advice needed - living in London

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Denisochka

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Hi, guys. Need a piece of advice from those of you who live in London.

I am currently living in Moscow but will be relocating to London soon. I�ve been there a couple of times before but as a short-term visitor. I lived in hotels both times.

Now it�s a different story. I will have to rent a flat and at least try to become a Londoner:). I understand the right area to live in London is of paramount importance.

Respectively, I�d like to ask you what the right areas of London are to rent a flat in. By that I mean areas with mostly white population, low criminal rates, good commuting and relatively close to the City.

Also, could you comment on the current market prices for rent of, say, one bed-room?

The last but not the least, what income one should earn to live comfortably in London nowadays? Will 60k pounds do?

Thank you. Will appreciate any response.
 
Well, the first thing I'd mention is that London is a very mixed place. Its not like the US where (I understand) you have very distinct 'good' areas and 'bad' areas.

Rather, you tend to have a mix of good streets that are a stone's throw from a block of public housing, or whatever.

There are a few 'very nice' areas but they are very very very expensive.

The City is slightly East of the centre. So you can walk in from anywhere slightly to the East - say Islington, Clerkenwell, Shoreditch, some parts of Bermondsey. I guess you can get a one-bed flat here for �900 a month. A room in a flatshare for anything in the region of �500 upwards.

You can commute in from pretty much anywhere in Zone 1 or 2 of the tube within half and hour to 45 mins door-to-door. So this opens up areas to the West of London - which tend to be a little nicer & quite a bit more expensive.

Oh, and many people live very happy lives on much less than �60k... but - as ever- it really depends on what kind of lifestyle you lead.
 
Deadcat, many thanks for your detailed answer.

Am I right that areas you mentioned, Islington, Clerkenwell, Shoreditch, Bermondsey, are located in Zone 1 or 2, ie quite close to the City?

Do you have any idea what living in areas Clapham, Bromley, Beckenham and Blackheath might mean? In terms of commuting and cost of rent.
 
Yeah, those areas are all zone 1. You can walk to the City in maybe 20-30mins. Less if you cycle or get a bus.

Clapham is zone 2 (i think). Its very popular with young professionals. It has a couple of nice parks and isn't too expensive. You can get the Tube into the City with a 20min tube ride (plus walking at either end). I'm not too familiar with the other areas you mention.

As I said, these are perfectly fine areas of London and popular with many young City professionals and eminantly affordable.


n.b. If living in a 'nice' area is crucial to you - and you dont mind paying up considerably for it - then look Westwards - Chelsea, Kensington, Pimlico etc. BUT they are much more expensive.
 
Oh, and forgot to say that Clapham is prob in that �900/�500+ bracket that I spoke of, but with an extra c�80 a month for the Tube.
 
Denisochka,

"Respectively, I�d like to ask you what the right areas of London are to rent a flat in. By that I mean areas with mostly white population, low criminal rates, good commuting and relatively close to the City. "


So you think areas with mostly white population = right areas.... man that kind sh*t sparks race riots.... as an ethnic minority i am offended
 
Luchano Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> what r u gonna do in London if not a secret?


I am moving to London office of my employer for a secondment. I am working in corporate finance department. Will be involved in mid-market M&A deals.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Tuesday, September 19, 2006 at 03:21AM by Denisochka.
 
Mr. Shaka Zulu Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> So you think areas with mostly white population =
> right areas.... man that kind sh*t sparks race
> riots.... as an ethnic minority i am offended


Mr. Shaka Zulu. Sorry if I anyhow offended you. Definitely, I didn't intend to.

What I meant "White population = right areas FOR ME AND FOR MY WIFE". That's all. You will not deny my right to choose any area most suitable for me by all means, will you.
 
Denisochka,

Wr u decide to live is indeed your prerogative & you are obviously entitled to hold your own views... however that wasn't my point & I am sure as a smart guy you'll realise that.... nway I guess its best we don�t get into that.... as an aside you might find upmystreet.co.uk helpful as it provides stats on crime, average rental/ freehold/leasehold prices, leisure activities, transport etc in london & the uk depending on postcode/ location e.g. St John�s Wood
 
The reasons may be complex, but it remains an inescapable fact that if you plot the % of white population against the crime rate then you get a pretty clear trend.
 
Deadcat,

To be enable me to respond would you be kind enough to elaborate as your statement is rather vague i.e what correlation do you observe?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Tuesday, September 19, 2006 at 05:14AM by Mr. Shaka Zulu.
 
There is a positive correlation.

Its not a particularly pleasent thing to say - and I note that all kinds of social issues come into play.

Its prob more of a povery & crime correlation, and non-whites are disproportionately in poverty, but pretending like there's no correlation between the % of white population against the crime rate wont help anyone.
 
I disagree as quite a few of the council estates ive come across in east London r predominately/ majority white also the heroin trade in N London IMHOP is run by the "white community" & as such I disagree w ur assessment ... also council estates in Liverpool etc up north r predominately white... nway what do i know ... im only a humble immigrant to this great land ;-)... Basically who r the king pins behind the crime = imho Caucasians vs the foot soldiers who r predominantly non white
 
Interesting subjective comments.


I refer you to:

1) The 2001 Government Census that gives the black population in London as 10.1%
2) The 2004 Home Office Statistics on Race & the Criminal Justice system that gives the percentage of offences in London in which a black suspect was arrested as 32%



Like I said, pretending that there is no relationship wont help anyone.
 
DeadCat,

While I get your point and suspect that your hypothesis "may" be right, the figures that you provide do not prove a relationship conclusively.
 
Well, yeah, maybe. To be honest i've been thinking about it all day and I think i was just arguing for the sake of arguing.

I think my facts are valid, but its a very superficial view on a very complex issue.
 
DCat

I had to hold fire as its very difficult to argue with the census etc numbers.... however I stick to my argument about the H trade out of green lanes etc in n london, however as im sure you appreciate no documented evidence exists
 
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