Hello,

We are moving from California to London with our little 2 year old son. We would really appreciate any suggestions on where we should look for a 2 or 3 bedroom home/apartment (preferably brand new) to rent. Things that are important to us are good nursery schools, parks, commutable to Canary Wharf, and of course safety. Our budget is around GBP 1500 pcm.
We've been hearing good things about Blackheath, Lewisham...all just names to us unfortunately.
Any thoughts would be so appreciated.

Thank you.

chance,

I am planning a move to the UK myself next year with my family so thanks for that info. The 2 areas I have been considering (based only on my research - not first hand experience!) are Lewisham or Ealing...so your advice is very helpful - thanks. One problem I am having though is trying to get my teenage daughter into ANY secondary school as they all say they are "over subscribed" - do you think things would be any easier in Lewisham?

Best wishes!!

Hi all, any area in London can be great...the key is to search out the specific street that is right for you.

I personally would look at a short term let until you know the area is exactly what you want....take a minimum tenancy ie. 6 months

LettingAgent.com - Rental property, Letting Agent, Mortgages, Landlords, Tenants might have some properties on their books or try rightmove.co.uk and findaproperty.com

Regards
Lee

Hi

I live in South London


Can I suggest you take a look at the crime statistics for the areas in which you are interested:
http://www.crimestatistics.org.uk

Borough of Lewisham (including Lewisham)
Crime Statistics: ALL CRIME for Lewisham Apr 2004 - Mar 2005

Borough of Greenwich (including Blackheath)
Crime Statistics: ALL CRIME for Greenwich Apr 2004 - Mar 2005

Ofsted – Home Page is the government standards agency for UK schools

BBC has some league table information
BBC NEWS | Education | League Tables

Each London borough has their own website with lots of information about nurseries and schools and the local areas.

Travel in most areas of London is good with train, underground and Docklands Light Railway (DLR). For example Bromley is the last London borough before Kent. Train Travel from here is about 25 – 35 mins to Central London, underground to Tower Hill is about 10 – 15 mins and then DLR to Canary Wharf 10 – 15 mins. So is more a case of find the best place to live for a good work life balance.

I hope this helps. I would be happy to found out over information if required.

Regards

Mark

Thanks for the Info Mark. There are some really useful links here - I have property in London and it is worth keeping tabs on changes to all of these factors that may effect the price.

Bob

I am going a move to the UK this year too.Thanks for that useful info. I am considering Rochdale? Any suggestions?

There is a 2 bedroom and bathroom apartment situated near blackwall way. It's about 5 minutes away from Canary Wharf. It's already fully furnished and requires 6 months advance deposit. Please call 07931947486 for more details.

Canary Wharf is easy to get to, but look for somewhere near to a tube station..

can u not get over for a week to have a look around?

there is good and bad areas all over the world..trouble is everywhere..

battersey is nice area but quite pricey, richmond is lovely also, fantastic shops and park there...it depends on how long u are prepared to commute..

i lived in london for almost 4 years, we lived just outside wimbledon, in Mitcham, we had no issues there in all the time we lived there and school was great...

if u could get there for a look around it would be better before u commit, or stay in a hotel for first 2 weeks to look around...

most places are so accessible via the tube.