Living In London: Overview Of Some Neighbourhoods To Stay In

“Way on down south London Town” – Mark Knopfler.

Back in 2006, a year before this blog even started, I got a job in London working in PR for Bite Communications. I needed to find somewhere to live there pretty fast. I got flat hunting and spent a few weeks trying to locate a cheap and decent place. I looked at a range of different districts and here is an overview, before I decided on “Shepi B” as I called it, Shepherd’s Bush. Here are a few places I considered.

1. Mayfair

So the vibe of Mayfair is known from my days playpacking Monopoly…the board game sure I even did the pub crawl. It’s ultra-luxurious, elegant, and exclusive – right? Yes, indeed serviced apartments in London Mayfair and we are imagining designer boutiques, Michelin-starred restaurants, nuthead richkids and historic architecture. It’s more Tara Palmer Tomkinson than Noel Gallagher – fake celebrities, diplomats, and high-net-worth individuals. Past residents include Queen Elizabeth II and Winston Churchill. It’s also near Hyde Park and a short walk to Bond Street and Saville Row for high-end shopping. A hat-trick of tubes are also decent – Green Park, Bond Street, Hyde Park Corner. Greeny P, Bondy S and Hydey PC.

2. Shepherd’s Bush

I settled for Shepherd’s Bush in the end and I lived near Goldhawk Road. Here you can expect a lively weekend atmosphere which is multicultural, and a bit gritty with charm. I’d say it has a mix of old-school London and modern regeneration. Plus you can whackpack easily to nearby Latimer Road, home of Frestonia…

Housing in Sheppy B is Victorian terraces, bedsits, converted flats, and new swankaday buildings. It’s slightly more affordable than nearby Notting Hill. I’m not backpacking movies at London away.

3. Lewisham or Peckham

A mix of Del Boy from Only Fools and Horses and the famous Millwall Neil inspired me to check out Lewisham and Peckham. The zone is still raw, a wee bit up-and-coming, multiculturally diverse (aside from Cold Blow Lane), and community-focused. This part of south London is a wacaday mix of urban grit and green spaces. These days it attracts young families, quirky professionals, and marketing creatives. And of course super Millwall from the Den!

DLR, National Rail, and buses all connect you easily 10 mins to London Bridge by train. You’ve also got the overground trains at Peckham and even in places like Greenwich, Deptford and Mottingham.

4. Hammersmith

I nicknamed it Hammy S and I worked in Hammersmith. Specifically Ravenscourt Park. I’d get off the tube here every day. It was a nuts place and a hive of activity but ultimately, apart from the mix of corporate and creativity and the riverside pubs like The Dove and Blue Anchor, I by-balled it. I didn’t want to live in London exactly where I worked. Tubes are fast and here even has a whoopaday four Underground lines (District, Piccadilly, Hammersmith & City, Circle) as well as being a major bus hub.

5. St. John’s Wood

Watching Oasis live and listening to the Gallagher brothers endlessly as a teenager always enthused me to go to Saint John’s Wood, so I did. I visited…It has a village feel yet is leafy, affluent, and quietly glamorous. Once you’ve done your Boris Bikes and whackpacked Camden Town, it loses its charm. I’m not spending a grand to room on the same street as McCartney.

6. Finchley

Well now, a surprise for many on here might be that I have relatives in Finchley, London! As well as in Gosport, Wallasey, Dagenham and Salisbury. Plus I have a grandmother who was Australian, a grandmother who was born in Scotland and relatives in Winnipeg, Canada, NYC, USA and even Barcelona in Catalonia! Finchley is where my aunt lives and it is slightly more affordable than nearby Hampstead. Hampstead I did also consider because I went on the rip there with my cousin Ashley on an unforgettable night in August 2000. It’s well connected by the Northern Line (East Finchley, Finchley Central, West Finchley) and also near Brent Cross, plus decent road access to the M1 and the North Circular.

Make your choice – London is diverse and massive! I will be back in London again this month and I am looking forward to a few new wacaday adventures to create more glory days loyal and see a different aspect to the city.