Flat hunting advice needed- Where to live (London Zone 1-5)

ashtraxx

Hi,

Myself and the wife are moving to London soon and need advice on where to live.

Her job is based in Romford, East London and she has to be able to drive to work (does various home visits during day so driving is the only means). I will be working around central London/City and commuting by public transport mainly.

We are looking for somewhere where:
1) its a max commute of 1.5 hours for both of us, ideally an hour or less.
2) We need a one bedroom flat as low as possible within Zone 1-5. Thinking around £700+bills but thats a guess so not sure if more or less needed. The less the better as we are saving to buy.
3) Street parking for two cars (both old on the street is fine).
4) safe & decent area is main priority (local cafe/nightlife etc don't matter).

Many Thanks :beer:

TMoose

Hi Ashtraxx

When I first moved to London I stayed in Leyton (at the Stratford end). This was affordable, convenient for Liverpool St (20mins) (both Central Line, and Overground). In my opinion it was safe and most of the terraces have on-street parking - of course with on-street for 2 you are always fighting with others!

Good luck!

Moose

Chinkle

Firstly, Romford is in Essex, although just creeps into zone 6. Your route into the City would be the mainline to Liverpool Street.

Generally the further out East you go the cheaper rents are, so you could base yourself closer to your wife's work, commuting would be around the hour mark for you (maybe a little more if you had to transfer to the tube to reach your office destination). You might just find something in your budget here. Do weigh up your commuting costs though.

Alternatively if you want to live a little closer to London then you would need to budget considerably more (forget zones 1 & 2 - these would be much too expensive) but then both of you would have commuting costs.

FinAdv

Hi ashtraxx,

I've been living in East London area for last 3 yrs now. I think the best area to live in East London is Wanstead, Snaresbrook and South Woodford.

Its a very sought out area. Very clean, safe and professional people living here. Moreover, its a London address. Post codes are E11 and E18.

It has very good tube link as well as 10-15 minutes drive to areas like Romford, Ilford, Stratford, Barking etc.

There are 3 central line stations Snaresbrook, Wanstead and South Woodford. It takes about 15 minutes to Liverpool Street.

Since, its such a nice area, it might be a bit more expensive than the other areas. We pay £850 for a 2 bed duplex flat and have plenty of parking space in the building premises so can park as many cars as we want to.

1 bed is not very easy to find but you should find it around £700-750 + bills.

Pls feel free to contect me if you need more information or any kinds of help.

Best of Luck.

Regards