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So,
My OH has landed a new job in the centre of London, meaning that she'll be living down there during the week and then alternately coming home oop North or me going down at the weekends. We're currently looking for accommodation, so I was hoping that STW might have some constructive suggestions?
Primary criteria is it has to be safe, and comfortable. Ideally, it needs to be reasonably Tube-able into the centre, and accessible for me by both train and car. She's currently looking at things around the Northern Line in Zone 4 (whatever all that means).
Does anyone have any suggestions regarding area, or can recommend decent letting agencies perhaps? Anything else we need to bear in mind?
Cheers.
I know of a 2 bedroom house, zone 5, garden & patio, 2 car drive way, with a 50 minute travel time (which includes 20 mins walk to the local station - 5 if you get a bus) to central london and more importantly for the weekend, its 7 minute drive to the north M25 junction. It'll be for rent in 2 months or so, possibly less.
Drop me an email (in profile) if interested.
🙂
P.S. - if you're a biker its 5 miles / 10 mins drive from Epping forest, and has a large secure outbuilding with hoops in the floor for locking your bike to.... 🙂
Don't obsess about the tube - the overground is generally a nicer experience.
Personally I'd avoid the Northern line if possible. I used to live on it (clapham) and it is pretty miserable in rush hour.
My Mrs was living in London when we got together, in Stoke Newington. It was fairly easy to get to from Sheffield (M1 then North Circular) and is nice and safe - the type of place that has a farmer's market on the weekend. Tube from Finsbury Park which is 5 mins on the bus.
Or bus in to town, which is what she did as it was faster and easier
Don't obsess about the tube - the overground is generally a nicer experience.Personally I'd avoid the Northern line if possible
^^This^^
Overground, foot and a Boris Bike or just bike.
If she's going to be living on her lonesome all week, may be worth taking in to account if there's anyone you/she know(s) who are in London and being somewhere around there. Working away from home can be pretty lonely.
London village eh? From our kids experience over the years, I think most letting agents will offer you this:
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In an 'up and coming' area*. In return to you handing over the equivalent of most South American countries GDP in rent a week. And your first born.
* Up and Coming = Anyone with anything about them has upped and left
+1 East London, Leyton/Leytonstone/Walthamstow. Easy to get on the North Circ/ M25 for trips up norf.
About 30 mins into central London on the Victoria/Central Line.
I lived in Hendon for a while and liked it. Or try Surbiton. Seems a way out but fast train to Waterloo and it's easy to get out of town to the Downs, Swinley, Wales etc.
Where will she be working (make sure it wont change), see what of the TfL network is convenient, decide how long she wants to travel, work back along the possibe routes that equates to that.
what kind of fiat are you after Cougar?
An X1/9 maybe.
Cheers for all the replies so far, it's appreciated. Work will be in Hoburn (wherever that is).
Bloody nightmare, it's a catch-22. Rental agreement = credit agreement = come back when you've been paid your new salary for six months, cos you can't afford it on your current one. Oh, and we'd like six weeks' rent in advance and a four figure security deposit. And you can't take out a loan unless you're buying objects. Gah.
I have a rental flat in SW London & the market is strong. It always has been for anything decent. Anything central, 5 mins walk to railway & near shops, parks, coffee bars etc is over 1k gbp per month & that's for a 1 bedroom place.
She's be better sharing a 2 bedder, they go for c 1200 pcm so thats 600 each.
Hope it helps, I know the Kingston Surbiton areas if you need any advice on them. 1 hr to central London door to door but leafy, good shops etc.
Its not clear to me how important it is to be near to (or have easy access to) Euston or Kings Cross, St Pancras to get the trains oop North! Nor how much oop North you are.
I live in SW London, using the M4/M3 to M25 to get to the M40 or M1 is not a major problem (although to be fair I only go as far the M40 19/20 as I am heading to Liverpool).
So one thing to think about is whether you want to be North or South. SW London is very nice and leafy in the main part. Out from Putney to Barnes to East Sheen to Richmond, to Twickenham to Teddington Kingston, Hampton Court and Surbiton etc.
But if you want to be much closer to one of the key train gateways to the North then it is irrelevant.