Help - Moving to London

IronMaiden · Trackday Trickster Joined: 15 Nov 2005 Karma :

Due to my husband getting an excellent job offer in London ( in Canary Wharf area), we will be moving from South Africa to London in a couple of months. I have no idea what to expect. I have travelled quite a lot but I don't know London that well.

As I have no idea where the nicer areas in London are to live in, I am hoping that the BCF members could give me some advise please.

What areas would you suggest? I would like something with a garden if possible, I am not an apartment type person. I really don't want to live in a high rise in the city centre. I love nature but need to be close enough to comute to Canary Wharf.

Also I will have to sell the Honda CBR600 before I leave.

Does anyone have an idea of how much a new Honda Blade 1000RR will cost in the UK?

Thanks so much for any help !!

G · The Voice of Reason Joined: 02 Feb 2002 Karma :

How much commuting is he prepared to do?

Living costs around that area and within commuting distance aint going to be great.

Flip · Super Spammer Joined: 28 Feb 2004 Karma :

A new Blade? I think around £9,000.

Irezumi aka Reuben · Carrot Top Joined: 28 Sep 2004 Karma :

LondonBiker · Renault 5 Driver Joined: 14 Mar 2006 Karma :

If you want to buy/rent property then have a look at www.rightmove.com

Dan 4RR · World Chat Champion Joined: 02 Dec 2004 Karma :

LondonBiker · Renault 5 Driver Joined: 14 Mar 2006 Karma :

carvell · Scuttler Joined: 05 Sep 2003 Karma :

ZRX61 · Victor Meldrew Joined: 05 Nov 2003 Karma :

LondonBiker · Renault 5 Driver Joined: 14 Mar 2006 Karma :

Itchy · Super Spammer Joined: 07 Apr 2005 Karma :

Barry_M2 · World Chat Champion Joined: 09 Sep 2004 Karma :

Commuting into London is the best option, Canary Wharf is very easy to get to. I'd suggest looking for propertys in Kent area, east of London and preferably outside of the M25.

Your best bet is to have a look at main line trains into the City and look at town's and villages alone those train lines (or close by). My train journey into the City is about 30 mins from Hertfordshire, and cost it around £170 per month.

Thumbs Up

illusion · Scooby Slapper Joined: 04 Apr 2005 Karma :

Your best bet would probably be South East London/Kent. There are a lot of mainline trains that stop at Greenwich and Lewisham, and from there you get the DLR right to Canary Wharf. I reckon from zone 5 & 6 you could probably do the communte in under an hour.

For example somewhere like Orpington (zone 6), you would get a 2 bed house for around 190k and commute would be under an hour. No idea what the area is like mind you! Probably best thing to do is download this tube/train map:

https://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/lon_con.pdf

...and see what places have train stations that are convenient to get to Canary Wharf. Then check out www.findaproperty.co.uk and look at the areas, and it should give you an idea of property prices. Expect to pay around 85 quid a month for a zone 2 - 5 ticket or around 105 quid for a zone 2 - 6 ticket.
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LustyLew · World Chat Champion Joined: 19 Apr 2004 Karma :

Hi,

I live in Beckenham. Which is on the London/Kent border. My station is in Zone 4, and my annual ticket to London (return only, not travelcard) is under £1,000 a year.

Trains stop at Lewisham where you change for the DLR. During the rush hour there are 3 or 4 trains an hour wich is good.

The only bugger is property prices can be a bit of a stinger.

headlamp · World Chat Champion Joined: 26 Nov 2003 Karma :

As Flip says a new Blade will cost around £9,000. As far as where to live, Canary Wharf is a bit of a bugger of you want to live on the West side of London and South and East are a bit iffy. Depending on your budget you could try areas such as Blackheath, Crystal Palace and Lee which are fairly accessible for the Docklands & are reasonably pleasant areas!!
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hellkat · Super Spammer Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :

NBO · Two Stroke Sniffer Joined: 15 Sep 2005 Karma :

akaDAVE · World Chat Champion Joined: 01 Sep 2005 Karma :

I was moved over from SA when I was 8 years old and I'm still reeling from the shock now!
Firstly let's make no mistake, the weather here is an absolute disgrace. Winter is long, dark, featureless and depressing. If you're a sun worshiper like me then be prepared to suffer depression for over 1/2 of the calendar year.
Don't move here in winter, it would be like taking a tropical fish and chucking it in the Thames.

Summer is great (when it's warm) as the whole country is buzzing in a state of delirious releif.

I would never choose to live in London, I couldn't imagine it. I commute from the south coast every day 2hours each way and it's worth it to get away at the end of the day. London is great to visit but it stinks, the public transport is very crowded and stressfull if you need it to get to work.
London is somewhere to work and then leave at the end of the day in my eyes.
There's some nice places to live on commuter routes, not necessarily as far as the south coast but far enough away to be able to breath freely without having to smell diesel, smoke or mcdonalds burgers.
Kent, Essex, South East - Haywards Heath, Anywhere on a main line, get a map and look at Google Earth for an idea of location. It's not far away to some nice countryside and roads in Kent.
The trains have now been updated so we're not using the rickety old cattle trucks for the main lines anymore which is a big bonus. They are also reliable enough on the whole - the tube is a different story.
I luckily don't have to get an underground tube on my journey, they are 30+degrees even in winter and quite frankly stink, the ever lingering chance of being blown up is a bit of a niggle too.
Before you settle on anyplace make sure your husband tries out the journey first in detail.
I travel a long way but some people who get on the train 20mins after me can't even get a seat for the next hour!

On the positive side, it seems to be a natural home for South Africans now, there's even shops selling all the goods from back home and even themed bars.

If you don't get along here, you can just take any money you've saved back to SA where it will be worth a small fortune!

Good luck with your move! Thumbs Up

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IronMaiden · Trackday Trickster Joined: 15 Nov 2005 Karma :

IronMaiden · Trackday Trickster Joined: 15 Nov 2005 Karma :

Dan 4RR · World Chat Champion Joined: 02 Dec 2004 Karma :

Just a word of warning Iron Maiden... the UK only has two seasons july & winter.. so be prepared. Laughing

hellkat · Super Spammer Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :

The Tot · World Chat Champion Joined: 11 Jun 2004 Karma :

NW london house prices are over-inflated because it's generally a very nice area to live in. 3 bed semi's are about £350 K as a rough guide and renting is about £1200P/M. I used to live in Edgware, it's pretty okayish but nothing too spectacular; it was a major transport hub so accessibility was there. It sucked cos it was in Zone 5 and quite a long way away from town. My mate lives in Edgware and works in Canary wharf, takes about an hour and a half on the underground to get to canary wharf. Except it's on the opposite end of the underground to stratford.

Generally, east london is a shithole. Lived in East Ham and Plaistow when i was a todd, but over there, you can expect a living environment similar to bangladesh or pakistan. I remember doing a study for my A level geography stating that that area has lowest white minority in the whole of london.

Also, stay away from Basildon, Essex!

Herts is pretty safe. St Alban's, Hemel Hempstead - but they're all boring towns and quite a way away from your work.
But with the olympics coming up, any property there will be a good investment as the whole area is being done up. Stratford now looks up-market, compared to that shithole of a place i once knew when you'd get pigeons in the shopping centre. Stratford is only 4 stations away from Canary wharf on the Jubilee line, or a few more stops on the DLR.

The kent suburban towns are good too; Sevenoaks for example is only a half an hour journey into town. And it's also on the right side of canary wharf.

If you want a larger house, go to the north/nw london as following the war, planned expansion of london meant that adequate semi-detatched housing spawned throughout. S London is a bit more victorian with their offerings but never turn down a swanky refubed 2up-2down terrace.

Hope this helps and i hope i didn't ramble on.

God i miss London.
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www.youtube.com/Titot182 for your bike gear reviews and pop punk covers
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Marcg868 · World Chat Champion Joined: 20 Jan 2005 Karma :

Dear me Up North isnt that bad, Im orginally from Salford and now live in 3 bedroomed 3 bathroomed, double garaged big gardened house In Bolton worth £280 k

And not all murdering scum, we're freindlier than you southern lot Thumbs Up

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The Tot · World Chat Champion Joined: 11 Jun 2004 Karma :

Yes, but unless you have a good ear, anybody that's emigrated into the UK from abroad will find the nothern, accent tad hard and difficult to understand. Not to say that it's a bad thing, i've started to pronounce things the northern way when i say words with a and o in it Shocked

And i'm NOT too far north.

To be honest, London is hyped up. It's the 2nd most expensive city to live in, but you do have the benefit of saying, hey i live in London, it kicks arse. Wouldn't have the same effect if you were like, hey i live in Windemere so suck on that Razz

The North in my opinion is underrated and if you're willing to overlook the stereotypes, it's not really a bad place. You may get the stares cos i'm oriental, but you'd fit in after a while.
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The Tot 2007 Yamaha R1 4C8 2002 Yamaha FZS1000 Fazer &
www.youtube.com/Titot182 for your bike gear reviews and pop punk covers
Earl Of Easycore Pop Punk Will Never Die!