Where to live in London - moving from Birmingham - all so expensive and confusing!!!

Jox

I live in Enfield (EN2) and according to rightmove it is possible to get 2 bed flat for £1000. My monthly travel to zone 1 is £180. Enfield is in zone 5. Lots of nice schools but oversubscribed. Journey time to central london is approx 35 mins.
If you are interested in north London you could consider, Enfield Chase, Southgate, Oakwood, Winchmore Hill areas.
It must be like looking for a needle in a haystack though!

BottomRung

I live in Surrey, Walton on Thames actually, and it's a very nice area. Good schools, very little crime and lots of greenery. Train from local station is about 22 mins into Waterloo and are very regular. 2 bed flat would probably be about £1000 a month but it's been a few years since I looked and I heard they went up slightly. Hope it helps and good luck.

BakerBoy

Where abouts will your husband be working? I wonder if it might be worth looking at some of the towns with a fast train connection like St. Albans (to St Pancras) or Letchworth (to Kings Cross).

Doozergirl

Do you still have family in Birmingham? Which bit do you live in now? And where is his work based?

I'd go with somewhere like Milton Keynes, near to a station which is on the fast line into Euston. Or check out the Midland Mainline stations that run into Paddington. It's a compromise between the two. You want somewhere good for families (you are going to get such a shock in London and if you want a good school. you will pay heavily to live near it - it's going to be out of your budget, in fact anywhere in London isn't going to be that nice if you need a whole 2 bedroom flat for £1000 a month.

I'd rather pay less on the rent and more on a commute on a fast train because a cheap part of London is not a great place to bring up a child. It's easy to escape Birmingham into clean air. I'd stick to the side of London that is nearest to 'home' until the new place becomes home.

Kent is lovely (I thought I'd end up there, but you can't help falling in love!) but it's a long way round to the rest of the country. I went the other way, from London to not far from Birmingham and it was a relief. Our quality of life improved immediately - I worry that you're heading the other way. Definitely try to stay outside London, the budget won't find you anywhere nice when £750 rents you a nice tidy new build 3 bed in the Midlands.

yanda

Adding another into the pot - Upminster
- you can get 2 bed flats for under 1000 PCM
- overground is 27 mins into fenchurch street, and you are also on the tube (although in zone 6 on the district line, be prepared for it to take some time!)
- good schools, the secondary schools are some of the best in the country, infant school has grade 1 ofsted etc
- nice area (although a bit dull), has waitrose, coffee shops,restaurants, 'young professionals'
- easy access to parks/countryside and the right side of london if you're going back to visit family

dogswithbigears

I used to live in Finchley - ok, it's zone 4 so a little further out but it's a nice part of North London. And a quick google tells me there are several 2-bed places for less than £1000 a month.

Commuting from MK? NOT fun at all... ;-)

Doozergirl

dogswithbigears wrote: »

Commuting from MK? NOT fun at all... ;-)

It's not even that painful from Birmingham, surprisingly. MK is 40 minutes or less to Euston. It's the cost that is an issue, but then the cost of living and renting in London is greater. For me, with children, quality of life with them is much more important than being in town. It's a toss up, but I would put less priority on the commute whilst still aiming for a fast train link.

I know two different people who live on the South side of Birmingham and commute every day to London. And another who does it twice a week.

London is a big shock to the system, even from Birmingham. I don't know anybody that regretted a decision to move their children away from London. Moving them into London is quite contrary, especially when you don't have the income to live the Waitrose lifestyle, which they clearly don't. Not in London.

warehouse

Try Southall.

alarafan

Thanks for all the posts - I will do some more research

vikingaero

alarafan wrote: »

Thanks - we were planning on living in one of the outskirt areas - (I just call it all london) maybe Watford; Essex; Kent?
Its about balancing what you will save on rent, with how much you then shell out on transport.

What I wanted to figure out is how to get 'outskirt' but not too 'gritty'.

My brother and SIL looked at renting a 1 bed flat in Maidstone. £650 pcm and £300 pcm each for commuting = £1250. In the end they rented in Greenwich near the Dome - £900 pcm rent and £90 pcm each to commute.

So they saved money by living in Greenwich and he gets an extra hour in bed - vital for the lazy !!!!!!.