Relocating to London

summerstreetallotments

Notting Hill is very good...my friend lives there and pays £72.00 a week (but it is former council)...so there are cheap places around...although I don't know if you'll get somewhere on your budget which includes a parking space...usually these get rented out separately as they can go for a lot of money to commuters...I wouldn't worry overly much about the gangs and violence...I got mugged in Covent Garden but never had any trouble when I lived in Walthamstow or Acton..you need to travel around looking in paper shop windows ..see if there's anything not advertised more widely....

hazyjo

Upminster is nice and generally sought after. Only two stops on overhead to Fenchurch Street Station. Pricey though in parts.

Alternatively, it's only about half a mile walk from Liverpool Street Station ("Liv St") to Fenchurch Street Station. Walthamstow is fine, I'd go with that one - you can get the overhead train straight into Liv St.

I used to live in Highams Park, E4 which is two stops up from Walthamstow. Always felt safe enough there and would walk home late at night from the station. There are roads to avoid in any area - just ask and someone's bound to know. There's a lovely looking road in Highams Park - lovely Victorian houses, really nice pretty roads off it, but they lead down to a very rough estate at the end and, unfortunately, it's generally classed as somewhere to avoid. You'll find that pretty much everywhere in London, even the posh places! There will always be roads to avoid.

If you do find somewhere, take a good look around. See if it's used as a shortcut to an estate or tower block. Not meaning to tar everyone with the same brush, but just keep your risk as low as possible.

Agree, Woodford's nice, as is a lot on the Central line further out. Keep an eye on the tube zones though, and be prepared to be packed in like sardines from Liv St. I much prefer the overheads, given the choice.

Jx

Strapped

starryshell wrote: »

That one bedroom that was linked to in Leytonstone is in a decent area of Leytonstone. Around Whipps Cross is fairly ok, but be aware that the streets can change very, very quickly.

Try and spend a lot of time in an area where you find a flat if it is in east London before you sign on the dotted line. Even a trip to the local grocery store and a coffee nearby will give you a good idea of what it is like in that area.

And looks like it would be freezing cold!

linuxuk44

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Strapped

If you can push the budget to £1k pcm then I would, and walk to work/save on the commuting costs. Somewhere like this perhaps:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-17967225.html

ETA: Although having seen the comments above about Shadwell, maybe not...

kmmr

I am a woman by the way, and have happily lived all over London.

The big issue you need to decide is what is more important, and how you balance those priorities. The sad truth is you can't have a nice posh (which may or may not be the same as safe) area, which is close to town, which has parking, which is bigger than a postage stamp for £700pcm.

It's possible to get a lovey flat in Zone 6, suburban, cheap, probably very safe, with parking, but you would be looking at over an hour a day travelling at very high costs. Or you can pay up and get a city pad, but you lose parking, have extra costs, and just a high a risk of dodgy neighbours as anywhere in central london.

Just keep looking at all the options, and don't commit yourself too long term to anywhere. Rather than us looking, why don't you post up various options and the collective knowledge of MSE can advise you. Don't forget to look at gumtree as lots of private landlords advertise there (including me). There are scams, but they are easy to spot - just never ever transfer any money via Western Union to anyone, even to your 'friend' before seeing a flat.

Scams on gumtree are also always quite good flats, at just a bit below market value, advertised by someone who is looking for someone to care for their flat etc etc. Again, post on here if you have any doubt!

linuxuk44

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kmmr

Strapped wrote: »

If you can push the budget to £1k pcm then I would, and walk to work/save on the commuting costs. Somewhere like this perhaps:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-17967225.html

ETA: Although having seen the comments above about Shadwell, maybe not...

That's a good example of how streets can change. That is some distance from Shadwell DLR, and I think that estate is quite close to St Katherines docks, which is a very premium development. I'd go and have a look and see what the 'vibe' is. It could be good, could be terrible...

It's good value for the area, but that tends to make me think it isn't going to be a great estate. On the upside, its minutes from the city, and will be walking distance to Fenchurch St! So again, depends on what you are really willing to compromise on.

linuxuk44

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kmmr

linuxuk44 wrote: »

U see I am thinking about the same thing, If I pay £700 PCM which is think it is likely to be around £750 or 800 for a good place in east plus the transport charge ( 80 90 pound) then I am paying around 850 or somthing like that so I may as well pay 1k and get a good place which saves me from all of the hassle

This forum is annoying me abit and won't allow me to post links, I am not very familiar with names of areas in London rather I know some of them by post code
there is a map on google which shows the London map with all of its post codes
I guess E1 is very close to center, almost attached to it? It may be in congestion charge zone as well. Do u know how owning a car in congestion charge zone works? do u have to pay daily, yearly or not pay at all?

thanks

Once you get enough posts you can post links. Just post them with spaces for the moment.

E1 is right beside the city, but the distance isn't always the same as the number. Technically I think the numbers are alphabetical!

C Charge starts right on the edge of 'the city' which is just on the edge of E1. You get a discount if you live in the C Zone, but you will struggle to find parking. I think you still have to pay 10% of the charge every day, so it will add up. Better to be just outside the zone.