Moving to London, looking for advise

buggs

Hi All,
My wife and I are moving to London next month for work. We are completely lost about where we should be concentrating my property search.
We would really appreciate some pointers from others who have rented in or around London.

Our requirements are:
- 2 bedrooms.
- Walking distance to a train or tube station ideally with direct links to Victoria Station.
- Access to shops, restaurants, maybe a few decent pubs.
- An area where we feel safe walking around at night/dark evenings etc.

Our budget is somewhere around £1,600 per month.

Any suggestions/advise very much appreciated.

Thanks,
Buggs

[Deleted User]

Do you know anyone who lives in London? It will be easier to keep up your friendship with them, see them on weekend, and not cut the nights short to get home if you live in the same compass point of London (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW).

If you've got a totally blank state - use rightmove to identify the in-budget areas and then ask 'does anyone live in x? what is it like?' but obviously take into account they are likely to be a bit biased!

I live in West Norwood, flats are in your budget, 20 minutes to Victoria, feels safe enough to me now that I'm settled in, a couple of nice pubs, a few restaurants, lots of takeaways. Crystal Palace is probably better for restaurants if that's your main interest though.

Maxwell007

try bromly south or be brave and try opington

Maxwell007

national-rail
East Croydon Rail Station
to London Victoria Rail Station 16 minutes

buggs

Thanks all for the quick replies.
We do have some friends living in the NW (Edgeware, Harrow area) but there doesn't look to be great options for commuting from NW London to Victoria.
Coming from a smaller city and only knowing central London at all I really am finding it tough to narrow the search down.

paddyrg

Could you AirBnB for a month somewhere near your work until you get a feel for the city and talk to colleagues etc (may have suggestions)?

[Deleted User]

buggs wrote: »

Thanks all for the quick replies.
We do have some friends living in the NW (Edgeware, Harrow area) but there doesn't look to be great options for commuting from NW London to Victoria.
Coming from a smaller city and only knowing central London at all I really am finding it tough to narrow the search down.

Most people in London commute at least an hour each way - Harrow&Wealdstone to Victoria is 45 minutes by tube - that doesn't look too bad to me! (though I don't know what the area is like)

You might get better value in South London, and a quicker commute on the train lines that go into Victoria, but you have to weigh that up against the social side of life. I used to live closer to work, and further from mates, but I moved because I prefer the other way around.

Finst

I'm going to guess at you being young(ish) professionals? The traditional choice for such would be anywhere on the southern part of the Northern Line (Clapham, Balham, Tooting Bec), changing at Stockwell to get to Victoria.

A 2 bedroomed flat around Tooting Bec Road, between the tube station and the Common would be about your budget. I lived there 4 years and would recommend it.

theEnd

Tooting, Streatham, Wimbledon....

pollyanna24

buggs wrote: »

Thanks all for the quick replies.
We do have some friends living in the NW (Edgeware, Harrow area) but there doesn't look to be great options for commuting from NW London to Victoria.
Coming from a smaller city and only knowing central London at all I really am finding it tough to narrow the search down.

My parents live in the Edgware area and I used to commute in from here. Suppose it depends on how long you want your commute to be though. Don't think I would like to live there again though, it's gone down in recent years!

Cakeguts

Have a look at Wembley they are building a lot of new flats there. Wembley Park station Jubilee line change at Green Park.