Best place to live for three months in London without breaking the bank?
April 13, 2013 3:50 PM   Subscribe

As per my previous question, my wife is attending a course in London in June so we are moving from Australia for three months. We were thinking somewhere central initially, but the prices are nuts, so we will probably pick somewhere on the tube line (red or black line). Any suggestions for the seasoned London mefites in this thread that would suit our family of four (me, wife and two preschool boys). For reference, our rent here is equivalent to about 250 - 300 pound a week, but no idea how that compares. my wife would also be okay with up to a 1 hr commute, especially if we live at the start of the line and she can get a seat. Thanks all.
posted by ranglin to Travel & Transportation around London, England (26 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Some more information would be helpful as you don't tell us anything about the preferences of your family or your needs. Are you planning to have a car? Are you going to need access to grocery stores on foot? Are playgrounds and a garden a priority? Can your family live in a flat?

As an example, Buckhurst Hill (East London) is only about 30 minutes to Tottenham Court Road (Central London) so you have a lot of options.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:00 PM on April 13, 2013


Ealing would be suitable as far as price, location and family-friendliness, but it will be hard to get that short a lease anywhere, unfortunately. When I first moved to London we lived in a flat we found through accommodation london, which was just ok for a short period - they cater more to the young single crowd than families though.

Have you considered a broker? Does the institution through which your wife is doing the course offer any suggestions?
posted by goo at 4:13 PM on April 13, 2013


I'd look at commuter towns, they'd probably be cheaper, and there's always monthly (or maybe tri-monthly) metro passes.
posted by pixienat at 4:13 PM on April 13, 2013


Train travel from commuter towns can be horrific, as an example, Reading, which is 25 minutes from London Paddington, is £380 per month.
posted by ellieBOA at 4:35 PM on April 13, 2013 [3 favorites]


Be careful about commuter towns. A commute from my ancestral home to central London costs more than a mortgage.
posted by tel3path at 4:35 PM on April 13, 2013 [3 favorites]


Response by poster: More information: No plans for a car, so obviously need walking distance stores and transport to London. Playgrounds etc would be good, as I will be home with the kids. We currently live in a townhouse, so a flat is okay for us.

Re. commuter towns, can anyone give suggestions? I don't know the towns in London at all so worry about picking towns based solely on the name on the tube or train map.
posted by ranglin at 4:41 PM on April 13, 2013


We're suggesting you not choose commuter towns because whatever you save on rent, you will pay twice the savings on train fares.
posted by tel3path at 4:52 PM on April 13, 2013 [1 favorite]


My info's pretty old now (almost 3 years), but you might have luck in the east end, around Stratford or Dalston/Hackney, or Bethnal Green/Mile Endish. Or between Elephant & Castle and Stockwell, or south of Tooting Bec on the Northern line. To get a better idea of prices, check out listings on gumtree. (As a point of reference, I paid 433 pounds/week for a room in Zone 3, and felt lucky.) Ealing's nice for a family, I think.
posted by nelljie at 5:11 PM on April 13, 2013


I lived in London with my ex-husband and our two kids, we did a "short-stay" for the summer months off the Holloway Road in the Beaux Arts Building. It was not ideal for kids at all! We ended up extending our stay and moved to Crouch End, but my ex worked in Watford and commuted by car- Crouch End does not have a train station so it might not work for you- but it was very kid friendly, parks and a swiming pool and a center with classes for children. Also in North London is a place called Muswell Hill. London is super expensive and I know both of these places are pricey- but they were great places to be with young children.

I used this website to rent my house in the States when we went to London, Sabbatical Homes and they have housing swaps as well as short stays- you might check there and see if you could swap your home in Australia for one in London?

Another place to post is a site called mumsnet, I found a lot of information on their when I was in London.
posted by momochan at 5:15 PM on April 13, 2013 [2 favorites]


Agreeing with ellieBOA and tel3path - my UK aunt and uncle were commuting into London from a town a bit over an hour's train trip away, until they discovered that they could literally rent a flat in London just with the money they would save in fares! Australian intercity trains are very cheap compared to UK ones (though it's been my experience that the UK ones are much better!) so factor in transport costs before you make a decision about where to live. If you stick to somewhere on the Tube/DLR/Overground map, you can see what the fares will be, based on the zones, here. Further afield than that and the prices increase steeply!
posted by Cheese Monster at 5:18 PM on April 13, 2013


Can you tell us where your wife is going to school? "The red line" (Central Line) and "the black line" (Northern Line) both dump out into Central London but so do many other lines; the London tube map is very deceptive about distance. (Bayswater and Queensway are on opposite corners of the same block but look miles apart on the map.)

A Travel Card from Zones 1 - 4 is £167 per month; the further out you go the more it is. Your wife will need one and you should budget that in. This is generally offset by the fact that rents drop as you go further out as well, and at least only one of you is commuting. South of the river will generally be cheaper than north of the river. I'd look maybe in Clapham Common or Stratford. (We lived in Stratford before the Olympics; it is easy on foot and there are a lot of amenities.)
posted by DarlingBri at 5:19 PM on April 13, 2013 [1 favorite]


Be careful about Tube zones too. Buckhurst Hill, as DarlingBri says, is 30 minutes into town, but is in zone 6, so very expensive - a monthly travelcard is £213. Your maximum of about £1,400 a month isn't going to get you much anywhere in the Greater London area, so be prepared to vastly lower your standards.

You might also find it difficult to rent for just 3 months - the minimum shorthold tenancy is a six-month lease.
posted by essexjan at 5:49 PM on April 13, 2013


Response by poster: My wife is going to school at Le Cordon Bleu. The class time is only 15hrs a week, so she might not need to travel in every day, depending on the timetable (which we won't know until we get there), but I take the point about commuting costs.
posted by ranglin at 6:18 PM on April 13, 2013


Sorry, I paid that much per month. I think yes, Stratford for affordability and connections. It probably offers the most bang for your pound as far as square footage goes. Tooting also might be within your budget (or a bit over) and has a little common, and a pretty lido, which you might love in summer. (Part of the genius of London is, most boroughs have at least a patch of green. I think that might be important for you; I think you might feel cramped in whatever accommodation may be available to you in town. London takes some adjusting, if you're used to lots of space.) Victoria Park, near Bethnal Green/Hackney, is kind of big and suburban-feeling. There's also Richmond Park (huge, lovely, you may have heard about Fenton's good time there), which is not far from Southfields and Wimbledon. Pockets of those neighbourhoods might be within reach (with a little stretch), and there were lots of Aussies and South Africans in the area, last I knew.
posted by nelljie at 8:09 PM on April 13, 2013 [1 favorite]


OK we're getting closer to the required information. Le Cordon Bleu, London is in Bloomsbury Square.

Nearest tube is Holborn which is on both the Piccadilly Line (dark blue) & the Central Line (red).
The Northern Line (black) is a bit further away at Tottenham Court Road.
Personally I'd live in Islington and take the number 19 bus down there. You may have a job finding somewhere in your price range in a nice bit of Islington (it varies a lot in character and price).
posted by w0mbat at 9:01 PM on April 13, 2013 [1 favorite]


Ruislip on the far western edges of the central line is quite nice and plain in a suburban way, as is Ealing Broadway, again on the central line.

You could look at websites like rightmove.com to give you an idea of prices although there'll be a minimum six month rental period.

You could also ask the institute what they recommend. You won't be the first foreign students with a family who need somewhere to stay...
posted by almostwitty at 1:09 AM on April 14, 2013


It's a while since I've been there, but Finsbury Park (not to be confused with Finsbury) is zone 2, six stops from Holborn, has a massive park, and is scruffy enough to be more affordable than a lot of similarly-located places. As that post I just linked says, the park used to be a bit rough but it sounds like it's become pretty family-friendly in recent years.

Islington, as mentioned above, is eye-wateringly expensive, but the number 19 bus cited goes on to, and terminates at, Finsbury Park.

OTOH, other comments are bang on that you get more for your money south of the river, and also more green space if you pick right. (I just don't know south London, so this is my recommendation for the nawf).
posted by penguin pie at 1:35 AM on April 14, 2013


Oh - and I've no idea if you'd be paying council tax in your situation, but the Finsbury Park area straddles three local authorities, Hackney, Haringey and Islington, which may have very different levels of council tax. If you're paying it (obviously) choose a cheap borough. If not, you might find that choosing a more expensive borough tax-wise (probably Islington) pushes the rents down a smidgen.
Same principle applies wherever you end up, so worth checking out.
posted by penguin pie at 1:44 AM on April 14, 2013


There are not no summer rentals in London, they are just rare. Gumtree has some. I think your choices are going to be either something like that or trawling RightMove.co.uk for estate agents who do short term rentals and contacting them directly or specifically contacting Stratford estate agents who just survived Olympic rentals and understand how to do short-term rentals.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:30 AM on April 14, 2013


Was going to suggest Finsbury Park as well; I lived near there last year. It can be slightly scruffy in some places, but reasonably nice overall, fairly affordable, lots of families, the park is big and beautiful, and it is bustling enough to feel like London. It will be an easy commute to Holborn.
posted by PercussivePaul at 3:38 AM on April 14, 2013


I"m living near Finsbury Park / Crouch Hill now. I doubt you will find a flat for 4 people under 300 a week. Even down on Green Lanes. Maybe out at Wood Green.

2 Bedroom Furnished Flat for a short lease: Under 300 a week. I presume you also want to actually do touristy stuff and 'see London' while you are here. So that is also against going too far out. And personally I think there is a certain distance were you are not really "living in London".

I'd say head East or South. If you go past Bethnel Green out at Mile End or Bow, you can get something in that budget. but its kinda a bit 'rough' out there. sort of like Sydney's Marrickville / Tempe area. ( I see you are from Sydney. )

Or down south in Stockwell / Brixton / Camberwell in the south you can get something in that price range. (if you are close to Brixton Tube then transport is ok).

Walthamstow, Tottenham Hale, etc are a lot cheaper but they are very suburban and would be like living in the Cronulla, Sutherland area of Sydney.
posted by mary8nne at 4:01 AM on April 14, 2013


I would also recommend looking south of the river. Balham might be just a bit out of budget, but check out Tooting. You'll easily get a seat on the Northern line (the black one) in the mornings (although it is ridiculously crowded two stops further up near Clapham). From living in Clapham for the last 2 years there seems to be a ton of Aussies around here. Check out rightmove.com to get a feel for prices. I am also doubtful of short term rent but an individual estate agent will be able to tell you if they have any possibilities.
posted by like_neon at 4:30 AM on April 14, 2013


For what its worth, Rightmove does have a short term let category. I seem to see a lot of stuff in Bayswater, which is fine and an easy commute in on the Central line (red line).

Here's some results

London is an enormous place and so it is hard for us to list acceptable places to stay since that would include huge swaths of London all with their different pros/cons. Far better, is if you can narrow down a few flats you've found and liked then I'm sure that either here or later in a new thread we'd be happy to give our opinions on the flat/location, neighbourhood and accessibility.

Also, don't limit yourself to something on or near Tube lines. Something out-of-towners don't know is that the bus system in London is very efficient and well-designed. I always preferred buses to the Tube unless I was going really far to some outlying part of London. Here's a map of the buses with direct service to Holborn station. Here's another one with buses with direct service to Tottenham Court road (a few blocks walk)

Sorry its so difficult but yes London is horribly expensive even for short stays of a few nights or a week. For stays of months you have to work a bit harder. The area where the course is - Bloomsbury Square - is tourist central. I know, I lived in a flat right on Bloomsbury Square. The British museum is only a block away. The area around there and Russell Square is actually an ideal place to stay for tourists filled with cheap hotels and guesthouses. But they're all geared for nightly stays. I suppose another option is to call some of them up and see if you can get a better rate for a long stay. For example, the Penn says to call them for 4-week rates.
posted by vacapinta at 5:23 AM on April 14, 2013 [1 favorite]


If I were on a tight budget, I'd have a good look at places on the Thameslink line (blue and dark blue on the map) and the inner London rail network.

This is cheap, and quick way to get into central London from the north and south and is far cheaper to buy tickets for than suburban railways bringing people in from outside London.

So, to the south: Tooting and Streatham and Carshalton on Thameslink. Nunhead also on another line. Streatham and Nunhead can be a bit rough on the edges but are perfectly pleasant places to live. Change at City Thameslink it's a short bus ride or 20 minute walk to Holborn.

To the north, think places like Winchmore Hill and Palmer's Green, going into King's Cross. Holborn is a 10 minute bus ride from King's Cross and the service is frequent - you just go straight south down Gray's Inn Road.

None of these places are "central London" but they are good family areas with amenities, parks, pubs, restaurants etc offering easy access into London and cheaper rents than you get if you live by a zone 2 tube station. Vacapinta's bus map is the key. Holborn is a real hub for buses passing through so easy to get to.
posted by MuffinMan at 2:10 AM on April 15, 2013


Would Airbnb be a resource in London? I know of stays of 2 - 3 months that were successfully arranged through them. From the responses above, it seems 3 month stays are too short for typical angencies. Maybe a newcomer like Airbnb could fill that gap?
posted by citygirl at 7:00 AM on April 15, 2013


You should be aware that Stratford is kind of a dump. I live near it, and quite a lot of affection for it in a weird way, but it's basically a big US-style shopping 'mall' battling a small grimy UK-style shopping centre, grinding all the people in Stratford between them like Satan's upper and lower jaws. It barely even feels like London, more like a market town somewhere in the middle of nowhere. I wouldn't stay there with kids unless you really like going around and around a shopping centre with kids; there is pants all else to do in Stratford. Bow and Mile end are quite jolly places and have a lot of little parks etc. for kids - I live next to Grove Hall Park and it's pretty delightful in summertime. Still, it can be a bit low-level grotty, nothing spectacular.

Buses are fine, but I would never, ever rely on them if I wanted to get somewhere on time during anything like normal hours, particularly the rush hour. When people are late on buses they are spectacularly late, like 1-2 hours because of the traffic. You don't get that on the rest of the LU network even when someone actually dies. I wouldn't worry too much about being on the line that gets you directly to the place you're going to, because the whole point of tube trains is that it is really easy to change. You're constraining your options if you insist on Central or Northern only. Also the Northern line is two lines that go to radically different places, you should be aware of this. Also being on the Central line during rush hour is like dying, only less peaceful.

Sorry, I'm feeling a bit grumpy today, and I think it's coming out. You should probably live in Streatham. It's basically in the countryside, so at least there are fields and things.
posted by Acheman at 8:22 AM on April 15, 2013


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