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

[gingerino]

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!

Oh I think it is great.
we lived htere or a while with small kids
loved it

A third vote for Blackheath/Greenwich, although it would make for a longer journey to King X for trains back up north. We live in Lewisham (not for much longer, as we're moving out of London touches wood), where you'll get more for your money. But we used to rent in Westcombe Park and it was really lovely - same for Maze Hill and Greenwich.

Greenwich and Lewisham are good because they're on the Docklands Light Railway, which makes up a bit for the lack of tubes in the area.

Hither Green is also nice, but a bit further out.

Good luck!

Palmers Green and Winchmore Hill are a bit far out for my liking. I expect they're lovely, but if you could pick anywhere in London, and didn't have any ties to anywhere already, wouldn't you pick somewhere slightly more central / interesting?

I think if you could pick anywhere, Greenwich as suggested would be a really interesting place to live, and also a great place to grow up.

I'm surprised Muswell Hill hasn't been mentioned - so I'll be the first. Great for families, close to Highgate tube and Bounds Green tube. You got Highgate woods, Ally Pally, etc. Lovely lovely area, lovely lovely people ...

Chiswick?

On the Piccadilly, so handy for both Kings Cross and Heathrow. Easy into central London by overground, tube or bus. Very vibrant, child-friendly neighbourhood.

If you don't mind a 2 bed flat Kew or East Sheen (SW14) are fabulous places to live. Great open spaces, top primary schools, and pretty good transport links. You have the tube and the train.

Greenwich or East Sheen/Kew, out of all those mentioned so far that I know well enough to judge on

SE london is good - trains into London Bridge, northern line up to Kings X. Lots of green open spaces, cheaper than most other parts of london.

north London also lovely but really pricey and if you don't need to be there not worth it!

Thank you for all the advice, it really does help. Anyone know Royal Arsenal??? Any advice? See link

www.findaproperty.com/agentdetails.aspx?edid=00&salerent=1&agentid=03896

Looks nice....

scienceteacher does the Dilly stop at Turnham Green in the day now then?
When we lived there I found it v annoying that you had to watch it chugging through with a perfectly good platform and it didnt stop!

chiswick is a wonderful place to live - walks by the river, or chiswick house, great shops on the high road and loads of cafes, lovely houses, good transport links. Kew gardens not too far away.

richmond and kew also lovely, also putney, east sheen fulham, greenwich, west hampstead

"Royal Arsenal" - LOL, is this estate-agent speak for what we used to call Woolwich?

Not the nicest part of town imo (I grew up round there and was rough as boots in those days) but may have changed since then.

Plumstead (close to Woolwich) is quite up-and-coming these days, I believe...

A resounding NO to Royal Arsenal. It's another soulless new development. I lived in Woolwich for nearly two years quite recently, and can't say I recommend it. Area around the train station is kinda scary/minging. High Street also grubby/scary. Transport links not as good as Greenwich.

Was in Plumstead last week visiting friends and didn't seem very u&C to me - quite reverse in fact. Would second Yank's verdict on SE18.

Definitely no to Woolwich/Plumstead/Royal Arsenal if you value your life.

There is a very nice enclave of houses in SE18 between the A207 and Plumstead, next to Shooters Hill Golf Club, with gorgeous views and ancient woodland nearby, but I still wouldn't want to live there as it's surrounded by dodginess. Also no tubes or rail nearby.

Walthamstow is very family oriented. I lived there for a few years before we left London. On Victoria Line, train station, bus station, night buses every 30 hour from central London. Prices are down there. Great surestart centres. The nicest area is the Village (around Orford Road), I lived off Queens Road, 10 mins from tube (St Barnabas Road and other roads around there). Or it's nice around LLoyd's Park.

Sorry I meant 30 mins from central london. the tube takes around 20 mins to Oxford Circus.

Goldenpeach - I live in St Barnabas Rd - it is very nice - also quiet because it's one way - and we have lovely neighbours - so lovely we took fences down for a party last year and just expanded the gardens for all of us.

Walthamstow Village is great and now has a good deli with a cafe/restaurant attached which has big outside area with huge blackboard and chalk for children to draw. Also a good tapas place - a bit pricey but nice food and do churros and hot chocolate on Sat ams. Farmers' market every Sunday and lots of regeneration plans in central area. Plus close to all the Olympic stuff so a lot to recommend investing in buying.

My children go to a brilliant Montessori school - DS is in kindergarten there but DD1 has staying on for primary school - independent so fees involved but a fraction of the cost of a mainstream private school and with a great cultural mix too.

15 mins to Kings Cross, 20 to Oxford Circus and 15 to Liverpool St on the overground. Lots of great places in easy reach - like Epping Forest. And going into town you are close to Columbia Road - fantastic flower and plant market on Sundays and the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood which I went to as a child and my three love it - indoor sandpit and lots to do and look at. Also Little Angel puppet theatre in Islington is easy on the tube or the bus. Time Out voted it one of London's best villages.

Wandsworth and Stoke Newington also very family orientated but less well connected to public transport.

Having said all this we are moving from London in July - to try life in the country. And renting out our two bed maisonette in Walthamstow if you've haven't found anything by then!

Wow Walthamstow sounds fab!! I worked there in 1989 selling windows over the phone!!!! I was very bad at it.....We are spending a lot of time looking at properties according to your suggestions so thank you all so much....

Yikes over Royal Arsenal...Looks so lovely...just shows, you really need advice on this....Will keep your place in mind honkytonkangel...sounds lovely...how can you move??!!

Hahaha, 'name your personal bit of London' thread! We live in Tooting Bec, and love it.
Pros: price, size of houses. Huge common nearby, which isn't as well-known as Clapham/Wimbledon. 10 mins from trendy Clapham, 10 mins from trendy Wimbledon, 5 mins from trendy Balham. Plenty to do with kids (but that's true of most places in London), two convenient tube stations, supermarkets. Fab Indian food so you could live on the best takeaways in London. It's very ethnic, which I love. Massive Primark and a TK MAxx about to open.
Cons: it's not trendy, not at all. Everywhere around is up and coming but Tooting hasn't upped or come yet! (Has advantages, though - price wise...) Is quite far south (but not as far as Wimbledon, say), although you can see Canary Wharf from the top of our road. Parking can be problematic close to the tubes.

Close to Streatham too which is similarly untrendy but full of gorgeous Victorian houses.

Oh, I love Tooting!

This thread is so funny! In a good way - everyone knows small bits of London, so must be useful, right?
Who mentioned Wandsworth? Tooting is next door and in the borough. Second cheapest council tax in the country.

According to the leaflet through our door (in trendy Clapham/Balham border - does that make us doubly trendy?) it is the cheapest council tax in the country. Must say, I've never heard E17 described as fabulous before...

Have you been to Walthamstow lala? It's had a bad press for good reasons but doesn't deserve it anymore. I was born in E17 and grew up in Chingford which was villagey and quaint in the 70's - not now because all the old sweet shops, haberdashers, grocers and fishmongers have become estate agents and video shops. But E17 is changing fast. Fabulous might be an overstatement but it's got a lot that's great about it. In particular the forest and marshes being so close for walks. From my house it is a 5 min drive or 20 min walk to a brilliant riding stables, four different swimming pools and gyms, a local museum with a lovely apple fair in the autumn and the longest street market in Europe. Plus we can keep tabs on the the Olympic developments. Currently huge mounds of soil...hmmm.

Do a search for 'Walthamstow village' on Google Images and you might be surprised. And look it up on Time Out. The old manor house is an artists' studio in which DH shares some space with a photographer - quite a big arty community and an art trail around artists' house in the summer.

PS Used to live near Clapham South tube and Northcote Rd 10 years ago and that was great too. But E17 is the new Islington, you mark my words!!

OP - go to www.timeout.com and buy 'London for Londoners'. Gives a great idea of the non tourist side of London's residential areas with comments from locals and lists of facilities, activities, maps and statistics. Might help you decide.

I love London and am in two minds about leaving - although will often be back anyway - my brother lives here - very near and BIL in Bloomsbury. But we are trying a change of life - lots of bereavements etc in our families and want to do something completely different.