Question for British Pelicans
 

One, possibly both, of my daughters (18 & 22) may be working in central London next year.
What suburbs are SAFE, within commuting distance on the tube, SAFE, not overly expensive rent wise and (did I mention) SAFE?
Neither have any interest in the nightclub scene.

Thanks guys.

One of my nephews lived in the Notting Hill area for about ten years (2000 - 2011) before moving to Sydney (yes, your Sydney) He liked the area.

Best
Les

West and north are safe, friendly and don't mind us foreigners being there for a year or two. And as close to the city as finances dictate.

Acton Town (action town)is good bang for the buck.

Open ended question there...

Everywhere in London is safe or unsafe.. all depends on what you actually do and when you are there.

So... Central London is a big old place... so knowing are clearly where they will be working will help. Secondly the notion that the east of London is unsafe is rather out of date.. the entire area around Stratford and the Olympic Park is effectively a new city and lots of young people live there by choice (as well as means). As a result the entire swathe of the London from Kings Cross station out to the Olympic Park (via Hoxton/ Shoreditch, Victoria Park etc) is now much more accessible and popular (in a positive way)...

If they work in the City then it makes a lot of sense to live there... easy commute (say 30 mins) and very close to diverse leisure activities.. sports...and easy to get out of town.

Lots of my younger co-workers (24-26) tend to look north of the West End, to Camden and Kentish Town/ Chalk Farm or Tufnell Park because it is close to work (about 20-30 mins on the bus or 45 mins walk Tottenham Court Road station) and close to Regents Park and Primrose Hill Hampstead Heath... all great leisure assets.

The same applies to the south...towards Crystal Palace etc.
Moving out west is (Acton Town and beyond) is great, provided they like commuting and enjoy being in a suburb... not something most of my young co-workers favour.

An essential part of the London experience is being close to the unique mix in town.. offices, shops, living, culture etc etc... the 'night life' is so much more than clubs and drinking....

My guess is that they will share a place... not certain how the Oz expats work it, however there may well be websites that advertise for house mates from Oz especially.

Places like Notting Hill are affordable... if you have a very large income... in London its all a mater of perspective.

Just as a snap shot; I live in Camden... have done for many years and got in when it was reasonably cheap. However from my work of 45 people there are three or four young co-workers, all girls between 24-28, who live within about 1/2 mile walk from me to the north. They all moved into the area because they could afford it (we pay a reasonable wage.. not stellar) and they found the balance of commuting distance/ time, cost and out of work activities the best around here. No they didn't move here to be near me! Is this a safe area? At normal hours is is as safe as most cities... at 0300 am then one needs to be more careful.. as is always the case.

I'd suggest that you and your daughters look closely at where they are likely to be working, take sometime to look at the Transport or London (TfL) website to see the transport links... train/ underground/ buses etc serve that area and how long they think they can tolerate a commute...and hour each way as a start is pretty widespread... it means about 1:15 in reality as there are frequently delays. Most tolerate about 35-45 mins door to door.

Also look at a website called Citymapper that gives good travel times based on time of day etc as well as walking times to and from stations/ stops and waiting times. I use this almost everyday.

Also be aware that cycling is now widespread as a means of commuting, most offices have secure bike parking and changing/ shower facilities. Yes it is a busy city with busy streets. There is however a developing cycle specific infrastructure with segregated bike lanes and sign posted routes along quieter streets. I cycle every day into town and have done for the last 15 years. It pays to be very attentive and and ride positively, however it is a very reasonable way to get around.

Also consider what they do want to do when they are not working....we moved to Camden because it was very close to work (office was 5 mins walk away) it was close to Regents Park.. a 10 min walk and easy to get away if we wanted a weekend trip. The parks are a great leisure resource and people do travel what I would consider large distance to get there.

Be happy to help further if you want....

(Oh and find a good coffee shop nearby.. wherever they go.. they are massively influential!...)

Interesting thread, as my daughter will be attending Oxford beginning in January. I will share some information with her. Thanks

From a displaced Brit that is well written!:)

Fantastic.... is she all sorted for places to live etc? I split my time between Oxford and London and went to Uni in Oxford.. what a place!

I too studied and worked in Oxford for 3.5 years. In that time we've lived in Headington, on Cowley Road (at the northern end) and in Summertown. Happy to help with anything if you need.

Going back to the UK again (literally leaving Germany tomorrow) but this time found a flat in Bicester. MFAFF probably knows it's nothing to get excited about :rolleyes:.

aap1966, my best mate from the time in Oxford is an Aussie (him and his fiancee actually) and they have other Oz friends and family all over London. Let me know if you need some contacts.

My son studied in Twickenham last year and I was able visit him for spring break. I was also in central London for work for about a week a few years earlier. I am happy to report that in my limited experience as a visitor and father of a college student, all of Greater London seems safe and any decent apartment or house should work well. We were out several times very late and never had any concern, both downtown and in the suburbs.

The western suburbs around Twickenham are quite nice. Supposedly they have the lowest crime rates in London. The train ride into downtown is about 45 minutes, though. It was all right for a visit but I wouldn't want to have a longer ride (plus walking to the station and then walking to work) as my everyday commute. I'd draw a circle on a map of central London with Twickenham being the farthest point and start looking anywhere inside that circle.

As with most big cities, the commute is what makes life hard and you pay to have a convenient commute, but I'd strongly recommend paying for a good commute even over a good neighborhood. Anything near a train station should cut their commute times to manageable and give them access to all the fun stuff on nights and weekends. From an outsider's brief glimpse into the city, I didn't see much to be concerned about any sections. FWIW, my limited experience matches the advice given by MFAFF and recycled sixtie.

London's very safe unless you do stupid things. Everywhere is so diverse now I can't really think of any bad areas that would be anywhere near comparable to bad areas of a city in the US. My business is in Hackney, E London. 20 years ago was like "The Wire", now it is hipsterville. Hopelessly trendy.

What do you mean "safe", there will be Brits everywhere!
And Londen is only a couple of hours away for me, i often drive over to near London to shoot me long range 7.62 guns... And i'm a Belgian.

DOOOOMED

Thread is light on pics , just saying.

Thanks guys, and thanks Won for the offer of contacts. We're not certain yet whether the girls will end up over there, but it at least gives them some insight into possible living arrangements if it does happen.
One will probably be getting a good (not great) wage, the other pretty low wage, so I don't mind some subsidies from the Bank of Dad initially to get them somewhere decent.

So again, thanks all.

Brookes? I lived on the Cowley Road as well.. opposite the Jamaican Eating House...Great times.

Bicester is now a pretty good place to live...
Bicester Heritage on the old RAF Bicester site is one of the UK's top places for classic/ racing cars.. restoration, bespoke engineering etc etc as well as flying. They are doing a fantastic job of creating a new business community within the preserved and restored RAF base and buildings...

There's a Sunday Scramble event on the 7th January there... breakfast meet for ll... Might you be up for it? With CaPt'n A?

Bicester Village for shopping....not to everyone's aesthetic tastes, but where else in the UK does a shopping mall have its own railway station and direct trains from central London with announcements in Chinese and Japanese to accommodate customers.
That train also takes you into Oxford.

Fingers crossed for them... the Ozzies I have known here all love it and whilst many go back there is more than tinge of regret that they are leaving...

a good but not great wage in the UK, that might not be all that much after all.
And with high cost of housing, that really is something to get some facts & figures on.

Yes, she has housing for the semester. She is very excited about the whole thing.
I am sure she will be very interested in all the advice found in this thread. I know she will be interested in the racing...she's a car girl ! Also, she is a hunter. She rode for a U.S. team in Ireland 2 years ago, even learned how to pour a proper Guiness at a local pub.

Thanks for all the information and advice !

Great. Lots of racing car stuff going on in the spring..all reasonably easy to get to from Oxford.
Autosport Race car exhibition in Jamiary in Birmingham.. direct trains.
Sunday Scramble in Bicester.. bus and trains etc
Mimd you as a student she’ll have lapds of fun stuff to do in town. ;)

I appreciate the offer. It would be nice for her to have someone she could contact, other than the other students. She turns 25 in February and has been living on her own for 6 years. She just went back to college/university 1.5 years ago. Prior to that she was an equestrian competitor/trainer. She wears multiple hats these days as the editor of a trade newsletter, professional website design, and a slew of other things.