I am from North East england and have to move to london in 2 weeks to start
my new job in central london.

I have only been to london half a dozen times and dont have a clue where to
start.

ive been looking on rightmove for flats/studio for a single person to rent
(not sharing) but it has confused me further. I can afford £400 to £500 per
month... There seem to be some affordable flats in Hackney, and also near
Deptford, can anyone tell me how long it would take to walk from these areas
to Monument station (near where i will be working)?, i dont mind walking
upto 40 minutes to save money? is hackney/deptford nice place? any other ok
areas to live? i also need to consider transport costs as the underground
passess are quite expensive if i further away from central london.

any other advice for me (single male, graduate with student loans), sorry if
it is a vague question.


..

In article , Philosopher wrote:
I am from North East england and have to move to london in 2 weeks
to start my new job in central london.

I have only been to london half a dozen times and dont have a clue
where to start.

New London Property Guide may help you

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...468288-0479029


--
Tony Bryer

In ,
philosopher typed:

There seem to be some affordable flats in
Hackney, and also near Deptford, can anyone tell me how long it would
take to walk from these areas to Monument station (near where i will
be working)?, i dont mind walking upto 40 minutes to save money?

Deptford to Monument must be about 4 miles. Hackney to Monument will be
slightly less, although perhaps there is not such an obvious direct route.

I wouldn't have thought that either was walkable in 40 minutes.



Bob

In message , philosopher
writes
I am from North East england and have to move to london in 2 weeks to start
my new job in central london.
Good luck.

I have only been to london half a dozen times and dont have a clue where to
start.
London can often seem a daunting and bewilderingly large place, even to
people who come from other large cities. You'' almost certainly find
yourself in the company of many other people who're either recently
arrived or at any rate come from "somewhere else"!

ive been looking on rightmove for flats/studio for a single person to rent
(not sharing) but it has confused me further. I can afford £400 to £500 per
month... There seem to be some affordable flats in Hackney, and also near
Deptford, can anyone tell me how long it would take to walk from these areas
to Monument station (near where i will be working)?, i dont mind walking
upto 40 minutes to save money? is hackney/deptford nice place? any other ok
areas to live?
"Okay areas to live" is a very subjective term. They're both very much
inner city places and have a high proportion of urban deprivation. On
the plus side they're convenient for a whole range of activities and
access to other areas.

That said, neither is especially well known to me so maybe some other
posters will come along to comment further. You can expect a fair bit
of "Hackney/Deptford is pants" type postings but I assume that if you
could afford to live in a suburb like Stanmore, Enfield or Richmond then
you'd have said so!

i also need to consider transport costs as the underground
passess are quite expensive if i further away from central london.
Buses are cheaper than tubes/trains.

From Hackney to Monument you can take a 48 bus (it takes 30-35 minutes,
depending on the traffic).

Deptford is a bit harder by bus I should think. The 47 runs from there
through Bermondsey and across London bridge to Monument, though.

You can buy bus passes at £11.00 for a week £42.30 for a month or even
£440.00 for a year.

For one single bus ride in each direction per day, though, it might work
out cheaper for you to buy an "Oyster" Card. This is a stored value
ticket, like a phonecard, which you "load" with money at stations or
ticket agents. Each time you use a bus, it will deduct £1.00 before 0930
and 80p after. This sort of ticket is also handy if you occasionally
catch the Underground (unlikely to/from Deptford or Hackney, though,
neither of these being on the Underground network).

any other advice for me (single male, graduate with student loans), sorry if
it is a vague question.
Just to wish you good luck with the move. London is only a lonely
place if you make it so. There are thousands - literally - of things
to do, to join and to see.

All the best.
--
Ian Jelf, MITG
Birmingham, UK

Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk

On Tue, 22 Mar 2005, philosopher wrote:

I am from North East england and have to move to london in 2 weeks to
start my new job in central london.

I have only been to london half a dozen times and dont have a clue where
to start.

ive been looking on rightmove for flats/studio for a single person to
rent (not sharing) but it has confused me further. I can afford £400 to
£500 per month... There seem to be some affordable flats in Hackney, and
also near Deptford,

Sounds about right.

can anyone tell me how long it would take to walk from these areas to
Monument station (near where i will be working)?, i dont mind walking
upto 40 minutes to save money?

It's quite a way. I'd really not advise walking. I'd really, really not
advise routinely walking home at night to Hackney if you don't know the
area!

What i would advise is getting a bike. I don't know about Deptford, but
cycling from Hackney to the City is an absolute doddle. In fact, on a
bike, getting anywhere in town is pretty easy.

is hackney/deptford nice place?

I don't know Deptford at all. I used to live in Hackney (well, Clapton,
which is the north end of Hackney): it certainly isn't a posh part of
town, in fact it's probably one of the least posh parts of town, but it's
also not a warzone; there are quite a few patches of deprivation, but also
some really nice bits (mostly in the southern half), and there's plenty of
interesting shops, bars, etc. I liked living there. Avoid Dalston, though,
it's an absolute hole.

any other ok areas to live?

Well, lots. One thing you might think about is a living a little further
out (Stratford or Walthamstow, perhaps); you should be able to manage to
save enough on rent to cover the extra travel costs. Personally, i'd go
for somewhere like Hackney, since i like being in the middle of things,
not out in some suburb somewhere.

Have you considered a room in a shared house? It's not the same as having
a place to yourself, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper, and there are a lot
more rooms going. I rented a one-bedroom flat in Clapton, and paid more
than friends who had rooms in West Hampstead, and that *is* a posh part of
town.

i also need to consider transport costs as the underground passess are
quite expensive if i further away from central london.

It's only a little bit more to add zone 3.

any other advice for me (single male, graduate with student loans),
sorry if it is a vague question.

Memorise your night bus route numbers, and the main places you can catch
them from in the centre of town.

Don't hesitate to come back if you've got more questions. You could also
try uk.local.london, which is more about London in general, but is
infested with lunatics. Nice lunatics, for the most part, but still
lunatics.

tom

--
People don't want nice. People want London. -- Al

On Tue, 22 Mar 2005 12:54:06 GMT, "philosopher"
wrote:

ive been looking on rightmove for flats/studio for a single person to rent
(not sharing) but it has confused me further. I can afford £400 to £500 per
month... There seem to be some affordable flats in Hackney, and also near
Deptford, can anyone tell me how long it would take to walk from these areas
to Monument station (near where i will be working)?, i dont mind walking
upto 40 minutes to save money? is hackney/deptford nice place? any other ok

Purchase a copy of the "New London Property Guide". It helped me no
end when I moved to London 6 years ago. This will tell you about
transport, council tax and the 'feel' of areas.

areas to live? i also need to consider transport costs as the underground
passess are quite expensive if i further away from central london.

One trick you can use to reduce transport costs is the use the bus for
the zone 1 leg of your journey. Why? Because any zonal ticket is valid
across the entire London bus network, and those without zone 1
tube/rail coverage are significantly cheaper.

For example, I used to spend almont £100 per month to travel between
zones 3 and 1 (and v.v.) but only traveled one station inside zone
one.

By purchasing a zone 2-3 season, and getting off the tube at the edge
of zone 2, and doing the last leg of zone one by bus, I've roughly
halved my travel costs to £50 per month.

--
Cheers,

Jason.

A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
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