Ethos83

Just wasting time on primelocation.

Say your budget is 500-550k GBP. Minimum 2- bed flat or a small terraced house. Where in London would you buy, and why?

Autonomy

I'd go Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill, Maida Vale for apartment

Terraced house - you'd need to head out a little, Willesden, Cricklewood - or Blackheath is nice...

too much choice...

Madam Medusa

definitely richmond/kew...you could get a fab flat for that money overlooking the river, or a small terraced house/cottage away from the river...

why...? its got good public transport to get across london and easy access to heathrow (and gatwick) and to the motorways to go north...and a fantastic choice of bars and restaurants...for the outdoors life, there's richmond park, kew gardens, kew green and the river all within walking distance (and the rugby ground, maybe london welsh(?) if you're into that)...

MM, xx

Millhouse

I really don't see the attraction of London but if I had to chose an area I would also go for South East London (less poor little rich kid type twats) and in particular I would go for Blackheath. However, given the Lee-Kidbrooke-Brockley sandwich that is Blackheath I am put off by the stab risk.

I wouldn't waste my money in London and would move out to the commuter belt and live in something nice with a large garden suitable for a springer spaniel.

I love the sound of a neighbour jet washing their car on a Sunday morning.

al dente

3 bed house in KT2, Kingston-upon-Thames


Saw an article on Buy-To_Lets and Kingston was number 2 behind Blackpool (!) in regards to returns. A 3 bed house rents to families wanting access to the good schooling on offer and they are like gold dust. Richmond Park on yer doorstep and great travel links. Shopping pretty good too!

kittycat1

Clapham - I love it there- 20 mins into central London, but feels like its own little village, the park is great in Summer and has some awesome events on also have fab fireworks display which is free. Theres a few too many yummy mummies for me these days right on the common so I'd probably look somewhere off Battersea Rise in Clapham Junction. It's my favourite part in London and always feels like home, some great bars, great things to do with kids (in the future) and just a really nice atmosphere. Close enough to Brixton for some super gigs. And also the lowest counl tax in the UK (Wandsworth)!

Ethos83

Thanks for the suggestions. Keep them coming on.

I most likely will be purchasing a property by the end of this year whether I live in it or end up renting it out. But I will be buying the property as if I fully expect to live there. Other than the budget I'm constrained by two things - I most likely will be working in the City and most of my London friends have congregated in either Fulham or Islington although there's others scattered across the city. Ideally I'd like to live near them.

Islington, while appealing from both a logistics and social perspective, is not only too politically red for me but is also exhorbitantly expensive. A Georgian terrace in Islington or the northern bits of Clerkenwell would be fantastically ideal - in a fantasy world where I have the 1.5MM GBP minimumum required for a shabby terraced house. The flats are tiny and not overly appealing. Lower Clerkenwell has a bunch of modernist flats that could be doable but I've walked through the area on the weekends and it felt strangely quiet, even dead. Oddly so.

Fulham is more generous when it comes to properties but not by much. I looked up MM's Kew and Richmond and it is a lovely area with more space for your pounds, but I'd also have to check out the commute length.

Maida Vale is popular but too many Americans live there. It has an atmosphere similar to Kensington - predominately occupied by affluent foreigners and doesn't have a good 'local' neighbourhood feel to it. Could be wrong and will have to spend more time there on the weekends.

Marylebone may be an option?

One area I really have not looked in at all is south of the River. Several people have suggested I look at Kennington and Camberwell where I might even just be able to afford a proper Georgian terraced house.

Millhouse

Camberwell is a shit hole. The Millhouse bloodline extends to there.

lionheart

Que?

typical

The Greenwich side of Blackheath (or indeed the Blackheath side of Greenwich) are very nice, though.

Millhouse

indeed - and the heath brings back fond memories of a girl called Kimberly

Autonomy

I lived in Camberwell / Brixton / Stockwell in a couple of places about 15 years ago.

Stockwell there were a few good streets and the rest was a bit of a war zone, Camberwell was similar - but I hear it's really come up now though?

Millhouse

Probably true - we left for the country ages ago but we would go there to visit grandparents etc.

Madam Medusa

there's a non-stopping train from richmond to waterloo which takes 20 mins...or the slower district line, depending where you need to get to...

kennington is a shit hole...it is earmarked for "coming up" soon, but i was talking to someone only last week, and it's still a long way off from that, apparently...

MM, xx

Madam Medusa

yeah, greenwich/blackheath are lovely...i think where you end up living kind of depends where you "land" in london first of all...for me, i always lived in sw london and couldn't contemplate anywhere else however nice...!

MM, xx