Hi all, My husband has been transfered to London to work with his job. He will be working on a big building project in White City. We have been asked by his company which area we would like to live in. Having only been to London on Holidays we are not sure of the areas. We would like to be fairly central. It is just the two of us as our children are grown and will be holding the fort back in Australia.Have been thinking Notting Hill, Holland Park Bayswater, South Kensington. Not sure if one is nicer than another? How convienient these areas are as we will not be having a car.We are both excited by this move and a little nervous. We will be arriving in London around the 18th Jan, hoping the weather will not be too cold. Any information would be very welcome.
Cheers Jac

Much will depend on whether his company puts a limit on how much you can spend for your living quarters. Apartments are VERY expensive in London proper.

When my husband worked in London in the early 80's, we lived in Beaconsfield, s small town in Buckinghamshire. But that allowed us to have a lovely house with a huge garden at a monthly cost of around 800 GBP, still a steep price back then. The train allowed us to go into London or anywhere else for that matter in a short amount of time.

If I had my pick I'd take Holland Park. It isn't as convenient as some of the other areas you're looking at but I like that. Seems quieter and solid to me. Second choice would be S. Ken (maybe even first depending on exact location). Notting Hill next. Would not pick Bayswater. But much depends on what type of property you can afford in the areas you've mentioned, which are almost all likely to be really pricey.

How on earth is he going to get to White City without a car? And, if there's some obscure bus route, how much time are you/he prepared to spend on a bus in the middle of the two rush hours?

Work that out, and almost everything else will fall into shape. I'd suggest you're mad even to contemplate living without a car.

The best compromise for reasonable costs, proximity to White City and proximity to the centre is as close to a tube station as possible in Maida Vale. Or round Little Venice.

To get started, have a look at: http://www.findaproperty.co.uk/area0052.html

I used findaproperty.co.uk as a starting point to research neighbourhoods in London. The link above takes you to the section for W12 (which includes White City).

One of the factors you'll want to consider is transportation links. A difference of a few blocks can make a huge difference in terms of the convenience, reliability and general hassle-factor of public transportation.

I would also recommend that your husband negotiate for a supplement to cover a reasonably long period for temporary accommodation, so that you can search for housing once you arrive in London. I lived in several locations in London during the year I was there - and made at least one major error in my choices (more dangerous and isolated than I had anticipated). I would have avoided this if I had "tried out" the neighbourhood through a short-term let.

Thanks for your replies,My husband will be working on some very large shopping complex which is going to be built over rail lines at White City so we were thinking he would be able to get the central line directly there, is this not the case?As you say we may be mad not having a car and might have to rethink. It is going to be a very different lifestyle for us as we now live in a rural area in Australia and my husband drives an hour each way to work in the city.It is just that I don't know the areas we have only a London map and a tube map to go on.
So any information is very welcome

Hello Jacqui13,

>>>>>>We have been asked by his company which area we would like to live in.<<<<<<

There is something wrong with this picture, in my opinion. If the company's human resources department doesn't have enough common sense to realise that you cannot know which area you would like to live in without having been on an LSD (look, see and decide) trip or alternatively without the assistance of a relocation consultant, they either lack experience in relocating their staff overseas or they are cheapskates, IMO. Neither scenario bodes well for you, IMO.

I agree with Kate_W's suggestion that you request some "wiggle room," so that you can do some proper research once you're on the ground in London.

My advice is that, before you commit to a given area, you walk around it during the daytime and also at night. That was a tip we received from another couple who had relocated many times. A real estate agent took them to what looked like a lovely neighbourhood of Calgary during the day. They followed their long standing policy of returning there on their own that evening. They noticed that, although it was broad daylight (we have many hours of daylight in summer), there was no one walking in the neighbourhood, which they found odd. Then they took a closer look and noticed how steeply sloped the streets in that hilly neighbourhood were, and they realised it didn't lend itself very well to walking. They ultimately chose a less hilly neighbourhood. That wouldn't apply to London, but I'm just using it as an example of the sorts of things one notices at different times of the day.

Also, take with a pinch of salt everything that friends and even people on this forum (including me) tell you. Not everyone has the ability to realise that what suits them might not suit someone else. Friends or forum members might tell you how much they love <b>their</b> neighbourhood, and they might strongly encourage you to join them in that neighbourhood. But your needs might be different from theirs.

Don't be bullied into making a quick decision that you cannot back out of, or you could end up being miserable.

I'm not suggesting for one minute that you be rude to anyone. Just be assertive. Say, &quot;I'm concerned about ...... &quot; and quietly persist until your concerns have been addressed.

I have not lived in London, but I have been on two expat assignments in foreign countries (one of which was in Melbourne, which I absolutely loved).

Oh yes, my own expat assignments remind me of something else. The relocation consultant who helped us in Melbourne told me that some of her most difficult clients were those from other English-speaking countries. She said she recently had assisted a family from Vietnam and another family from Chile. She said they were easy to deal with because they were <b>expecting</b> Australia to be very different from their home countries. Around the same time she assisted a British family and an American family. She said those two families were under the illusion that, because Australia was an English-speaking country, they could just move in without paying particular attention to anything. She said they were in denial about the considerable differences between rental agreements and other legal arrangements in Australia and in their home countries. She really had to impress upon them the importance of paying attention to details.

Hope that helps.

Not familiar with Bayswater at all - of the others I like Holland Park. We have friends that live there and it was very pretty and pleasant. Also, not that expensive - they have a small house (quite small) that they had bought when we were there a couple of years ago - and the price was quite reasonable- at least by NYC standards.

Usually flanneruk gives REALLY terrific advice about London - but his comment about how one gets to White City really confuses me. jacqui 13, you are right, the Central Line does serve White City which is in zone 2.

Bayswater, Holland Park or Notting Hill would be the very most convenient to White City via the central line. I personally would avoid Bayswater -- and would want to know exactly where in Notting Hill before I went there. But then that applies to just about any area in London. If it was anywhere near Portobello Rd you'd have to just forget about getting into or out of your street on Saturdays because of the MASSIVE crowds for the street market.

to keep your husband's commute to/from White City down to a reasonable length I'd think about Notting Hill, Holland Park, Kensington. South Kens would be a little less convenient. Or you could head east along the Central Line to areas like Russell Square or the southern bits of Marylebone.

I think you can do just fine w/o a car in London - you can always rent a car for roads trip weekends, etc.

If price is no object I'd live in Hampstead or Highgate. Judy in Calgary is surprised at how unhelpful the UK contacts are. I'd be suspicious, but I also have to admit it's not untypical. I've hired cars from back home to be picked up in London, and when I told them where I was driving to - even specifying exactly what road I was taking out of London - and asked them which of their 14 London depots was best for my car pickup, do you think they could tell me? My question completely flummoxed them. In the end I worked it out for myself by using the hire car co's own website would you believe, to locate each of their depots on a London map.

Reverse commuting and car ownership.

It is possible (though IMHO unbearable) to live in London without a car. It's relatively easy if you live and work in the centre (which I'll define as the area inside the Central Line).

It's doable - though only for short periods - if you live close to a train or tube station and commute into the centre.

It's just about doable if you live close to a station and reverse commute out to a suburban location over a station. If - AND ONLY IF - your job requires you to stay in that place 10 hours a day. Like the penpushers at the Immigration place in Croydon, for example (OK in their case it feels more like 3 hours on the one day in two they actually turn up, but you get my point).

But it's safe to assume that's not the case for someone with such complex skills he's been flown in from the other side of the world. And, at any level, it's pretty much unheard of in businesses connected to construction. His project might have offices over White City tube station (though they're more likely to be a bunch of Portakabins an uncomfortable mile or so away): but life inevitably involves site meetings, sessions in distant pubs and a million and one things he can cadge lifts for for a while. But even if (actually, in England, especially if) he's the supreme commander of the whole shooting match, he can only cadge lifts for a few days before pissing off his colleagues (Reader, I was that man). I don't want to go into jacqui's hubby's job. But it really is wrong-headed to assume that, because you got by without a car on a theatre and museum fest, you can get to a real job, with lots of subcontractors fouling up hourly, waiting for a number 106 bus every day for two years.

The same general principle applies to life itself. There are more things to do with it than waiting for the delivery van from Tesco to arrive, with the wrong groceries, two hours after it said it would. Or than trekking into town to hire a car to get over to friends for a Friday supper party. Or than... London has more stuff to see and do than anywhere else on the planet has ever had. Our transport system means it isn't always necessary to have a car if you're here for a month or two. But - especially since you already drive on the proper side of the road and are fluent in a language that can easily be confused with English - you're cutting yourself off from an enormous slug of London life if you don't actually have a car parked outside your house 24 hours a day. Which is why you'll find virtually no neighbours taking such an eccentric decision.

There is one sane poster on this site who lives in London without a car (the magnificent Ben Haines). But he cycles, and that really is an acquired taste.

Holland Park would be my choice. Or Notting Hill, but some squares there are nicer than others. Not a fan of Bayswater.
But, as has been mentioned, all depends on your budget. Make sure that your company pays for a relocation agent; this makes life a LOT easier for you. They will take care of all the red tape, and will advise you on what areas are better than others.
I think you can get by without a car, but I've always had one in London, and found it far easier; for shopping, weekends to the country etc. You can always see how you get on without a car first.

There were some very recent posts about London and costs of living (one was a post by Degas; try to search for that one).

Although South Kensington may seem a little more inconvenient for work it would be great as a place to live. There's so much to do and see. You are near kensington Palace, Marble Arch and London's centre, all the museums (Science Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum etc) You are also right next to kensington Gardens and Hyde park as well as the Royal Albert Hall. Kensington high street is well served by many shopping choices and good restaurants and bars abound in the area. The local station at South kensington networks neatly through to all the other tube services giving you access to the whole of London within minutes. You will be able to get to places like Covent garden easily. The other areas are all quieter but it really depends what you want.

Not living in London but having read all the posts there obviously is something less than advantageous about Bayswater.

I'm wondering if anyone here who says they &quot;don't like it&quot; would be so kind as to say exactly WHY??????

You would have to walk around the area, to get a feel for it. Bayswater has a very good, central location, but some of the streets look run-down. There are quite a few cheap hotels, which do not add to the standard of the neighbourhood. It's a bit like Pimlico; near Victoria, good location, but some streets look very shabby. On the other hand, if you don't mind this, prices can be lower than in very nearby areas.

Tulips, thanks very much for your informative reply.

I disagree strongly with flanneruk - I think you'd be mad to *have* a car in London. I lived there for 10 years &amp; never wanted one. My neighbour had one he used for weekends away, parked it about a mile away from the house on Sunday night (the nearest he could get) &amp; didn't dare move it all week.

Of course you can get to White City on the Central line. Of areas on the Central line, Holland Park is lovely but expensive - that's what I'd go for if money is no object. I also really like Notting Hill but you might find it a bit lively. Shepherd's Bush is fine, cheaper &amp; more of a family area, but obviously further out.

Off the Central line, I really liked living in Maida Vale which would involve one tube change, at Oxford Circus, to get to White City. I had a very close friend in White City &amp; often used to walk there too - it took about 45 minutes. Maida Vale is on the Bakerloo line which is one of the best services; also quite handy for buses &amp; you can walk to lots of places, including Oxford Street and Notting Hill. IMO Hampstead &amp; Highgate are a bit far out, but if you are used to living in the country you may like them.

flanner, how can you live *inside* the Central line, which is a straight line apart from the loop out in Essex ?

And a word to the wise - what estate agents call 'Holland Park' (or whatever may be the area name with the most cachet) might not correspond with what normal people call it (e.g., their 'Holland Park' stretches into Shepherd's Bush, their Bayswater into Paddington, Notting Hill into Ladbroke Grove, South Kensington into Earl's Court/Olympia).

I imagine this is much the same in any big city, but London estate agents are famous for using words like 'borders of [wherever]' to stretch the truth. There's no substitute for getting an AtoZ to check proximity to public transport (if flanner's right about your husband's need for a car to do the job, that still leaves you using bus and tube), and walking the area if you get the chance.

'Genuine' Holland Park would probably be quieter than Notting Hill or Bayswater (which can mean being very close to noisy main roads).

Also, the time factor might be relevant. You might be able to put up with something for a few weeks that you wouldn't tolerate for longer. If you can persuade your husband's employers not to tie you down to somewhere immediately, so that you can explore a bit for somewhere you could really feel at home, it would be a happier result for all concerned, I suspect.

Whitechapel.

Just a thought but there is some nice and cheaper property towards the western end of the central line in Eailing and Ruislip. Nearer to the country for when you've had enough of London (never I hear you say!)