Moving to London

[Paulie Tandoori]

Nowt to do with sexuality.. you could replace the term with 'wanky' if that suits.

we call them 'types'.

in fact, our local pub is often threatened with hordes of them braying in through the doors, so much so that time of their imminenent arrival has been dubbed 'type-o-clock' by our local tattoo artiste.

 

[teuchter]

For someone that doesn't know london very well, i'd recommend renting a cheapo room somewhere short term to start with, and living out of a suitcase there for a few weeks while you look around for somewhere you really like. It's worth taking your time to find somewhere good and also you can get a proper idea of which parts of london you like. Differences between residential parts of london can be greater than you might expect if you only know the centre and it's worth finding an area that suits you.

 

[Oswaldtwistle]

we call them 'types'.

in fact, our local pub is often threatened with hordes of them braying in through the doors, so much so that time of their imminenent arrival has been dubbed 'type-o-clock' by our local tattoo artiste.

I'm still none the bleedin' wiser What the bleedin heck is a 'type'?

PM if you don't want to post on thread.....

 

[kyser_soze]

I'm still none the bleedin' wiser

I think the old term would be 'Yuppie' but it's not the same - it's really just anyone who thinks they're something, thinks' they're 'about' to use my Ma's even more ancient term...

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Southall FTW

 

[oryx]

I lived in york since i got back from traveling from about 1999 - It's a lovely place but it's a bit like a village everyone knows everyone - which can be nice but it can get annoying at times

the phrase cabin fever springs to mid

I'd agree with that pretty much 100%. York is great to go back & visit though. And it's a lovely place - just claustrophobic!

On the subject of London, I much prefer south - better value for money, feels like there's more greenery - wot ChrisFilter said, basically.

 

[ChrisFilter]

Southall FTW

Don't be mean. Anywhere in West or North London is a bad idea from the off.

Hackney is ok, but has even more 'types' than Herne Hill.

 

[Northern Uproar]

For someone that doesn't know london very well, i'd recommend renting a cheapo room somewhere short term to start with, and living out of a suitcase there for a few weeks while you look around for somewhere you really like. It's worth taking your time to find somewhere good and also you can get a proper idea of which parts of london you like. Differences between residential parts of london can be greater than you might expect if you only know the centre and it's worth finding an area that suits you.

That sounds like a good idea to me - I have just spent the entire day on gumtree and the like and now my head hurts.

Several people i know down there have recommended Islington but i get the impression you don't get much for your money there?

A well deserved pint is in order now

 

[chico enrico]

North London - full of psuedo-pseuds thinking they live some kind of bohemian existance, and everyone who lives in Hackney wishes it was the 70s so they could afford a pad where they really want to live, Hampstead...

a) yes, in around 1982.

b) i think if anyone was living in hackney they'd like to live in hampstead. it's like if you were having to drink a glass of pensioner's piss you'd probably wish it was champagne.

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

Nah, fuck Islington, diverges between the incredibly wealthy and the incredibly poor, with not much to recommend it to anyone imo. Less green spaces than any other London borough for example. The Holloway Road, the most congested and polluted thoroughfare in London. The ghastly shopping centre at the Angel.

Have a look at Walthamstow, for example, slightly further out but well connected with tube and cheapish from what i understand.

Enjoy your pint

 

[ChrisFilter]

That sounds like a good idea to me - I have just spent the entire day on gumtree and the like and now my head hurts.

Several people i know down there have recommended Islington but i get the impression you don't get much for your money there?

A well deserved pint is in order now

Islington?! Seriously, avoid. Full of wankers, All Bar Ones, and Café Unos. Expensive, dirty, crowded, no greenery, too much traffic.

That said, if your mates are the sorta people who like it, then maybe you will? Different strokes for different folks n' all that. And good to live near your mates.

 

[chico enrico]

That sounds like a good idea to me - I have just spent the entire day on gumtree and the like and now my head hurts.

Several people i know down there have recommended Islington but i get the impression you don't get much for your money there?

A well deserved pint is in order now

really my fridnd, you don't want to pay much attention to a lot of the folks on here.

islington is sound. lots of cheap flats around there. In fact until two teats ago i had an absolutely gorgeous place just down from angel tube, massive, three bedrooms and for £340 a month.

also try clerkenwell, barbican, farringdon, city road area, even further afield essex road area, de beauvoir etc...

lots of nice places around there and surprisingly cheap for the simple reason everyone makes a bee line for hackney, dalston, stokey etc cos they think they will be cheap which has practically doubled the rental rates over the past three years.

i've got a friend who used to live on commercial road cos she thought that was cheap who at the start of the month found a gaff in holburn with marble floors for about £100 cheaper.

ps; gumtree is not the best place to find cheap flats anyway. try loot (the paper) and just go to areas you like the sound of and check out adverts in newsagents windows. that's where you'll find some old woman who hasn't got a clue about the price of rent and isn't too conversant with the internet advertising. those two options are how i have always found my places.

best of luck

 

[chico enrico]

Islington?! Seriously, avoid. Full of wankers, All Bar Ones, and Café Unos. Expensive, dirty, crowded, no greenery, too much traffic.

That said, if your mates are the sorta people who like it, then maybe you will? Different strokes for different folks n' all that. And good to live near your mates.

complete and utter codswallop.

unless by 'the borough of islington' you are meaning the first 200 yards or so of Upper St.

tell you what. go to hackney or stockwell or wherever it is everyone is saying you should check out then go to islington. and come to your own conclusion.

can we take bets on which place he'd rather live?

 

[teuchter]

That sounds like a good idea to me - I have just spent the entire day on gumtree and the like and now my head hurts.

Several people i know down there have recommended Islington but i get the impression you don't get much for your money there?

A well deserved pint is in order now

Really, you should ignore anyone's advice about what are good areas, unless you know them well enough to know that what would suit them would also suit you.

And yes, looking for somewhere to let in london is hard work and time consuming which is why i'd strongly recommend you take your time about it rather than stressing yourself out trying to find somewhere in a week and ending up making a hasty decision you'll later regret.

Another thing i'd say is if you plan on going out at night a fair bit, check out the night bus options whenever you're looking for somewhere. Unless you're wealthy enough to get taxis all the time it makes a big difference to live somewhere you can get back to easily on the night bus. This is one of brixton's many plus points, by the way.

 

[ohmyliver]

Hammersmith or Earl's court maybe? With the District direct to Victoria.

nooooooo are there any decent pubs in Earls Court at all?

 

[kyser_soze]

Islington's choca full of twats and chains.

three bedrooms and for £340 a month.

Council or a mate? No fucking chance of getting somewhere decent in Islington for that money renting privately - fuck, even when I started working around there in 1996 a 3 bed private rental would be at least £900 pcm.

 

[scifisam]

The problem is, you have a decent budget and your GF's working somewhere with good access to anywhere. You don't even need to worry about travel costs if you decide to live farther out. So that makes it difficult to recommend anywhere, really!

What kind of work do you do? Some jobs are concentrated in particular areas of London, so that could help you decide where to live.

Islington's choca full of twats and chains.



Council or a mate? No fucking chance of getting somewhere decent in Islington for that money renting privately - fuck, even when I started working around there in 1996 a 3 bed private rental would be at least £900 pcm.

That's only a tiny bit more than my two-bed HA flat. Illegal sublet, perhaps?

 

[Northern Uproar]

I had a feeling Islington would prove to be an unpopular choice on here

I'm a team manager in a call center (I know it's a hated profession ) hopefully I shouldn't have a problem getting a job - I'm sure there's loads of call centers dotted around London town if not my skills are pretty transferable

depending on how easy it is to find work it may be a good opportunity for a career change

 

[marty21]

I had a feeling Islington would prove to be an unpopular choice on here

I'm a team manager in a call center (I know it's a hated profession ) hopefully I shouldn't have a problem getting a job - I'm sure there's loads of call centers dotted around London town if not my skills are pretty transferable

depending on how easy it is to find work it may be a good opportunity for a career change

i'd say look at the bigger housing associations, a lot of them are creating call centres atm

 

[Oswaldtwistle]

I think you may need to think laterally.Marty's suggestion is obviously a good one, but a lot of national companies with call centres deliberately base them outside London where costs (both land and wages) are a bit lower.

Even Congestion Charging London is actually based in Coventry......

I think the main TFL line is based in London, though, the 020 7222 1234 thing.

Also try local councils.

 

[davesgcr]

Follow Willie rushdens advice and head for Neasden...


"Neasden - you wont be sorry that you breezed in,.....the neon lights ....welcome to the suburb that everyone's pleased in ....etc etc"


Well Betjeman said so .......!


Seriously Herne Hills a breeze with an improving service to Victoria and all the rest ....

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Neasden? And I was was joking about fucking Southall!

Clapham will do you fine. You'll find the right house at the right price. Everything you need in the area. Not too much aggro. Some banker cunt was in the news the other week having made over a £bullion from every other fucker losing out and he lives there. You've got good tubes, trains, busses and frottaging on da common.

 

[chico enrico]

Neasden? And I was was joking about fucking Southall!

Clapham will do you fine. You'll find the right house at the right price. Everything you need in the area. Not too much aggro. Some banker cunt was in the news the other week having made over a £bullion from every other fucker losing out and he lives there. You've got good tubes, trains, busses and frottaging on da common.

clapham? have you got some grudge against Northern Uproar?

 

[chico enrico]

Seriously Herne Hills a breeze with an improving service to Victoria and all the rest ....

FFS! the guy sounds like he's got a few bob and wants to stay somewhere decent! you're hardly going to want to stay somewhere like herne hill or stockwell or half the places folk are singing the praises of on here unless you're up against it.

i'd also say he should check out archway, highgate, chalk farm, around there. i've been around there for years. well cheap, lots of massive old houses, good tube service and night busses, can get anywhere and everywhere in london worth going to in 30 minutes from my door, lots of good old man pubs and crackin restaurants and fairly quiet unless it's st paddy's day, i've never had any stick or seen any trouble anyway and i'm out every night and stoatin back all hours.

to me what it's all about is:

1) location/accessability to everywhere by tube and bus.
2) old building, thick stone walls and large rooms, none of that new rubbish or knock through bollocks.
3) lack of nutters leaping about trying to rob folk or wallop them over the head to pass the time of day.

and as nice as you can get for as cheap as you can get

 

[scifisam]

FFS! the guy sounds like he's got a few bob and wants to stay somewhere decent! you're hardly going to want to stay somewhere like herne hill or stockwell or half the places folk are singing the praises of on here unless you're up against it.

i'd also say he should check out archway, highgate, chalk farm, around there. i've been around there for years. well cheap, lots of massive old houses, good tube service and night busses, can get anywhere and everywhere in london worth going to in 30 minutes from my door, lots of good old man pubs and crackin restaurants and fairly quiet unless it's st paddy's day, i've never had any stick or seen any trouble anyway and i'm out every night and stoatin back all hours.

to me what it's all about is:

1) location/accessability to everywhere by tube and bus.
2) old building, thick stone walls and large rooms, none of that new rubbish or knock through bollocks.
3) lack of nutters leaping about trying to rob folk or wallop them over the head to pass the time of day.

and as nice as you can get for as cheap as you can get

They're one of the few areas where you wouldn't have a direct tube or train through to Victoria, though. The more changes, the more time, and the more chance that one of the lines will be down. If you have a wide selection of places that will give you easy access to work, it's probably best to go for one of those rather than making life more difficult.

 

[kabbes]

to me what it's all about is:

1) location/accessability to everywhere by tube and bus.
2) old building, thick stone walls and large rooms, none of that new rubbish or knock through bollocks.
3) lack of nutters leaping about trying to rob folk or wallop them over the head to pass the time of day.

and as nice as you can get for as cheap as you can get

Completely right, but so is this:

They're one of the few areas where you wouldn't have a direct tube or train through to Victoria, though. The more changes, the more time, and the more chance that one of the lines will be down. If you have a wide selection of places that will give you easy access to work, it's probably best to go for one of those rather than making life more difficult.

If the other half is working in Victoria then for my money it makes sense to at least check out areas like Clapham and Wimbledon. They fulfil Chico's list and they take no time at all to get to Victoria, which will be very nice for her. Because what people who don't live in London don't really seem to appreciate until they move south is that London is really, really big. You can live in what appears to be central London and EASILY find that it takes you 45 minutes or even an hour to commute to another bit of what appears to be central London. There's no point in having that kind of commute if you don't need to.

Northern Uproar, I suggest you go to the Transport for London website and look at tube maps, overground maps and try out how long it takes to get to places from places before you commit one way or other. And teuchter's advice to just live temporarily somewhere for a few weeks first is also good.

 

[Paulie Tandoori]

Or you could just buy a bicycle and avoid public transport every day. See a lot more of the city that way as well.

 

[kabbes]

... at least until your bike is stolen or a truck crunches you.

It's true though, you could bike around. It all goes to show how personal the decision is. It's down to taste and personal preferences.

 

[spanglechick]

FFS! the guy sounds like he's got a few bob and wants to stay somewhere decent! you're hardly going to want to stay somewhere like herne hill or stockwell or half the places folk are singing the praises of on here unless you're up against it.

When were you last in Herne Hill. It's terribly posh. Possibly too 'yummy mummy' for the OP (but safe at night and short walk to brixton) - but it's hardly for those who can't afford to live anywhere else!

defining features of herne hill: lots of delicatessens and restaurants. Lack of chain stores.

 

[Oswaldtwistle]

I would think employees at Victoria have access to fairly secure cycle parking. But that is just a guess, based on TFL's general pro-bike policy.