DrStarsky

Hi everyone, hope someone can help me out again. I don't know London at all and I need to research rental prices. What neighborhoods would you recommend I look at? I'm in my early thirties, single man, and I'm looking for a 1 bedroom apt below 750 GBP / month, possibly in a central areas with access to restaurants etc. I would need to commute daily to the Strand. Thanks for your help.

yonk

http://www.rightmove.co.uk

Didn't think you would be able to get anythnig but a lot of flats came up on the search in £800 region. My sister was paying £120 pw for a room so it's not cheap.

I think Loot also advertise flats for let & www.gumtree.com are good for all sorts of things.

Santa

Find out what underground line you'll be on. Makes travelling to work a lot easier if you've not got to change trains to often. Then look along the line a see what you like.

DrStarsky

Good point, just did that: the most convenient lines for going to work are Circle and District, but also Piccadilly, Bakerloo, Northern, and Jubilee are fine. My problem is, I don't know anything about London neighborhoods, and I was hoping for suggestions to narrow down the search (even reading up about all the neighborhoods is daunting for a city of this size). Could anyone indicate some good (or bad) neighborhoods along the above mentioned Tube lines ?

Mercedes

Why not look for a house/flat share with people who may have similar interests/job to you. It will also help you make friends and have others to go out with as well as keeping your costs down. There should be agencies that can help you there. I've used them in the past and it makes life less lonier when you are new in a place. Just a thought

Englishmum

Good point.

Try the listings here (most posters will be from the British Commonwealth countries eg. Oz/NZ/S.Africa etc.):

http://www.tntmagazine.com (also pick up the free magazine in various spots around London eg. outside Charing Cross station nr Trafalgar Sq.).

Not going to Coventry eh?

Rodney you plonker

Have you thought about looking a little North of London, you would get much more for your money and it's an easy commute, Milton Keynes used to be nice and it's only 30 mins on the train, not sure what the areas are like now as it's been a while since I have been home.

You are not going to get anything decent at all in London for 750 a month, if you want to share a bathroom with 15 other people then you will be fine, but I would either up my budget or look outside of London close to a main line train track.

Good luck

kevinl

Charing cross station is a short walk to the strand so you could always look to the SE London or kent borders where rents would be cheaper. We were in Sidcup before we came to oz and rented a 3 bed house for £800 a month.
The mainline train took 35 mins to charing cross.
Hope this helps.
Debbie.

DarrenP

I lived in London for half my life before the US, so I know it pretty well.
Where you want to be somewhat depends on what you want out of the city. You mention a want to be somewhere fairly central, but to be honest the closer in you get, the residential areas become fewer and more expensive. So you might want to head a little further out.
If you want a hassle free commute, avoid the Northern Line, it's the most broken. Which is a shame since Clapham is a great part of town. Theres some great bars and restaurants, a cinema, and of course the common. Clapham 'old town' has a nice villagey feel. Maybe the Northern Line has improved since I left On the north side, If you like grunge, good pubs, music scene etc, weekend market, Camden town is a cool and happening part of town. I used to live south, in Wimbledon and then Balham, both considered nice areas. Less far down the District line, Putney and Fulham are really nice neighbourhoods (pricey but you might be able to find affordable flatshares) Closer in, South and High St. Ken is a nice area too but even pricier. My Dad lives at the end of the bakerloo line in Harrow, which has its pluses, but thats 8 miles or so north. I don't know east London at all I'm afraid. Plus, you don't necessarily need to limit yourself to tube. There is BR too. I have close friends in East Dulwich which is a great area. Hope this helps.

I'd recommend trying out the commute before settling on a place

This might help to give a sense of the kind of happenings in different areas:

http://www.timeout.com/london/aroundtown/

edit: Damn, I'm now officially homesick after browsing that, hah. I miss comedy clubs. Banana Cabaret in Balham and Jongleurs in Battersea are both awesome.

DrStarsky

Still undecided between the two. To be honest if the pay was higher I'd probably choose London. I'm really trying to see if there is a decent area in or outside London where I could afford to live (of course I'd have to forget about buying).
Thanks for the link.

DrStarsky

Darren, thanks a lot for your comments, that's exactly the kind of info I'm looking for. I'll look into all the neighborhoods you mention. I do like the sound of Clapham for instance and I'll check about the status of the Northern line. And how about Tooting? I understand you are based in San Francisco, now I'm homesick too! (used to live there for many years).

DarrenP

Tootings OK too, but better further north closer to Balham. i.e Tooting Bec as opposed to Tooting broadway.

Hah yeah, the grass is always greener right?