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Original poster

Moving to London!!! Where??!! We are open to anywhere!

52 replies

gingerino · 18/04/2009 14:49

We are about to move to London from the North- East. We would like to be near a tube/train and hopefully rent a 2-bed. Help!!! We would love any advice!!Where would you live in London if you could!!! Thanks in advance!

OP posts:

OutOfThinHair · 18/04/2009 14:55

Budget? A 2 bed flat in a nice street in a centralish part of London is £450 a week. A 2 bed in a crumby part of town is a lot less. And a 2 bed in the middle of town would be a lot more.

ChippyMinton · 18/04/2009 15:04

Where will you be travelling to?
Do you need schools?
Budget?
etc etc

Sam100 · 18/04/2009 15:10

Are you likely to be travelling by car back up to the North East regularly or have family down from NE? If so would probably look at north of the Thames rather than south simply on basis that cuts journey time down by an hour or so.

Can only talk about west London - Ealing has good train/tube/bus transport links into central london.

Would probably start from basis of where you both need to get to in London - presume you are moving for work - and then work out from the location to see what the main tube/train lines are. Then ask about specific areas from there.

beaniebaby25 · 18/04/2009 15:14

rent or buy? I live in Hackney, which i love, if that's any help

bran · 18/04/2009 15:22

We need lots more info. Do you need to be near schools? If so primary or secondary? What's your budget? Would you prefer to be urban or suburban? Will you be running a car as well or will you be needing to do everything (shopping, school run etc) on foot or on public transport?

LaQuitar · 18/04/2009 15:37

I agree that you must give more info

But personally i d like Camden or Islington (both very close to west end and northern line if you work in the city) , and Barnet if children older for bigger house and fab schools

Of course if i won the lottery i would choose Hamstead. (dreaming emotion)

Original poster

gingerino · 18/04/2009 15:53

Sorry, yes of course more info. DS is not starting school for another year so nice playgroup would be nice. We are looking at 900 to 1250 per month for a 2 bed to rent. Is that realistic? We don't need to be in central London and we are very happy in a bustling vibrant community with lot's on the doorstep..Good tube or bus links would be great.
We work from home so re accessibility to place of work is not important but a good service to central London is an advantage. We will leave the car in the North and use public transport and we will go by train back up north about once a month so Kings Cross is our station but we don't mind crossing London to get to it so as you can see we are really extremely flexible.

OP posts:

LaQuitar · 18/04/2009 15:58

ok with this budget forget hamstead then .

I m not sure you can find a decent place to rent for this money. Sorry i dont mean to depress you

lalalonglegs · 18/04/2009 16:44

You will struggle to get anywhere within zone 2 for that and anywhere "nice" within zone 3 (ie. near a park, plenty of amenities, own garden). Have you thought about Holloway (good links to Kings X, quite bustling, keeps being tipped as up and coming); parts of it are in Camden, I think, where schools are better than Islington (where the other parts are). Has horrible trunk road going through it (the Holloway Road) but nice smaller streets off that - easy to get to Upper St if you need a designer orange squeezer or vintage silk cushion covers .

rodgershawk · 18/04/2009 17:05

You can get a nice 2 bed in Barnet for that money.
New Barnet station is 22 minutes to Kings x, New Barnet and East Barnet are slightly cheaper than High Barnet but only a short distance on Bus for shopping.
Lots of local shops, good park and lots of nice playgroups/nurserys.

(oh yes and the residents are ever so nice

YanknCock · 18/04/2009 17:33

Greenwich would be doable on that budget. I had a two bed flat there with all bills included for £1200 last year, before we moved up north.

Loads of busses go through, and you have the DLR, the overground train, and the tube at North Greenwich. It's zone 2/3 depending on which mode of transport you use.

There is a lovely huge park, loads of independent restaurants & shops, and seems popular with families.

wombleprincess · 18/04/2009 17:41

possibley putney. lovely near the river

Beetroot · 18/04/2009 17:45

where is work?

Vinegar · 18/04/2009 17:51

Pinner/Harrow-on-the-Hill is very nice and you would get something for your budget. Very convenient for Kings Cross too. Check out the foxtons website for an example of what you would get.

ThingOne · 18/04/2009 18:06

If you child is going to school next year you will need to apply for a school place for September 2011 at some point in the 2009/2010 academic year. I had to apply in Sept/Oct for the following September. I don't know the London timescales.

What this means is that you need to look now about where you want to live for the next two years or your child could end up without a school place or a place in a crap school.

foxinsocks · 18/04/2009 18:09

findaproperty is good for rent in london

jeanjeannie · 18/04/2009 18:49

I'd say look to somewhere like Herne Hill (zone 2) It's got a lovely vibe. It's in- between Brixton and Dulwich. Got an over-ground - buses and Brockwell park on your doorstep. I had a house there and left just as it was getting fab; went back the other week - it was so nice. Could definately get something for that money.

JimmyMcNulty · 18/04/2009 19:45

We were renting a 3-bed house in a nice part of Blackheath/Greenwich (v close to Westcombe Park station) for 1200 a month up until a few months ago. There is loads nice for that budget around there and there was a lovely community feel, lots of families. Trains into London Bridge/Charing Cross, tube from North Greenwich (Jubilee Line). Blackheath Village and the area known as Blackheath Standard are nice with some good food shops (great butcher, greengrocer, M&S, etc), Greenwich Park and the heath close by, Greenwich Market, Maritime Museum, some good restaurants etc. You need to not mind walking up a lot of hills though!
Doesn't sound like you are thinking as far ahead as secondary schools, which is the only problem with the area.

lalalonglegs · 18/04/2009 20:29

Oooh, I went to Herne Hill for the first time in years last week - Brockwell Park is lovely and Brixton is really bustling and fun (and not as scary as people would have you believe) - great cinema, fantastic pizza in the market, good market, as many places offering Western Union money transfer and phone unlocking services as you could wish for...

YanknCock · 18/04/2009 23:39

Ooh, will second recommendation for Blackheath. DH lived in Blackheath Village for a while. When we first got together, he made the remark 'there is nowhere nice in SE London' (he's a north London boy) and I promptly dragged him there to prove him wrong.

When we moved in together we were right by Maze Hill, one stop down from Westcombe Park. If we moved back to London we'd probably end up there.

Or Beckenham, where I used to live. It's a bit further out, zone 4, but very nice for families.

Original poster

gingerino · 19/04/2009 00:21

Thank you so much for all your advice. You have suggested places I would never even have thought of and we have checked a lot of places out on the various websites and there are lot's of nice 2 beds in budget. School is not a huge issue at the moment. My son is on the autism spectrum and we don't envisage school for a bit.
Also as I mentioned we both work from home so we can be anywhere in London which is an advantage. All advice has been fantastic, thanks.

OP posts:

lowrib · 19/04/2009 00:51

Barnet is the suburbs! Pretty, but not real London, not really

jeanjeannie · 19/04/2009 09:26

Enjoy looking for your perfect pad - I'm sure you'll end up easily getting something in budget that's suitable.

LOL@ lalalonglegs - how I miss those phone unlocking services....and nail bars open till midnight... Seriously miss the great child-friendly cafes though and the great deli. Oh and the sight of a rather gorgeous neighbour - a certain Irish actor with a cheeky twinkle

Beetroot · 19/04/2009 12:42

PALMERS GREEN IS FABULOUS and has a great playgroup on ox lane

MegBusset · 19/04/2009 12:45

Palmers Green, fabulous?

Not sure I would agree with that. Winchmore Hill is very nice though.

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