North & West London - nicest areas?

pkrnts

I'm finding myself toying with the idea of finding a (< £350k) bachelor pad in London and I currently have very little idea of which areas are nice and which aren't so nice.

My wants: close to the city, great facilities/local shops/rail links/etc, nearby parkland, close to the river if West, clean, decent council..

My shortlist is currently:
Fulham
Battersea
Shepherds Bush
- are they seen as nice places to those that live there or nearby?

The North I have even less knowledge about but on a geographical point I'd prefer to be in the West anyway unless something special showed itself.

Would appreciate any feedback with praise or criticism of your area or a general response on the nicer places in our capital, thanks !

ds1980

why not buy a 3-4 bed semi or detached house 25 minutes into the city??

Tiger_greeneyes

Have you considered Docklands? Much more convenient and a fab location, even if it's not on your shortlist!

pkrnts

ds1980 wrote: »

why not buy a 3-4 bed semi or detached house 25 minutes into the city??

Without wanting to elaborate on this what you asked is my B plan. Complete change of lifestyle is a strong reason for my current mood/idea. The B plan will see me in a similar situation to my current one.

Tiger - I've heard bad reviews of Docklands as a place to live with it being full of newbuild tower blocks and finer lines than usual between safe and dangerous streets. Only has river views going for it too in my mind.

Tiger_greeneyes

It depends whereabouts you are, pkrnts, tbh. I worked at Canary Wharf for six years and there's some really lovely areas nearby. I never felt unsafe around there, put it that way. No matter where you go, there's always a risk of crime. Something you could do is visit www.upmystreet.com there's all sorts of information that would be helpful to you. If you also look on their forums, there will be existing threads (if not, post one!) telling you exactly what it's like to live there (from the poster's point of view).

If I had the money and wanted to live somewhere nice, I'd try somewhere like Kensington http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-6992167.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy

Can I come to the housewarming

secreticicle

hey, I'm going to view a studio flat on that road this week... to rent (out of my budget for buying!)
it's just behind the shephards bush roundabout (lively if you want it) - and near to brook green/kensington olympia which houses some fantastic gastro pubs like the havlock and the bird in the hand (quieter, more adult if you want it).

nice area - not quite as nice as fulham though!

Tiger_greeneyes

Not quite, but still very nice! And you get more for your money, never a bad thing

secreticicle

You're totally right... I'd LOVE to own a house round there!

Tiger_greeneyes

I wish I had more money now, Secret, I've been windowshopping on rightmove!!! I must stop that

______________________


Pkrnts, can you buy this one instead, please? :D:D

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-13335224.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy

secreticicle

I have a feeling that about 30% of my adult life has been spent on rightmove... it's addictive!

brasso

secreticicle wrote: »

I have a feeling that about 30% of my adult life has been spent on rightmove... it's addictive!

A rather depressing thought, if you don't mind me saying so. There's more to life than dreaming about other people's property

To answer the OP: Shepherds Bush is a great location for central London and has excellent transport links, but some people find it a bit downmarket.

Battersea has the park but transport is poor (no tube). Pricey.

Fulham is trendy but expensive.

But you really have to go to these places and see for yourself. No point in relying on other people's opinions. I don''t know what you want out of a place.