Scared of east London

April 12, 2007 4:20 AM

Should I live in Clapton?

I'm going to be moving back to London in a few months, and I'm trying to get a flat in the place that offers the shortest commute to central London at the lowest rent. Currently, it looks like that place is Clapton. But what's it like to live there, and will I, uh, die and stuff? Is there anywhere else reasonably close to the centre where I can find a decent studio/1 bed for around £600-700 per month?

posted by reklaw to home & garden (12 comments total)

Oh yeah, and flatshares aren't really an option here.
posted by reklaw at 4:25 AM on April 12, 2007

Might help if you tell us what the maximum commute you're prepared to accept is.
posted by Leon at 4:43 AM on April 12, 2007

You might die, you might not. It all depends on you, and your outlook on life.

Stroll confidently wherever you go, don't buy drugs from strange men, and avoid "local pubs".
I've lived in Dalston, Hackney, Clapton, Bow, and I've never been involved in any altercations whatsover (that could also be because I am one cool motherf*cker)....

There's plenty of nice things to do, in and around Clapton, so I'd go for it.
posted by the_epicurean at 4:50 AM on April 12, 2007

Might help if you tell us what the maximum commute you're prepared to accept is.

Less than an hour. The closer the better, though - I know I could get a good little flat for that money in some quite nice parts of very-very-north London, but don't really want to do that.
posted by reklaw at 4:55 AM on April 12, 2007

Whitechapel, Zone 2. I've lived here since late 2001, and going rate on a two bedroom is about 250 pounds per week (I track it as I may want to rent my flat soon). Don't see why you couldn't get a studio for 700 / month.

I can walk to both financial districts (The City, 25 minutes, Canary Wharf, 20 minutes), and Bank is about ten minutes on the DLR.
posted by Mutant at 5:34 AM on April 12, 2007

South London's nice, I've lived in or around Brixton/Herne Hill for years, and love it down here. You can get a single bed down here for around the £700 a month mark.
posted by Happy Dave at 5:36 AM on April 12, 2007

Clapton is no worse than any number of other parts of London. Behave with common sense (ie don't go for 2AM strolls to buy cigarettes drunk and on your own unless you're wearing running shoes) and you'll be fine. You have to do this everywhere - even in the nice bits of London. Sometimes, especially in the nice bits of London.

Might also be worth factoring the cost of your commute into your calculation. I now live in Milton Keynes, and it takes me exactly the same amount of time to get to work as when I lived in zone 4 (just over an hour door to door), but costs me 3.5 times as much. If you can cycle in to work, it's a great (cheap) option. I personally would only want to cycle if I could avoid the traffic over the river though. Living in the bits north of Camden, and cycling to say Soho via Regents Park would save you a fair chunk of change that you could put towards rent, and be relatively pleasant too (there are still some cycle routes around the area between Bloomsbury and Camden.)

Bonus for Clapton: great, cheap, Vietnamese and Turkish food close by.
posted by bifter at 5:39 AM on April 12, 2007

With the DLR now extending down to Lewisham, and the Jubilee going out to Greenwich, that opens up a few alternatives that didn't exist a few years ago. North Greenwich is only 20 minutes from the West End. Lewisham varies depending on where you consider center of town to be (it's very good for the city).
posted by wackybrit at 5:46 AM on April 12, 2007

Clapton is fine but I would echo the fact that you probably don't want to go into any local pubs. Moving very slightly west would bring you closer to the train into Liverpool Street though.
posted by ninebelow at 6:06 AM on April 12, 2007

I lived there in 1999/2000 when I was in my mid to late 20s. I'm female (Caucasian, FWIW). I always felt safe, really, and I was coming and going at all hours. The one thing I remember someone saying to me in the street was, "English rose!" I told the guy I wasn't English and he apologised ;-)

Mutant is right about the accessibility of Whitechapel though. I lived slightly further out in around 2000/01 and being on the Tube makes a big difference.
posted by different at 7:02 AM on April 12, 2007

Clapton is fine. Yeah the high road is called "murder mile" but then so is everywhere nowadays. Of all the teenagers stabbed or shot recently not one of them has been anywhere near Clapton. The area is coming up! And Chimes Night Spot has had its licence revoked (AFAIK). Don't agree that local pubs must be avoided. Some, maybe. Some are lovely.

Bonus points for being so close to Hackney Marshes.
posted by criticalbill at 8:32 AM on April 12, 2007

I have a friend who lives in acton town in a nice (rented) house w/two others, two of them are students, one is an engineer i think, nice neighorhood near the tube stop, i walked aroudn there at night and didn't seem to have any trouble...
posted by Salvatorparadise at 9:41 AM on April 12, 2007