libra90210

Hi, I will be moving to London with my job and will be looking for a rental apartment. Could anyone suggest which part of London would be the best? I am not looking for any high-end or shady quarter, I am looking for some average place. What kind of rent cost should I expect from a 2 bedroom apt?

steviedeluxe

Where is your job? It's no good recommending a place in Ealing or Croydon if your job is in Stratford.

Ray51

Do you know London at all ;
there's Hampstead and there's Mayfair , Camden , Kensington and Chelsea ...outside places like Richmond , Kingston , Esher , Cobham...
also Fulham and Streatham and Balham and all sorts ;
and much travel daily is not much fun , rather : much expense .

Europe

I have been told from Greek friends who study in London that in the outer areas Richmond,Kingston,Cobham and Fullham the rents are not so high, there is a high index of criminality.

Domino

if you are moving to London with your job then get your employer to work with you in providing a suitable place, easy travel to work but far enough to get you away from it. do they have other people living in London at this time ?

there is no such thing as "average" in London, London is essentially a large patchwork of small towns or village communities all within the city boundary. London's population is just under 8million, compared with 11million for the whole of Greece.

good luck - you may need it
rgds

Europe

Outrage prices. I really can't get how young people can afford staying there. I guess people work like 10 hours a day !!

Domino

yeah well needs must

look at property prices and rents in other major cities around the world and you will find London isnt at the top by any means.

were you thinking London was a cheap doss down ?
no way has it been since before women got the vote,

thats why people travel like sardines in tin cans every morning and evening to get a "better way of life" outside the city.

rgds

libra90210

Thanks to everyone for ideas. One more question, what would be some good online classifieds website? Perhaps something like craigs list in the usa...

steviedeluxe

A common one is Gumtree.com but be careful as at one time a lot of scams operated on this site, and on CraigsList too (which I believe also operates in London). May be all perfectly safe now, but keep your wits about you, especially if "deposits" are asked for up-front.

Another site (which may suit you better, you'll have to investigate) is this one (rentals as well as properties for sale):

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property/London.html

To be honest though, you'd be better staying in a cheap b&b/hotel for a while, until you work out convenient areas for your job location. No point entering into a 6 month contract and then finding out it's a dangerous area and/or transport to and from work is unpredictable.

januarymix

As steviedeluxe says rightmove is a good site. I am not sure why they say Richmond, Fulham etc are not good, in fact they are not cheap and are popular. Places like Wimbledon have a lot of NZ, Aust, S. African expats. Shepherds Bush is central but a bit dodgier. Newer developments around Canary Wharf are starting to gain popularity because there are many baners. Basically there are so many areas it takes some time and research.