Moving to London (eek!)

ViolaLass

As a generalisation, south of the river will be cheaper but the transport links aren't as good so it's a case of investigating the tube and, more importantly, bus links to see whether they would work for you.

As for getting space, if you just want peace and quiet, there are lots of large museums - if you go at the right time, it's not difficult to find a deserted section of the British Museum. If you want physical space, there's Hyde Park and Regent's Park (obviously there are loads of other parks but they're the biggest and most central), or you could get a train out of London and go to Hampton Court for the day.

olly300

ViolaLass wrote: »

As a generalisation, south of the river will be cheaper but the transport links aren't as good so it's a case of investigating the tube and, more importantly, bus links to see whether they would work for you.

Depends where you live south of the river.

kmmr

And as a side comment - welcome to London! It's the best city in the world! Ignore what the naysayers say.

No sarcasm here, I love my city, and a;though I travel a lot - I am always so happy when I see London appear back under the plane.

westlondonbuyer

I love London too! I'm a displaced country girl but I love it here and I doubt I'll ever go back. I like the busy-ness, the buzz-iness, the restaurants, cool shops, bars, creativity, museums, theatres. I love having friends from all walks of life, of all religions and colours from anywhere and everywhere. London seems to be a magnet for people who want to make something of themselves and that optimism and ambition is so different from the gloomy little place I grew up, where the limit of career options seemed to be workng for your Dad or in the soap factory!

I second looking along the tube lines, and also along bus routes. People forget about buses, but places not within easy reach of a tube station are a lot cheaper to rent, and the bus journey often a great deal more pleasant (though sometimes longer). Hammersmith, by the way, is a great place to live and I'm not just saying that because I live here We have the river on one side, the Westfield on the other, and brilliant transport links in between.

Firestar1978

I have lived here all my life, my favourite place to live is sw19 - northern line to London, you have trams to Croydon, access to overground, district line at Wimbledon and if you have a car A3 to the coast. You have Wimbledon common and Morden Hall national Trust in easy distance as well as Wimbledon theatre and cinema if you dont want to go into town shops and bars

josievg

I agree Hammersmith would be a good choice - ideally placed for a quick commute to South Ken. It's not particulary cheap though so depends on your budget.

I live next to Hammersmith - in Chiswick - which is lovely and it is also well placed for the commute to South Ken as it is on the district line. Rents are quite high in Chiswick though.

I am biased towards West London. There are probably ok places norf or sarf too that would be a bit cheaper that others can recommend to you.

Good luck when you move here. London is awesome but don't get too attached to it because, unless you have a huge salary, you may find yourself having to move on when the time comes to buy a house.

*goes back to packing*

zizu73

A lot of west Londoners here I live in Acton, west London, further to the west from Hammersmith. I hate living in London, but that's a different story. We live in a nice area of Acton with good transport links, with District/Piccadilly/Central Line nearby and lot of buses. All depends on your budget.

josievg - is it why you are packing? time to buy a house?

joanna_johnson

Hi, you will be in for a shock when you see the rental prices to live close to South Ken!
The best thing is to look at a tube map (S Ken will be on the district line) and to follow that line back until you are in zone 2 or 3.
I used to live in Shepherds Bush central or Hammersmith & City Line) and worked in S Ken and had to change tubes......which was a real pain but unavoidable. The district (green) and yellow line (can't remember which one that is) are not the best!!!

Chiswick is really nice but has a bit of a family feel about it. Acton will be a lot cheaper. Hammersmith is lively but will be expensive. Shepherds Bush can be expensive and is very lively with good transport links and 2 tube lines. If you consider sharing then Shepherds Bush is a good option.

You will love living in London.....if you have the energy!

There is loads to do and once you have paid for your tube ticket (most people get a monthly pass for the zones they require) then you can use it as much as you like. The bus though is an excellent way of getting to see more of London.

Hope you enjoy London as much as I did.......would I move back there? In an heartbeat!

FTBFun

flossy_splodge wrote: »

Gosh, those figures sound remarkably cheap. When my DD was sharing up to recently in North London she was paying over £1000 per month.
Should be prepared for the costs to be rather higher if I were you.
Good Luck.

Over a grand a month? !!!!!!? The most I ever had was about £675 pm including bills and that was in a massive (big kitchen and lounge) 2 bed flat share in West Hampstead 5 mins from the tube.

FTBFun

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

It's a while since I flat shared in London but my memory was that it's more a question of being selected by the existing sharers, rather than being choosy yourself. Think the relevant scenes in "Shallow Grave" and you'll be on the right lines.

I had 3 years before moving to my own place in a flatshare where a lot of people moved in and out over the years. It is definitely more like this in most cases - we interviewed people and they asked us questions, and we would all get together and choose the people we'd like and offer it to them in turn.

There are some flatshares which are really HMOs i.e. everyone has a key to their own room. I was in one for 6 months and hated it, as you had no choice about who you would live with. For example, an Italian couple moved in not long before I left - neither could speak much English and the bloke worked in a bar so stomped around about 2/3am every night when he got in. So I wouldn't recommend these.

Anyway - best of luck to the OP, it is certainly the best way to meet people when you first come to London. I think looking through the ads on gumtree is a good idea.

London is the best city I have lived in by some distance.