Off topic - Living in London

Old bones Ian · Post by **Old bones Ian** » 15 Mar 2006, 06:27

I might be taking a job in London soon, depends on final interview.
Was just wondering where's good to live in London, about 10years ago i was living in Stratford and Forest Gate, so know that area a bit , but don't know where's good and where to avoid now.
The job is near Green Park tube, so would need to be accesable to that.
any suggestions?

Slapsie Maxie · Post by **Slapsie Maxie** » 15 Mar 2006, 06:43

NEVER EAST OF BETHNAL GREEN
NEVER NORTH OF CAMDEN
NEVER WEST OF MARBLE ARCH
NEVER SOUTH OF THE RIVER

Seriously, depending on your budget, East London is where it is all happening. Shoreditch, Bethnal Green, Hoxton, etc are all unrecognisable from when you were last here.

Green Park is on the Victoria line, isn't it? I rarely use the tube. That is easy enough to get to from anywhere

I would say anywhere but south of the river. There be dragons

Slapsie

Old bones Ian · Post by **Old bones Ian** » 15 Mar 2006, 06:59

cheers, i'm not going to be earning great money so, the East would be cheaper i'm guessing.

Arsenal · Post by **Arsenal** » 15 Mar 2006, 07:03

Hey the South isn't that bad! Although I was taken to the dark side by the missus having been a east London boy all my life. Green Park is also on the Jubliee Line so from Waterloo East to Stratford you'll find some areas to live with good transport links.

To be honest there are so mnay places but I would avoid North East/West London i.e. Wembley, Harlesdon, Willsden etc - too far SE - Peckham, Forest Hill, Catford etc - too far West - Ealing, White City, Acton etc and too far East going into Essex - Dagenham.

Stick to Zone 1 and 2 on the Tube its cheaper! SW is nice, EC1, SE1, E14 and N1

Arsenal · Post by **Arsenal** » 15 Mar 2006, 07:04

" NEVER EAST OF BETHNAL GREEN
NEVER NORTH OF CAMDEN
NEVER WEST OF MARBLE ARCH
NEVER SOUTH OF THE RIVER"

Slapsie got it about right aprt from the SARF London thing.

Slapsie Maxie · Post by **Slapsie Maxie** » 15 Mar 2006, 07:05

If your budget is limited, then further East is the best bet. Leyton etc. You will get more bang for your buck than going out further West, North or South where you get out into the pricey burbs.

The other benefit of the East is that it is well served by public transport ( tube and bus )

The other area to consider is Holloway. My ex lives up there and she found a great little flat for a song

Not somewhere you would let your old granny walk at midnight, but for a bloke,not bad at all and, you will be close to both Finsbury Park and Holloway tubes and innumerable busses that go 'up west"

Slapsie

E · Post by E » 15 Mar 2006, 07:07

Arsenal wrote:" NEVER EAST OF BETHNAL GREEN
NEVER NORTH OF CAMDEN
NEVER WEST OF MARBLE ARCH
NEVER SOUTH OF THE RIVER"

Slapsie got it about right aprt from the SARF London thing.

Right - South London is looing good just south of the river.

Stockwell, Vauxhall and Brixton are all on the Victoria line and very acceptable. Kennington & Oval are good too.

Slapsie Maxie · Post by **Slapsie Maxie** » 15 Mar 2006, 07:09

Dunno

Apart from the odd sortie to borough Market, I avoid going to the swamps

whenever I do go there, I feel like Charlton Heston in The Omega Man

Slapsie

Arsenal · Post by **Arsenal** » 15 Mar 2006, 07:17

Ha ha Quality Slapsie! I wouldn't go near Finsbury Park. When I go to watch Arsenal I have a drink round there and its a bit rough round the edges.

E I live in Bermondsey/Rotherhithe and I love it there. You have Surrey Quays as well thats really nice and the transport links are excellent. Clapham's nice but expensive. Oval and Kennington are where my Missus is from and aren't bad. Stockwell is a dump mate and as a high crime rate. Brixton and Vauxhall are ok but still not great. Stick closer to the river. If you are going SW then the better places are really expensive - Fulham, Kensington. If you need any help let me know and I'll give some property websites. Funny enough my in-laws have some rental property but its full. How much you looking to spend.

knockout · Post by **knockout** » 15 Mar 2006, 07:21

Arsenal wrote:Ha ha Quality Slapsie! I wouldn't go near Finsbury Park. When I go to watch Arsenal I have a drink round there and its a bit rough round the edges.

E I live in Bermondsey/Rotherhithe and I love it there. You have Surrey Quays as well thats really nice and the transport links are excellent. Clapham's nice but expensive. Oval and Kennington are where my Missus is from and aren't bad. Stockwell is a dump mate and as a high crime rate. Brixton and Vauxhall are ok but still not great. Stick closer to the river. If you are going SW then the better places are really expensive - Fulham, Kensington. If you need any help let me know and I'll give some property websites. Funny enough my in-laws have some rental property but its full. How much you looking to spend.

Bermondsey is good, i live there...
quick to green park on the jubilee line and affordable too....
working class area but good people.... still has community spirit

Arsenal · Post by **Arsenal** » 15 Mar 2006, 07:24

Exactly KO! Where abouts you live?

knockout · Post by **knockout** » 15 Mar 2006, 07:30

Arsenal wrote:Exactly KO! Where abouts you live?

southwark park road... opposite the entrance to the park, half way between Jamaica Road and the shell garage....

I lived in canning town for 7 years and couldnt put my finger on what was different about bermondsey...

Then i was speaking to Roy Hilder from the peacock who is born and raised Bermondsey and he mentioned the community spirit thing and he was spot on... the area is cosmopolitan but doesnt have the same level as immigrants/asylum seekers as other areas such as shepherds bush, Canning Town etc and consequently people know each others families and have done for years and this shows....

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 15 Mar 2006, 07:32

South London's where it's happening, don't listen to Slapsie, the cravat wearing ponce. Omega man indeed! Smegma man more like...

Brixton, Clapham, Balham all nice, once you get to Tooting and beyond it gets well ropey.

I've moved a little further out to Herne Hill now, which is a bit of a hidden gem in London, I'd never even heard of it until a year ago. Right by Brockwell Park, one of the nicest spots in the whole of London, train takes you to victoria in 12 minutes, Brixton tube is 10 minutes away which takes you everywhere you want to go.

Arsenal · Post by **Arsenal** » 15 Mar 2006, 07:45

Hearne Hill is nice. My mate had a place there when we were at University.

Ko I live about 5mins away on St James Rd where Catlin Street and Rotherhithe New rd meet.

nickd · Post by **nickd** » 15 Mar 2006, 08:27

jamesmcdonnell wrote:South London's where it's happening, don't listen to Slapsie, the cravat wearing ponce. Omega man indeed! Smegma man more like...

Brixton, Clapham, Balham all nice, once you get to Tooting and beyond it gets well ropey.

I've moved a little further out to Herne Hill now, which is a bit of a hidden gem in London, I'd never even heard of it until a year ago. Right by Brockwell Park, one of the nicest spots in the whole of London, train takes you to victoria in 12 minutes, Brixton tube is 10 minutes away which takes you everywhere you want to go.

East London is a khazi I dont care how 'trendy' or 'urban' it is supposed to be a lot of it still looks like a slum.

Slapsie Maxie · Post by **Slapsie Maxie** » 15 Mar 2006, 09:31

jamesmcdonnell wrote:South London's where it's happening, don't listen to Slapsie, the cravat wearing ponce. Omega man indeed! Smegma man more like....

See, oiks every last one of them living South of the River

I did live there in my student days, but got better

As for Shoreditch etc. I am thinking of having a t-shirt made

Front
I may not be hip enough to drink here, but I am rich enough to live here"

Back
f**k off back to Clapham

And anyway, I don't wear a cravat. The occasional monocle, but a cravat never. That would be pretentious

slapsie

J · Post by J » 15 Mar 2006, 09:37

Topper i depends what you are looking for, personalyl I wouldt live in some of the areas suggested here if you paid me but Im sure that works both ways.

Id say most of the suggested areas so far are too far in for a man used to the countryside.

I prefer to go a bit further out say zone 4 and have good train connections (its 20 mins to charing x from where i live 12 mins to london bridge).

Its differrent strokes for different folks mate to be honest though i tend to find most areas in Zone 2/3 are total shitholes most of the time.

Of course there are exceptions but you look at the tube map, it dont make pretty reading, Dalston, Hackney 7 sisters, Finsbury, in the north, Camberwell, Peckham, Lewisham , of course there are exceptions to this rule.

But to say somewhere like Brixton or hackney is a nicer area than say Blackheath Chsilehurst or Greenwich is complete tosh to me, cos it aint, there might be more going on but personally I like a bit of green grass around me, and preferbaly no hyperdermics in that grass.

The added bonus is if you want to get out of London for the weekend you dfont have half as much traffic/ distance getting out of town

like i say Im more of a suburbs man myself and commute half an hour.

I live in between Grove Park and Lee near Blackheath, not too much infrastructure about but if I want a night out I stay in town otherwise I tend to enjoy my mates and get pissed in the garden/ get a 5 quid cab the blackheath/ bromley

Slapsie Maxie · Post by **Slapsie Maxie** » 15 Mar 2006, 09:43

J wrote:The added bonus is if you want to get out of London for the weekend

I have heard of people who want to "get out of London for a while" but never quite understand it.

I never leave my safe enclave unless I am in a cab heading to the airport

too scary. There are ordinary folk out there

slapsie

Coconut · Post by **Coconut** » 15 Mar 2006, 09:44

Shoreditch is only good because of Browns.

I live Earlsfield / Wandsworth way. That bit, and Southfields, are decent for prices, amenities and transport links.

J · Post by J » 15 Mar 2006, 09:46

slapsie you arent my brother perchance are you?

he lives in montague square off baker street and has the same outlook.

like i say each to their own, i love me little cottage in the suburbs mate, id rather have that and be able to play my music as loud as I like when I like, shout obscenties at the tv when the sport is on withouth getting an ASBO, than have the convenience of living in town but have people living on top of me if you know what I mean.

I can see the upsides mate but it just doesnt float my boat.

states · Post by **states** » 15 Mar 2006, 09:49

Sod London, you want to come and live in Northampton: All the drug addicts, random violence and filth of London, with absolutely none of the nightlife, shopping or culture.

It's great!

Coconut · Post by **Coconut** » 15 Mar 2006, 09:51

J wrote: have the convenience of living in town but have people living on top of me if you know what I mean.

The guy in the flat upstairs from me gets his leg over on a Sunday night.

Fortunately, he's got a short fuse.

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 15 Mar 2006, 09:54

J, look at a map of London, South London is by far the greenest bit.

Wandsworth Common, Clapham Common, Tooting Common, Streatham Common and Brockwell Park, then Dulwich Park.

I know what you mean though, Brixton isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it's at least authentic, and like Bermondsey there are a lot of people who have lived in the area for a few generations and a sense of belonging to a community. Brixton Market is a real godsend, lots of interesting little shops in the covered bit of the market too, and lots of shops in the area run by local people, not just the usual high street shops.

J · Post by J » 15 Mar 2006, 10:07

jamesmcdonnell wrote:J, look at a map of London, South London is by far the greenest bit.

Wandsworth Common, Clapham Common, Tooting Common, Streatham Common and Brockwell Park, then Dulwich Park.

I know what you mean though, Brixton isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it's at least authentic, and like Bermondsey there are a lot of people who have lived in the area for a few generations and a sense of belonging to a community. Brixton Market is a real godsend, lots of interesting little shops in the covered bit of the market too, and lots of shops in the area run by local people, not just the usual high street shops.

i know james i live in se12 mate.

by the way happy birthday old chap see you next friday ill buy you a beer or several

Coconut · Post by **Coconut** » 15 Mar 2006, 10:11

jamesmcdonnell wrote:South London is by far the greenest bit.

Wandsworth Common, Clapham Common, Tooting Common, Streatham Common and Brockwell Park, then Dulwich Park.

That's a legacy of the Conservative government maintaining essential recreation areas