Posts Tagged ‘London lettings agency’
Friday, November 4th, 2011
Author: Colleen
If you’re planning a relocation to London, one of the first items you must consider is where to live in London. Belinda and I both continually discuss London neighborhoods from time to time, and for a while there I’d been maintaining this series that toured London postcode by postcode. Well folks, it only took me almost a year to get around to it (literally), but today I am finally rounding out my eight-part neighborhood series with London’s Southeast postcodes. Ta-Da!!!
Here they are:
SE1 – Bankside, Bermondsey, Borough, Newington, North Lambeth, South Bank, Southwark, Waterloo
SE2 – Abbey Wood, Thamesmead South
SE3 – Blackheath, Blackheath Park, Kidbrooke, Westcombe Park
SE4 – Brockley, Crofton Park, Honor Oak Park
SE5 – Camberwell
SE6 – Bellingham, Catford, Hither Green
SE7 – Charlton, Harvey Gardens, New Charlton
SE8 – Deptford, St. John’s
SE9 – Eltham, Mottingham, New Eltham
SE10 – Greenwich
SE11 – Kennington, Lambeth
SE12 – Grove Park, Lee
SE14 – Hither Green, Ladywell, Lewisham
SE15 – Nunhead, Peckham
SE16 – Rotherhithe, South Bermondsey, Surrey Quays
SE17 – Elephant and Castle, Kennington, Walworth
SE18 – Plumstead, Shooter’s Hill, Woolwich
SE19 – Crystal Palace, Gipsy Hill, Norwood, Norwood New Town, Upper Norwood
SE20 – Anerley, Penge
SE21 – Dulwich, Upper Sydenham, West Dulwich
SE22 – East Dulwich
SE23 – Forest Hill
SE24 – Herne Hill
SE25 – South Norwood
SE26 – Bell Green, Lower Sydenham, Sydenham
SE27 – Tulse Hill, West Norwood
SE28 – Thamesmead
Located in SE1, Southwark has a high-density of both population and attractions. This is where you’ll find the London Eye, the London Aquarium, the London Dungeon and other tourist havens with a lively riverside atmosphere that includes street performers and markets. With the National Theatre, Old Vic Theatre (where Kevin Spacey is artistic director and actor), and The Southbank Centre among other venues dedicated to the arts, SE1 is a real cultural center. Shakespeare’s Globe is also here in the Bankside area, the vicinity where the original Globe stood and was thereby part of London’s original theatre district. Restaurants, pubs, and office buildings line the river here, yet for as much commerce as there is in and around the SE1 area, it’s also quite residential, with ample access to amenities as well as entertainment. The extensive outdoor market near London Bridge in Borough is among London’s best renowned, and this area is desirable for those looking for an edgier, artistic, and eclectic scene and/or needing a short commute to the City.
Greenwich in SE10 is perhaps best known around the world, however, as the place “where time begins.” Outside its Royal Observatory is the famous Greenwich Meridian Line, which represents the Prime Meridian of the world at Longitude 0º. Greenwich’s observatory and National Maritime Museum are a big draw for tourists and residents alike, and the area is home to the Royal Naval College and Greenwich University, but this lovely village has much more to offer those living there. Greenwich Market boasts an amazing collection of arts and crafts, antiques and collectibles, and an assortment of other unique gifts, while the quaint surrounding area is filled with pubs and boutiques. Hilly and leafy, it’s a tranquil place to picnic and relax, truly feeling like a little village removed from the city’s bustle.
Just east of SE1 is SE16, where the neighborhood of Rotherhithe sits on the River Thames among the Docklands. Rotherhithe was the departure site of the The Mayflower ship, kicking off its voyage to the New World. Nearby Canada Water offers a convenient transport link with both Underground and Overground services, and Surrey Quays houses a large shopping complex more akin to what North American expats are used to. This area is overall rather non-touristed and makes for a quiet residence. Just southeast of Greenwich lies SE3, where the annual London marathon starts in Blackheath on the fringes of Greenwich Park. And going further southeast from there, in SE9 you can find two golf courses, the Royal Blackheath Golf Course and the Eltham Warren Golf Course.
SE19 is probably best known for Crystal Palace’s National Sports Centre, an athletic training facility as well as host to major international track and field events. The vicinity is characterized by wide-open green space, and Crystal Palace Park is perfect for family days out; it used to be a Victorian pre-historic theme park and still contains dinosaur sculptures around the Boating Lake along with a children’s farm. And if southwest London’s Clapham is considered “Nappy Valley,” SE22′s East Dulwich is on its heels for claiming the title. You’d be hard-pressed not to see a woman walking down its sidewalks who is either pregnant or pushing a pram—seriously. Young families are flocking to this area in droves these days to take advantage of more affordable housing and a quieter residential life that still has close access to high street and boutique shops, artsy cafés, and restaurants.
If you find this of any use as you prepare for your London move, get psyched for the London Relocation company‘s soon-to-be-arriving new website, which will include a more comprehensive and downloadable guide to London neighborhoods, thanks to the expertise of its London Relocation agents.
Tags: advice on where to live in london, apartments in London, best places to live in london area, best places to live in london for families, best places to live in london for students, east london, london apartment, london expat blog, London lettings agency, london neighborhoods guide, london neighborhoods map, london neighborhoods where to live, london relocation agency, London Relocation Services, London relocation specialist, map of london neighborhoods, moving to London advice, moving to london where to live, north london neighborhoods, rent london, southeast london, where should I live in london, where to live in London
Posted in Living in London, London Neighborhoods, London Neighborhoods, Rent in London: London Apartment Tips | 3 Comments »
Friday, June 10th, 2011
Author: Colleen
Susceptible to Paris Syndrome - click image for video
Nervous about relocating to London? Well, I think I can safely assure your move to London, England won’t be as traumatic as what’s come to be known as “Paris Syndrome.”
I have to write about this recent article in the BBC News: “‘Paris Syndrome’ Strikes Japanese” – mainly because I’m stupefied by it. I’ve traveled to Paris four times before (oddly enough, though, not yet since moving to London!) and won’t contest that the attitude takes some getting used to, not that you’d ever want to get used to rudeness. Paris is a popular weekend excursion for those living in London because it’s so easily accessed via the Eurostar. The Eurostar train gets you there within three hours by way of the “Chunnel” beneath the English Channel (if you can get through that half-hour of sheer blackness out the window knowing you’re in a hollow beneath a massive amount of water, you’re good to go!). It is, perhaps, the rapidity of this transport that can make it that much more jarring to step off the train and into the pushy crowds, which are much worse in contrast to those in London’s stations. So, yes, it’s true that Parisians (not to be confused with the French in general any more than you’d generalize the English based only on Londoners) do get rather shove-y and unpleasant; they’re not going to go out of their way to help you with directions or admit to speaking impeccable English (at least not until after making you feel horrible that you can’t speak impeccable French).
That said, Paris is an enchanting city true to so much that it’s built up to be – it is not overrated and totally worth the trip after your London move. But to finally explain what “Paris Syndrome” is, it goes a lil’ somethin’ like this:
“That is what some polite Japanese tourists suffer when they discover that Parisians can be rude or the city does not meet their expectations. [...]
Many of the visitors come with a deeply romantic vision of Paris – the cobbled streets, as seen in the film Amelie, the beauty of French women or the high culture and art at the Louvre.
The reality can come as a shock.”
The article goes on to mention how Westerners are usually able to laugh off Parisian rudeness, but the Japanese can be overwhelmed when out of their usual element of politeness and quieter, kinder voices. No kidding, this year the Japanese embassy in Paris has had to send four Japanese citizens back home with someone of the medical profession on board to calm them from the extreme stress, if not a mental breakdown. Up to twelve tourists suffer from this per year on average, and the embassy has a 24-hour hotline set up for just such instances.
Living in London: The cure for "Paris Syndrome"! - click image for video
So apparently Paris is not for the faint of heart – ye be warned. But as I said from the beginning, I don’t think you’ll have to worry in the UK – I’ve yet to hear of a “London Syndrome” and have witnessed first-hand how friendly the people are; and hey, if you’re an English speaker, they speak the language! Every city is going to be more stressful than more remote towns, though, and people can be inconsiderate on the sidewalks here, albeit not through deliberate rudeness as much as sheer oblivion of each other. In general, the British are renowned for their polite amiability , so don’t be afraid to step foot outside of your new London apartment. 
Tags: BBC News, English Channel, Eurostar, london flats to let, London lettings agency, london relocation agent, London Relocation Services, Moving to London, Paris syndrome, relocating to London, rent london apartments
Posted in Americans Moving to London, London Recreation, Moving to London: Tips & Culture, Moving to London: Weekend Excursions | 2 Comments »
Thursday, June 9th, 2011
Image via Wikipedia
Author: Colleen
If you anticipate moving to London in the next few years, you may not yet be aware that the UK is mandating that use of checks (or “cheques,” as it’s spelled in British English) be phased out entirely by 2018. This decision came about in December 2009 and will enforced only in the event that viable alternatives are found that would be accessible to the general population.
Not many still flip open a check book these days—it’s so much faster to swipe the plastic at point of sale, pay online, or make a transfer when banking details are provided on invoices. Checks not only take time to write out, but they can incur additional time and fees for processing. On the flipside, many are opposed to the idea of banishing checks as a payment option altogether, primarily for technological reasons. Small businesses continue to rely heavily on the use of checks, and some folks are wary of opening themselves up to fraud by paying solely online (and hey, some may not have convenient access to a computer and internet to begin with, and I certainly wouldn’t want to make payments at a public lab…).
The Treasury Select Committee is reopening its inquiry on the status of checks going forward in view of these obstacles to replacing them entirely as well as a pending cost-benefit analysis of doing so. It is believed there might still need to be some form of paper payment in its place, in which case I would figure why replace paper with paper? Just leave ‘em! But I’m not the one investigating and accumulating all the evidence, so we’ll see what time will tell.
In the meantime, if you’re relocating to London soon and looking to rent that London apartment and pay down your deposit and first month’s rent straightaway, the check may still be of necessity. In general, I advise against paying this way, though…not to throw our dear little piece of paper under the bus (that would be littering 
), but in the London lettings market, time is always of the essence. Your future landlord (and the London lettings agency representing them) might be too impatient to wait for a non-UK check to clear in a London bank. Your best bet in this case is indeed to do a bank transfer, which will be even easier for you if you have your UK bank account already set—this is something London Relocation Ltd. will set up for you the same day as your viewings, so you’ll be covered. And trust me, securing that bank account is no small feat when you don’t yet have a UK address to your name. As for understanding sort codes and such for conducting an international bank transfer, please see my earlier blog post, “Transferring Money: How to ‘Sort’ the bank codes ‘SWIFT’-ly.”
At any rate, if you will be signing on the dotted line of your check to pay rent on your London apartment rental and other bills, then the above image is an example of what a typical UK check looks like. I don’t know, though; a friend of mine just told me yesterday that HSBC had sent her a letter notifying of their checks being phased out (within the year, she thinks), so it remains to be seen if your UK bank will offer this option by the time of your London move—plan accordingly.
Tags: bank transfer, banking, cheques checks phased out in uk, how do I get a UK bank account, HSBC, IBAN, London flats, london flats to let, London lettings agency, london relocation agent, London Relocation Services, Moving to London, opening a UK bank account in London, paying rent in london, relocating to London, rent london apartments, SWIFT code, Treasury Select Committee, UK bank account
Posted in Americans Moving to London, Living in London, Moving to London: Tips & Culture, Relocating to UK: Visas, Banking, & Other Logisitical Issues, Rent in London: London Apartment Tips | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
Author: Colleen
If you’re relocating to London and have visited before, there are prime central London neighborhoods you’ve surely heard about given their high level of tourism. When you move to London, though, you see that you approach these same areas from a different angle; perhaps you’ll seek to avoid them altogether, but me, I like to still play tourist and keep sucking up all that I can. Today’s A to Z Blogging Challenge, then, is:
“P” is for PICCADILLY CIRCUS!
Now, Belinda already recently wrote about Piccadilly Circus and how it’s such a hub of tourism. Essentially the Times Square of London, the bright lights and foot/street traffic can be over-stimulating, and I confess that it’s not an area I like to frequent for this very reason. As a London resident, you’ll likely not gravitate toward such novelty shops and sites, but what Piccadilly certainly does have going for it is a nightlife of theatre, restaurants, and bars.
In February, I wrote about how I’d attended the play The Children’s Hour, starring Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss, located at the Comedy Theatre in London’s West End. Well, just last night, my husband and I watched yet another famous film actress grace the stage: Sienna Miller in Flare Path. Set in an English village inn during World War II, the play follows three young couples, the husbands of which serve in the Royal Air Force. Bonds of love and loyalty are put to the test and
Taking in the theatre after a London move.
delivered powerfully and endearingly by strong performances. I thought everything about this show exuded class, from the quaint hotel interior to the period clothing to the well-crafted dialogue of the well-cast characters, and I highly recommend it. The Royal Haymarket Theatre is just a five-minute (if even) walk from Piccadilly Circus tube station and has plenty of dinner options nearby. We ourselves dined at the Mint Leaf, which offered a reasonably-priced “pre-theatre” menu of its flavorful and rather cosmopolitan Indian cuisine. We didn’t have much time to waste, so the staff was very friendly and efficient about serving us the food and bill in enough time to catch the play right next door!
If you enjoy live stage performances or simply being where the action’s at, Piccadilly Circus is a-buzz with plenty of options if you don’t mind all the people. It’s good to step out of your London apartment now and then to interact with the masses, after all, so live up London in any way you can!
Tags: americans relocating to london england, canadians moving to london uk, Flare Path, flats to let in london, london a to z, london apartment to rent, London blog, London lettings agency, london relocation agency, London Relocation Services, moving to london from usa, Piccadilly Circus, places to live in london, relocating to london england from canada, rent london apartments, Royal Air Force, sienna miller, things to do in london, World War II
Posted in London Recreation | No Comments »
Friday, April 1st, 2011
Author: Colleen
All right, those of you moving to London! It’s April 1, so time to kick off our A to Z Blogging Challenge. Thinking up this one was a no-brainer for me; the idea practically smacked me upside the head and said, “Derr!” (But don’t worry, the topic itself is not as antagonistic ). To kick-start our alphabet:
“A” is for A-Z LONDON MAP!
I told you. “Derr…” right? And yet what could be more appropriate for starting our alphabet game or incredibly useful for your London move? London is a tricky city to get around in. Sure, the tube and bus routes are easy enough to figure out and should deliver 
you to wherever you need to go, but you’ll still have to be able to navigate the streets on your own. This is an old city, so there’s no tidy grid system to work with, and only the black taxi drivers have gone through enough rigors of testing to have this hairy network of streets memorized.
What you need in your purse or pocket is your handy-dandy A-Z street atlas (pronounced, “A to Zed,” if you want to sound like a local). These maps come in assorted sizes depending on the scale of book you want on hand, but all of them will show you London down to the minutest lane and in a very user-friendly fashion. So if you’re exploring what London neighborhoods to live in, searching for London flats to rent, trying to find the location of your job interview, or already finding your way to social engagements as a new London resident, pop into a Ryman shop or bookstore at assorted London locations and pick up your copy. You can also find them online at:
www.a-zmaps.co.uk.
If you’re going to stock anything on the bookshelf in your new London apartment, it’s the A-Z.
Tags: americans relocating to london england, canadians moving to london uk, flats to let in london, london a to z, london apartment to rent, London blog, London lettings agency, london relocation agency, london relocation agent versus estate agent, London Relocation Services, moving to london from usa, places to live in london, relocating to london england from canada, rent london apartments, things to do in london, Travel and Tourism, Travel Guides
Posted in London Neighborhoods, Moving to London: Tips & Culture, Relocating to UK: Visas, Banking, & Other Logisitical Issues | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, March 30th, 2011
Author: Colleen
Those of you who are moving to London, planning a vacation here, or just plain enamored with the city and looking to discover as much as you can about it, I just wanted to give the heads up that London Relocation is participating in the “A to Z Blogging Challenge” starting this Friday, April 1st. That may be April Fool’s Day, but I’m not foolin’ ya—I already post to our blog every day any way, but this time it will be within alphabetical parameters; i.e., every post (except on Sundays, when we’ll have our regularly scheduled Weekend Warrior Sunday history lesson) will be inspired by the letters of the alphabet, in order. You can expect, then, a fairly random assortment of topics, though probably not any more random than what I already post on all-things-London…
So, as usual, I’ll introduce sights to see in London, places to eat and drink in London, neighborhoods to live in in London, and assorted other property and moving tips for getting sorted with that London apartment of yours.
Now I’ll be a true lady of letters.
So please do drop on by if you’re keen to see what the next letter will stir up in this London alphabet soup of sorts!
As the song goes:
“Then you’ll know your London ABCs.
Next time won’t you call London Relocation, please.”
That way we can supplement your new-found knowledge and help with your London move by searching plenty of London apartments to rent—which will in turn allow you more time to graduate beyond the ABCs and do some experiential learning of London!
Tags: americans relocating to london england, canadians moving to london uk, flats to let in london, london a to z, london apartment to rent, London blog, London lettings agency, london relocation agency, london relocation agent versus estate agent, London Relocation Services, moving to london from usa, places to live in london, relocating to london england from canada, rent london apartments, things to do in london, Travel and Tourism, Travel Guides
Posted in Moving to London: Tips & Culture | 20 Comments »
Friday, March 25th, 2011
Renting a London apartment. Image by canonsnapper via Flickr
Author: Colleen
If you’re moving to London and looking into renting a London apartment, my previous posts have addressed the state of today’s London property market (see “Renting London Apartments: The Current DL on LDN” Part 1 and Part 2). As promised, in this post I’ll address how you can best keep your head above water as you paddle through this super-competitive rental whirlpool of low supply, high demand, and gazumping.
Renting Your London Apartment
This is not a sales pitch; it is a reality. If you’re new to London and unfamiliar with its environment, you as an expat will have the best chance of uncovering a larger supply of properties at your price-point if you enlist the assistance of a London relocation agent. Such service providers will educate you on the local real estate dynamic and exploit their vast lettings agency contacts to exhaust the market in compiling available properties on any given day. And as I’ll explain below, timing is of the essence, so having a relocation guide on your side will help you still be able to make a sound, informed decision in a short amount of time.
Regardless if you enlist a third party to help or strike out on your own, you’re going to want to act fast. You’ll think you’re being schmoozed when an agent encourages you to make a snap decision soon after your initial viewing, and, believe me, I’m the first to want to call these shysters out on giving the hard sell. But even I now understand that, in London, it’s warranted—let’s not kid ourselves that if we hold out to make a second viewing (and then take our sweet time after that to mull it over) that the property of interest will still be there. Remember from my first post: supply is low, demand is high. If you don’t bid on a property, someone else will.
And if you do bid on a property, someone else still will, so be the first to put your money where your mouth is, literally. The best way to avoid getting gazumped is to be ready to pay your holding deposit right away (though there’s no set industry standard, this typically equates to six-weeks’ rent. If you’re a student or otherwise perceived as a financial risk, this deposit may be upped to three-to-six months’ worth). You will also want to offer as close to the asking price as possible and not make many stipulations. Sadly, you don’t have the upper hand in this situation, so you have less negotiating power to be a stickler when it comes to lower rent and what furnishings/improvements to demand…which gives me cause to reiterate my advice on hiring a relocation agent who will endeavor to help you leverage this situation in your best interests to the best of your ability.
Remember that compromise is key, so if you keep holding out for that elusive, “perfect” London flat that ticks every single one of your boxes, I can almost guarantee you’ll lose your chance of getting that near-perfect one that meets as many of your requirements as you can reasonably expect. As I’ll be addressing this Saturday in my “Weekend Warrior Saturday: What You Can Do Today to Prep for Your London Move” post, you should have a clear ranking of priorities in mind to help you more quickly decide what you want most and what you can live without when you’re faced with the inevitable trade-offs across London apartments at your price-point and desired location. No one is immune.
The Silver Lining?
It does appear that incentives are improving for prospective buyers to “buy to let,” which would result in a gradual increase of private London apartments available for rent. If London can see an influx of supply in rental housing, then demand should taper off a bit in relation and hopefully at least minimize the growth in rent prices if we can’t see an absolute decrease in them. It also means more perdy London apartments for you to look at and consider for yourself when you make your London relocation.
Tags: americans moving to london england, canadians moving to london uk, london apartments, london apartments for rent, london homebuyers, london homes for sales, London lettings agency, London property market, london relocation agent, London Relocation Services, relocating to London from US, relocating to london uk from canada, rent london, supply and demand of property in london
Posted in Rent in London: London Apartment Tips | 1 Comment »
Thursday, March 24th, 2011
Renting in London. Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Author: Colleen
If you’re relocating to London and starting to research how to find a London apartment, my previous post addressed the current state of affairs with London property (see “Renting London Apartments: The Current DL on LDN (Part 1)“). Given the high demand for (and low supply of) London apartments these days, a couple other trends have become prevalent within the London rental market.
“Gazumping”
One unfortunate trend in the London apartment rental market that I didn’t address last time is the “gazumping” phenomenon. If you’re not familiar with the term, its concept is a really, really lousy thing that London landlords do to take advantage of the supply-demand situation I outlined in my other post. Let’s say you’ve searched and searched and have finally found your ideal London apartment; the landlord has verbally accepted the offer that the London lettings agent has put forth on your behalf. Already, those long-held dreams of moving to London are reaching fruition, and you’re fantasizing about what your London life will be like with this lovely property as your base…this glorious flat that has everything you want, in the perfect location, for a rent price you can swing, and in which you can already visualize how well all your stuff will fit. Tra-la-la, life is grand.
Hours later (or maybe not even until the next day), when it comes time for the landlord to sign the lease he/she’s already agreed to, oh wait, they’ve since received a higher bid and will be going with another tenant. Are you familiar with the acronym “S.O.L.”? Well, that’s you in this situation. This is when Ashton Kutcher jumps out of the woodwork and shouts, “You’ve been gazumped!”
Sealed Bidding
Traditionally a practice applied to property sales, sealed bidding is becoming more common for renting London property as well. Generally, a sealed bid involves interested buyers/renters putting forth an offer by a certain deadline (literally in a sealed envelope), and then all bids are opened and reviewed at a designated time to evaluate the winner of the property auction—i.e., whoever is deemed to have offered the best price in conjunction with wherewithal to proceed with the transaction quickly and smoothly (a.k.a. “proceedability”).
Join me in my next and last post of this miniseries to learn how you can up your proceedability and overcome all these obstacles in your quest for the ideal London apartment for your London move.
Tags: americans moving to london england, canadians moving to london uk, gazumping, london apartments, london apartments for rent, london homebuyers, london homes for sales, London lettings agency, London property market, london relocation agent, London Relocation Services, relocating to London from US, relocating to london uk from canada, rent london, sealed bids, supply and demand of property in london
Posted in Rent in London: London Apartment Tips | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011
Author: Colleen
If you’re planning your move to London, after procuring a job and visa, your next critical task is to find a flat to let in London. My esteemed London Relocation colleague Mat Paramor (our Head of Corporate Services—he’s the guy you want to talk to if you need to transfer your company’s employees to London!) has passed on the latest London property market trends and statistics, so I thought I’d distill the gist of it down for you to enhance your grasp on the current climate here.
London Apartment Supply
As of last summer, London encountered a serious shortage in available apartments for rent due to a few factors:
1) Landlords have increasingly opted to sell rather than let their London flats;
2) The increase in required mortgage deposits has discouraged renters from becoming buyers, so a generally older demographic that would have been looking to purchase a home have remained within the rental pool; and,
3) As the rental market becomes increasingly competitive, there’s less turnover in tenancy as renters renew their leases rather than take their chances in that atmosphere.
This shortage is particularly noted in the London neighborhoods consistently favored by expats: Kensington, Chelsea, Notting Hill, and Hampstead.
London Apartment Rent
How does this impact you if you’re relocating to London and need to rent a London flat? Time now for an Econ 101 lesson: Supply & Demand and their impact on Price. The impact of scarcity in supply is clear as far as being more limited in your options at your price level. It also means expectations of where to set that price level may need to adjust:
If you’re not familiar with the economic concept of supply and demand, I’ll break it down. Basically, when supply of a product decreases, the demand for it increases. So if there are fewer available London apartments out there, that many more people will be clamoring over each one of them. This makes it very easy for landlords to then place a premium on their property for rent, to take advantage of the increase in demand. If people out there will pay it, why not charge it, right? Now, generally, as the price of a product increases, demand for that product goes down—who wants to pay more for something, you know? So the graph at the left shows us the theoretical state of equilibrium when price is aligned with the demand for a product as well as the available supply of it.
I’ve now manipulated the graph above to produce this next one, which shows how the market seeks out a new level of equilibrium when that Supply line is shifted to the left (to reflect the decreased quantity of available properties in London) and Demand concurrently shifts to the right (to reflect the increasing number of tenants looking to rent in London). As you see, those two lines now intersect at a higher price-point.
The London lettings agencies with whom we collaborate are forecasting average rent increases of 7-8% in prime London locations for 2011 over last year (whereas sales are predicted to rise only about 1% in price). Stick around for my follow-up post on what you can do to conquer this market and rent a London apartment that you’ll love to live in after your London UK move.
Tags: americans moving to london england, canadians moving to london uk, Chelsea, Hampstead, Kensington, london apartments, london apartments for rent, london homebuyers, london homes for sales, London lettings agency, London property market, london relocation agent, London Relocation Services, Notting Hill, relocating to London from US, relocating to london uk from canada, rent london, supply and demand of property in london
Posted in Rent in London: London Apartment Tips | 5 Comments »
Tuesday, December 7th, 2010
Author: Colleen
Well, well…it’s been a while since I’ve revisited neighborhood overviews on where to rent London apartments! Now, if you’ve been following this series, understand that London neighborhoods are too many in number to detail out one-by-one, so I’ve been approaching this on an overall area-by-area basis and highlighting those neighborhoods most popular among expats. As I’ve mentioned before, there’s a difference between where you’d live if you were settling down for the long-haul versus getting the London experience for a few years, so most expats desire to stay central, in the middle of the action, with the exception of families who out of necessity need to go further out for more space, better schools, etc. And there are also city neighborhoods that just aren’t that great—they’re unsafe, not well maintained, or simply don’t have much of anything going on or for them. So that caveat aside, I do hope this overview is helpful as you narrow down where to live in London.
So now, for the Southwest postcodes:
SW1 – Belgravia, Brompton, Millbank, Pimlico, St. James’s, Victoria, Westminster
SW2 – Brixton, Brixton Hill, Streatham Hill
SW3 – Brompton, Chelsea
SW4 – Clapham, Clapham Park
SW5 – Earl’s Court
SW6 – Fulham, Parson’s Green
SW7 – Brompton, South Kensington
SW8 – Nine Elms, South Lambeth, Vauxhall
SW9 – Brixton, Stockwell
SW10 – Chelsea, West Brompton, World’s End
SW11 – Battersea, Clapham Junction
SW12 – Balham
SW13 – Barnes, Castelnau
SW14 – East Sheen, Mortlake
SW15 – Putney, Putney Heath, Putney Vale, Roehampton
SW16 – Norbury, Streatham, Streatham Park, Streatham Vale
SW17 – Furzedown, Summerstown, Tooting
SW18 – Earlsfield, Wandsworth
SW19 – Collier’s Wood, Merton, Putney Vale, South Wimbledon, Southfields, Wimbledon, Wimbledon Park
SW20 – Bushy Mead, Copse Hill, Cottenham Park, Raynes Park, South Wimbledon, West Wimbledon
As you might figure, SW1 is very much central and in the thick of tourism—yes, it’s Westminster as in Parliament and the Abbey, and Victoria as in Victoria rail station. This also puts you in close proximity to Buckingham Palace and some theatres. While hotels and businesses are abundant in this area, there is nonetheless some nice housing tucked away on surprisingly quiet streets not far from Victoria station. I believe SW3 also captures Knightsbridge, which is the posh shopping area where Harrods is located with just as posh (a.k.a., nice, but super expensive) housing. A lot of expats with medium to high-end budgets (say, £325+/week) in southwest London tend to live in postcodes SW5-10—Earl’s Court, South Kensington, and Chelsea are very popular with Americans as they have a classic London aesthetic of white-columned Victorian terraced houses and feel quietly residential while still close walking distance to gobs of shops and restaurants. Lady Diana used to live on Old Brompton Road when she was courting Prince Charles, just a block or so from the site of Beatrix Potter‘s home (author of Peter Rabbit) in the very upscale blocks known as The Boltons (where the houses are still actually houses, not cut up into flats like where the rest of us live ).
Going west of Earls Court, the area around West Brompton station gets a bit more urban and deteriorated, yet eventually Fulham Broadway delivers a great hub of locally-owned restaurants (including Bodeans, which is American-owned and serves up BBQ and plays American sports on TV!), pubs, shopping, cinema and the nearby Chelsea Football Club. Going yet further into SW6, you enter into more residential, family-oriented neighborhoods that offer pretty walks along the Thames river and an abundance of green space, including Wandsworth Park, Bishop Park, Walham Green, Eel Brook, and Parsons Green. This is also where the famous Oxford vs. Cambridge Boat Race takes place, from Putney Bridge to the Fulham Football Club (one of the oldest, if not the oldest football clubs in London). Overall, the Putney/Parsons Green area feels almost suburban with very quaint high streets and good access to the City.
SW11 is a little more urban and rougher around the edges in spots than the above, but still a good value and increasingly middle class with some new, trendy venues. The historically industrial Battersea offers a lot of reasonably-priced newer construction for those not seeking period renovations, and its enormous Battersea Park off the river is a delight to stroll, run, bike, and even paddle around (Clapham likewise offers its Clapham Common). And as we start heading out toward SW20, we really get into more of a suburban sprawl. Wimbledon is well-known for its tennis tournament, but the surrounding area is also very conducive to families and those on a budget, providing a high quality of life with access to its own town center of all the high street amenities to keep it self-sufficient, as it’ll be more of a jaunt to access the City (probably at least 45 minutes to its center via tube, though overground rail is also an option). Other favored locations in this general Southwest area on the outskirts of London are Richmond and Kew, which, like Wimbledon, are absolutely lovely and ideal if you’re settling down for a while and want more space for the money. Green space reigns with Richmond’s river-walk and Richmond Park, and Kew is the site of the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Hopefully this is helping you get one step closer to finding that ideal London apartment (which, of course, is a guarantee if you further consult London Relocation Ltd.‘s expert services!). Join me next time as we wind it down with Southeast London.
Tags: advice on where to live in london, apartments in London, best places to live in london area, best places to live in london for families, best places to live in london for students, colleen, london apartment, london expat blog, London lettings agency, london neighborhoods guide, london neighborhoods map, london neighborhoods where to live, london relocation agency, London Relocation Services, London relocation specialist, map of london neighborhoods, moving to London advice, moving to london where to live, north london neighborhoods, rent london, south west london, west london, where should I live in london, where to live in London
Posted in London Neighborhoods, Rent in London: London Apartment Tips | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, November 9th, 2010
Author: Colleen
Okay, to keep this London party-train rollin’ as we look for where to rent London apartments, we’re off to the well-known West side today:
W1 – Chinatown, Fitzrovia, Hyde Park, Marylebone, Mayfair, Piccadilly, Soho, West End
W2 – Bayswater, Hyde Park, Paddington
W3 – Acton, East Acton, South Acton
W4 – Chiswick
W5 – Ealing, Little Ealing
W6 – Hammersmith
W7 – Hanwell
W8 – Kensington
W9 – Maida Hill, Maida Vale, Warwick Avenue
W10 – Kensal Town, Ladbroke Grove, North Kensington
W11 – Holland Park, Notting Hill, Westbourne Green
W12 – Shepherd’s Bush
W13 – West Ealing
W14 – West Kensington
Given West London’s popularity, it continues to be a pricey area in general. Closest to Central London, as we see on the map, is W1, and from this proximity we should infer that the area is still largely within the tourist track. Every city has a Chinatown, so from this you can expect the same range of ethnic restaurants and shops that makes for a fun (and delicious!) cultural night out. Soho is a hopping shopping and clubbing scene, and, in combination with Piccadilly as part of “the West End” in general, captures a good deal of Central London’s theatre district. Mayfair is as posh as it gets—this and the area just East of Hyde Park have astronomical housing prices. The famous Oxford, Regents, and Bond Streets are located here, rendering this area a top-notch shopping district. Heading just off Hyde Park’s Northeast corner toward Marylebone, we see a different side to this neighborhood characterized by Edgware Road, whose immigrant population has yielded a continuous strip of amazing ethnic restaurants representing Turkish, Lebanese, and Iranian cuisine among a multitude of others.
Moving westward into Paddington we see some lovely residential areas tucked around its commercial aspect surrounding the famous Paddington Station, where Paddington Bear was discovered on a platform . Bayswater and W10′s Ladbroke Grove are an appeal for those wanting to live near Notting Hill more affordably. Its W11 neighbor of Hugh Grant-film renown (what’s it’s name again? ) hosts a mix of the young and trendy and established and affluent, with a like mix of eclectic and posh boutiques and cafés. Holland Park feels like a leafy suburb with beautiful residences, shops, and green space, and I would say the same for W9′s Maida Vale—rents can be high given the quality of housing, yet reasonable deals can still be found the less central you get. It’s the centrality of W8, however, that continues to make Kensington popular like Notting Hill, with the benefits of being close to the open space of Kensington Gardens and High Street Kensington shopping. Speaking of shopping, W12′s Shepherd’s Bush houses London’s gigantic Westfield shopping center, only a couple of years old, and to which W6′s Hammersmith also has good access in addition to its own abundance of amenities and entertainment (the Apollo is huge for UK comedy)—and along the river in the Hammersmith and Ravenscourt Park area almost feels like a quaint, nautical village. Moving farther out West will bring you to predominantly residential neighborhoods that are more like suburbs; thus, you’ll see lower rent prices, though will be a further haul to the city center—one bonus, however, is being close to Heathrow airport, which is useful for expats who visit home frequently or receive out-of-country guests.
Hopefully this is helping you get one step closer to finding that ideal London apartment (which, of course, is a guarantee if you further consult London Relocation Ltd.‘s expert services!). Join me next time as we circle down and see what Southwest London is all about.
Tags: advice on where to live in london, apartments in London, best places to live in london area, best places to live in london for families, best places to live in london for students, colleen, london apartment, london expat blog, London lettings agency, london neighborhoods guide, london neighborhoods map, london neighborhoods where to live, london relocation agency, London Relocation Services, London relocation specialist, map of london neighborhoods, moving to London advice, moving to london where to live, north london neighborhoods, rent london, west london, where should I live in london, where to live in London
Posted in London Neighborhoods, Rent in London: London Apartment Tips | 2 Comments »
Monday, November 8th, 2010
Author: Colleen
It’s baaack, our endless quest for where to rent London apartments. We left off last week with North London, and today we’ll mosey right on over to the Northwest:
NW1 – Camden Town, Marylebone, Primrose Hill, Regent’s Park, Somers Town
NW2 – Cricklewood, Dollis Hill, Neasden
NW3 – Belsize Park, Hampstead, Swiss Cottage
NW4 – Brent Cross, Hendon
NW5 – Gospel Oak, Kentish Town
NW6 – Brondesbury, Brondesbury Park, Kensal Rise, Kilburn, Queen’s Park, South Hampstead, West Hampstead
NW7 – Mill Hill
NW8 – Lisson Grove, St. John’s Wood
NW9 – Colindale, Kingsbury, The Hyde
NW10 – Alperton, Church End, Harlesden, Kensal Green, North Acton, Old Oak Common, Park Royal, Stonebridge, Willesden
NW11 – Golders Green, Hampstead Garden Suburb
NW1 is a very popular and fun postcode. Camden Town buzzes with its canal-side marketplace and alternative music scene. It maintains a gritty, eccentric edge to its vibrant nightlife that is a good time for trendy singles and couples, but this postcode’s other neighborhoods would be more family-friendly if you’re moving to London with children. Primrose Hill and Regent’s Park, as their names would imply, offer green space for stretching your limbs and, along with Marylebone (though it does bustle with busy shopping streets), offer a less urban and more residential community to dwell in. NW3 and NW8 are desirable for the same reasons, with Hampstead feeling more like a village beside its immense Heath and St. John’s Wood feeling like a posh suburb (the latter is also where the American School in London is located, for those of you who might be enrolling your children there).
The aforementioned are the best known of Northwest London neighborhoods, but others that offer nice residential living in proximity to amenities and green space are NW7′s Mill Hill and NW11′s Hampstead Garden Suburb, which, like Hampstead, is also located off the Heath and highly sought-after. Queen’s Park is considered a good value (and apparently good for random celebrity-spotting in the park, so friends say ). Other spots of NW London can get a bit commercial with retail parks, yet are great options for shopping (like the massive Brent Cross Shopping Centre).
Though a very general overview, I hope this is helping you become aware of the vast number of neighborhood options for seeking rental properties in London and hopefully giving you the gist of what characterizes each direction from London’s city center. Join me tomorrow for when we dip a bit South to explore London’s West side.
Tags: advice on where to live in london, apartments in London, best places to live in london area, best places to live in london for families, best places to live in london for students, colleen, london apartment, london expat blog, London lettings agency, london neighborhoods guide, london neighborhoods map, london neighborhoods where to live, london relocation agency, London Relocation Services, London relocation specialist, map of london neighborhoods, moving to London advice, moving to london where to live, north london neighborhoods, rent london, where should I live in london, where to live in London
Posted in London Neighborhoods, Moving to London: Tips & Culture, Rent in London: London Apartment Tips | 1 Comment »
Thursday, November 4th, 2010
Author: Colleen
Continuing our quest for where to rent London apartments, much like the East side I wrote of yesterday, North London is one of the less obvious choices for expats moving to the UK, with the exception of its more central postcodes. Let’s have a look at those:
N1 – Angel, Barnsbury, Canonbury
, Clerkenwell, Hoxton, Islington, Shoreditch
N2 – East Finchley
N3 – Church End, Finchley Central
N4 – Finsbury Park, Manor House, Stroud Green
N5 – Highbury
N6 – Highgate
N7 – Holloway
N8 – Crouch End, Hornsey, Turnpike
N9 – Lower Edmonton
N10 – Bounds Green, Muswell Hill
N11 – Friern Barnet, Brunswick Park, New Southgate
N12 – North Finchley, Woodside Park
N13 – Palmers Green
N14 – Southgate
N15 – Seven Sisters, South Tottenham
N16 – Shacklewell, Stamford Hill, Stoke Newington
N17 – Tottenham, Tottenham Hale
N18 – Edmonton, Upper Edmonton
N19 – Archway, Dartmouth Park, Tufnell Park, Upper Holloway
N20 – Totteridge, Whetstone
N21 – Winchmore Hill
N22 – Alexandra Palace, Bowes Park, Noel Park, Wood Green
At London Relocation, N1 is probably the most often requested/placed London postcode of the North. The Islington and Angel neighborhood is very attractive to many who work in the City as its proximity makes for a quick commute. Upper Street just outside of Angel Station boasts a bustling strip of shops, pubs, cafes, and restaurants that makes it a desirable area for the social scene. Its growing popularity is resulting in increasing gentrification, though the neighborhood maintains an artistic edge; though not quite polished and buffed, demand has kept rent prices fairly consistent with the popular West side, so some seeking better value and less mainstream crowds may seek elsewhere like Shoreditch. Highbury in nearby N5 is highly recommended, though Hoxton is not.
Many expats relocating to London that we work with aren’t necessarily looking to live in London for the long-term, which is why it’s infrequent that they request very far outside the city center—the logic being, 1) often the companies/schools bringing them over here are centrally located, so they want shorter commutes, and/or 2) if they’re only going to be in London for a couple years or so, they want to be where central sites and action are at. Someone not concerned about this or who is indeed in for the long-term—or is perhaps moving with a family and wants more space—might be more keen to look further out from the central postcodes. The further North/Northwest one gets, the more residential and suburban (if not village-like) neighborhoods can become, a notably charming one being Highgate in N6, near Hampstead, nestled right in the middle of the Northern postcodes, so still not all too far out. Nice neighborhoods like this can still cost, however, so, as usual, in London it’s a constant negotiation between price, space, safety, conveniences, and aesthetics; your search outside of central London would thus be best served working through a relocation agent or estate agent that can help you sidestep areas that are too out of the way, expensive, or indeed cheap for good reasons.
Tomorrow I’m going to make a diversion from this series (I could use the break, couldn’t you? ) as tomorrow is a special holiday in the UK. Don’t know? I’ll give you a hint: “Remember, remember the 5th of November...” Then after that we enter into our Weekend Warriors!
Tags: advice on where to live in london, best places to live in london area, best places to live in london for families, best places to live in london for students, colleen, london expat blog, London lettings agency, london neighborhoods guide, london neighborhoods map, london neighborhoods where to live, london relocation agency, London Relocation Services, London relocation specialist, map of london neighborhoods, moving to London advice, moving to london where to live, north london neighborhoods, where should I live in london, where to live in London
Posted in London Neighborhoods, Rent in London: London Apartment Tips | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010
Author: Colleen
Continuing with our guide to London neighborhoods for those of you who are moving here and wondering where to rent London apartments, today I’ll move East of the city-center that was the focus of yesterday‘s post. Let’s revisit those fun London postcodes, shall we?
London’s East-side neighborhoods include:
E1 – Mile End, Shadwell, Shoreditch, Stepney, Wapping, Whitechapel
E2 – Bethnal Green, Haggerston, Shoreditch
E3 – Bow, Bromley, Bromley-by-Bow, Mile End, Old Ford
E4 – Chingford, Friday Hill, Hale End, Highams Park, South Chingford
E5 – Clapton, Hackney Marshes, Lea Bridge
E6 – Beckton, East Ham
E7 – Forest Gate, Upton Park
E8 – Dalston, Hackney
E9 – Hackney, Homerton, Victoria Park
E10 – Leyton
E11 – Leytonstone, Wanstead
E12 – Aldersbrook, Little Ilford, Manor Park
E13 – Custom House, Plaistow
E14 – Cubitt Town, Docklands, Isle of Dogs, Millwall, Poplar
E15 – Clapton Park, Stratford, West Ham
E16 – Canning Town, North Woolwich, Docklands
E17 – Higham Hill, Walthamstow
E18 – South Woodford, Woodford
I won’t go code by code, but generally East London offers a contrast to other parts that people are more familiar with or generally associate with the city—in interesting ways, though, which can make this an underrated area.
Historically, the East side has been largely infused with immigrants given inexpensive land and proximity to the docks. Industry and poverty was prevalent, but today it’s an area of urban renewal that has drawn artists and designers. The Docklands is primarily a financial district, which can make the area less appealing to some for residential purposes, yet it and Canary Wharf in E14 do draw those seeking new construction and more value for their pound. E15 is the home of the London 2012 Olympic stadium and village, and E16 contains the ExCeL Exhibition Centre and City Airport, to give an idea of the extent of commercial development around here.
There are still pockets of low income and a rough-around-edges feel (sadly, many historical buildings were lost to the Blitz), but the bonuses for living here are affordable rent prices and great diversity in cuisine, shopping, and just people in general. There’s an arty, bohemian spirit in some areas here that is a pleasant diversion from the mainstream, especially when so many expats flock to the West side; of those that don’t, Shoreditch and Hackney vicinities seem common choices—in Hackney specifically, Broadway and Columbia Road are recommended.
Perhaps least recommended neighborhoods for accommodation in this area are Hackney Central, Bethnal Green, and Brick Lane—the latter is, however a well-known street in E1 that all the Jack the Ripper tours get close to (indeed, it’s the neighborhood where his victims lived), and what their paying customers ought to do immediately after the tour is come back for dinner—delicious ethnic options galore! And as our East End correspondent who writes the “East Siiide!” guest posts will enthusiastically endorse, the near-East London postcodes have an abundance of quirky and fun vintage shops and markets like Spitalfields to explore. Whitechapel Art Gallery is another popular draw. If tired of the bustle, moving outward to, say E4 or E6 will bring you to more open, natural space on London’s outskirts—although there are city farms in E1 and E2; how fun is that?
Just a general overview in case you’re considering accommodation in London in the East or perhaps haven’t before and might now be more interested in exploring it further—either on your own or with the aid of London Relocation Ltd. .
Tags: advice on where to live in london, best places to live in london area, best places to live in london for families, best places to live in london for students, colleen, london expat blog, London lettings agency, london neighborhoods guide, london neighborhoods map, london neighborhoods where to live, london relocation agency, London Relocation Services, London relocation specialist, map of london neighborhoods, moving to London advice, moving to london where to live, west london, where should I live in london, where to live in London
Posted in London Neighborhoods, Rent in London: London Apartment Tips | 5 Comments »
Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010
Author: Colleen
As a guide to London neighborhoods for those of you who are moving to London, yesterday I started out with explaining the London postcode system. Today, I’ll begin to break down those cryptic letters and numbers to their respective neighborhoods, area-by-area of the city.
If you’ve visited London before, you are likely most acquainted with the major sites to behold in its historic center. Even though the London homes and offices in many films and TV shows depict windows overlooking Big Ben, that’s really not what your reality will be when you actually live and work here . London’s city center houses predominantly governmental and corporate buildings, as well as museums and other tourist sites, rather than personal residences. Though the modern-day city of London stretches rather far and wide, residents will refer to this central district specifically as “The City,” just as Americans would say “downtown.”
Postcodes denote “C” for “Central,” and are divided between WC and EC for West-Central and East-Central, respectively:
WC1 – Bloomsbury, Holborn, Kings Cross/St. Pancras
WC2 – Charing Cross, Chinatown, Covent Garden, Holborn, Strand
EC1 – Barbican, Clerkenwell, Finsbury, St. Lukes
EC2 – Barbican, Bishops Gate, Clerkenwell, Liverpool Street, Moorgate
EC3 – Aldgate, Broadgate, Fenchurch St., Monument, Tower Hill
EC4 – Blackfriars, Fleet Street, St. Paul’s, Temple
In WC, Bloomsbury is known in the literary circuit as where author Virginia Woolf once lived (and was a member of the “Bloomsbury Group”), and it is home to the British Museum as well as a lot of college students. WC2 is active day and night as London’s popular theatre district. Piccadilly Circus glimmers like Manhattan’s Times Square, and Leicester Square sparkles with celebrity as the site of many London film premiers. Restaurants abound to service the pre/post-theatre crowd, and the Strand offers a long row of shopping. The famous Trafalgar Square—meeting point for celebrations and protests alike—National Gallery, and Charing Cross (where you can access trains for Southeast London and out to Kent) are also in this postcode.
In EC, you delve more into London’s financial district, though EC1 has become trendier in recent years as an area for restaurants and bars, as in the streets around Farringdon and Smithfields Market. If you’re looking for something nice and quieter on the weekends, you might consider the Hatton Garden and Exmouth Market areas of EC1 near Farringdon tube station; conversely, you may want to avoid Old Street. The Barbican itself in EC2 is Europe’s largest venue for the multi-arts, and, in addition to the Museum of London, many City offices are headquartered in this postcode. You can also find London Liverpool Station here, which services Underground Lines as well as overground trains to and from Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk (and providing routes to Norwich via Ipswich and King’s Lynn via Cambridge), plus the Stansted Express service to Stansted Airport. EC3 and EC4 encompass such notable architectural features of central London as the centuries-old Tower of London, Monument to the Great Fire, and St. Paul’s Cathedral as well as the ultra-contemporary Lloyds of London and “Gherkin” buildings that have transformed the modern London skyline.
Join me next time as we move onto more of the city’s postcodes and get you oriented for your London move!
Tags: advice on where to live in london, best places to live in london area, best places to live in london for families, best places to live in london for students, colleen, london expat blog, London lettings agency, london neighborhoods guide, london neighborhoods map, london neighborhoods where to live, london relocation agency, London Relocation Services, London relocation specialist, map of london neighborhoods, moving to London advice, moving to london where to live, west london, where should I live in london, where to live in London
Posted in London Neighborhoods, Rent in London: London Apartment Tips | 5 Comments »
