Areas to live in london?

ok so i was talking to Greenie about this and thought this would be the best place to post this! Im moving to london in Feb and trying to find a flat so i want to know the BEST areas!

I would like recommendations of good areas so feel free to please list them below heheheheh

So far

SOUTH
Clapham
Ballham
Stockwell


EAST
Kilburn
Shoreditch
Old Street


NORTH



WEST



FANKS

Mostly depends on your budget... zone 2 is the sweet spot (reasonably priced, good sreas, close to town), but a lot of people can only afford zone 3 (especially when they first turn up)....

I live in Clapham, and it's awesome... you have everything you need, and you're close to town. Stockwell can be a bit dodgy in places, Balham's a bit too far out for my liking.

East, those areas tend to be a bit noisier. Can be pretty cool tho. North, Angel, Camden pretty cool areas. West, Hammersmith is alright.

Personally, I'd recommend somewhere that's got a good set of shops, pubs, bars, food places, and good transport. It's also good if you have a couple of areas near each other (or just one really big area like Clapham) because it makes flat hunting much easier.

Of course, all those areas are going to be popular, so it can be hard to find a good flat.

Good luck

Def wanting Zone 2. Bugger zone 3 its to expendy for the tube pass!

I really wnat to find a place in clapham or the good bits of stockwell! When i visited last time I stayed in stockwell and i really liked it!

Balham is on the border of brixton yes or have i got that totally wrong!?????

Greenie was the one who suggested to me East so i dont really know anything about those places!


hehehehehe CAMDEN is sooo funny, some really interesting folk there!! hehehe

I have always kinda wanted to lve in clapham so havent herd good or bad things about the other areas hence the thread, but so far my vote is SOUTH!!

South:
Sam’s right, Clapham is very cool. Which makes it hard to find a good place, although you are always better off finding a whole place as you mentioned you're planning with friends, than trying to find a room and going through the process of being interviewed against loads of other people.
I don’t know much about Stockwell/Balham.


East:
Shoreditch
Old Street
Angel

They are noisy, yes, but if you love central city life and all the perks, and I do, they are great places. Many MANY cool bars and pubs you’d never get bored. And you can find quiet spots too. Same applies though, these places are very popular.

North:
I don’t know much about north, or anyone who lives there really. We Kiwis tend to cluster, and few I know have ended up in that area.

North-West:
Kilburn
Dollis Hill
Camden
Swiss Cottage
Ladbrooke Grove

Camden is again really popular and probably a bit pricey too. Kilburn/Dollis Hill I only recommend as I know lots of people in the area, although they are nice places, and that to be honest tends to drive where you live because having to cart your arse across London for an hour to see someone sucks, plus the tubes stop running after midnight so it’s either a night bus or the couch if you’re out in their area.

West
I don’t have many friends who live out West any more. That's places like Hammersmith, Ealing, Acton etc. It’s full of Kiwis and Aussies who spend their time at the Red Back and the Walkabout and think that the Polish who live next door are the dirty immigrants, and are quite an away mission from the world we inhabit these days. But most people live there at some time.

Hope that helps, that’s all my opinion of course! I’m sure people will argue their area is the best in London.

hehehehe yea that does help hun thanks!! i thnk im gonna stick wth south hehehe unless imm totally convinced otherwise!!!

Balham is all good if you live in the area between Clapham South Station and Balham Station. If you're cheap, you can still walk up Balham High Rd to Clapham South station to get the zone 2 discount and save £4 a week. If you're not, you can catch the overland rail from Balham to Clap Junc or Victoria, instead of catching the shitty tube. For Clapham night life, it's a 5 min bus ride from my house to Clapham High St. Two supermarkets, heaps of bars & pubs, great transport. Catching the tube in the mornings you might even get a seat (!!), as opposed to having to wait for three trains to pass if you live in Clapham Common or further north.

However, south of Balham Station towards Tooting is a bit of a hole, and I wouldn't recommend it.

Clapham & Stockwell are on the border with Brixton, not Balham, which is closer to Streatham etc and is away from "that area" (Brixton/Peckham/Stockwell/Camberwell).

Personally if I could choose anywhere to live in London, it'd be Angel.

I'm currently in Kilburn for 6 weeks and quite like it...Zone 2, in between two tube lines, not hugely far out from work, lots of shops including a primark, argos and 24 hr supermarket and lots of bars. Really liked Clapham when I dossed there but have a few more friends up this way so might live up here for 6 months and then maybe look at Clapham once I've settled and I feel the need still.

Haven't really cosidered East or West but haven't really been to either of those areas, only been here a month so still have lots of exploring to do.

I'm loving London so far but so so poor! Exactly once month until I get my first pay

I live in Ladbroke Grove and love it, have mates all round Notting Hill, Westbourne Park and Bayswater which makes it good, but there's great bars, pubs, restaurants, Portobello Market and awesome transport. It ain't that expensive either.

am in canada water (east aswell)
really like it, not so good for nightlife but has a good mall, 24hr tesco, heaps of parks, 1 stop from canary wharf, 20min into city and most importantly on the jubilee line so very little tube delays.

I have lived in Fulham, Hammersmith and last weekend moved to Brent Cross up North. Fulham was great except off Fulham Palace Rd where I was its a 10 min bus ride to nearest underground which is a pain. Hammersmith - nice and close to tube but a grotty area. Brent Cross is safe and cheap and close to tube and Brent Cross Shopping Centre is just over te road so all in all so far so good.

I wouldn't agree at all with the zone 2 comments bandied around as being "the" zone to live. It's the common misconception when you are in your first year or two here.

There are a number of fantastic areas in zone 3 for example that will give you a lot more bang for your buck as well as being a lot less busy than say Clapham.

My recommendation for the best of both would be Earlsfield - one stop from Clapham Junction so *just* in zone 3. You're on the mainline train 12mins to Waterloo, one stop to CJ, great bus services, nice bars and restaurants without being busy or hoards of drunks and it has a lot nicer feel. tip - to the left side of earlsfield station is nicer housing than to the right

Some of the places by the Clapham South tube are nice - bit pricey for a nice place with a large room unless you want to live with a few people. Wandswotth common is also nice - pricey though

If you go out west then parts of West Kensington are nice as is Hammersmith. Ealing has some lovely places and if you want more bling - Richmond. Yes it's a way out but you have mainline trains and the area is stunning.

One big thing to take into account is council tax. For example Wandsworth has the lowest in the UK and this makes a big difference

Feel free to ask any questions - I've lived here for a long time so know a lot of the south & west london areas well.

Be warned with Clapham. There's a huge housing shortage down here at the moment. I know a few different groups who've been looking for decent 3 or 4 bed houses for 6 months now. If you're looking at Clapham I'd definitely look for a houseshare - at least to begin with.

Balham is cool too. Zone 3 but it's only another £5 a month for the tube pass or something like that. The good parts of Stockwell are the bits nearer the SW4 postcode. You have all the advantages of SW4 without the price tag that comes along with it. The part between Clapham and Brixton is fine as well imo. Even most of Brixton I wouldn't have a problem with, but you'd want to make sure of that yourself first before living there obviously.

Camden can be expensive now days. Kentish Town is like the Stockwell of the north. If you're close to Camden it can be cheap and still nice.

Further out, Hammersmith is good up to Ravenscourt Park and Chiswick is all very nice and you can get some good deals up there.

i have lived in fulham for the past month and i love it thus far

Anywhere on a overland train line is good, so Brentford, Chiswick, Richmond, Putney, Wandsworth, Battersea, Ealing, Wimbledon, Kingston, Clapham etc

Tube sucks arse....overland train all the way! I live in Brentford and my journey to work is an absolute pleasure, air conditioned, comfy as seats with flip down tables for your coffee/morning paper, toilets plus you get to watch the sunrise/sunset.

I have been living down in East Dulwich for 7 months. Its a really nice area. Its one of the few areas not ruined by the chain pubs and chain shops.

Loads of good places to eat and shitloads of good bars.
Its only 15 mins away from London Bridge on the overland or 20 mins to vauxhall or elephant and castle on the bus.

Nothing wrong with Zone 3. Its not the much more £. Just get a good job and you won't care.

I used to live in willesden green for 2 years was wicked then Golders green which is much nicer and is zone 3 and 3 stops away for camden.

also tryed North Finicley not as nice as golders tho

Honey, when in Feb do you get here? I'm going to be in NZ from the 7th til the 28th Feb and will be looking to rent my room out for those 3 weeks if you are keen.

im out in Canary Wharf (CrossHarbour), been there for bout 18 months, not too far from the city, close to gym, bars and supermarkets.

i guess it all depends on what type of area u wanna stay in and your budget.

thanks for the offer but im leaving here on 29th feb and i am kinda wanting to get into my own place from day one, since im moving there and starting work pretty much straight away i just want to get settled in my own place asap, BUT thanks heaps for the offer!

No one's reppin' the North so I will...

Norf London is where it's at. Started out in Highbury and it's such a lovely, safe area. Perhaps a little "white" compared to other areas in London. You can get into Oxford Circus in 12 mins on the tube from Higbury & Islington Station. You're also 20 mins walk or 10 mins bus from Angel where there's untold amounts of restaurants, bars and pubs.

Now living in Stoke Newington which has many similarities to Grey Lynn. Love it here even more than Highbury. It's like a tiny village in the middle of London. Again, a short bus ride to Angel. And about the same time to bus into Shoreditch/Old St where you you can party all weekend. And it's 20 mins on the Silver Link to Camden. Oh, and Stokefest in the sumertime is the business.

And the best part of North London is that there's fark all Kiwis, Aussies and Saffas so it actually feels like you've moved out of the Southern Hemisphere.

wow guys thank soooo much i have a huge list and will starting hunting for some places now!!

So im going to look on gumtree and maybe just try a goodle search but does anybody want to suggest any other sites to look for houses to rent!!!!

don't bother with anything other than gumtree

I'm in Hammersmith. Was living in Highbury but got kinda sick of living up that way!
Completely understand people wanting to live away from the Aussies/Nz'ers and that's what I tried to do when I first got here but I can quite honestly say I'm having more fun getting amongst it down this way with all of ex pat's

Brit's = mostly (in my experience) boring/anal to live with. NZ'ers/Aussies/Saffa's = Fun and pretty care free!

Honey - I really would NOT arrange any UK housing unseen. It's not like NZ and you could end up with some seriously scary people or in an area you absolutely hate but photos make the place seem nice.

Do yourself a massive favour and don't rush into it and make a bad mistake !!!

this man speaks wisely. just get a hostel for a week or so when you first arrive then go hard out looking at places as soon as you can.

Actually, there's almost no way you'll get a "normal" place without going to see the flatmates.. or even if you're trying to set up a whole flat yourself...

I don't know what your financial situation is but even if are arriving and start working straight away, you'll be doing well if you can afford a place of your own - particularly in zone 2. Living on your own is expensive in London, I don't know anyone who has done that straight away and virtually all my friends are in flatshare.
The other thing to keep in mind is it's quite likely that you would need to sign a 6 month rental agreement if you got your own place. Not something I would be keen to do as soon I got here.

Honey, have you spoken with your brother yet? He would be the best person to speak with first in regards to living in London, as he's been there since 2004?


I also echo karlo's comment 100%

OH NO i wasnt planning on living by myself i was planning on getting a whole flat as i was going to go flatting with 2 of my friends also moving to london at the same time!

BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT things have sinced changed!

I was having my everyother day chat with my brother who lives in loondon and he actually TOLD ME OFF (as big brothers do) and he said i was to stop thinking id be imposing and that he didnt want to hear another word about it and i was staying with him for atleast 6 weeks until i get sorted! ( i secretly think he may miss me (hell never admit it though) and also miss my cooking)

thanks thats realy good advice and i would def not rent a house without seeing it or the flatmates. If i had of found one i liked i would have packed my brother off (or one of my mates over there) to have a look and make sure they are not looneys