I'm moving to London in February to work for a big 4 consulting company and i'm still unsure where to live in London. Any hints, examples or recommendations regarding living area and letting agents?thx M2L

Fulham, west Hampstead, Putney, Islington and Clapham (if you want to be surrounded by Accenture people :).

All of which are priced expensively in response to demand ffrom gullible and sheep-like graduates.

Tottenham, Peckham, Brixton, Dalston and Hackney...

Hilarious. If you were a bit less clueless you might know that there are some eminently suitable parts of Peckham for a young graduate, that Brixton long ago lost its undeserved stigma and that Hackney is a large, mixed borough which also contains some great areas in which a young graduate would enjoy living.But no, you have just spouted off a list of what you regard as inferior areas.If the original poster is a clueless chump then I suppose however he might be best following your example.And no, I don't live in any of those areas.

I've lived in / around West Hampstead all of my life and I love the area. Despite the high proportion of young professionals there is still a local villagey feel with a cool bohemian high street (local bookshops and the like) - and if you look nearer Kilburn (within easy walking distance) prices are pretty decent for rentals.Very well served by the tube and overland, not utterly Accenturised like Clapham and lacking the pretention of Islington - strongly suggest you look into it.

baaaaaaaaaaaahhh

to make things a little bit clearer...i'm not a graduate. i'm working in consulting for 5 years now...in Austria and i will stay in london for 2 years.

I'm a fan of Borough and Southwark. Trendy, not gay.

A lot of these areas are what I'd call "metrosexual". Please could someone pass me the over-sized pepper grinder?

Get it yourself! I'm too busy reading my Jamie Oliver cookbook... Pukka!

I was being serious in my last post. All the areas I mentioned are not pretentious. The people are genuine. While most think crime is high in those areas, this is not always the case. Stay away from the councill flats as that is where most of the trouble is. Hacney is close to the city and Hoxton. Tottenham has great access to Stansted and is changing rapidly. Peckham and Brixton are changing too. Stick to the boundaries for the best deals especially if you are buying and you will make a killing in the rise in the next 3 years.

what do you think about the fulham broadway area? ...or Marylebone?

Marylebone is great but not an especially realistic option for many due to cost and quite possibly scarcity.

consider Maida Vale - quite plush, near Marylebone / Baker St

marleyborne = all rich foreigners who practically own most of the properties in the w1/nw1 postcode.

London Zoo has clearly been making progress with the infinite number of chimps!At this we might get the first sonnet by 2010.

I live in canada water near canary wharf. It's cheap, very close to the city, safe clean and has a 24hour tesco. Not much nightlife but it's pretty well connected so that's not a problem for me.

Ah yes... Canada Water. The Milton Keynes of London.If you like 1980s brick built low rise estates, retail warehouses, and the multiplex 'n' deep pan pizza chain life, this is the place for you.

Canada Water isn't safe - unless you're being "street". It's a horrible place - just look at the people who get off the Jubillee Line there!

Avoid letting agents. A royal rip off, the lot of them. Loot's a good start once you've got an idea of area. Also yes the Gumtree is excellent, just be aware of ads marked AGY (agency).There are certainly some relative bargains to be had in South London. Have you thought about Greenwich or Dulwich?

some parts of dulwich are pretty nice, but the area always seems to be gridlocked.