Moving to London

bluecheese1987

Hi there,

Although I am new to the site I have been lurking for a while and would like to say hi.

Basically I have been told by my employer that the company will move from its current location in Bristol to Mayfair in London. I am not certain when this will occur but it is likely to be in the next 6-8 months.

My difficulty is that I don't know London at all. Where is affordable? There have been rumors of a salary increase that will standardize us at around 26-29k p/a.

I would be moving with my partner who should take home approx. the same- but probably slightly less to start with.

I would hope to have a 1 bedroom flat not too far out- is this realistic?

Do you have any recommendations on where I should be looking or perhaps where I should not be looking.

I know that 6-9 moths is quite alot of time but there will the opportunity to move before this so any advice and tips would be very well received.

Thank you very much for your time.

tim123456789

bluecheese1987 wrote: »

Hi there,

Although I am new to the site I have been lurking for a while and would like to say hi.

Basically I have been told by my employer that the company will move from its current location in Bristol to Mayfair in London. I am not certain when this will occur but it is likely to be in the next 6-8 months.

My difficulty is that I don't know London at all. Where is affordable?

Zone 6

tim

hazyjo

Will you be renting? It all depends on what you determine as 'affordable'. I presume you can predict around a joint income to start with of £50k. Most people will say around a third can go on rent, although that does tend to be nearer half in London!

I would very loosely guess at up to around £1,300pm comfortably for rent. You can get a studio cheaper than that nearer than zone 6. Personally, I would hope to rent for less than £1,300 and try to save.

If you're buying, that'll be a different kettle of fish...

Jx

princeofpounds

London is a huge place. I think you need to be more specific in your requirements (or I should say hopes) otherwise you'll just get people reeling off lists of places near them that are ok.

If you get a zone 1-6 travelcard (and you might have to) that's going to cost over 10% of your take-home pay, remember that.

I just had a look and one-beds in sydenham (a random cheap area that isn't too nasty) go for 900, Acton seems to be more like 1100, Southfields 1200, Walthamstow 900.

So as a couple both working you have some choices but solo do realise that you budget at 28k is likely to look like this:

Take-home monthly: 1820
Rent: 900
Transport: 200
Council Tax: Varies, but could be 70
Water: 30

That's two thirds of your take-home and you haven't even got to eating or heating yet!

So make sure you judge your new pay deal in light of the genuine increase in living costs you will see.

Having said that, don't get too scared. If you are being paid under market rates you can change jobs when you get to London.

CLAPTON

are you looking to rent or buy?

Tancred

bluecheese1987 wrote: »

Hi there,

Although I am new to the site I have been lurking for a while and would like to say hi.

Basically I have been told by my employer that the company will move from its current location in Bristol to Mayfair in London. I am not certain when this will occur but it is likely to be in the next 6-8 months.

My difficulty is that I don't know London at all. Where is affordable? There have been rumors of a salary increase that will standardize us at around 26-29k p/a.

I would be moving with my partner who should take home approx. the same- but probably slightly less to start with.

I would hope to have a 1 bedroom flat not too far out- is this realistic?

Do you have any recommendations on where I should be looking or perhaps where I should not be looking.

I know that 6-9 moths is quite alot of time but there will the opportunity to move before this so any advice and tips would be very well received.

Thank you very much for your time.

OK - first of all avoid central London - it's hugely expensive, noisy, dirty, smelly and full of crime.

My advice is to look at the London commuter belt and focus on that area. The Kent borderland is probably the most affordable - so somewhere like Bromley or Dartford. Alternatively, Essex borders are the next most affordable.

Nowhere decent is cheap - be warned!

John1993_2

Tancred wrote: »

OK - first of all avoid central London - it's hugely expensive, noisy, dirty, smelly and full of crime.

For god's sake...

London is one of the world's great cities, which is why so many people from all over the world want to live here, and why it's so expensive. If it was even vaguely like you suggest it'd not be jam packed full of people like me willing to spend seven figures on a nice flat here. I work in the Square Mile, and haven't ever heard of, let alone seen crime here.

Anyway, OP, as others have said, it's a huge city, and advice is going to depend on what you are looking for. Transpport matters, as your commute can vary between fine and hellish dependent on your choices. Mayfair is on the Jubilee line, so, in the absence of much other information about what you want, I'd suggest looking along that. Surrey Quays, for example, is quite pleasant, if you are happy with a new-build flat, and is in very easy reach of Mayfair, with (importantly) no tube changes.

Your wages are low for the nicer parts of London, so you'll have to accept that you'll be a bit outside the centre, AND that you'll not be able to look at larger nicer properties for a while.

Cycrow

Theres always the option to cycle to work and avoid any of the transport costs.

this would however limit how far out you could live, but you should be able to find affordable places within cycling distance of the centre

Seabee42

I currently work in Mayfair and can honestly say you will struggle to find anything around here as such.

I currently commute from Croydon you can get something okay to rent for that there and the journey will be 45 minutes or so to Mayfair.

You may be able to get something closer in as well. As Mayfair is on the west of london you should think about what links work.

I would say any trains into Paddington, Marylebone are ideal Victoria (I then catch a bus but there are loads), tube the best options are the central line, piccadilly line, baskerloo line, jubilee line or victoria.

In respect of cycling lots do it but have seen a few fatalities in this area.....

I know lots in my office come into liverpool street and get the central line from there.

So realistically its trying to find areas you can afford as it gives you a lot of scope and how far out you want to be.

richardw

Mayfair is a great location for an office base.

You can get national rail trains to london victoria and then it's a pleasant walk past Buckingham Palace and then across Green Park to Mayfair, if it's raining just jump on a C2 or 38 bus.

So look at places like Herne Hill, Nunhead, East Dulwich etc.

fart

John1993 wrote: »

For god's sake...

London is one of the world's great cities, which is why so many people from all over the world want to live here, and why it's so expensive. If it was even vaguely like you suggest it'd not be jam packed full of people like me willing to spend seven figures on a nice flat here.

People are silly, what they want to do is irrelevant, because the original comment is true - central London is dirty, smelly, noisy and full of ignorant people charging round in suits. Crime is the same as anywhere but the rest of that guy's post was correct.