Renting in London. Advice please

fc123

sarahluv wrote: »

i live in SE London! it's not crime ridden and violent. everyone i know who has been mugged in london has been mugged in north or south west london.

i live near blackheath. also, i'm moving and my room is up for rent from the 24th if anyone is interested!

Blackheath is lovely!
Your daughter only needs to live in a place for a while, she will make friends through work and will soon find her way around.:D

lovesit

Hi

I too moved to London after uni. My advice would be to work out the nearest tube/overland station to the office, then use a map of the london rail and tube network to decide which areas are quick to reach from that station.

I am lucky as I can take a direct overland train which takes 11 minutes, with 10 minutes walking to/from and waiting at the station each side so 30 mins door to desk.

Use http://www.tfl.gov.uk/

Would second gumtree, try also http://www.moveflat.co.uk/cgi-bin/dbr.asp - there is a clickable map so you can see at a glance what is available and where if you don't recognise the name of an area.

The nearer you live to a tube/station you are the better (safer), having to wait for buses (as and when they decide to show up) does not appeal to me as a female travelling on her own late at night. Yes buses are cheaper, but you get what you pay for...

If the office is reachable by an overland station, a monthly zone 1 -2 travel pass inc tube costs about £90 a month, whereas a zone 2 to London terminals i.e not underground, (e.g Victoria, London Bridge, Blackfriars, Charing Cross, Waterloo) only costs £50. Then use Oyster pre-pay for add hoc tube & bus journeys.

Hope this helps!

julesgr

having lived and worked in London most of my life I woul advocate looking further out on the public transport network.

WC1 is within reach of Kings Cross and Euston on the overground and several of the underground stations, looking out towards the east on the central line (Leyton/Walthamstow) is often a good option, or up towards Edmonton,Tottenham, Winchmore hill as you will almost undoubtedly get more for your money.

GarethK

NOWSE wrote: »

Help and advice would be much appreciated in relation to my daughter's situation regarding renting a flat in London. We live in Lancashire and have no experience in this.

Two days ago she was offered her first job after graduating. The job is in WC1 and, as we have no contacts in London, she needs to find accommodation in the area. She spent yesterday fruitlessly searching for a flat. It seems as though some letting agencies advertise properties that they don't have, merely as a "come on" to get people in. They then either say that all that they've got is either for a much higher rent or that they require a search fee to be paid before they can help. My daughter's euphoria at getting the job has given way to a feeling of being dispirited at ever finding somewhere suitable to live. My wife and I have been searching the web on her behalf, but feel we are going into it blind as we have no idea of the bone fide or reputation of the companies.

My daughter tells us that her ideal area would be N1(Camden) but she may have to re-assess this. She has a budget of £600 per month.

I live in a place called Swanley which is just on the outskirts of Greater London, it has a train station less than a mile away (i.e within walking distance). We are having to move out asap as our baby is due soon and we have found another place, so if you are interested let me know, as i could inform my landlord. It's a 1 bedroom house, no garden or anything but its cheap for this area, at £550 PM, and ideal to get you started.

We move out on the 15th/16th Feb and if we got someone lined up to come in straight after us it would mean we wouldnt be liable to pay rent to the end of Feb .

House is in good condition it isnt a slum, the estate it is on is actually fairly quiet and we have had no issues with crime. Let me know.

Gareth

sarahluv

i would add that not being on the tube, can be good! i live in SE london and use the train. i get a seat in the morning and it's much more pleasant not being trapped underground!

sarahluv

i'd also say, if she's young and only just moving to lodon, zone 1-4 is best so that she can get a nightbus home and actually take full advantage of living in london.

MushyPeas

PasturesNew wrote: »

The map is marvellous for instantly seeing where every property is and you can sort by price

http://www.nestoria.co.uk/nw5/property/rent

This site is brilliant, thanks PasturesNew

I've been in London over the past few years and have found rooms to rent through:

* work
* friends
* gum tree

I hope your daughter enjoys London .

Fluffi

If your daughter is new to London and doesn't have any other I'd advise living as centrally as possible (zone 1/2) because it will make it a lot easier for her to make friends and socialise if she only has a half hour journey to meet up with people compared with a 1hour journey from living out in zone 4/5.

My workplace is zone 1 (SE1) and most of my colleagues live in zone 2 in house-shares so they can easily meet up with each other at weekends because its a short tube ride or walk. Whereas I used to live my parents in Zone 4 and it took an hour to get to work or anywhere in central London, but I was saving money on rent so I could save for a deposit.

Living so far away from central London means when I go out with workmates on a Friday night they can stay out later than me so I’m always the boring person that goes home early! If my zone 2 workmates miss the last tube then their cab fare isn't too expensive, whereas I know I can't afford to spend £30+ for a cab so I leave earlier to get home safely and cheaply! Personally I found night buses can be unpleasant for people travelling home on their own if a large drunken group boards the bus.

I can honestly say that I feel its more difficult to socialise purely because I live so far away from the centre, but luckily I’m not too fussed about going out and clubbing. Also its easier to visit all the museums, gallaries and other attractions the closer to live to zone 1.

My advice would be for your daughter to get a house share either close to work so she can make friends and settle down. If after 6 months she can always move further out where it is cheaper to live on her own or move in with the friends she has made.

Congratulations to your daughter on getting her job and I hope she's really happy when she moves here :-)

coral

Well I think we are all quite agreed that a houseshare is the way forward! When you add in council tax/utilties (going up 15%? again)/ tv licence/general running costs of a flat it can get very expensive - £600 would get a decent houseshare where she might meet some new people and they would certainly advise where is best to shop/hair cuts/get your shoes fixed etc which you take for granted in your home town.

I moved to London in March and although I was working out of Zone 1 I would recommend living on a good 24hr bus route to zone 1 with a fairly short journey time. This makes life so much easier when enjoying the city which i'm sure is a big part of why shes moving here. I live in south london and although the overground train network is great during the day and cheaper than the tube, getting home at night is an hr+ on the bus and a taxi is out of the question.

Definately hit gumtree, i've found both my rooms on there. Perhaps a day/overnight stay having a look at a few rooms and getting a feel from the areas would be good? Come on a weekday if possible so you get an idea of the commute to work (I came on a few Sundays and was rather shocked at the scrum for the train on my first Monday morning!)

Good luck!

sarahluv

i'm in zone 3, it takes me 45 mins door to door to get to work, allowing for stopping off to get a coffee. i pay £450 a month including bills for a huge room.