Chance of a job in Stratford, London-advice needed on relocating please.

nickinoo

My hubby has been offered an interview for a job which will be based in Stratford, London.

Can any of you give us any pointers on where would be best to live & what the houseprices roughly are for that area, I imagine he'd probably have to commute so any advice on costs etc will be greatfully received. What sort of wage do you think is needed to live in the area concerned to have a reasonable standard of living?

I will probably take a part time evening job in a supermarket if his work/travel fits in with this but as I have a toddler working during the day/full time is not an option due to childcare costs.

In fact any advice on anything we need to consider will be greatfully received.

soolin

Stratford house prices are expected to increase sharply over the next few years as of course the 2012 olympics are being based there. You may need to take that into account when considering a house move.

Startford is considered a slightly deprived area, however, it is more affluent that some of its neighbouring boroughs like Tower Hamlets. It has excellent rail links and will be a terminus for the Channel tunnel trains, again this will put house prices up.

Shopping is generally very good, most major South East supermarkets are in and around the area, and there is a large shopping centre that was built in the last few years with some good shops but at the cheaper/mass market end of the spectrum.

There are lots of websites about the area and conditions, prices etc. Here are some to get you started:

http://www.channel4.com/4money/mortgages/features/olympic_060705.html

http://www.findaproperty.co.uk/regi0112.html

http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/careers/don/story/0,11109,1480012,00.html


Soo

isasmurf

As soolin has said Stratford prices are expected to increase sharply over the coming years so if you can get in now, although they had already increased sharply over the previous few years. As well as the Channel Tunnel rail link and the Olympics, there is also another development called "Stratford City" which is to develop old rail lands into a major shopping, office and residential area. This will be next door to the Olympic Park.

Stratford comes in for a lot of stick, but I think it is under-rated. It has 2 Tube lines (Central - approx 10 mins to the City, 20 mins to Oxford Circus and Jubilee - direct to 'The 02' (the new name for The Dome), Canary Wharf, London Bridge and Waterloo); the DLR to Canary Wharf, Greenwich and Lewisham and a proposal currently seeking parliamentary consent for a new DLR line from Canning Town to Stratford, which gives Stratford a direct link to London City Airport, and ExCeL exhibition centre; several rail lines linking you to London Liverpool Street, and Essex and Suffolk towns like Southend, Chelmsford, Colchester and Ipswich. A new hourly service has started direct to Stansted Airport. It also has the North London Line linking Stratford to Richmond. Crossrail is also planned to stop off at Stratford.

Theres so much development planned in and around Stratford, you may like to take a look at FutureStratford to get a taste of whats going on. Stratford could be a very different place in 10 years time.

If your not willing to live in Stratford itself, then you could move further out on the Central line to places like Leytonstone, Loughton or Epping. All these are on the doorstop of Epping Forest, but your probably looking at higher prices around there. Or to places like Chelmsford. With so many rail lines if you want to commute the list is endless.

wigginsmum

I'm in Walthamstow which is a few miles from Stratford but easily accessible by bus (and a special railway line through Blackhorse Road). Multi-ethnic vibrant area with some pockets nicer than others. A typical 3-bed terrace in the St James Street area would start around £215-220k.

fattyamal

I struggle to remain positive about Stratford. In my opinion, based upon working there for 15 years now, it can only be described as 'dangerous' and deeply ugly. But as a place to work, it's not too bad, just please don't live there!! It has got much better than it was even 5 years ago, but still is full of scary people, very busy, no parking, awful eateries and generally dirty surroundings. I commute in from Harold Wood which is nice but quite expensive to buy a property in. If you can, try living in Essex area (not Ilford!) & travel in by train as links are good. Epping/Loughton are lovely as is Brentwood & further out that way. Most of the 'E' postcodes are best avoided to be honest, but each to their own. I just don't like crowds & crime!To recap, work there yes, live there - NO.

Savvy_Sue

Local councils usually have a pack they will send to people planning to move into the area. Don't know which would cover Stratford, but it might be worth looking at the websites of any councils you think you might end up living in, and requesting packs.

mentaljessie

What about a move to Essex Chelmsford would not be that far to commute, I live in Colchester and it's about 80mins from here, a good 3 bed semi in a decent area with good schools will set you back about 160-180k, although you can get cheaper 2 bed terraces for around 120k and you wouldn't be that far away from suffolk where you are based. Chelmsford is a bit more expensive due to its closeness to London.

black-saturn

Hi, I live in Lowestoft (see you live in Suffolk) and my boyfriend lives in Stratford. So I travel to Stratford quite a lot to see him.

For a 2 bedroom house there you can expect to pay up to £350,000. Council places are easy to obtain there if you would need that route but many of those are in nasty high rise blocks.

To commute it takes 4 hours by bus at a cost of £21 return (at the moment there is an offer on for £9.00 each way) or it takes 2 and a half hours by train at a cost of £24 return (if you book a week in advance). I have no idea about season tickets.

You will find it a lot different living there than in Suffolk. It's far far busier than it is here, the cost of living is much higher. The crime rate is a lot worse than it is here. I went there last friday and came back on sunday and this weekend there was a murder in the shopping centre and a post office robbery. Personally if I wouldnt want to bring my children up there. The schools are 80% non English speaking children and the ones that can speak English get held back by them.

Savvy_Sue

Another thought about relocating anywhere with children: try to spend a decent amount of 'quality time' in the 'new' area before you move. Then they have something to look forward to. Exploit any friends or relatives you have in that area! Or even ask if the new company will put you up for a week's fact-finding mission. Go to the parks, do the child-friendly touristy stuff. And while you're there, you can look out for the supermarkets! Then it's not a total shock to the system when you move.

KizzyK_2

black-saturn wrote:

You will find it a lot different living there than in Suffolk. It's far far busier than it is here, the cost of living is much higher. The crime rate is a lot worse than it is here. I went there last friday and came back on sunday and this weekend there was a murder in the shopping centre and a post office robbery. Personally if I wouldnt want to bring my children up there. The schools are 80% non English speaking children and the ones that can speak English get held back by them.

I just wanna say the same that Black Saturn said really (and fattyamal). Its fine during the daylight but after dark it belongs to a different set of people. A friend of mine was robbed in a worse way there a few years ago (luck would have it that he was physicaly okay), he and his mother live on a council estate near the Mall and they have to have a baby gate right behind the front door to trip up intruders as they've had the door forced twice. :eek:

I wouldn't advise moving out any further than Woodford which is Zone 4 of the underground as a travel card if you live in Zones 5 or 6 costs £1.60 more off peak

But any area has its good and bad points, its really down to you to find what your looking for - Good Luck

Glad

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [email="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/email]