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London, where to live?

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Nym

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Well, I've been offered a job that means working at a number of different railway related placed in London, and several other places, such as Victoria, N Greenwich etc. and I'm wondering where I should be looking to live, since I have never live there before.

I will have a takehome wage of about £1350/4wks, so I reacon I can afford a combined rent + commute of £800 maximum, oh, and anywhere with a zone number I travel in for free...

I want a minimum of a 1 bed flat, no shares, no bedsits, no shares, no studios, no shares, no boxes, no shares....

The commute I would like to be under 30mins to Euston Road (St P, Euston or KX) and 45mins to Stratford (Main HR Dept is on the Greenwich Peninsular).

I am currently looking in St Albans, Watford Junction (Area), Harrow, Heathrow Area (I don't mind noise, and it shuts at night anyway) and considering Gravesend area (HS1 commute).

Oh, and I get a 75% refund on any season ticket I buy with an interest free season ticket loan.

So, any ideas, opinions, what's wrong with Gravesend that means I can get a 2 bed house for the price of a houseshare in Harrow?
 
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Clip

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Thats a fair chunk of your wage and you havent factored in bills with that either which are probably going to be around the £100-£150 mark including your C/Tax. Can you live on £450 for the month?

1 bed flat you'll be lucky for that in anywhere in london. Its worth noting that the modern studios around town now are very spacious and are quite nice too so dont count it out - they are not bedsits anymore. And for under 30 mins to Euston then your going to be lucky for that kind of money.

Sorry. Even your Idea of Gravesend is going to be pricey now as its got the HS1 route and more people moving there and thus pushing the prices up.

the areas you have mentioned would probably suit but try in the north of London around Enfield and wood green seven sisters area..

be warned that for a 1 bed flat you will need at least 3 times the rent in advance too and that would include estate agents fees too to arrange it.

Look at stratford or round the stow area and you may get something to your requirements but again dont knock the idea of a studio until you get your bearings and feel a bit settled.
 

Nym

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Thats a fair chunk of your wage and you havent factored in bills with that either which are probably going to be around the £100-£150 mark including your C/Tax. Can you live on £450 for the month?
I have factored in bills, hence leaving £650-£550/4wk for them above rent...

And £100-£150 for bills? In Gtr. London TTWA? (Self contradiction is fun), so if I havn't factored in bills, but that's how much they cost (that is significantly less than my bills in Bolton) then what's the problem?
1 bed flat you'll be lucky for that in anywhere in london. Its worth noting that the modern studios around town now are very spacious and are quite nice too so dont count it out - they are not bedsits anymore. And for under 30 mins to Euston then your going to be lucky for that kind of money.

Sorry. Even your Idea of Gravesend is going to be pricey now as its got the HS1 route and more people moving there and thus pushing the prices up.
Gravesend I can get a 2bed house with garden for ~£600, £700 sees a 3bed house, so it obviously hasn't inflated prices that much

And no, I will not be entertaining any studio or bedsit, I might be single and in my mid 20s, but I'm not downsizing from a 2 bedroom house in the suburbs to a box in a house designed by someone who is taking the p***
the areas you have mentioned would probably suit but try in the north of London around Enfield and wood green seven sisters area..

be warned that for a 1 bed flat you will need at least 3 times the rent in advance too and that would include estate agents fees too to arrange it.
I know, I have rented houses before, and I know they rip you off in Agents' Fees...
 
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Ivo

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A good start would be to concentrate on the periphery. Somewhere like Grays might be a good one try; it might not be in the main Zones but it is in Oyster territory (for what it's worth) and has Lakeside pretty much on your doorstep.
 

Ascot

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On your wage I'd consider a studio apartment as even £400 a month of disposable income is pretty tight but that's just my views.


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Nym

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Sorry.... £400/month disposable income is tight? Are you including food in 'disposable income'? Even if you are, thats still VERY high...
 

Tubeboy

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£650 a month in rent won't get you a flat. I live in Finchley/Barnet area and at best you would get a small studio for that. I pay £650 a month for a large room with an en suite bathroom. For a flat in North London, you would have to spend at least £800 per month with bills on top. Best of luck though.
 

142094

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TBF if you're going to moan at the advice given, what is the point in asking for the advice in the first place?
 

EM2

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I'm in Forest Gate, it's the third-cheapest postcode to rent in London, and I pay £800 a month including Council Tax, for a two-bed flat with no garden. However, this is a VERY good price, it hasn't changed since I moved in, in 2007. You'd be lucky to get the same now.
Utilities are about £80, Phone/TV/Broadband is £50, water rates £25, TV licence £12. That's £167 + £800 = £967.
I have a Z1-3 Travelcard with 75% discount, and that costs £28 a month.
Total = £995, and that doesn't include other stuff like food, car expenses, nights out etc.
 

OxtedL

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We live life expensively down here.
 

ushawk

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It is really expensive down here at the moment, i was looking to move to London myself a few months ago, but rent prices are increasing, possibly due to the Olympics.

Id say it would be better to look in places in Zones 5 and 6, maybe Watford too.
 

DaveNewcastle

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Can I suggest considering Charlton?
The suggestion above of Seven Sisters might work too.
I'm familiar with both, and any negative first impressions are soon replaced when local knowledge and contacts are developed.

If you don't mind being further out, then Oxhey (nr Watford), Mottingham (nr Hither Green) and similar "unfashionable" districts with decent building standards might work on that budget.
 
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Nym

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Stay in Bolton..... much nicer! ;)

Unfortunately this employer isn't based in Bolton...

TBF if you're going to moan at the advice given, what is the point in asking for the advice in the first place?

Because people are giving advice that is explicitly what I didn't want, ie. studios etc. and saying that what I want is stupid and wrong, and some who can't seem to add up numbers for bills and rent...

I'm in Forest Gate, it's the third-cheapest postcode to rent in London, and I pay £800 a month including Council Tax, for a two-bed flat with no garden. However, this is a VERY good price, it hasn't changed since I moved in, in 2007. You'd be lucky to get the same now.
Utilities are about £80, Phone/TV/Broadband is £50, water rates £25, TV licence £12. That's £167 + £800 = £967.
I have a Z1-3 Travelcard with 75% discount, and that costs £28 a month.
Total = £995, and that doesn't include other stuff like food, car expenses, nights out etc.

Thanks, very helpful getting a slope on bills. Adding on Council tax and whatnot would push a £750/mo flat in Salbeans up to £1k, plus my part of a season ticket £1,1/month. Might be better staying within the TfL controlled zones then I pay sod all for travel...
 

Ascot

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Because people are giving advice that is explicitly what I didn't want, ie. studios etc. and saying that what I want is stupid and wrong, and some who can't seem to add up numbers for bills and rent...

What do you want us to say? Sorry but without lying we cannot say £399 a month a/i for a 2 bedroom apartment 100m from a DLR station. Your council tax band alone will be between E and H which will set you back a fair chunk. If your job is "management" style then you'd be culturally expected to go out for a drink on Friday after work every now and then at a nice bar so it's advised to have some disposable income.
 
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Drsatan

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If your job is "management" style then you'd be culturally expected to go out for a drink on Friday after work every now and then at a nice bar so it's advised to have some disposable income.

Well said! Expect to pay upwards of £3 for a pint at any pub in London, or in most of southern England (my local, about 80 miles from London, charges £3.50 for a pint of London Pride!)
 

Furrball

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Given the current reliability of the Thameslink line St Albans may not be a good option if you want to get to work on time!
 

Nym

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"TBF" (There, now it can't be offensive)

Thanks to Ivo, EM2, ushawk, DaveNewcastle acutally being helpful there, is appreciated.

I'll break this down into nice inofensive bulleted points for you...

-I know how expensive C London is, hence looking further out in the GL TTWA.
-I am aware of how to rent a property, unlike a fair number of graduates I do not live with mummy and daddy or in halls of residence.
-I have factored in bills and other costs, and am aware of the general cost of living.
-I did not say 30mins to Euston, I said 30mins to Euston Road...
-I will not entertain the idea of anything smaller than a 1bed flat, please don't sudgest any, perhaps I did not make this clear previously by providing a list of criteria that I said I would not deviate from, how this is not clear I do not know.
-Any idiot can use rightmove.co.uk, and guess what, I already have! I was looking for advice on areas, good and bad within the GLTTW Area, for some reason this does not sink in.
-Yes I will moan at the advice given when a breif of what I have clearly asked about has not been followed, how can such advice even be deemed as slightly helpful, other than perhaps an insight into the attitudes of the local populus?
-EM2 Thanks, that is actually helpful...
-You do need a car or 24hr transport if you have to be at a depot to start at 2am.

Obviously not a fan of the high life. ;)

-Some of us know how to live within our means and not to excess, those of us who didn't cause problems with living off creditors...

-I have considered that the Olympics may be artifically inflating prices, and have noticed a number of properties being let for the olympic period, this may change in a short peroid of time.

What do you want us to say? Sorry but without lying we cannot say £399 a month a/i for a 2 bedroom apartment 100m from a DLR station. Your council tax band alone will be between E and H which will set you back a fair chunk. If your job is "management" style then you'd be culturally expected to go out for a drink on Friday after work every now and then at a nice bar so it's advised to have some disposable income.

-Something helpful within the breif written perhaps? If you actually read what I wrote, it's a very loose set of criteria. I'm not demanding somewhere for the same rent as now within 100yds of a DLR / Tube into work am I?

- I know how much it costs to buy a pint in London, and the social obligations to do so in a managment type position, the job I have been offered is not one such position yet, but will become one with a significant pay increase.

- How bad is the Thameslink line actually, rather than just the hype?
 

Furrball

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Thameslink is pretty bad at present with at least one major incident a week seriously affecting the service.

If I were looking for somewhere to move to the amount of disruption occurring at present would certainly have to be considered.
 

142094

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Because people are giving advice that is explicitly what I didn't want, ie. studios etc. and saying that what I want is stupid and wrong, and some who can't seem to add up numbers for bills and rent...

You already seem to have a good idea of what you want, and I certainly wouldn't be looking to a forum for advice on a issue such as where to live. Now, this is what you've said earlier:

Nym said:
and I'm wondering where I should be looking to live, since I have never live there before.

As far as I can see some of the others who have tried to help either currently live in the area or have done so - and they are trying to provide you with advice. Might not be the advice you are looking for but it is still advice, and you could always just disregard it rather than becoming uppity.
 

Nym

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I'd say Gravesend. But we were looking at Swanscombe, ten minutes walk from Ebbsfleet, which has the advantage that all HS1 services call there.

I was looking with a 1mi radius drawn round Ebbsfleet International or Northfleet Station and found some pretty nice houses, just don't know what the area round there is like.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
You already seem to have a good idea of what you want, and I certainly wouldn't be looking to a forum for advice on a issue such as where to live. Now, this is what you've said earlier:

As far as I can see some of the others who have tried to help either currently live in the area or have done so - and they are trying to provide you with advice. Might not be the advice you are looking for but it is still advice, and you could always just disregard it rather than becoming uppity.

Not objecting to people offering advice, but when this advice implies, "Don't bother looking for a 1 bed flat, it's stupid to do that on this budget" or "You don't know what you're budgeting for" can you blame one for 'becoming uppity'?
 
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