Help needed choosing location within commuting of Kew

zenshi

Not sure where to ask so hopefully you guys can help

Scenario....young single professional female. Job offer in Kew. Needs to rent cheaply and commute in.

Any ideas appreciated of locations? We don't know the area at all

elverson

On the commuting your options are:

South West Trains via Kew Bridge station - the line runs west to Hounslow and Staines and east to Barnes and Clapham Junction

London Overground via Gunnersbury or Kew Gardens - runs north to Willesden and south to Richmond

District line via Gunnersbury or Kew Gardens - although this runs to/from fairly expensive areas.

Plus walking/cycling/bus locally.

See the map here to start with: http://content.tfl.gov.uk/london-rail-and-tube-services-map.pdf

Cornucopia

I would suggest you look at Staines, Hounslow & Feltham for an easy rail commute, or for a driving commute maybe Woking or Slough.

Cakeguts

Cheap rents are offset by travel costs to commute. It sounds as if you can't really afford to take the job. The problem with jobs in London are that they appear to pay more than the rest of the UK but because it is so much more expensive to live in London you can actually finish up with less money left over after paying for rent, travel and living costs. Unless this job is very specialist ask yourself why someone who lives near Kew hadn't applied for it?

If you need to commute by train or tube you need to check out the areas to the west of Kew using the train and tube lines as a guide. I am not sure that you are going to like the kind of area you can afford.

ReadingTim

Hounslow and Feltham on the South West Trains route and Willesden, Harlsden, Wembley on the Overground route are possibilities, but these areas are "cheap" (for London) for a reason....

ThemeOne

Have you asked your new employer if they can help? Many firms allow employees to advertise rooms to rent etc internally, often via their intranet.

It might be your best bet as the area around Kew isn't known for being cheap.

zenshi

The job is very specialised. There are 2 university's in the UK offering this MSc and living in rural Norfolk relocation was expected

At the moment all living options are being considered. But in MSE style thought I would ask if thre were slightly cheaper places within easy commute of Kew
Not expecting a palace, more important was weeding out the more undesirable areas. as I said, we are clueless as to what's nice or not

Job hasn't been accepted yet and there was talk of help in relocating but unsure yet as to how. No point accepting job if it's totally unfeasable to live

Planet_Switzerland

Cakeguts wrote: »

Cheap rents are offset by travel costs to commute. It sounds as if you can't really afford to take the job. The problem with jobs in London are that they appear to pay more than the rest of the UK but because it is so much more expensive to live in London you can actually finish up with less money left over after paying for rent, travel and living costs. Unless this job is very specialist ask yourself why someone who lives near Kew hadn't applied for it?

If you need to commute by train or tube you need to check out the areas to the west of Kew using the train and tube lines as a guide. I am not sure that you are going to like the kind of area you can afford.

Sorry but that is nonsense. For a start the OP did not specify how much they are earning. Yes housing is more expensive and getting on the property ladder is more difficult. But I used to live outside London and now live in London and have much more money left over despite the living costs, to the point I could afford to buy a property I was living in previously in cash.


Anyway for the OP, I don't know too much price wise around there but can tell you a bit about the areas. Kew and the surrounding area is nice but is expensive. Beyond that you have Acton, which used to have a reputation for being bad but has improved a lot in recent years. Then you have Ealing which is a nice area and would recommend there if it is in your price range, its not the cheapest area by any means but quite reasonable for London. You have Hounslow to the west, but that is pretty grim. Likewise north of Ealing is Park Royal but I'd avoid there too, Greenford too is not the best. Further north still you have Sudbury which is very suburban and a bit dull but is reasonably priced for London and quite safe too.


Beyond that you're probably either getting too far away or areas that aren't very well connected transport wise.

ThemeOne

Only you will know what kind of areas you feel comfortable living in, so there's probably no alternative but to visit some of the areas mentioned and see how you feel about them.

Cakeguts

Planet_Switzerland wrote: »

Sorry but that is nonsense. For a start the OP did not specify how much they are earning. Yes housing is more expensive and getting on the property ladder is more difficult. But I used to live outside London and now live in London and have much more money left over despite the living costs, to the point I could afford to buy a property I was living in previously in cash.


Anyway for the OP, I don't know too much price wise around there but can tell you a bit about the areas. Kew and the surrounding area is nice but is expensive. Beyond that you have Acton, which used to have a reputation for being bad but has improved a lot in recent years. Then you have Ealing which is a nice area and would recommend there if it is in your price range, its not the cheapest area by any means but quite reasonable for London. You have Hounslow to the west, but that is pretty grim. Likewise north of Ealing is Park Royal but I'd avoid there too, Greenford too is not the best. Further north still you have Sudbury which is very suburban and a bit dull but is reasonably priced for London and quite safe too.


Beyond that you're probably either getting too far away or areas that aren't very well connected transport wise.

It isn't nonsense the OP said cheap rent in commutable distance to Kew. This implies that they can't afford to live in Kew. The fact that you managed to move to London from outside doesn't mean that everyone can and it does depend on when you did it. Rents have increased a lot in the last 10 years.

I can see that you haven't been to Sudbury very recently if you don't realise that it isn't better than Greenford. Ealing is not what I would call cheap neither is Acton. Hounslow is cheaper. Park Royal is full of new build flats and student accommodation. There aren't any places that I would call cheap that are also nice. That is the point nice places aren't cheap. To get seriously cheaper you have to go further out but then the traveling costs will be higher.

Planet_Switzerland

Cakeguts wrote: »

It isn't nonsense the OP said cheap rent in commutable distance to Kew. This implies that they can't afford to live in Kew. The fact that you managed to move to London from outside doesn't mean that everyone can and it does depend on when you did it. Rents have increased a lot in the last 10 years.

I can see that you haven't been to Sudbury very recently if you don't realise that it isn't better than Greenford. Ealing is not what I would call cheap neither is Acton. Hounslow is cheaper. Park Royal is full of new build flats and student accommodation. There aren't any places that I would call cheap that are also nice. That is the point nice places aren't cheap. To get seriously cheaper you have to go further out but then the traveling costs will be higher.

My first job in London was in Fitzrovia, I never considered living there nor did anyone else I worked with because its expensive, didn't put me off taking the job though as cheaper areas exist.


Funnily enough I was at the Black Horse in Sudbury last weekend and as far as I can tell its still nicer than Greenford.


I never said Ealing or Acton were cheap, but they are certainly more reasonably priced than the trendier areas of London. Without knowing the OPs budget I cannot say whether they can afford to live there, but I take it from saying cheap they mean cheap for London.