Location help for renting. London.

Waterlily24

elverson wrote: »

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

If you could see where we live now, it's classed as semi rural countryside you would know what I mean. The school I went to in Bickley had huge grounds with a lot of woodland. It included 3 manor houses and their grounds so I know there are/were a lot of open spaces around.

benjus

HonourlessWeasel wrote: »

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.

The areas served by Charing Cross are generally also served by Cannon Street and London Bridge, so there's usually an alternative route available. Some of them also have (less frequent) trains to Victoria.

Tifsy

Thanks for all the replies, it's very appreciated! Thoughts on Grove Park?

PField

Tifsy wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies, it's very appreciated! Thoughts on Grove Park?

Around the station is a bit of a dive. Much better a little further North at Lee or South at Sundridge. Grove Park Road closer to Mottingham has nice houses but I suspect would cost too much to rent.

ThemeOne

You could also commute by tube which would open up the whole of London north of the river too. Places like Mill Hill and Barnet on the Northern Line are mostly nice, and though the rent might be a bit more, you'd save on lower travel costs.

bouicca21

Grove park? No! What PField said.

Tifsy

Thank you! So avoid Grove Park got it, what about Mottingham, Eltham or Abbey Wood areas?

bouicca21

Not keen on Mottingham. Abbey wood is the terminal for cross rail, so predicted price rises. Already looking better than it used to, but a fair way to go. Also I think the route into Charing Cross might be affected by the consultation, you would need to check. Short walk to Lesnes Abbey and Bostall Woods which feel surprisingly rural.

bowlhead99

ThemeOne wrote: »

You could also commute by tube which would open up the whole of London north of the river too. Places like Mill Hill and Barnet on the Northern Line are mostly nice, and though the rent might be a bit more, you'd save on lower travel costs.

Yes, Charing Cross and Embankment tubes are literally right next to Charing Cross mainline station giving you access to the Northern, Bakerloo, District and Circle lines with others such as Piccadilly a short walk away ; and if you don't mind changing lines as most people have to, you can get to loads of places. Restricting yourself only to train routes that terminate at Charing X is unnecessary when moving to London from hundreds of miles away with no natural preference for one side of the city versus another.

And if you work yourself (or plan to in years to come) there's no guarantee the very best job you can find would be near Charing Cross, so if you are looking for an area to 'settle' rather than just a one year rental, the southeastern train network is a bit restrictive.

That said, going out to Kent or somewhere south and east of London via a main line train would probably get you more for your money than using the tube network to be, say, north or west. People like the idea of being on the tube network, and most of the UK is north or west of London so going for those parts of the compass gives you the ability to get out to visit family or friends at weekends without first having to spend hours battling across London in traffic or doing half a lap of the M25. The problem is that saving a couple of thousand on your rail ticket budget only frees up 10-20% extra on your monthly rent budget and anywhere nice in London is going to be a lot more expensive than the average place near Newcastle.

bouicca21

I suspect OP being a non Londoner has no idea how important the River is to London identity. One is either a north of the River person or a south of the River person. Only a handful of brave explorers like myself have actually moved from one side to the other. And naturally the River gets capitalised because, let's face it, all other rivers in london are just big streams.

The real problem for OP is that Charing X is accessible from practically all parts of London, so the choice is wide open, depending on cost, and it's going to be a leap into the unknown.