# Working near London Bridge  - where to live?



## Kidney (Apr 18, 2009)

Hi, I've got a new job near London Bridge station and am trying to decide on the best place to live. Could do with some opinions of areas within an easy commute of there.
I'll be working shifts so don't want a long commute, but first impresions of places close by are not great - Bermondsey and Elephant and Castle look pretty grotty to be honest  -if they have nice parts then please enlighten me! I like Crystal Palace but I think its a bit too far out, and getting around London from there might be a bit of a hassle. our budget is £1000 per month for a 1-2 bed flat. Any helpful opinions would be appreciated!


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## ChrisFilter (Apr 18, 2009)

South Norwood is 11 mins from London Bridge, 5 mins from Palace and with that budget you could get a 3 bed Victorian house.

But.. it's boring and a long way out. We bought here.

Tulse Hill is a train ride away, cheap and on the West Dulwich side is very nice.


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## Kanda (Apr 18, 2009)

1k a month? I'd live in London Bridge.


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## London_Calling (Apr 18, 2009)

Herne Hill should do it.


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## ChrisFilter (Apr 18, 2009)

Kanda said:


> 1k a month? I'd live in London Bridge.



Would you wanna live so central? I hated living in zone 1.


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## ChrisFilter (Apr 18, 2009)

London_Calling said:


> Herne Hill should do it.



I love Herne Hill, but it's not so good for L.Bridge.


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## Kanda (Apr 18, 2009)

ChrisFilter said:


> Would you wanna live so central? I hated living in zone 1.



I used to live in London Bridge, I loved it. Loads of pubs/bars, 10 min journey to work, decent market and restaurants etc...


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## Herbert Read (Apr 18, 2009)

Wapping
Streatham
London Bridge

That would be my three choices in order.


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## London_Calling (Apr 18, 2009)

How about the Tulse Hill end of Herne Hill. Basically as far from Tulse Hill BR station as you can bear walking, and  in a northerly direction. As it were


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## Monkeygrinder's Organ (Apr 18, 2009)

ChrisFilter said:


> I love Herne Hill, but it's not so good for L.Bridge.



If you live down the Half Moon Lane end of Herne Hill you can walk to North Dulwich and be at London Bridge Station in 12 minutes. You can usually get a seat as well.


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## Citizen66 (Apr 18, 2009)

ChrisFilter said:


> Would you wanna live so central? I hated living in zone 1.



lol 

Anywhere along the south bank is great if you're lucky/rich enough to be situated there.

(Chris Filter usually argues tooth and nail about south of the river so I'm surprised by his response here..  )


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## quimcunx (Apr 18, 2009)

Kennington. 

It's only a bus ride from Brixton.


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## Kidney (Apr 18, 2009)

Just spent the evening on rightmove and google street view - still have no clue! What's so great about Herne Hill?


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## Kidney (Apr 18, 2009)

oops just read that back and it sounded sarcastic - I genuinely want to know why Herne Hill is recomended


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## ChrisFilter (Apr 18, 2009)

Cos it's pretty, tree lined streets, etc.


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## JWH (Apr 19, 2009)

You can go east as well - just follow the BR lines - or north along the northern line, or west along the jubilee line...


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## liberty (Apr 19, 2009)

We are close to Forest Hill the train is 11 mins to London Bridge. I love this area


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## Cloo (Apr 19, 2009)

Forest Hill has always looked quite nice to me, yeah.


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## Donna Ferentes (Apr 19, 2009)

Ah, how I don't miss getting the train from Forest Hill to London Bridge in the morning.

It may only be about 11 minutes according to the timetable but even if it arrived on time (which it didn't) or went at the timetabled pace (which it didn't) it was about that much time again just to get down to the Tube.

Still, if the OP doesn't have to get on the Tube that's something. Probably a big something.


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## Andy the Don (Apr 19, 2009)

For that budget you could rent a very nice flat in Hither Green, 11 minutes by train from London Bridge. North Bermondsey, by the Leather Market is up and coming, although you cannot say the same about South Bermondsey. Borough and Borough market are good if you are a bit of a foodie and there are some great pubs in the neighbourhood.


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## WW3 Memorabilia (Apr 19, 2009)

Bermondsey and Elephant and Castle are indeed grim.  Brockley/St Johns/Deptford are worth looking at.  Walkable to Greenwich, very decent shopping area available closeby in Lewisham.  All have overland stations that are within 10 mins from London Bridge/Charing Cross and for 1k a month, you can get a 2 bedroom house, or very large and pleasant flat.  Many of the streets around there are in a conservation area, and have quirky and attractive architecture.


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## Mr Smin (Apr 19, 2009)

ChrisFilter said:


> Would you wanna live so central? I hated living in zone 1.



How come?

ps. the OP is shift working - may be travelling when there are no trains?


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## Kidney (Apr 19, 2009)

I'm not sure I could live in zone 1 to be honest, living in a tiny shoebox doesn't really appeal, and my partner doesn't want to live anywhere with too much street noise.
It would however solve the problem of how to get to work on a sunday morning before the trains start running!


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## softybabe (Apr 19, 2009)

Brockley, st johns, new x, ladywell, hither green, lee ....should all be handy for L.B


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## Badgers (Apr 19, 2009)

I quite liked living in SE1 but your money does not go far there. 
Live near Kennington now and getting to LB is pretty easy


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## WW3 Memorabilia (Apr 19, 2009)

>It would however solve the problem of how to get to work on a sunday morning before the trains start running! 

bikebikebikebike


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## ChrisFilter (Apr 19, 2009)

Mr Smin said:


> How come?
> 
> ps. the OP is shift working - may be travelling when there are no trains?



I felt trapped and stressed. Missed greenery and real people going about their daily lives.


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## ohmyliver (Apr 19, 2009)

Stoke Newington, Dalston, Mare Street, and Hackney Central are all on direct bus routes to London Bridge too


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## JWH (Apr 20, 2009)

I used to take those buses from London Bridge to Nth London and - despite the stated regular times of departure - if there were no tubes running, something would always fuck it up for you (me). Plus they have to run through the City before getting over the bridge, and that's slo-o-o-o-o-o-w.


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## Kanda (Apr 20, 2009)

ChrisFilter said:


> I felt trapped and stressed. Missed greenery and real people going about their daily lives.



If I wanted to live in the country, I'd move out of London.


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## Tank Girl (Apr 20, 2009)

peckham's 9 minutes from LB by train.


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## ouchmonkey (Apr 20, 2009)

have we ruled out overland trains as a way in?

Greenwich is two stops out from London Bridge and you may be able to get somethin for £1000pm


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## ouchmonkey (Apr 20, 2009)

Tank Girl said:


> peckham's 9 minutes from LB by train.



are you being sarcastic or mean?


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## cesare (Apr 20, 2009)

http://www.gumtree.com/london/22/37147622.html (just an example)

Walking distance from London Bridge


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## Tank Girl (Apr 20, 2009)

ouchmonkey said:


> are you being sarcastic or mean?




I was being helpful


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## Rollem (Apr 20, 2009)

what about borough? you could walk to work then  if you want a bit of greenery i would say forest hill, i like forest hill


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## beeboo (Apr 20, 2009)

Kanda said:


> 1k a month? I'd live in London Bridge.



^^^This.  If I were shift working and had £1k pm to throw at the problem, I'd go as central as possible.  Borough/SE1 area has a bit of a sense of community and you'd probably be able to walk to work.  

If I wanted more space for my money, or wanted something at a lower price and didn't mind being tied to trains that operate between 6am-midnight, then I'd go for somewhere down one of the overland train lines out of LB.

I've lived on the Forest Hill train line for most of the last 10 years and it's got a lot better in terms of reliability - I think Donna F's experience was a few years ago?


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## lighterthief (Apr 20, 2009)

ohmyliver said:


> Stoke Newington, Dalston, Mare Street, and Hackney Central are all on direct bus routes to London Bridge too


Yup, Hackney is decent for getting to the City/London Bridge.


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## Cowley (Apr 20, 2009)

Kennington. 

15 mins on a bus from London Bridge, you've got plenty of night bus options too if you ever work night shifts.

You've also got the option of the tube, Northern Line only a few stops.


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## ouchmonkey (Apr 20, 2009)

Cowley said:


> Kennington.
> 
> 15 mins on a bus from London Bridge, you've got plenty of night bus options too if you ever work night shifts.
> 
> You've also got the option of the tube, Northern Line only a few stops.



except it's not really a place so much as the space between other places. It has nice bits though


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## Guineveretoo (Apr 20, 2009)

There are so many places that are within a short (15 minutes) commuting distance of London Bridge, because it is a mainline station!  I think it depends what you want, and what your priorities are. 

Whatever ChrisFilter says up there, South Norwood and the area around here is a very popular place for people who commute to London Bridge, because you can have a place with a garden round here, and because it is much quieter and less frantic than central London, which a lot of people like. It also has Croydon for shopping, which I don't like, but many do.  

Personally, I would avoid having to commute on the underground every day, because I hate the underground, and would find it really depressing to have to go into a tunnel on the way to work every day. I don't get enough daylight as it is, because I work during most of the daylight hours except in the summer. However, London Bridge is also well served by the underground, so that opens up the rest of London.

This means it is impossible to advise you, though


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## Roadkill (Apr 20, 2009)

ouchmonkey said:


> have we ruled out overland trains as a way in?
> 
> Greenwich is two stops out from London Bridge and you may be able to get somethin for £1000pm



I doubt you'd get much for that in central Greenwich, but 1k a month should certainly get a decent flat in east Greenwich.

Tbh though if I were going to be working shifts starting at odd hours I'd live within walking distance or a short bus journey.


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## lighterthief (Apr 20, 2009)

Have you considered cycling to work?  Might open up a number of different possibilities.


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## Cowley (Apr 20, 2009)

ouchmonkey said:


> except it's not really a place so much as the space between other places. It has nice bits though



What do you mean? 

It has a small high street with useful shops, a few decent traditional pubs, a few style bars (if that's your sort of thing), quite a few restaurants, a super market, a park & quite a lot of nice streets.

Kennington is a pretty decent area if you ask me, I don't live there, but go there regularly as I have friends that live there.


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## Guineveretoo (Apr 20, 2009)

Cowley said:


> What do you mean?
> 
> It has a small high street with useful shops, a few decent traditional pubs, a few style bars (if that's your sort of thing), quite a few restaurants, a super market, a park & quite a lot of nice streets.
> 
> Kennington is a pretty decent area if you ask me, I don't live there, but go there regularly as I have friends that live there.



And a theatre (isn't the Oval theatre in Kennington?)


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## Cowley (Apr 20, 2009)

Guineveretoo said:


> And a theatre (isn't the Oval theatre in Kennington?)



Yup, it's kind of behind Oval tube station, though technically that area is really Kennington.


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## vauxhallmum (Apr 20, 2009)

Agree with Kennington/ Oval. 
Not grotty but not super flash either, easy to get to places plus a nice big green bit.


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## quimcunx (Apr 20, 2009)

Cowley said:


> What do you mean?
> 
> It has a small high street with useful shops, a few decent traditional pubs, a few style bars (if that's your sort of thing), quite a few restaurants, a super market, a park & quite a lot of nice streets.
> 
> Kennington is a pretty decent area if you ask me, I don't live there, but go there regularly as I have friends that live there.



Quiet at night but, as already said very easy to get to london bridge, easy enough to walk even, should you need to, and easy to get to brixton and hobnob at offline.


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## Wolfie Smith (Apr 20, 2009)

cesare said:


> http://www.gumtree.com/london/22/37147622.html (just an example)
> 
> Walking distance from London Bridge



Bloody hell that's right where I used to live in the 1980's! 

The East London line is not functional at the moment which may make travelling from Wapping tricky.


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## JWH (Apr 20, 2009)

There are a couple of posh streets/squares in Kennington, it's more than not grubby.


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## cesare (Apr 20, 2009)

Wolfie Smith said:


> Bloody hell that's right where I used to live in the 1980's!
> 
> The East London line is not functional at the moment which may make travelling from Wapping tricky.



100 bus (frequent service) up to Tower Hill, then walk from there. Or walk all the way, only about 30 minutes innit. Wapping's nice and quiet with local shops and loads of parks & the river.


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