Places to live in London...

**Lucifer Box** · 1 August 2005, 08:36

Budget?

**threaded** · 1 August 2005, 08:43

Peterboro', Newark, Grantham, Doncaster, York and commute

**SupremeSpod** · 1 August 2005, 09:10

Originally posted by threaded

Peterboro', Newark, Grantham, Doncaster, York and commute

Threaded, one of the guys I work with from time to time lives in Peterborough says that commuting into London isn't too bad, but trying to get home at night can take hours!

If you've got the money get a weekday apartment and fly home at weekends.

**Rebecca Loos** · 1 August 2005, 09:18

East London's the only place for you, my friend.

This is the only place in London where you can get a brand new flat, with all mod cons, for about £200 a week.

The reason is that the area is pretty tulip, so a lot of buildings have been demolished and recently replaced by half-decent purpose-built apartment blocks. Consequently it is possible to find places where no one has lived yet, everything's new and is quite secure. Underground car park, gated entry, concierge service etc.

For example in Stratford, you have all of that in many developments. Also transport links are brilliant, frequent train services straight to Liverpool Street (every 5 mins at peak times), Central and Jubilee lines, DLR to Docklands.... can't beat that for access. OK it is in zone 3 so the Oyster card is £96 a month but you have saved so much on the flat itself....

Local supermarkets, pubs and restaurants are quite bad so you won't spend a lot of your leisure time there, but why would you? Stay in the City after work, that's all you need.

Seriously, I have looked recently whether it would be worth my while moving to a nicer area, I looked at Clapham Commons, Battersea, Highgate, Greenwich, Hammersmith and you don't get the equivalent flat for less than double the money

So I am staying with the Stratford Massive.... with my CS spray

**mcquiggd** · 1 August 2005, 09:27

...

Cheers guys,

budget would be up to £300 a week with the possibility of a friend contributing....

(A chap I know bought a small apartment in Barcelona and simply gets cheap flights back to the UK to work during the week, and does deals for weekday accomodation... he seems happy

)

**insight14** · 1 August 2005, 09:34

They say (whoever "they" are) that people will spend up to 3 times their working rate in time to save money. So if you're on £30/hr, you'll be happy enough travelling an extra hour a day if it saves you £10 that day.

I think thats bollox. When in Rome and all that. If all you want to do is sleep at the place, go to Stratford (as Becca says). If you want to live in a nice area (Islington, Holland Park), think about doing a flatshare. If you want to be in a nice area but by yourself you will have to go further out (Hampstead Heath, Ealing, Wimbledon, Richmond).

**Lucifer Box** · 1 August 2005, 10:20

I used to do the Peterborough commute thing. Wasn't really a problem. Of course, if the trains go tits up you're pretty well stuck but your money goes much further than it would do in central London. Helps if you can find a place close to P'boro station and if your client is close to Kings Cross.

If all you want is a place to crash within easy reach of to the centre, the flat over a shop option is normally economical almost anywhere in London. Not swanky obviously, but you can live smack in the middle of a nice area (e.g. Wimbledon, 13 mins from Waterloo by train) where you would no way be able to afford to a new flat.

How about somewhere in France close to the Eurostar?

**Francko** · 1 August 2005, 10:23

[QUOTE=Rebecca Loos]East London's the only place for you, my friend.

This is the only place in London where you can get a brand new flat, with all mod cons, for about £200 a week.
[QUOTE]

That's about 200 pounds more than the value you get.

There are plenty of areas to consider but please, not east london.

**snaw** · 1 August 2005, 10:23

£300 a week gives you lot's of options - what sort of area are you looking for?

Peace and quiet or young and edgy (Or something in between) transport links, nightlife, pubs, ambience etc. Need lot's more info.

BTW East london umm ...

Places to live in London...