The London Connundrum

[Haven]

I once said "I'll never have a desk job, I want to work in the great outdoors!". Having now sat behind a desk for eight years I kept well to that one.

Secondly I also once said that "London is a dirty **** hole, why would anyone ever to live there ...".

Well ... it appears the fates conspire against me and thats where all the work is now and I'm starting to accept the very real fate of moving there very soon.

So fellow cockney scoundrels, being the ignorant northern monkey that I am and knowing so little about our glorious capital (I'm such a turncoat) I have some questions if you would be so kind:

* Assuming I'll be working in Central or West London eventually - any suggestins as to good ares to look for rented accomodation within cycling/commuting distance would be welcome.

* How much is rent in London these days, I'm used to rent around £600/month for a 2 bedroom. I'm assuming London is waaaaaay above this.

* Finally, what do you like most about living in London ? Positive associations very much needed!

Ta muchly folks, I appreciate these are open ended but its a starting point for me to go do some research

 

[elDiablo]

Having worked in London for a while now, I'll take a go at answering these!

Assuming I'll be working in Central or West London eventually - any suggestins as to good ares to look for rented accomodation within cycling/commuting distance would be welcome.

* How much is rent in London these days, I'm used to rent around £600/month for a 2 bedroom. I'm assuming London is waaaaaay above this.

I'll take these two together. You can find some fairly cheap areas of London to rent at a reasonable price, assuming you're happy living in a 1 bedroom flat with a kitchen/lounge room and a bathroom. And it'd be in a shit looking area. But it's possible. £600PCM will give you a studio flat (that is, one big room and a bathroom). Go a browse on RightMove for ideas, but you can get cheaper from other places.

Tubes are awesome nowadays and can get you from A to B in a decent time. If it's before 9am, though, you're going to get crushed, so you'll have to think about if you can live with that. That said, buses are good too, but slower, so if you wanted public transport, I'd look for an area around where you'll be working.

As for cycling around London, it's definitely doable, but don't think it will be like cycling anywhere else in the country. You are invisible to vehicles. Cars, buses, vans, motorcycles; none of them will care if you crash and die. Your life if in your hands. Unless you have no fear, I'd say be very careful with this option.

Alternatively, you could do as I do, and commute in. If you want cheaper housing, North or North-West of London is for you, but the commute in will be hell and expensive. If you want nice areas, South-West of London is for you. Housing will be slightly more, but still very affordable, and the commute will be good (though slow), and still expensive. A pre-9:30am return to Waterloo for me is £11.80/day, or £50/week. You could cycle in if you lived nearish to where you'll be working. A friend of mine cycles a nice route in everyday from Barnes to Hammersmith (7 mile route, rather than the direct 4mile route with lots of cars), so meh. Again, I'd say look at rightmove for an idea of what you can afford and where, and then decide if you like the journey in. I can chat with you on TS or something for more specific help if you want.

* Finally, what do you like most about living in London ? Positive associations very much needed!

London is big, and something is always happening. It's busy, and it's pretty noisy (for the most part). If you can think of doing something (reasonable, so no, not base-jumping), you can do it in London. I went to the Globe Theatre on Sunday. It was a great sunny afternoon, and I have cider on some grass by the Thames. It was nice!

Personally, I can't stand the noisy, which is why I'm an suburbanite. Though the journey is starting to get to me, as I have to leave town at 10pm ish at the latest in order to get any decent train home. Though I do like London for what it is, and the fact that I can get to pretty much anywhere from it. It's got some very cool little places to go, if you know what you are looking for (ask bob or Vibs about Market Fridays, or me about the tiny Italian restaurant with a guy singing to everyone the whole night that does amazing food). And actually, finding (or at least being shown) these places is have the fun.

And finally, London is great because I am there!

 

[Nanor]

I can't believe you're leaving ol' Éire.

 

[Tetsuo_Shima]

What? I thought Haven lived in the merry land of York?

EDIT: Yes, the fact his Location: bar says Belfast should have given me some kind of clue.

 

[Haven]

I can't believe you're leaving ol' Éire.

There's a disturbing lack of babies and no pots of gold (not for lack of looking!).

 

[decky101]

I think I'm gonna cry without our fearless leader on our beautiful island! In all seriousness though, if you're into your cycling a lot, and as eldiablo said, have no fear (cycling with fear is for pansies anyway) then London is AWESOME for cycling in. A friend of mine goes to uni in London and pretty much cycles everywhere, it's a great way to commute, and (as proven by Top Gear- a highly awarded and decorated Factual show) it's also the fastest way to get about (that is of course, if you're fit enough )

 

[Ronin Storm]

* How much is rent in London these days, I'm used to rent around £600/month for a 2 bedroom. I'm assuming London is waaaaaay above this.

Can't comment for London, but to get an impression of the uplift moving down south, I was paying £550pcm for a two bed mid terrace in York in a poor neighbourhood (the rougher bit of Acomb). I'm now paying £850pcm for a three bed detached in Eastleigh in an okay neighbourhood (think Layerthorpe or Heworth). I think the same thing in York would have been maybe £775/800pcm.

 

[Taffy]

Always liveed in London (well, one very specific area anyway ) so I'll have a whack at this also.

* Assuming I'll be working in Central or West London eventually - any suggestins as to good ares to look for rented accomodation within cycling/commuting distance would be welcome.

Well pretty much everywhere is commutable within the travelzones - although things are, as you'd expect, more expensive as well. One of the best bits of London is that everywhere is accessible within two hours (or longer if TfL gets up on the wrong side of bed that morning) If you're going to be working in the city or inner London then I don't think cycling is feasible, although you could get one of those fold up bikes and take it on the train and cycle from station to office. Lots of people do that, but it could be a little awkward in rush hour. Also, don't take your bike on the tube unless you enjoy being universally hated

* How much is rent in London these days, I'm used to rent around £600/month for a 2 bedroom. I'm assuming London is waaaaaay above this.

I can't really answer this one, as i've never rented in London. You'll need to narrow down your search to a specific region of London in order to get a truly accurate picture though.

* Finally, what do you like most about living in London ? Positive associations very much needed!

Theres loads to see, loads to do and loads of people to meet. Theres always something going on, and you can always get there. Bits of London are pretty grotty, but that's pretty much the same situation in every major town in Britain, no? I think you'll like it. And don't forget, if you don't want constant hustle and bustle, the suburbs are much calmer. Where i live (on the border of Bromley and kent), I'm about ten minutes away from pure countryside, full of Kentish hamlets and villages. Yet if I want to get into town, I hop on a train and I can be at London Bridge within half an hour. Best of both worlds