Defection and flat hunting

You should speak to some of my friends that work at Battersea Dogs Home.

They ususally rent houses to share with gardens because they all have pets, then you might even get to take doggie too and have a decent place to stay not just a box room.

We are having a staff and ex staff reunion next month, I can ask around if you like?

I'd suggest that you look for somewhere slightly further from the centre and take your bike with you to commute.

You'll enjoy it waaaay more than taking the tube (London riding is its own special brand of fun!), and it means that you can afford something a bit nicer. Also, if you're less tied to being close to a tube station you can get more for your money - though if you go out a lot you probably will want to be closeish to a tube as well, for getting home afterwards.

I'm out of touch with rental prices these days, but you could try Southfields/Earlsfield/Wandsworth in SW London, or even parts of Tooting. As has been said there is good and bad in all areas, so check it out and also look at the local high st/station to see if you're happy with that area too. But don't be too picky, this is London we're talking about!

On the plus side, loads of people share in London so you should find plenty of rooms to rent.

[Sid Squid]

Originally Posted by martianskippy

Generally south of the river tends to be better than north

So, so, so wrong. South London is a terrible place - you will know this as you live there, just look at the sort of people that do too; Rictus, Jambo, Viney, Spidey, BBC, Davies, Sarj, Pete M, dear me - I shudder just to think about it .

To be more helpful, the budget you're suggesting will probably only buy you a share in a flat/house. Certainly it's insufficient for a flat of your own in central London, Gumtree is good, also try Zoopla, a couple of people I know have had good results from there, (that link is for max £100 a week).

[timwilky]

I hope they are paying you well to compensate for living away etc. I once looked at the monday down, friday back lifestyle and there was no way on this earth I would do it long term.

I would need to move down properly and london wages to not compensate for london inflated prices

[ophic]

TW this is true - I expect it to be harder than my current lifestyle, but there's a few good reasons for it. I need to pay off some debts so I'll be basically renting the cheapest room I can find. Then in a year when the gf's son finishes his current school, they'll move down as well and we'll look at getting a proper place to live. The train back to Accy is quite cheap if you catch the right ones, and it would allow me to sell my car and possibly my bike, and rent out my house in Leeds.

So basically any money saved anywhere is a good thing, so living in London "cheaply" is critical to the plan.

Thanks for the responses so far - I'm scouring the sites posted and getting an idea of what's available. Currently looking at living further out to the north west - Hemel, Watford, Luton etc, cos you can get into the centre reasonably quickly from these places although the tickets are costly.

Originally Posted by ophic

Thanks for the responses so far - I'm scouring the sites posted and getting an idea of what's available. Currently looking at living further out to the north west - Hemel, Watford, Luton etc, cos you can get into the centre reasonably quickly from these places although the tickets are costly.

If you're looking at living outside of London and commuting by bike, I would strongly suggest looking at Surbiton and Kingston - much nicer than Luton, Hemel or Watford. Surbiton has a fast train connection to Waterloo which takes just 15 minutes!

If you really want to be north of London, look at St Albans maybe..

[ophic]

Originally Posted by martianskippy

If you're looking at living outside of London and commuting by bike, I would strongly suggest looking at Surbiton and Kingston - much nicer than Luton, Hemel or Watford. Surbiton has a fast train connection to Waterloo which takes just 15 minutes!

If you really want to be north of London, look at St Albans maybe..

oh yeah Surbiton + area looks really nice! Thanks

Originally Posted by ophic

oh yeah Surbiton + area looks really nice! Thanks

Surbiton and Kingston are really nice. And you could pop in for a cuppa at ours as we are only a stone's throw from Surbiton

Ealing, acton, Kilburn, hammersmith, shepherds bush, etc etc. Good and not so good bits of all of them. Google is your friend.

Globrix.com any good?

If you are single you could always chat up the biker chick that moved into my place in Walton on Thames
(it's a one bedroom!)