Another Moving Question
Jane says:
I'm thinking of applying for a job transfer to London, but before I do so I wanted to get an idea of how much things cost, what area would be good to live, and so on. I'm a single 28 year old female and I want to live somewhere safe... from what I've read it seems that Greenwich is a nice area and that for south London it's fairly nice. I know it's difficult to generalize and say that all of Greenwich is entirely safe, but I guess I just wanted to ask about your thoughts on this.
Also I was looking for single bedroom around 700-800 and I wasn't sure if that was realistic. I don't particularly need anything fancy, I'm more concerned with safety. I don't expect to be out late, but when the sun starts to go down early in the winter I want to be comfortable walking home in the dark at 8 or 9pm.
I visited London several years ago during the Elizabeth exhibition and I liked Greenwich area... the area by the Cutty Sark seemed to have a nice small town feel, and I liked that.
The Phantom noticed this on an old post and thought it could do with bumping-up.
I just had a quick peek at prices, on the Evening Standard website and it's not impossible to find properties in your chosen area at your prices, especially if you're only looking for a single room, though it's frankly pretty difficult to talk about rental prices just now as they seem to be changing so much. Who can tell what will happen to rents in the coming months, but don't just go for the Standard - see if you can get hold of the local papers nearer the time - both the News Shopper and the Mercury carry rental ads.
But your question was mainly one of safety, and you know, I still reckon that for London, Greenwich is still pretty damn good for single women on their own. Of course there are pockets of scariness, of course you have to be sensible (don't drink at the Wetherspoons in Creek Road or walk round the industrial part of the Thames Path at night) - but I'd say that generally this area's absolutely fine.
As for areas, you might find the Millennium Village is a bit cheaper than central Greenwich and although whenever I walk through, at whatever time of day or night, it always feels deserted, the very fact that I most happily DO walk through there should give you some courage. It's near to Sainsburys and North Greenwich Tube Station - and in between two cinemas (though the best one, The Picturehouse, is in central Greenwich. God - just think - THREE cinemas within walking distance - amazing...) it's clean and well-served for public transport.
I'm a big fan of the somewhat grubbier-and-yet-more-visceral East Greenwich - and there will be cheaper places there too. On the other side, Millennium Quay, at the Deptford end of things, is also more reasonable and, as far as I know, perfectly safe. I know single women there who are happy to walk there by themselves.
I'd say Greenwich is a great place to move to - but then I would, wouldn't I. There's a lot going on and people are generally friendly - there are some good places where you can go alone and not feel stupid.
And yes - that Elizabeth exhibition was fantastic, wasn't it...
Let us know what you decide - and don't be a stranger on the blog if you do decide to join us...
I'm thinking of applying for a job transfer to London, but before I do so I wanted to get an idea of how much things cost, what area would be good to live, and so on. I'm a single 28 year old female and I want to live somewhere safe... from what I've read it seems that Greenwich is a nice area and that for south London it's fairly nice. I know it's difficult to generalize and say that all of Greenwich is entirely safe, but I guess I just wanted to ask about your thoughts on this.
Also I was looking for single bedroom around 700-800 and I wasn't sure if that was realistic. I don't particularly need anything fancy, I'm more concerned with safety. I don't expect to be out late, but when the sun starts to go down early in the winter I want to be comfortable walking home in the dark at 8 or 9pm.
I visited London several years ago during the Elizabeth exhibition and I liked Greenwich area... the area by the Cutty Sark seemed to have a nice small town feel, and I liked that.
The Phantom noticed this on an old post and thought it could do with bumping-up.
I just had a quick peek at prices, on the Evening Standard website and it's not impossible to find properties in your chosen area at your prices, especially if you're only looking for a single room, though it's frankly pretty difficult to talk about rental prices just now as they seem to be changing so much. Who can tell what will happen to rents in the coming months, but don't just go for the Standard - see if you can get hold of the local papers nearer the time - both the News Shopper and the Mercury carry rental ads.
But your question was mainly one of safety, and you know, I still reckon that for London, Greenwich is still pretty damn good for single women on their own. Of course there are pockets of scariness, of course you have to be sensible (don't drink at the Wetherspoons in Creek Road or walk round the industrial part of the Thames Path at night) - but I'd say that generally this area's absolutely fine.
As for areas, you might find the Millennium Village is a bit cheaper than central Greenwich and although whenever I walk through, at whatever time of day or night, it always feels deserted, the very fact that I most happily DO walk through there should give you some courage. It's near to Sainsburys and North Greenwich Tube Station - and in between two cinemas (though the best one, The Picturehouse, is in central Greenwich. God - just think - THREE cinemas within walking distance - amazing...) it's clean and well-served for public transport.
I'm a big fan of the somewhat grubbier-and-yet-more-visceral East Greenwich - and there will be cheaper places there too. On the other side, Millennium Quay, at the Deptford end of things, is also more reasonable and, as far as I know, perfectly safe. I know single women there who are happy to walk there by themselves.
I'd say Greenwich is a great place to move to - but then I would, wouldn't I. There's a lot going on and people are generally friendly - there are some good places where you can go alone and not feel stupid.
And yes - that Elizabeth exhibition was fantastic, wasn't it...
Let us know what you decide - and don't be a stranger on the blog if you do decide to join us...
Labels: Ask The Phantom, Living in Greenwich, Moving to Greenwich, Rental
posted by The Greenwich Phantom at
14:51
5 Comments:
Come to gritty SE7. :-) Well, the western end of SE7 is OK, just as much character as King William Walk but cheaper, and cheaper than the Millennium Village, and still near to the "flagship" Sainsbugs and those cinemas.
Thank you very much for your response, I really appreciate it! I added this blog to my rss feed so I'll continue to read whether I end up settling in Greenwich or someplace else. I'll definitely look for the local papers you mentioned.
Thanks again!
Used Brown and Brooke to find an apartment in Greenwich earlier this year. They're pretty good. Also, might be worth checking out http://www.london-flat-rental.co.uk - it's free and it'll at least give you an idea of what's available and for how much. Personally I'd try and find somewhere old (easier than you'd think in Greenwich) - I've found the new builds (generally by the river) are pokey and overpriced. Lot's of buy-to-let speculators trying to make a fast buck it would seem.
Think about Blackheath as an option too - it feels relatively safe compared to other parts of London, and I know someone who got a one-bedroom flat in Lynch Close (dodgy sounding name, but ok sort of place), for about £800 I think...
For searching for rentals I'd recommend www.vebra.com as a lot of the local agents use the vebra engine on their own sites so a search on vebra will cover a lot of agents.
As well as the other suggestions for location, you might want to consider Shooters Hill Road just off the Heath as it has a lot of 3/4 story town houses with nice big bay windows and high ceilings and I think nearly all of them are converted into flats. There's nearly always a few of these available for rent.
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