Well, well…it’s been a while since I’ve revisited neighborhood overviews on where to rent an apartment! Now, if you’ve been following this series, understand that the neighborhoods here 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 apartment (which, of course, is a guarantee if you further consult our expert services!).

Okay, to keep this 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.

Continuing with our guide to neighborhoods for those of you who are moving here and wondering where to rent 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 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. .

As a guide to neighborhoods for those of you who are moving here, yesterday I started out with explaining the 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 before, you are likely most acquainted with the major sites to behold in its historic center.  Even though the 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 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 the popular theatre district.  Piccadilly Circus glimmers like Manhattan’s Times Square, and Leicester Square sparkles with celebrity as the site of many 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 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 move!

Researching a move is a tremendous task ahead of you, and the hardest part is determining which neighborhood to live in.  It isn’t enough to have visited thebig tourist sites before, as it’s doubtful you’ll be living next door to Westminster or the Tower of London.  The staff here will discuss with you straightaway what your property and local area requirements are so that your flat-search can be narrowed down to neighborhoods most compatible to your lifestyle, desired aesthetic, and budget.

Below you can see a map of postcodes to help you get oriented with the layout of Central and Greater London, as well as how those postcodes work!  Those moving from a country where zip codes are comprised of only numbers might at first be daunted by the letters included in those of the United Kingdom, but don’t worry—they actually greatly simplify your bearings on where a certain address is situated in this large city.  The letters actually represent the direction of a neighborhood from the city center, so “N” means “North,” “SW” is “Southwest,” and so forth.

Pretty logical, ay?  What is not always so logical is the arrangement of the subsequent numbers, but, in general, they will increase as they stem further out from that central point.  The directions+numbers indicated here are only prefixes to the full postcode; the entire code will include another 3-4 digit alphanumeric combination as its second half.  For example, our office is presently located in postcode W11 2SH, which is found in the “W“-for-”West London” neighborhood of Notting Hill.

You may find it useful, then, to get a sense of which postcodes will be most conducive to accessing your locations of priority—e.g., work, school, airports, etc.  As you explore this, it will be important to cross-reference with tube and bus maps as well to have a realistic idea of what your commute will be like.  I’ll speak more on the specific neighborhoods that correspond with these postcodes in future posts of this series.