The Best Places to Live in London | The best areas in zone 1 + 2 | Where to live in London?

hey guys so today I am going to be answering one of my most asked questions which is where should I live in London I gotten this question so many times in the comments and I find it hard to answer especially in like a one reply format because everyone's preferences are so different and it really depends on your budget your lifestyle what you like to do and I'm also an expat myself so I felt like at the time I didn't really know enough about London to make recommendation that this this and this place is like the best place to live but now that I've been here two and a half years I think I have a good idea of London and what areas are desirable to live in what areas are not desirable to live in and based on my experience I think I can make some recommendations when I was thinking about this video I was a little overwhelmed at first because there's so many things I could talk about and there are so many different areas in London so I'm gonna make recommendations with some basic assumptions from an expats point of view so I'm gonna assume three things I'm gonna assume you want to experience a bit of a kind of romanticized picturesque London experience you want to be close or around central London and you don't mind sacrificing budget for convenience so with that assumption I'm gonna focus on just going through the areas in zone one and two of course there's many other areas outside of 102 but personally I think that as someone who is looking to experience London like you moved here from another country I myself would prefer to live at least in zone two because if you're within Zone one or two it's not hard to get from one side to other even if you're living in Far West you can go to Far East so it's really easy to explore the different areas most of the notable London experiences are was in zone one and two and if you're in one or two you're bound to be in an area or really close to an area that has a variety of things going on and this is why one of my assumptions is that you value more convenience over budget because you could live in zone 345 if you don't mind traveling into the city it's definitely a little bit more Suburban out there so if that's what you're looking for um then this video probably won't cover those areas but if you're interested in living in zone one and two I'm gonna go through the different areas you could live and my probably buy his opinion on them based on what I experience or what I've heard from people I met so this is still quite a big area I think the easiest way for me to cover it is to talk about my general impression of like the vibe of the area the price point so the price point will just be a general feel because you could obviously you know rent a room instead of a full flat and get a cheaper price and still live in that area if you wanted to and then also access to Transportation now this is going to be a little bit subjective because everywhere in zone one and two is relatively good access to Transportation but there are some pockets and areas that are better than others all right let's get started so before I really go into it let's get on the same page about what is Zone one and two if I'm looking down because I'm looking at my notes because this video requires a lot of detail so I pulled this map from the internet it might not be 100 accurate but to me it looks pretty accurate so this is Zone one and two now London is comprised of 32 boroughs as well so these are like areas within London that go from Zone one to five I'm going to be covering about 14 of them that are part of Zone one and two some of them are just at the edges but I'm gonna try and cover each of them in turn and point out notable areas in um each burrow and then lastly based on everything I said I'm gonna tell you what are my top areas and where I would prefer to move to if I was going to move as I'm always looking to move okay let's get started so let's just first look at Central London and kind of work our way in a circle around central London so Central London consists of the city of London borough but then there's also bits of Islington and Westminster was in it just generally this area is considered Central London and realistically not a lot of people actually live there I have not met a single person that actually lives in in central London so let's look at the borough of city of London first so this is actually a financial district of London like although I feel like a lot of that has moved to Canary Wharf there's a lot of big Banks here and um it's a it's a big kind of like corporate District I would say um not a lot of people actually live there and the ones that do most of them live in the Barbican which is a quite well-known like Buddhist architectural like residential area um but I would say this area is pretty bland area to live in it's really dead on the weekends um since it's comprised of mostly offices but of course you're like in the heart of London so um getting anywhere is pretty easy but it's going to be really expensive here and um there's not a lot of like that Community feeling in this area let's move East and then we'll just go in like a counterclause white circle around the city of London so East we have the borough of tower hamlets now Tower hamlets is really really large but some notable areas in here so first of course we have shortage very well known quite expensive to live here there's a lot of vintage shops in this area there's a lot of bars and like nightlife here so it can get quite Rowdy depending on where you're living I did have a friend that lived in shortage and said on the weekends it does get quite Rowdy and I would say the vibe is very like young a bit grungy Rough Around the Edges but in like a trendy way so um take that at face value what I say but it is really sensitive and also the fact that it has pretty good Transportation links and connections to another popular area which is a bit north and I'll talk about that in a bit next to it which I think is an underrated area concerning how close it is to shortage and Central is White Chapel so this is where Jack the Ripper murders took place so um there I think it used to be a quite rough area back in the days but they really developed it quite a lot there's actually a lot of new builds in this area if that's something that you're looking for for example in shortage you're not gonna get um well-priced new bills just from me walking around shortage but in White Chapel there's lots of new builds there surprising there's a lot of Asian food there I don't know why all these like Asian restaurants pop up there I used to work there like my office was there so I quite I know the area quite well it is still developing so there's like quite a bit of construction there but generally I think it's a good place to live if you could maybe get a new plat for a fair price it's close to like Tower Bridge shortage and has really good Transportation links in terms of like train and a few different tube lines that cross into White Chapel the only thing I would say about White Chapel is that there is not a lot of Green Space there's no like big parks in the area so so if that's like important to you then maybe maybe it's not a good area and then if you go a little east of that you'll hit Buffalo green and bow which are both part of the taller hamlets area they're obviously a little further out um one of the good perks is that they're really close to Victoria Park which is really beautiful and has this really Lively um weekend Market the only downside is I would say it's not the most well connected I think there is only really um two lines that kind of cross on the outskirts of those areas so unless you're living close to it it is quite a far walk and not as convenient as like living in other places in London but the red here is quite a bit cheaper than let's say in shortage or even compared to whitechapo because it's just a little further out in bethnal green and bow I think as well there's a lot of young professionals who are kind of like on a budget and also a lot of people that are on a budget but want to live close to um Hackney and like shortage those are quite popular areas like people who want to live in the East but don't want to pay a ridiculous amount to live in the really trendy areas but I would say like London from Street to Street can change a lot and Beth no green definitely is one of those areas that has pockets of where it is really nice and then all of a sudden not so nice it's hard to describe this is why I feel like you always need to go and see the area before um you assign a lease to see if you're okay with it but it's always a game of sacrifice like what what do you want do you want cheaper rent do you want a better area do you want convenience do you want but it's worth going to if you like Green Space and don't mind maybe like a 15-20 minute walk to the station it's an another popular area in Tower Hamlet is really going Far East now is Canary Wharf so a lot of offices are here I think Canary Wharf is good to consider if you work in the area definitely there's a lot of corporate offices it reminds me so much of Toronto like I feel like I'm in downtown Toronto when I'm in Canary War the only issue is it's a little bit detached from the rest of London so um it's connected by the Jubilee line and the DLR but where the Jubilee line crosses is closer to where all the offices is while the residentials are a little deeper on this little little little water drop shape of an area so it's not as well connected and I I did explore the possibility of living there because they have tons of new bills the price is a bit more affordable obviously because it's a little bit further from Central London but I just thought to myself that one I didn't really feel like I lived in London and two just just was like how the walk is I know that's like a weird way to say it but because there's just like a lot of corporate buildings and every day you walk it's just very like gray and interesting I just feel like I would end up staying in the area a lot and not it feels like a lot of work to exit and go to another area it might be just me but I think it's worth a look if you work there there because it'd be just super convenient and the time you save on the weekdays you can and spend on the weekends so NoDa will mention is the London borough of newham which is more far east past Tower hamlets but Stratford is in newham it's just at the edge and this is quite a popular place to live as well this is also a developing area there's a lot of new bills in their areas there's a big Westfield Mall there and it is really really well connected there's a few tube lines and overground lines that has their last stop as Stratford but that also comes with its own problems where if you work and has to go in for 9 A.M you can imagine how busy the station is when everyone in that area is going to Stratford station to go into the office for work so it can get quite hectic and things that should offer is a little bit more spread out it is a little bit sparse out there but it's worth to consider if you are wanting a new flat and it has better connections and transportation into the city than and a place like Canary Wharf does also if you work in Canary Wharf that could be something you consider because there is a train that goes from Stratford to Canary Wharf so that it's it's quite well connected that way um next we're going to move a little Northeast to Hackney so Hackney is one of the most popular areas to live in London so around Hackney Central London Fields area this is I would say one of the top spots right now where young people want to live in London there's just like a lot of markets here a lot of small independent businesses there's always new restaurants here whenever see a cool new like restaurant concept or Bakery pop up they're always in Hackney it's really trendy right now so it is quite expensive in this area Drake just bought a house there and it's interesting because this area I would say doesn't have the best connections um into Central but I think there's so much stuff in this area that you really don't need to go to Central and the area is so nice I definitely done a walk from London Fields there's like Broadway Market on the weekend to Columbia Road flower market then down to shortage and you're basically in central like even though it's not as well connected in terms of having a tube line running through it has the overground it's still a really nice place to live just because it's very like picturesque it's definitely a little gentrified but that's why it's so popular right now it's definitely top of the list for me as an area that I want to live in right next to Hackney Central London Fields you have hagersten and Dolson which are also really popular areas to live in London I will admit I haven't been there that much but it's similar to like the Hackney Central and London Fields but it's not as dense a little bit more spread out and it's a bit quieter I think dalston is also quite known for its nightlife it's definitely a bit younger around that area um and has like a good party scene so if that's what you're looking for then you might want to check out that area right next to that you also have Stoke Newington this area is definitely a little bit more mature so people who like the idea of a Hackney I think but don't want to live in the middle of it from what I heard there's a lot of yummy mummies um young families and just like people who prepare a more quieter life there's a lot of residentials here and in all these areas me I would say there's not a lot of new bills or not a lot of affordable new builds moving over next to Hackney we have Islington so Islington stars in central London but I'll be realistic not a lot of people live in the center of London so I'm just gonna ignore that part right now so the most notable area in Islington is Angel I'm not sure if this still is the case but pre-pandemic there was a lot of tech companies that were home there um it's an area with a lot of high-earning young professionals I would say there's a lot of shops cafes bars like comedy clubs it's quite a dense and bustling area it's also near the canal which is super nice but it is very expensive in this area and I don't believe there is a lot of new builds there and any place I've seen in this area is quite small and expensive for the price a little bit north of that is Highbury in Islington which I think is the second best area in Islington is close to more the rougher areas which is a bit more North which makes it slightly cheaper but it's also really in close proximity Angel you could walk there kind of depending on where in the area you're living and it's a little less polished but it has like a really nice green space with the Islington Park and it's a bit quieter than Hackney not as busy and a lot of younger people live in this area I would say north of that you have Holloway and Finsbury Park so these two areas I would say is a little bit more rough compared to everywhere I just talked about but that also means that the rent here is cheaper there's pretty good Transportation links in there and I think the selling point of these areas is that it's in close proximity to um like Hackney or South Islington yeah there's like two or three tube lines I've run through um you can easily walk through the overground there's a lot of good bus lines here that will take you into Hackney or or further into Central so I think it's very up and coming and they're really developing that area now my like pottery place that I go to is actually there if you go to the Finsbury Park area it definitely can feel a little dodgy sometimes like I went there for a music festival at Finsbury Park so I think it is a place that you can consider if you are looking for somewhere close to kind of like Highbury Islington and Hackney but don't want to pay a lot of money for rent okay now a little farther west so like straight up north we have like Hampden Borough so Camden Town quite a well-known area very touristy right around the area it has really great Transportation it's a bit busy because of how much tourists they are but it's really close to Regent Park and Primrose Hill which I think is a big selling point there's the canal that runs through there as well which is really nice but right around Camden town is really really expensive although I would say it's a little overcrowded and messy and a bit rough in the area it really depends on where you live but the main intersection definitely doesn't have the vibe of like a cute you know coffee shop and Wine Bar it's a little more touristy I would say but it's really close to Primrose Hill which is also I think a popular area I'm not sure really to live it's a really nice area like I love walking around Primo's Hill but it is a bit of a dead spot in terms of Transportation just because it's right above regions Park so walking through a reasonable Park is really far and there's no transportation that obviously goes through it so you have to kind of go to the left or the right so in terms of living in Primrose it's not super convenient I think but just the promos area is so expensive because of the access to the green space and is a really cute area so I think Camden just being in proximity of premise Hill is really nice because your close Transportation regularly but you are also walking distance to Primrose Hill and regions Park which I think is pretty nice and then above Camden you have kentish town and tufno park which I think is like a quieter less dense version of Camden they're still like on the High Street you know restaurant shops and bars but it's definitely less dense and really only on the High Street there's a lot of young families in the area and it still has pretty good transportation in terms of like the kentish town station has a rail station and there's the overground and it's on the Northern line so pretty convenient right here is a bit cheaper than in Camden town but the price I would say is less than Camden but more than like Holloway and Pennsbury Park um but it's a little bit more empty there but it's still very cute feels very safe and you know there's like a few cafes a few cute bakeries um but so generally a good area to live day to day it's not like a super exciting area but still really nice and then lastly I'm just gonna mention Hampstead so Hampstead is a really upscale and expensive area um you'll see a lot of big houses here that are individual houses not a house separated to several Flats it's owned by one person it's definitely a lot quieter a lot more mature residents you're not gonna find a club here at least that I know of a lot more older people and families the park yourself is really nice and beautiful I actually live kind of near there so I'm like a 30 minute walk from there so I go there quite all often so I think it is a good area to live in if you can afford it and prefer a little more of a relaxed quiet upscale lifestyle so next we're going to move west into Westminster so part of Westminster is in central London and that consists of marlabone and Mayfair so both Marvel and Mayfair are super expensive areas there's a lot of restaurants and clubs in Mayfair that are quite well known but it's obviously super expensive marlabone is expensive but it's a little more chill it's close to Regent Park I would actually love to live in marlabone it's a really really beautiful area if you just want to stroll through the streets they have cute little markets there um but it's super expensive obviously being in central London but moving a little North you have made a veil which I think is a really popular place as well for young professionals who appreciate kind of that lifestyle it's similar it has similar Vibes to Notting Hill I would say but it's obviously less expensive than Notting Hill but it's still expensive in the grand scheme of things I would say made Avail pricing is I would say it's probably higher than Hackney and um other areas in the East just because the West tends to be a bit more expensive since there is more of a wealthy crowd in the west and now north of Meadowvale you have the borough of Brent so I'm just going to mention Queen's Park and willston which I've been in myself this area is definitely a lot quieter there is a lot of young families around here Queens Park definitely is a little bit more affluent apparently there's a lot of celebrities that live there but it's super quiet there's um there's not a lot going on in this area to be honest and if you really like the Notting Hill area you might think like oh this area is like very close to um get to Notting Hill but when you're actually there and you do the navigation there's actually no direct line that goes in it's a lot of buses and it takes longer than you think I know this because my current Works office is in the area and I always think like oh I can take workout classes in Notting Hill or something but it's never as convenient as I think so um this area I would recommend if you're like a family and you visit this area and you really like it but to be honest it's not a great area for if you want to explore London and then next I'm going to talk about Kensington so in Kensington there is a lot of notable areas of course Notting Hill is there is a super cute area so it's a super cute area and although it's touristy there's um a lot of kind of like isolated pockets so unless you're living on Portobello Road it's not that bad obviously if this is it's super expensive I would say one of the one of the most expensive areas in London it's definitely more expensive than um Hackney replaces in the East but yeah perks obviously there's a lot of cute cafes and restaurants there's a lot of markets there's not a lot of knife life here because that's not really the vibe of the area I guess but it is super cute and it's definitely on my list of areas that I'd like to live in and in other areas in Kensington is like Kensington the actual area um Chelsea and Belgravia so I'm just gonna lump these into together because I'm not too familiar but from what I know and from me visiting there it is very very expensive A very upscale um very old money Vibes yeah definitely not a place I can afford to live in and it's also not well connected specifically Chelsea from what I heard they have actively like positioned to not have a tube line go through because they the residents there don't want people taking the tube into Chelsea so you can obviously see what kind of people live there it is very expensive there are cheap rent not cheap but there are like rental properties there that are really small and relatively cheap for the area but I would say like it's not super well connected because you're under Hyde Park so you kind of have to leave there to go anywhere else but if you like luxury this area is definitely for you and then lastly in the north I'm going to talk about the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham so in this area right at the edge kind of like close to Notting Hill you have shepherd's Bush so when I first moved here I did consider moving into Shepherd's Bush because I really like Notting Hill so I was like oh it looks really close but Shepherd's bush is very very different from Notting Hill so one you have the big mall there there's a West Field Mall um so that takes up a lot of real estate there and then around it that area it's a little more dodgy I would definitely say it's definitely like a still developing area it's still a bit rough around the edges there I would feel a little unsafe walking around at night in the area just personally uh next you have a Hammersmith so Hammersmith I only been to once or twice and it's actually quite a nice area there's a lot going on the High Street is really bustling I went there during like Christmas um yeah not a bad area at all I actually don't know it too well so I don't really have much to say specifically I just never considered that area because it was a little bit too East for me and um I think in terms of Transportation um out of it there was only one line that went through so if you don't live near the line it's kind of inconvenient or I think one or two lines I can't remember but I went there for a show before and yeah I just think it was a little bit too um West for me sorry not East cool and then uh lastly Fulham Fulham is also another popular place I honestly don't know too much about filemma because I never been there I never had any um events or things that I need to go to there I've never heard anything bad about Fulham so I think yeah yeah definitely it's an area to check out one or two of my co-workers lived there and just judging by how close it is to Chelsea I think it should be not too bad all right we're gonna move South and South I am the least familiar with I really don't go south too much there's really a thing in London where if you live above the Thames like North they not many people go to the South and people who live in the south don't really go to the north um and so yeah so that's definitely the case with me but I'm gonna point out some areas that you can check out if you're if you might be interested in living in the South and I think in general prices in the South are cheaper than in the north because a lot more people want to live in the North there's a lot more like notable big name places in the north starting with the Southwest area you have the London borough of Wandsworth and Lambeth lambis I'm just going to group them together because there's only really three or four places I want to point out here so the Battersea area under Chelsea is super nice I love this area I would move here if it wasn't so inconvenient for me to get to work it is definitely not cheap it's uh quite expensive I would actually say I would say it is around the same price as like living in Camden the park is really nice my favorite little bridge is there Battersea power station is now open so there's like a big mall there and the area is just like super cute there's to be honest there's not a lot going on but you're also in close proximity to Clapham which has more going on so that's the next area I want to mention which is Clapham and Brixton so I think they have a similar Vibe Clapham I know has a big population of Australian expats for some reason for some reason they all move there and from my co-workers they told me that there's a lot of young Posh kids that live there I don't know if that's correct but that's what she told me so definitely in Clapham and Brixton is a bit of a younger crowd there lots of bars lots of restaurants I think it's like a bit of an edgier scene if you were comparing it to like Hackney which is more creative naughty Hill which is more like polished and like Clapham and brixton's like a little more edgy and grungy I would say but that's the vibe I'm getting from people okay and then and then actually within Lambeth is South Bank so South Bank is where the tape modern is and that is also another area I love to live in I love walking along the River Thames in Dallas bank but that area is so so expensive there is residential there and a lot of new buildings there but um it is very very expensive and um not affordable for me at least but if it is was there a budget maybe you can check it out and now we're gonna move a little bit more towards the middle and you have the borough of south southern gosh sometimes the pulsation I'm because like it looks like South work to me but I think it's pronounced oh my God I can't pronounce it but you get what I mean so worth mentioning in this area elephant and Castle is also quite a popular area because it's close to kind of like South Bank and the river but it's definitely still a very developing area yeah there's a lot of international students in the area I think there might be a university here or something but it feels definitely a little more industrial and still up and coming it's a bit far like everything's a bit spread out there's a lot of new builds here it is definitely a cheaper place to live than like South bank so I consider living there just because of the close proximity to South Bank but the areas definitely still being developed so it's it's just coming out of kind of like industrial phase it used to be I think a bit sketchy in that area but I think the general sentiment is that it's getting better and more people are moving into the area now and now moving a little East there is bourbonzies so this area also is quite nice to live in I would say there is a lot of cute pubs and wine bars in this area um it's there's a lot of residential space and I think it's definitely a bit more cheaper than other places are close to the water here there is the Maltby Street Market it's depending on where you live you're kind of close to like London Bridge and Borough market and it has good Transportation links with the Jubilee line I would just say it kind of depends on where you live in the area but I think generally this area is really safe very residential and then lastly there is a Packham so I don't know too much about Peckham from what I heard I think it's definitely up and coming and a lot of creatives live here as well I think it could be the next Hackney maybe I don't know um but that is the general Vibe I'm getting from when people talk about Peckham that could be an area to look into as well and of course it being a little further away from the central it is definitely a bit cheaper to live here than areas in zone two that are like in the North now we're on to the last area so the last area I'm going to mention is actually a bit more ease I am just going to pass over this area here because I haven't heard really anything about Deptford um but Greenwich is also a popular area to live as well I think a lot of young families and couples live in the area because you can still get relatively affordable real estate here and um it being a bit further away from Central is also why it's cheaper but it has beautiful Green Space um the Greenwich Park is really nice it has like a nice view all of all over London it is still connected by Jubilee line and I think the DLR so which is not too bad but it really kind of depends on where you live in Greenwich because it's a little bit far out um so it is somewhere to consider but I would say it is a bit far from Central unless you're working in like I don't know Canary Wharf or something like that but I think it also really has that London Vibe still even being a little bit removed from Central London and it's a really cute area to live in all right I think that concludes all the areas I wanted to mention in zone one and two that you might want to live in in London just keep in mind I'm really only mentioning areas that are quite big names and popular which I think as someone coming into London that's kind of like what you want to experience the areas that have that Vibe of London and the energy of London but of course I would really recommend if you're deciding where to move to go visit the area yourself and just get a feeling for yourself London also tends to change a lot from like a few streets over from an area so even though you might think some area looks really good and like close to where you want to be it might be totally different once you go there so definitely check out the areas in person um I hope this just gave you a good starting point if you're trying to figure out where you might want to go next or even just areas to explore in London that you haven't been yet to announce this video let me give you my personal thoughts on where um I would want to move next so I think right now on the top of my list is um Hackney by the London Fields area I just really love the environment there I love the little markets there's a lot of good food there a lot of cute bakeries just every time I go there I have a good time and I think a lot of people I know live in that area as well so that would be super super convenient I also really want to try living in the Notting Hill area I think I just have it in my mind as a place um to live in London it's it's just so iconic um and as well it's really close to work and I really love region Park and I like that it's so close to it and Primrose Hill as well so I really like that area in general and I'm not and I'm not much of a nightlife person so I don't mind that there's really no nightlife in the immediate area I also just love anywhere along the canal walking along the canal is like one of my favorite activities it's just so beautiful on a nice day and just something about being near water or even near the Thames like anywhere near the Thames or the Region's Canal is super nice and I would consider that so I really like Battersea as well if it wasn't so far away from work I would try to move to battery and lastly I think what is a realistic option for me is moving to hybrid in Islington because it's really close to like Hackney and London Fields but it's still a little bit removed and I really like Angel as well so it's walking distance from there so it's like good distance from everything I like it's on the overground which was easy for me to go to work but it's really close to Central as well so I think that is actually probably an area that I'll look into next just it being in the middle of everything and that's something I might suggest if you're new to London as well because if you live on the far East or the Far West it's it actually takes a really long time to get across so living in the middle you kind of have easy access to everything if you're traveling a lot being close to Houston and King's cross is also a good thing for me it's good for nay when he comes down from Preston to visit me that it's easy for him to get to my place but anyways this was a really long video if you watch to the end thank you very much leave me a little Emoji let's say leave me a little house emoji if you watched all the way to here um but let me know if you have any other questions and obviously I don't know everything about London so if anything I said is raw or you think it's not right feel free to leave in the comments help other people out but um I'm gonna end the video here and I'll see you guys in the next one spinning our favors [Music]

Channel: Monica Guan

Views: 37,644

Keywords: monicaxguan, london diaries, london vlog, moving to london, living alone diaries, london, canadian in london, where to live in london, where to live in london young professional, where should i live in london, where to live near london, london where to live, where do young people live in london, moving to london where to live, west london, south london, east london, hackney, islignton, where to live in north london, in your 20s, best place to live in london

Id: R0OfGp4Wa38

Length: 35min 24sec (2124 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 05 2023