Where to Live in London?

Show all answers

LesGrossman

if you are a N NY'er don't live in the UK, the food is lousy

they have recently opened up to the world of cuisine and have invited European chefs to come and take part in their popular culture, and there are many international restaurants in London, but they have not even heard of many basic commodities such as Italian sausage or Swiss cheese

maplesugar

Islington (close to the City (financial/business district), close to some good clubs, good restaurants, galleries, very central, safe but hip.

(Jealous! I loved living in London)

SADLY SINGLE

anywhere but south ... that's if you wanna live longer

Itunu

Bankers from the US all seem to live in these 3 areas: notting hill or south kensington or Marylebone. They are very upmarket and exclusive areas and expensive - all the celebs live there and all the exclusive restaurants/clubs are there or in Mayfair. There are lots of rich foreigners there also.

If you want a hip art area like you did in NYC then you will find yourself with a whole different type of crowd and you will not be with your colleagues - you will instead be with students and wannabe media types who can't afford to live in south ken but would love to. In NYC it is hip and trendy to live in Tribeca, Nolita etc but the equivalent areas here in London, no one would touch, certainly none of your peers. Instead your peers would choose to live in the equivalent of the upper east side - boring yes, but that's how it is over here. (I have lived both in London and NYC).

Out of the 3 areas your peers live, Marylebone is the most central and will be easiest for you to get to work but its quite small and although popular with the exclusive set - most people do live in south ken but its close to the restaurants/bars of Mayfair and the shopping is great. Notting Hill is probably your best bet in terms of being slightly hip but not compromising on the types of people you want to be with. Also its on the central line which goes straight to Bank/Liverpool St tube so its convenient - also notting hill isn't as snooty as south ken so has a bit more character but the restaurants/nightlife aren't that great. South Kensington is the largest area and most exclusive and has good places to go out at night (to eat and party) but the tube from there isn't as convenient as the others.

The other areas people have mentioned above (hoxton square, westbourne grove etc), whilst being "hip" they are not exclusive and you will be with wannabe media types who wish they could afford to live in a more expensive area. Its hard to understand as you don't get the equivalent in NYC - you wouldn't get someone living in tribeca yearning to live in the upper east side would you? Unfortunately "hip" in London is different.

Someone above mentioned Islington - that's basically a poorer version of south ken but in north london and mainly english people live there so its not as international as south ken. Unfortunately in London people judge you according to whether you live in a rich or poor area, and if the area is "hip" then you are living in a poor area and that's just not where the celebs live.

Hope this helps.

Daisyhill

Hoxton Square, google it.

Carrie S

It really depends on where your office is going to be. London is a huge place and you don't want to be spending all your time commuting. For instance if your office is out at Canary Wharf you'd probably want to stay out in Docklands.

Most people don't live in the centre of town but rather go out for drinks after work and then travel home. To live in the centre of London is probably much like living in New York - you need to be quite wealthy to afford it with 2 bed flats going for roughly 900,000 pounds.

Clapham is quite good - has a vibrant media-type community, quite a lot of gay couples, mainly singles tons of good restaurants and 15 minutes into the centre of London on the tube. Quite expensive but less than the centre.

charabc123

West London man! Check out Ladbroke Grove and Westbourne Park, very central and hip trust me!

J-J Adams

You sound like you would like south Islington / Finsbury, Hoxton, Shoreditch, Clerkenwell, Aldgate which are all in between the West End and the City. If you want to be in the West End then you would probably like Fitzrovia or Soho.

cheapcoachhireuk

It was great if you had indicated the number of months you will be residing here in London, If you are looking for a short-term you may normally reside anywhere either in East, but in case You are staying here for long period I would suggest the West Side of London, More beautiful, and contains everything you indicated in your question.

Hope this helps. If you need any other information, please feel free to contact me.

Best regards,

John Loards
Cheap Coach Hire London
United Kingdom

URBAN SOUL

eastern-side of Islington is cool!

harper

Check out the following:-
Hoxton
Clerkenwell,
Spitalfields,
Bethnal Green,
Whitechapel
Southwark
Bermondsey
Wapping
All have good transport links to the City and an alternative/arts scene

Pip

Indoors

Evian

Maybe you could live in South Kensington or close to the City, preferably London Bridge or Waterloo.
These sound like areas that could suit you?

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: