isn't an issue in that regard, except for the journey to her friends in west London would be a bit trickier.

There was one flat by Tredegar Square Gardens, would have broke the bank, but she fell in love with it. Is that side of Mile End ok? Seems the "cooler" spots are nearer to Roman Road but she's attached to being by the station.

My DD was in a house share near Bethnal Green tube station after leaving uni a couple of years ago. She loved it there as did her housemates. She's since moved to a different area of London but she still regularly goes back to Bethnal Green for nights out.

South London's generally cheaper, so if she wants to be closer to her friends, maybe look at places on the tube south and sw, like the more affordable areas of wandsworth, clapham, vauxhall, battersea and beyond so she can get across the river to her mates. I don't mind the places you've mentioned but Hackney is huge and can be a pain in the ass if you're not near a good transport hub. If she's intent on living out east, then mile end and bethnal green are better for tube.

That sounds exactly like the sort of place she'd like to be. Our part of Belfast has a brilliant sense of community, and as lovely as I'm sure the posher parts of the city are, it would be something I'd miss if I were the one making the move.

Putting my hand up for Hackney (Wick, to be specific!). We’ve lived in Stratford and Bow as well.

Been here for ten years and wouldn’t consider anywhere else. It’s super safe, loads of green space, close to City, fabulous restaurant and coffee scene etc

She has friends in Clapham but her job is in East London so would just be a little far. She's to be in the office 4 days a week, but is used to a much smaller city and much shorter commutes!

Really?

I’m old and disabled but I regularly go into London and get late trains home at night. The major train stations are super busy and incredibly well staffed at all times.

i have beef with them about their provision of ramps for those of us in wheelchairs but the major train stations are safe.

I have not heard of Hackney Wick but it looks ideal between the two parks! Thank you

That's very good to hear, my niece is from the countryside so probably has a lower baseline level of what constitutes as unsafe. I have no issues with the stations in Belfast personally.

Gosh I am sorry, that's inexcusable!

Lots of London looks awful when you view it on street view, it really does. It has no bearing on how great a community that area has.

Unless you can afford to live in the objectively nicer looking areas of London, you’ll always be in either flats or terraced housing or lots of places that might look a bit shabby -and that honestly is the day to day reality of living in most of London - it’s got as many rundown parts any other place in the country.

I have loads of friends who live in Hackney, Shoreditch… some more out towards Walthamstow… it’s great, they love living there.

I moved away from London a couple of years ago so I can’t comment specifically but I spent 50 years of my life in London and none of those 50 years were in Posh or well to do areas of London and I’ve never been robbed.

I’ve never been mugged - I spent all of my time wandering around London generally at night during the day, dodgy areas, posh areas…she’ll be fine.

I would love to live there. That is Bow. Very nice. And crazy expensive. I used to dream about a few houses there. Went to view one in the £800k range and it was so tiny and awful.