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Votre attention, citoyens du Londres!

By TurboThy (Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 04:23:15 PM EST) London, help (all tags)

Warning: I might be moving to London. Advice requested inside.

Annual development chat with my boss today. I've requested a secondment to our office in Epsom.

What would be a good area to look for rental apartments/homes in? Preferably somewhere between Epsom and the City, but as long as it's not diametrically opposite (say, Cockfosters ... although that has the name going for it) I'm interested in opinions on the whole of suburbia.
Where would I look for said lodgings? (on the innernets, of course, but where?)

Parameters: We are two adults currently living in a large five room flat (140 m² / 1500 square feet) and would not be comfortable in less than 100 m² and/or three rooms (plus kitchen - I don't know the British terminology, but over here a "three room apartment" means living room, two bedrooms, kitchen and a bathroom). We can pay up to £1000 per month, but would obviously like to pay less. The neighbourhood we're living in now is by no means gentrified, so we are used to a certain amount of scruffyness if necessary (Breaker-style, you know).

Help!

Also - where would you go if you were to lease a car for a year or two?

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Votre attention, citoyens du Londres! | 33 comments (33 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback

Two bedroom flat is the UK equivalent by jump the ladder (4.00 / 2) #1 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 04:32:52 PM EST

To what you described. £1000 a month should get you something decent in Zone 3 Ie; not too far out from the centre. London is so varied so it's really a matter of personal preference.

If you live in London don't bother leasing a car, join these people.

If it's near Epsom station by jump the ladder (4.00 / 1) #2 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 04:38:42 PM EST

Earlsfield, Wimbledon, Raynes Park, Clapham are all nice places to live if a bit surburban. They are all on the train line to Epsom.

[ Parent ]

: It's right across from the station by TurboThy (2.00 / 0) #7 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 05:22:15 PM EST

So very usable info. Ta.

Know a coworker seconded over there who lives in Wimbledon, so that sounds reasonable.

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You can't fix anything, you can't change anything, so just tell them that everything is A. The Fuck OK. —Rogerborg
[ Parent ]

Zone 3 by duxup (4.00 / 1) #3 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 04:40:57 PM EST

What the hell kind of name is "Zone 3" WTF? Did a horrific war take place in the UK and some extremist possibly even alien government take over? Is it still called "London" or should I refer to it as some alphanumeric jumble relating to its GPS coordinates?

Damn this US media for not telling me about this stuff...

____
[ Parent ]

Travel card (pass) zone 3 by jump the ladder (4.00 / 1) #4 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 04:47:38 PM EST

See map in my parent comment. Basically inner surbubia. You have six zones: central London which is Zone 1, shitty inner city or very expensive posh area which is Zone 2, inner surburbia which is Zone 3, surburbia which is Zone 4, outer surburbia which is Zone 5 and not really London which is Zone 6.

[ Parent ]

Yup by TurboThy (4.00 / 1) #9 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 05:25:56 PM EST

To be more exact, I would be working in KT18 5AL in Zone 3.

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You can't fix anything, you can't change anything, so just tell them that everything is A. The Fuck OK. —Rogerborg
[ Parent ]

Er ... by Herring (4.00 / 1) #17 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 05:57:15 PM EST

Epsom isn't on the underground at all, let alone Zone 3. A Zone3 travelcard purchased from Epsom station will get you up to and all around London though.

Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge - Charles Darwin
[ Parent ]

: I know by TurboThy (2.00 / 0) #19 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 05:59:46 PM EST

I didn't think about it until after I posted my comment. Then I thought I'd leave it to mess with duxup, but now you've blown my cover.

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You can't fix anything, you can't change anything, so just tell them that everything is A. The Fuck OK. —Rogerborg
[ Parent ]

Yes. by gzt (4.00 / 2) #10 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 05:30:56 PM EST

IT IS FORBIDDEN TO DUMP BODIES INTO THE RIVER.

[ Parent ]

Carshare by TurboThy (2.00 / 0) #13 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 05:42:59 PM EST

We were in a carsharing program before we got our own car. It was okay, but it was a pain when you were running late, as you couldn't extend the share once it started. Also, the rates for the program you linked to seems steep, but then I hear everything is more expensive these days ...

Could also just bring our old Peugeot over with us, but I'm not too keen on driving a proper car in Ukia.

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You can't fix anything, you can't change anything, so just tell them that everything is A. The Fuck OK. —Rogerborg
[ Parent ]

If you lived in Epsom, by Herring (4.00 / 1) #16 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 05:51:56 PM EST

or on the train line, it would probably be cheaper to just hire a car for the odd time you need one. If you lived up near Wimbledon for instance then commuting by car would be daft.

Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge - Charles Darwin
[ Parent ]

It's not for me by TurboThy (2.00 / 0) #18 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 05:58:38 PM EST

on weekdays, at least. I am cool with commuting by train. One of the unknowns at the moment is what the missus will be doing while over there.

Plus being used to having a car makes it hard to imagine how you ever lived without :)

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You can't fix anything, you can't change anything, so just tell them that everything is A. The Fuck OK. —Rogerborg
[ Parent ]

Car ownership in UKia by Breaker (4.00 / 1) #23 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 07:25:47 PM EST

Is bloody expensive though.

Last time I bought a car (~7 years ago)
Minimum (mandatory) insurance - third party damage - £500 (was over 25 yeatrs old and no points on licence, no accidents in last 5 years but had no No Claims Bonus to transfer)
Road Tax - £95
Parking - £95 / year
After 3 months, MOT was due - £25 for test, £155 for remedial work.

Cost of car to buy - £400.

Mostly in Londinium - you don't really need a car most days. If you do, for a planned outing, rent one. Streetcar are great for a 3 hour pick-something-up-from-shops, but for anything longer than a day it gets pricey. There are plenty of w/e hire places though.

I don't really know the Epsom area at all so I'll stay schtumm over that, sorry.

You call that bloody expensive? by TurboThy (2.00 / 0) #26 Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 05:14:55 AM EST

A new car here is subject to about 280% VAT. Two-eight-oh percent. A fucking Kia Picanto costs £10,000 (UK: £6k).

I pay about £900 (I assume you quote annual figures) for third-party and damage insurance, but I also got a good deal through my union (engineers' assoc).

Road tax is more than over here, and parking is free (I live in what would relate to zone 2 in London). I know I don't need a car. Would still like one, though :-) Yeah, I'm evil anti-environment like that.

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You can't fix anything, you can't change anything, so just tell them that everything is A. The Fuck OK. —Rogerborg
[ Parent ]

Flipping heck! by Breaker (4.00 / 1) #28 Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 08:30:21 AM EST

Where is "here", BTW?

Copenhagen by TurboThy (2.00 / 0) #29 Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:23:42 AM EST

Proud capital of socialist utopia.

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You can't fix anything, you can't change anything, so just tell them that everything is A. The Fuck OK. —Rogerborg
[ Parent ]

Ah by Breaker (4.00 / 1) #30 Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:30:17 AM EST

That'll explain why your English is better than most then!

How long are you looking to come over for? What does your missus do for a living (I assume she's going to be looking for work?)

Socialists speak better English! by TurboThy (2.00 / 0) #31 Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:00:38 AM EST

We are looking at between one and three years, with 1½-2 years being the target.

The missus is currently working on her master's thesis in history (concerning the influence of the Iroquois Confederacy on the Articles of Confederation), so ideally she'd like to apply for a PhD or other postgrad activities. With a specialization in the history of ideas in early modern Europe and the founding of the USA, she has a bit of a problem figuring out how to apply her knowledge outside of academia. I'm telling her she needs to go into business/HR consulting for a trans-Atlantic corporation :)

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You can't fix anything, you can't change anything, so just tell them that everything is A. The Fuck OK. —Rogerborg
[ Parent ]

: Evidently! by Breaker (4.00 / 1) #32 Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:54:33 AM EST

Hmmm, with a degree like that I'm not too sure what to suggest!

[ Parent ]
: Hm by Merekat (4.00 / 1) #33 Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:57:45 AM EST

I took my knowledge of medieval Norse kingdoms in the British Isles and went off to configure routers...
More academia might be an idea though:)

[ Parent ]

Or by ad hoc (4.00 / 1) #25 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 08:48:57 PM EST

the American version with the added benefit of being able to get a car in the US or Canuckistan when you visit.

--
The three things that make a diamond also make a waffle.
[ Parent ]

A car by hulver (4.00 / 1) #5 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 05:08:15 PM EST

In London?

--
smart, pretty, sane. pick two - georgeha

No by TurboThy (2.00 / 0) #8 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 05:24:17 PM EST

A car outside London :-)

If I'm staying for a year or two we're going to be seeing as much of the country as possible, and I love driving. We managed to drive 2000 miles during 13 days in Somerset and Wales just now.

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You can't fix anything, you can't change anything, so just tell them that everything is A. The Fuck OK. —Rogerborg
[ Parent ]

It might be simplest... by Metatone (4.00 / 1) #12 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 05:39:32 PM EST

to get one through work, if that's possible?

There's a whole industry of long term car lease types. Most of them are shifty, some are not.
None of the ones I trust cover the London area tho, AFAIK. I will check.
Best ask around your workplace tho. someone there should know a good one for that area.

[ Parent ]

: Wouldn't count on work by TurboThy (2.00 / 0) #14 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 05:44:38 PM EST

They're notorious skimpers.

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You can't fix anything, you can't change anything, so just tell them that everything is A. The Fuck OK. —Rogerborg
[ Parent ]

It will be cheaper in Epsom by Herring (4.00 / 1) #6 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 05:16:58 PM EST

but, whatever you do, stay south of the railway line. Particularly avoid the Longmead estate.

Actually, Ewell or Stoneleigh might be cheaper still.

Now I am wondering who the fuck you work for.

Also, beers in the Railway Guard when you get here.

Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge - Charles Darwin

We fucked up Metronet by TurboThy (2.00 / 0) #11 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 05:34:21 PM EST

as one of the shareholders. Afterwards, we got paid to sort it out when it went into administration. We are also partly responsible for PRINCE2, so it's clearly a company with the highest pedigree :-)

What's wrong with Longmead?

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You can't fix anything, you can't change anything, so just tell them that everything is A. The Fuck OK. —Rogerborg
[ Parent ]

: Terrible things are wrong by Herring (4.00 / 1) #15 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 05:45:12 PM EST

It's a mixed place around there - some parts very nice, some very dodgy. Feel free to PM for more local info BTW.

Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge - Charles Darwin
[ Parent ]

Cars! by Dr Thrustgood (4.00 / 1) #20 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 06:46:23 PM EST

Good choice, ignore the naysayers and join the exclusive club of central-London car ownership!

Now then, forget about leasing silliness and spend £2k on some Japanese thing. There are loads of high mileage motors available in decent nick and at a good price, the high mileage having come solely from motorways, and are usually ex-company motors.

<a href="http://gumtree.com">Gumtree</a> if you know the scams and your way around a car, <a href="http://autotrader.co.uk">Auto Trader</a> for the same plus proper dealers, and <a href="http://pistonheads.com">Pistonheads</a> if you fancy something a bit spicy.

That said, I know a bloke with an 18-year-old BMW 325 for sale. £800 and it's yours.

The fuck? by Dr Thrustgood (4.00 / 1) #21 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 06:46:52 PM EST

What is this stupid text editor and how do I kill it?

: the editor by R343L (4.00 / 1) #22 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 07:16:56 PM EST

Display Preferences --> Use Fancy Editor [yes/no].
Enjoy your stupid-editor-free life!

"There will be time, there will be time / To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet." -- Eliot
[ Parent ]

Crowded city car ownership. by ambrosen (4.00 / 1) #24 Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 07:31:41 PM EST

I'm all for it. Suffice to say my car's currently parked in a street called Queen's Parade in a space that costs £2 an hour to non-residents.

It's also parked decidedly upmarket of where I live, but hey, Central Zone of $piddlingsmallcity.

[ Parent ]

Hmm by TurboThy (2.00 / 0) #27 Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 05:19:09 AM EST

Would ~~you~~bloke like to trade for an 11-year-old Peugeot 306? Only slightly left-hand-drive.

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You can't fix anything, you can't change anything, so just tell them that everything is A. The Fuck OK. —Rogerborg
[ Parent ]

Votre attention, citoyens du Londres! | 33 comments (33 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback