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cheap - and commutable to central London - possible?
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Bexleyheath is not far from Plumstead but a nicer area. Bexley is even better and some parts of Welling are quite nice. But these are on the Charing Cross/Cannon Street/Victoria lines and may not be suitable for Bloomsbury.
We rent a big 3 bed terraced for £1000 though it's got cheaper since the credit crunch. We're now looking at buying and 2-3 bed houses near bus stops and train stations are averaging about £200,000 asking price so easily within your budget thanks to credit-crunch-bargaining-power.
Like the others I would recommend you rent first. Areas within your budget will be the slightly cheaper ones and it's very easy to buy in a dodgy part of the neighbourhood unless you know it beforehand.Mortgage (original/ current):193,000 (23/09/11)/ £102,500 (07/11/2019)
2019 Challenges: Make £300 a month: £9.71/£300 (January)0 -
morg_monster wrote: »FYI its ten minutes on the tube from charing cross to russell square and thats with a change at leicester square. but at any rate most places in bloomsbury would be a bit of a walk from a tube stop - what part of bloomsbury is it? i would find somewhere that goes into KC or St P - easily walkable and also a very quick bus down woburn street if it's p*ssing it down! Also these stations cover so much of the country you'll have a huge choice of places to live. i don't have any more specific suggestions though, sorry.
It may be 10 min travelling time normally but if you factor in walking down to the platform, wait for a train, fighting to get on the train in rush hour, changing lines, wait for another train, fighting to get on the train again, then it could easily take half hour.
Alternatively walk from Charing X, but bloomsbury is far enough away that it could be a problem in poor weather,
IMO the tube is best avoided if you have the choice.0 -
Sorry, but I wouldn't recommend Bexleyheath, Welling or Bexley. Bexley council is awful, and the schools are fine if you can get into one of the grammars, absolutely appaling if you can't. Yes, it's a cheap area but it's cheap for a reason. If you *have* to live there then Bexley is nicer, but you pay for it and again you're still having to deal with Bexley council. I'd avoid Welling, the Sidcup side is 'nicer' in terms of houses/crime, but in general it's not a nice place at all. The same goes for Bexleyheath, you've got the same issues with schools and tbh I never found it that nice a place. I also hated the commute into London, it took ages at the best of times and the trains were always either full to bursting or full of drunks. Expensive too, and at 45/50 mins a journey, very long.
Personally I think there are much nicer places to live that are easily commutable to London - we live in Wilts now and it's still only an hour to Paddington from the town we live in, it could take that long from Welling/Bexleyheath. We've got a bigger, cheaper house, a nicer atmosphere generally, a better landlord and at least we aren't trapped in the M25.0 -
There is a job I might be interested in, but it is in central London (Bloomsbury). I wouldn't be making any more money than I do here in West Yorkshire, and we can't guarantee OH could work, and if he could, it isn't going to be long term because of his medical condition, so it is only possible to apply for the job at all if we could live on my salary. But - it is a prestigious institution and a real step up.
UCL and Bloomsbury are both lovely places. I live in the latter and attended the former, for both undergrad and postgrad degress, and I definintely recommend both!...much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.0 -
Having been on the train from Ashford / Canterbury fairly frequently I can say you will find the long train journey tedious. It will take at least 90 mins to Charing Cross and then you have to face the tube to get to bloomsbury (at least another 30 min).
I wouldn't take the tube. I'd get off at Waterloo and take the bus instead....much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.0 -
I too studied at UCL and highly recommend it.
I know the area well. It's an easy walk from Euston Mainline station and Euston Square, Warren Street & Goodge Street underground stations.
The area is well connected transport wise: If you lived in an area on one of the commuter lines from Herts/Essex in to Liverpool Street or Kings Cross, the journey around on the Circle line to Euston Square is simple.
Similarly, if you were in SE London/Kent in to Charing Cross the Northern Line to Warren Street would do the job.
For your requirements, a simple search for 3 Bed Houses within 15 miles of Bloombury up to 175K returned many results!0 -
SE London is OK but if you are needing to use local schools, be careful.
My experience of S E London schools was bad as we couldn't afford to live in the catchments of anything half decent.
The looking at towns along the train line seems a good way to decide.
Could you take time off and visit any that sound nice?0 -
neverdespairgirl wrote: »UCL and Bloomsbury are both lovely places. I live in the latter and attended the former, for both undergrad and postgrad degress, and I definintely recommend both!
My wife is an undergraduette at UCL at the moment. Fancy that, an old codger like me married to an undergrad. :cool:No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?0 -
Oh, and it's a great place, with excellent facilities and very impressive teaching staff.No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?0
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Running_Horse wrote: »Just to confuse the issue further, Lenham, Maidstone, and Charing are all nice.
Maidstone? Nice?!...much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.0
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