Location help for renting. London.

Waterlily24

Not sure if they all go to Charing Cross, West Wickham, Bickley, Chislehurst would be my favourites - not very rural though. I lived and went to school in those areas many years ago.

Orpington would be a no, no for me as we crossed it off our list when we bought our first house lol.

ReadingTim

Waterloo station is only over the river from Charing Cross and is served by South West Trains. This will open up many more areas of Surrey, Hampshire etc with only a 10 min walk or 2 stops on the tube.

Why does it specifically have to be Charing Cross?

bouicca21

West wickham, 1930s suburbia, good transport links, route to Charing Cross not threatened by the consultation, green spaces, easy to get out into Surrey. Rather boringly middle class and white which might be what op is looking for. Zone 5.

PField

If you want somewhere more central, have a look, at the area around
Lee SE12. 22min to Charing Cross and in Zone 3, so only £1500 for an annual Tavelcard ( Max PayAsYouGo is capped at £7.70 a day so may not even need to get an annual ticket). Good road connections for out of town to shopping at Bluwater and 10min drive to the O2 for entertainment.

Example of what could get http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-60780121.html
A little over budget but savings in transport costs pays for that, with the bonus of a much shorter commute.

bouicca21

That one has gone, but it's a nice road in a good area, handy for sainsburys and the station, short walk to blackheath, bus to lewisham with shops and market. Easy to drive out into Kent.

Waterlily24

I was born and bred in Biggin Hill, unfortunately no good for train links as the nearest station (by bus) would be Bromley South or Bromley North if they are still there roughly half an hour on the bus. When I was a kid there were bluebell woods and primrose woods in the valley, you could walk into Surrey very easily from Biggin Hill. There still seems to be a bit of snobbery about people living in Biggin Hill though. Must admit I loved the freedom as a child but when I got to a teenager it became a bit of a bore because of the bus service.

benjus

PField wrote: »

If you want somewhere more central, have a look, at the area around
Lee SE12. 22min to Charing Cross and in Zone 3, so only £1500 for an annual Tavelcard ( Max PayAsYouGo is capped at £7.70 a day so may not even need to get an annual ticket). Good road connections for out of town to shopping at Bluwater and 10min drive to the O2 for entertainment.

Example of what could get http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-60780121.html
A little over budget but savings in transport costs pays for that, with the bonus of a much shorter commute.

I lived in Lee a few years ago - it definitely felt like the poorer relation to Blackheath just up the road. But it's been looking up in the last few years - the Lord Northbrook pub is very nice now, and Luciano's restaurant and neighbouring Bar Luciano are great for some Italian food and drink.

Still a long way from being rural though.

elverson

Tifsy wrote: »

Thoughts on Horley?

It's got a Waitrose and a flower competition. On the other hand you can hear the planes at Gatwick Airport from some of the streets.

If you're renting as opposed to buying, just get a 6 month break clause in your tenancy agreement then you can always move elsewhere if you need to.

elverson

Waterlily24 wrote: »

Not sure if they all go to Charing Cross, West Wickham, Bickley, Chislehurst would be my favourites - not very rural though. I lived and went to school in those areas many years ago.

The common and Hawkwood are definitely rural. There are still farms in Chislehurst!

HonourlessWeasel

Tifsy wrote: »

Thoughts on Horley?

Horley is within spitting distance of Gatwick airport, so you'd be hearing and feeling the rumble of aircraft day and night. It used to live almost as close to Stansted and it ain't cool.

Is there a particular reason why it MUST be Charing Cross? Charing Cross is a horrible station to go in and out of on a daily basis and limiting yourself to an area that is only served by that station means that when things go wrong on the trains (and they do...every day) you're screwed when it comes to getting home. I lived around South Croydon for years and had the option to go to and from London Bridge or Victoria every day - if one of those was screwed up, I went to the other. They were far enough apart that you stood a chance of actually getting home because the other one might not be so badly affected.

Places like Purley, Kenley, Whyteleafe, Caterham, Warlingham and Woldingham might satisfy your need for the greenness and quietness of the area and some of them you might find also in your price range. I know you'll find something, probably not a house mind, under £1500 in either Purley or Kenley, probably Whyteleafe as well. The annual travelcard would be a zones 1-6 TFL card, which was about £2234 the last time I had one. Zone 6 ends at Caterham - trains were about 40 minutes into Victoria or London Bridge.

These places are close enough to the Purley Way that you can enjoy it, without it being a burden. With the transport links you can actually enjoy London of an evening without much worry about getting home or drinking.