I'm sure many people were trying to find a good answer for this question so since I'm planning to start contracting early next year myself I wonder if I can get some advice here and perhaps help other people that are looking for the same.
As an IT contractor one will work in different places in London so to not spend ages commuting it's important to choose a good strategic location and of course location with reasonable rents. By good location I really mean being not more than 3-5 minutes away from the station and spend max about 10-15 minutes on the train. I assume that most of companies that take IT contractors are located in the City and Canary Wharf, although some are in West London as well. Based on this premise I made this list of candidates:
- Waterloo (jubilee to wharf, w&c to bank, SW trains, bakerloo to the center, marylebone & paddington, but renting rather expensive)
- London Bridge (jubilee to wharf, northern/walk to bank, trains, renting a bit cheaper than waterloo)
- Stratford (jubilee/DLR to wharf, central to bank/city, renting cheaper but may be a bit dodgy area)
- Canary Wharf (walk to wharf, jubilee to southwark, DLR to bank, reasonably cheap rent when a bit of the main area)
- Surbiton (18 mins by train to waterloo but cheap)
Of course this is just a theory and based on my presumptions which may be false (also because I've never lived in any of those areas). Therefore I will be really glad and I'm sure others will appreciate it as well if people who actually do IT contracting for a long time can contribute with their know-how and experience.
As an IT contractor one will work in different places in London so to not spend ages commuting it's important to choose a good strategic location and of course location with reasonable rents. By good location I really mean being not more than 3-5 minutes away from the station and spend max about 10-15 minutes on the train. I assume that most of companies that take IT contractors are located in the City and Canary Wharf, although some are in West London as well. Based on this premise I made this list of candidates:
- Waterloo (jubilee to wharf, w&c to bank, SW trains, bakerloo to the center, marylebone & paddington, but renting rather expensive)
- London Bridge (jubilee to wharf, northern/walk to bank, trains, renting a bit cheaper than waterloo)
- Stratford (jubilee/DLR to wharf, central to bank/city, renting cheaper but may be a bit dodgy area)
- Canary Wharf (walk to wharf, jubilee to southwark, DLR to bank, reasonably cheap rent when a bit of the main area)
- Surbiton (18 mins by train to waterloo but cheap)
Of course this is just a theory and based on my presumptions which may be false (also because I've never lived in any of those areas). Therefore I will be really glad and I'm sure others will appreciate it as well if people who actually do IT contracting for a long time can contribute with their know-how and experience.
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