Support for deciding on location & location suggestions west London and outskirts

FTB_Help

Meh123 said:

FTB_Help said:

Meh123 said:

zpargo said:

FTB_Help said:

Honestly i really dont think you'll be able to find a decent 2 bed flat in east london either, unless you look at areas such as barking/ east ham, which are really dodgy areas (this is comming from someone who grew up in Hackney 20+ yrs ago). If you look at zone 5/6+ areas in east london on tfl rail then you might be able to find a 2 bed flat.

Or if you go to beckton ( dlr) its a bit cheaper there, but still not the nicest area. If you would compromise and settle for a one bed then that'll open more options for you in nicer/ safer areas

Also what is your current salary, you mentioned mortgage of 183k is the max you've seen you could get (i.e 5 times your salary)? If so the mortgage that you might actually be offered might be a lot lower which then will change the budget you have for a flat

Thanks. I'll have to do some research on some of the other West London names people have mentioned but seems on the whole East London is most affordable even though doesn't feel right to live there. Either its a case of getting on the ladder in east London soon or wait longer to get something in West London (but this likely achievable post job change). If I change jobs in the next 6 months then I will be able to afford West London. Currently on £41k which is low. But expect that to rise to near the 50s once I change jobs.
Would consider the 1 bed in East London. Which are nice areas in East London?
Thanks

Well I’m originally from East Ham and would give it a 0/10 on trip advisor, so maybe not there 😂😂

I second that! East ham/ plaistow/ barking is horrendous, but lots of new builds starting at £200k, so very affordable, not been in that area for the last 5 yrs but heard its a bit nicer but still wouldnt want to live there myself

Hahaha I know! I truly love East London, I really do! However, with certain areas I think you need to be born and bred there as it could possibly be too much of a culture shock to be dropped straight into that kind of environment. I have plenty of friends still there and still go back to visit and yes, it’s slowly getting nicer but they’re the types of area that If you’re moving to then you have to accept from the start that they are what they are! If your heart is set on West London then East Ham etc is never going to come close to feeling ‘right’!

I grew up in Hackney which i love and felt safe most of the time. My fiance grew up in west ham and his family moved out of there about 5 yrs ago everytime i went to visit him i hated it! Got approached by lots of potential serial killers at the station/ on the high street, will never visit that area again!

zpargo

FTB_Help said:

Depends on how long you're looking to stay put for, lets say you aim to move in 10yrs the lease will be 150yrs.

Walthamstow is very buzzing lots in the area, lots if shops, cinema, street food, cafes etc. But i think you'll be looking at paying a minimum of £250k for a 1 bed (the one i linked is around the corner from the high street so can easily pop out to grab groceries, coffee, or to the cinema down the road) as jimbog mentioned above Ruislip is more affordable and still near the west end of London, but is in zone 6.

Maybe go for a drive or hop on the tube to these areas to visit, it will help you decide on an area.

It sounds like you might be the same age as me late 20s early 30s so i definitely think you'll like the area as it is so close to amenities and easy to travel to other parts of london

Yeah fair point. 
I'll have a look at Ruislip and Walthamstow. I need to block out some time to visit these areas to get a feel.  
Going to be 34 in a few months. 

zpargo

Meh123 said:

Hahaha I know! I truly love East London, I really do! However, with certain areas I think you need to be born and bred there as it could possibly be too much of a culture shock to be dropped straight into that kind of environment. I have plenty of friends still there and still go back to visit and yes, it’s slowly getting nicer but they’re the types of area that If you’re moving to then you have to accept from the start that they are what they are! If your heart is set on West London then East Ham etc is never going to come close to feeling ‘right’!

Meh123 said:

Hahaha I know! I truly love East London, I really do! However, with certain areas I think you need to be born and bred there as it could possibly be too much of a culture shock to be dropped straight into that kind of environment. I have plenty of friends still there and still go back to visit and yes, it’s slowly getting nicer but they’re the types of area that If you’re moving to then you have to accept from the start that they are what they are! If your heart is set on West London then East Ham etc is never going to come close to feeling ‘right’!

Yeah I mean living in an awful area would make me miserable but if the property is well priced then achievable for the short term. Then get something nicer when have a family.
Would like to avoid ASB type areas where possible. Will have to blacklist east ham / west ham. The footy supporters /hooligans might be annoying.

Meh123

zpargo said:

Meh123 said:

Hahaha I know! I truly love East London, I really do! However, with certain areas I think you need to be born and bred there as it could possibly be too much of a culture shock to be dropped straight into that kind of environment. I have plenty of friends still there and still go back to visit and yes, it’s slowly getting nicer but they’re the types of area that If you’re moving to then you have to accept from the start that they are what they are! If your heart is set on West London then East Ham etc is never going to come close to feeling ‘right’!

Meh123 said:

Hahaha I know! I truly love East London, I really do! However, with certain areas I think you need to be born and bred there as it could possibly be too much of a culture shock to be dropped straight into that kind of environment. I have plenty of friends still there and still go back to visit and yes, it’s slowly getting nicer but they’re the types of area that If you’re moving to then you have to accept from the start that they are what they are! If your heart is set on West London then East Ham etc is never going to come close to feeling ‘right’!

Yeah I mean living in an awful area would make me miserable but if the property is well priced then achievable for the short term. Then get something nicer when have a family.
Would like to avoid ASB type areas where possible. Will have to blacklist east ham / west ham. The footy supporters /hooligans might be annoying.

Where ever you decide on just make sure you visit it lots, day and night. I’m not saying the people there are horrible (personally I think I’m nice haha) and we had a great sense of community, but if you’re not comfortable and don’t feel safe in that sort of environment then you’d be miserable! Certain areas and their occupants in the East End are more, let’s say.... ‘gritty’ haha.
I grew up there and due to being used to how it is I can visit and be relatively relaxed, however i can also see how to a newbie it could probably be quite a shock! Tbf London as a whole can be quite a shock to people 😂😂

FTB_Help

zpargo said:

FTB_Help said:

Depends on how long you're looking to stay put for, lets say you aim to move in 10yrs the lease will be 150yrs.

Walthamstow is very buzzing lots in the area, lots if shops, cinema, street food, cafes etc. But i think you'll be looking at paying a minimum of £250k for a 1 bed (the one i linked is around the corner from the high street so can easily pop out to grab groceries, coffee, or to the cinema down the road) as jimbog mentioned above Ruislip is more affordable and still near the west end of London, but is in zone 6.

Maybe go for a drive or hop on the tube to these areas to visit, it will help you decide on an area.

It sounds like you might be the same age as me late 20s early 30s so i definitely think you'll like the area as it is so close to amenities and easy to travel to other parts of london

Yeah fair point. 
I'll have a look at Ruislip and Walthamstow. I need to block out some time to visit these areas to get a feel.  
Going to be 34 in a few months. 

Put surrey quays, bermondsey, Rotherhithe on the list to check out too all within waloing distance from each other, that part of south is well connected (not on the southern rail, on the overground, very close to canary wharf/london bridge)

FTB_Help

Meh123 said:

zpargo said:

Meh123 said:

Hahaha I know! I truly love East London, I really do! However, with certain areas I think you need to be born and bred there as it could possibly be too much of a culture shock to be dropped straight into that kind of environment. I have plenty of friends still there and still go back to visit and yes, it’s slowly getting nicer but they’re the types of area that If you’re moving to then you have to accept from the start that they are what they are! If your heart is set on West London then East Ham etc is never going to come close to feeling ‘right’!

Meh123 said:

Hahaha I know! I truly love East London, I really do! However, with certain areas I think you need to be born and bred there as it could possibly be too much of a culture shock to be dropped straight into that kind of environment. I have plenty of friends still there and still go back to visit and yes, it’s slowly getting nicer but they’re the types of area that If you’re moving to then you have to accept from the start that they are what they are! If your heart is set on West London then East Ham etc is never going to come close to feeling ‘right’!

Yeah I mean living in an awful area would make me miserable but if the property is well priced then achievable for the short term. Then get something nicer when have a family.
Would like to avoid ASB type areas where possible. Will have to blacklist east ham / west ham. The footy supporters /hooligans might be annoying.

Where ever you decide on just make sure you visit it lots, day and night. I’m not saying the people there are horrible (personally I think I’m nice haha) and we had a great sense of community, but if you’re not comfortable and don’t feel safe in that sort of environment then you’d be miserable! Certain areas and their occupants in the East End are more, let’s say.... ‘gritty’ haha.
I grew up there and due to being used to how it is I can visit and be relatively relaxed, however i can also see how to a newbie it could probably be quite a shock! Tbf London as a whole can be quite a shock to people 😂😂

From a female perspective east ham, upton park, barking area never felt safe for me alone even during the day, I'd get strange men staring at you or cat calling its not nice and really puts you on edge. I always used to hate being on the district line going east from mile end onwards, always something going on the trains! I suppose with all the new builds happening in the area it will change a lots of things such as bringing in more retail shops to the area etc

zpargo

Thinking about it any type of ASB, extremist people, drug dealing, drug addicts nearby I'd really like to avoid. I'm renting in Tower Hill at the moment and there is a big drug problem. Literally lots of drug addicts running around, even as I used to walk to work. All you need are professional, sensible, normal and nice people that can get on with everyone. 

Meh123

FTB_Help said:

Meh123 said:

zpargo said:

Meh123 said:

Hahaha I know! I truly love East London, I really do! However, with certain areas I think you need to be born and bred there as it could possibly be too much of a culture shock to be dropped straight into that kind of environment. I have plenty of friends still there and still go back to visit and yes, it’s slowly getting nicer but they’re the types of area that If you’re moving to then you have to accept from the start that they are what they are! If your heart is set on West London then East Ham etc is never going to come close to feeling ‘right’!

Meh123 said:

Hahaha I know! I truly love East London, I really do! However, with certain areas I think you need to be born and bred there as it could possibly be too much of a culture shock to be dropped straight into that kind of environment. I have plenty of friends still there and still go back to visit and yes, it’s slowly getting nicer but they’re the types of area that If you’re moving to then you have to accept from the start that they are what they are! If your heart is set on West London then East Ham etc is never going to come close to feeling ‘right’!

Yeah I mean living in an awful area would make me miserable but if the property is well priced then achievable for the short term. Then get something nicer when have a family.
Would like to avoid ASB type areas where possible. Will have to blacklist east ham / west ham. The footy supporters /hooligans might be annoying.

Where ever you decide on just make sure you visit it lots, day and night. I’m not saying the people there are horrible (personally I think I’m nice haha) and we had a great sense of community, but if you’re not comfortable and don’t feel safe in that sort of environment then you’d be miserable! Certain areas and their occupants in the East End are more, let’s say.... ‘gritty’ haha.
I grew up there and due to being used to how it is I can visit and be relatively relaxed, however i can also see how to a newbie it could probably be quite a shock! Tbf London as a whole can be quite a shock to people 😂😂

From a female perspective east ham, upton park, barking area never felt safe for me alone even during the day, I'd get strange men staring at you or cat calling its not nice and really puts you on edge. I always used to hate being on the district line going east from mile end onwards, always something going on the trains! I suppose with all the new builds happening in the area it will change a lots of things such as bringing in more retail shops to the area etc

Honestly? I hear you!! As a woman I 100% get that and it’s not a nice way to feel. I got to a stage where I felt ‘safer’ (and I use the term loosely) going on foot in the dark than risking going on the underground at night as once your down there you have no signal and you’re trapped. It’s a funny old world we live in! 

Salemicus

If you are going to Liverpool Street etc then places like Enfield, Tottenham, Edmonton, etc, may be good value for you. 

AskAsk

Salemicus said:

If you are going to Liverpool Street etc then places like Enfield, Tottenham, Edmonton, etc, may be good value for you. 

tottenham is really rough but tottenham hale is an up and coming area.  so would be a good investment long term.  also very easily accessible to central london and luton airport.