Hi all,I'm joining Deloitte's consulting practice in September, straight out of university, and will be moving to London to coincide with this. I'm pretty familiar with the area, as I've got family down there and have worked there on/off over the last few years (internships), but I've never had to set myself up down there for an extended period of time.I'm looking for advice from consultants on where the best place to live in London would be for someone coming out of university on an analyst salary (32k). Obviously this is somewhat subjective, but I'm mainly looking to reconcile the dilemma of travel. I understand I'll probably be on client site a great deal, so is it really worth even considering the location of the Deloitte office during my search? Does location matter even in the slightest for a consultant? I had initially thought it would be a balancing act between travel costs and the higher rent for somewhere more central (with lower travel costs) but now I'm not so sure.If anyone has any advice on locations or general areas for someone in my situation that would be great, I've asked a bunch of people but I figured people on here would have much more experience in this area.

I know a couple of recently-started consultants living around south London... probably because it doesn't make sense to spend much on housing in the first few years if you're traveling most of the time anyway. Assuming client sites are mostly around England, I'd look for easy access to trains... which makes the Northern line look quite desirable. I've heard Elephant & Castle is exciting these days.

Would strongly suggest NOT Elephant and Castle. Personal preference, but still dodgy. ..I look forward to getting slammed for this honest advice, but I did live near there a couple of years ago so I do know it well!

By the time I finally abandoned the big smoke I was spending enough on rent per actual night in London to stay at the Ritz. So yes, find somewhere cheap and work out if your career path ends up mostly leading you out of London or not in year 1.

Thanks for the replies so far. I think pie is spot on in the sense that easy access to trains is probably an important factor. A somewhat related question; should I be factoring in pretty much constant Oyster travelcards/tickets into my expenses? I assume the firm will pay for anything outside of Zones 1 and 2, but even then I'm probably going to have to get the tube/bus all the time anyway, right? Perhaps a trivial question.

Oyster Travelcards are daylight robbery.I'm joining the dot London in September too, but I've always resided in London so little change for me there. I was thinking about moving out and Caledonian road looks pretty good to me, very close to King's Cross and Euston where a lot of trains come out from. Takes the same time to walk as it does to get a bus to Waterloo though because of the traffic. Lots of ex-council property in Islington and Holloway Road areas too.All the best, welcome to the smog.

Lots of new grads seem to go for Clapham or Balham, which can make the place seem like an extension of uni. However, rent prices aren't particularly cheap - around £700 a month if sharing, or £1000+ on your own. That does put you on there Northern line, but at peak time it's horrible. You could save money by going further south or east (or both), but I'd suggest having a good look around before signing up to anything.If you want to be very central, look east of Liverpool St, but as with SE, it's a mixed bag.Anything West in zone 1-2 is going to be pretty expensive and Fulham and the like can be a long commute. Chelsea/South Ken would add in the Piccadilly line, but unless you want a big house share, you'd probably too stretched on your current salary.I haven't lived in North London, but a number of colleagues are in Angel/Islington.Do you know which industry you're working in? FS is more likely to be London centric, so you may want to spend a bit extra on your home, whereas if you think you'll be heading to Euston/Heathrow etc every week, then I'd suggest keeping living costs as low as possible.Good luck

I would suggest keeping your rent expenses low - a shared house is ideal, as London can be a difficult place to find your feet sometimes and having some housemates will make you feel less isolated. You will be travelling a lot of course anyway (unless you are in FS) and you should be out there enjoying all the life and culture London has to offer when you have free time.

If I were you, I'd ensure living in a location served by the Central Line.In my 3 year experience as a Londoner, it's the fastest, best positioned and most reliable tube line and will get you to Chancery Lane, probably the closest tube station to the Deloitte HQ.Shepherd's Bush is a good location in that sense, with the H&C line which can take you to train stations such as Paddington, Euston and King's Cross sort of quickly should you commute far in Greater London. The nearby Westfield is also a plus and the area is definitely less dodgy than Mile End or Bethnal Green (the east counterparts)I used to live VERY central as a grad in a Big4 and although the location was perfect (Fitzrovia!) and I had 7 tube lines within a 5 minute walk (Euston and Victoria just two stops away) I eventually grew tired of the mandatory "squatshare" situation (somebody had to live in the sitting room to make the whole thing affordable).A potential solution is to find something temporary while you go through the induction ordeal of CIMA/IT exams and the away training (i.e. until early October I believe) and then find a place to share with other colleagues once you start working. It'll be easier to find likeminded people to share the house with.The possible downer will be that office talk will creep into the household...

I echo the point about the central line, as it provides the best connections straight through central London. I've been living in the Fulham for the last 2 years, great for projects outside the UK (quick to Heathrow) but not ideal for the City (45mins - 1hour at peak times). I'd concentrate on finding somewhere around £600 p/month - the most important thing is having a decent group of flatmates to go back to at the end of a long day, or hard week away from home.

Note that westside Central Line locations (like SheBoo) are pretty good for Heathrow too should you be flying out on Monday and back on Friday.Stay away from Circle and Disaste, I mean District Line.Don't join the hellish herds of commuters that have to go through London Bridge or Clapham either.In terms of effort and time, living in London is virtually a second job on top of your normal one. Chosing your location, flatmates and all wisely can make a LOT of difference.

Well, Brixton sure is "lively", I'll give you that.If you do choose to live in the "up and coming" areas such as Brixton, then I recommend you invest in one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008HFI4M6/ref=asc_df_B008HFI4M611416709/?tag=googlecouk06-21&creative=22134&creativeASIN=B008HFI4M6&linkCode=asnCaledonian Road is great if you don't mind living in a street that resembles a local authority recycling centre, only messier.And Clapham's great if you don't mind spending every penny you earn on rent and being surrounded by yuppie wannabes.Have you thought about North Greenwich and that kind of area?

Dunno if BEP was joking, but I'd strongly be against North Greenwich unless you were chained to a desk in Canary Wharf, which is not the case in consulting. It's served by the Jubilee Line only, in case of failure you're phucked.The DLR-DayLight Robbery (incorrectly known as Docklands Light Railway) is some of the most unreliable crap you can imagine.

Frankly I can't stand the yuppie nonsense of south london, to many yummy mummies and tossers romping around in gilets, mixed in with a mass of graduates and aussies.I've been living in (and loving) east london since I moved down a few years ago. Shoreditch/Hoxton area and moving to Angel in a few months. Zone 2 east/north is the place to be.

The actual map is a useful thinghttp://i.imgur.com/Qxbza.gif

North Greenwich is just fine! If the jubilee line (which conveniently crosses all other lines) fails, then you can always get the train to maze hill or somewhere similar and get the bus. Plus you can get out to kent nice and easily too.The problem with places like Islington is that you're stuck right in the gridlocked bowels of central london, and it's a bit up its own bottom. Full of pollution and overpriced. Quite a few weirdos out that way too.As for shoreditch/hoxton... well scrub the idea about a stab vest, you probably want a bullet proof vest if you're gonna live out that way!London is rapidly becoming an unappealing place in which to live

My first place was a big house share in West Kensington (5 bed room house). Quite a few of my current colleagues live near there too. Access to Piccadilly (Baron's Court) and District (West Kensington - Richmond/Ealing branch; West Brompton - Wimbeldon branch) as well as Overground (Olympia). Great access to Heathrow and St Pancras (Eurostar). Reasonable rents, not overly pretentious (cf South Ken, High Street Ken, etc...). Relatively safe (North End road has a reputation for being a bit rough, but was OK for us). Quite a diverse population with food from Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia. Easy access to shopping (High Street Ken) and to both Hammersmtih and Fulham Broadway. BUT - I was travelling to the West End, not the City, so not sure if the commute is too long...

But I do second the frustration with District - particularly west of Earl's Court where the lines merge and delays are common

First year's recommend http://www.capitalliving.co.uk, but the prices look high, despite including bills and cleaning etc... Echo the house share point - great way to create an awesome social life

[quote]As for shoreditch/hoxton... well scrub the idea about a stab vest, you probably want a bullet proof vest if you're gonna live out that way![/quote]Please Bushy, have you been east in the past 10 years?I would have thought a man of your stature would be firmly in the green/commuter belt

£300 a week for a tiny little room in a coverted putney victorian end-of-terrace??????Oh man. I guess some people are easily swayed by "we will also pay for a meal for you and your new housemates that will be delivered to your home by a favourite local restaurants (sic) of ours" and a cushion on the bed that says "home" or something like that.It kind of makes me feel sad for the younger generation these days. You lot really need to get into politics and start slashing state pensions and benefits for the "poor" and "needy" asset-rich baby boomers who are living in 5 bed detached properties with 1/2 acre gardens in the countryside (and getting paid winter fuel allowances, getting free bus passes, not to mention not doing any work etc) while you all ram yourselves into tiny little high-rise cubicles in central london and pay a fortune for the privilege. They're laughing in your face!

Management_Ignored I used to live in London, but got out as fast as I could... whenever I go back there, frankly it never fails to amaze me just how grotty the place is (other than the nice bits along the river)

Thanks for all the advice here everyone, will consider it all. I'm planning on living with at least one or two people who I know already. It's cost effective and should be a better lifestyle all around. As for location, I'm drawn east (Bethnal Green, Mile End) or north (Islington, Angel) as they seem to offer the best balance.

[quote]Thanks for all the advice here everyone, will consider it all. I'm planning on living with at least one or two people who I know already. It's cost effective and should be a better lifestyle all around. As for location, I'm drawn east (Bethnal Green, Mile End) or north (Islington, Angel) as they seem to offer the best balance.[/quote]Ignoring the aging dinosaurs here, islington/angel are really nice (especially angel). And I live just down the road from Bethnal Green and I love it, shoreditch/hoxton area is one of the best places to go out in London if you want to avoid central london dickish city/suit bars, and ignoring Bushy, you really don't need a stab vest, I've been here years, stumbling home at night and apart from the occasional hairy nightbus trip I've never been in any trouble nor have any of my housemates/friends

ur surely joking about islington???that road outside angel tube station is so badly polluted u can barely breathe during rush hour and at night u get all sorts of vagrants drifting around menacinglysome parts of islington are fine - if u live in a nice £2M georgian townhouse for instance - but most of it is ruff!as for hoxton... are u kidding???! druggie capital of england isn't it? To quote the Telegraph, "Hoxton lies in the London borough of Hackney, one of the most deprived, dangerous and derelict areas of the country."

Anyone whi thinks that living close to Bethnal Green is some kind of a perk must have a deep love for risk.If pretentious, stuck up people are the only alternative to people who are ready to stab you dead to steal your shoes and clothes, since nobody sane should carry cash in London, I'll go living in a place full of pretentious stuck up people any day.BEP, I think you are misunderstanding what the other people mean when they say Shoreditch and Hoxton, it's basically the mile west of Old Street. Not exactly Montecarlo, but not pure Hackney either.Sorry my grads, you are probably looking at spending at the very least 800 quid a month for rent, bills, council tax, tv licence, water and all for anything decently connected and not too far. Surely you don't want a one hour commute on top of your 8am to 10pm project!1000 a month sounds more realistic. And yes, that's about 50% of your net income (32k per year is just over 2000 net a month) for something that in the rest of the Western world would be considered facilities where the bottom 2% of the population would live. That's what you get when you allow foreigners to buy land/properties in your country and so many of them take a liking to it.

Hi there, Well there are so many option that you can easily move to London. One of my favorite locations is Mayfair. This area has seen something of resurgence in the past few years, with many new constructions of flats and apartments. If you are finding it difficult to search for accommodation in London, I think you should conduct a search through real estate agents that facilitate your purchase. For example Plaza Estates - http://www.plazaestates.co.uk/properties-to-rent-in-mayfair - firm can provide you complete information about rentals as well as apartments for sale in every area of the city.

Why move to London ? Are you mad ?It's full of druggies, prosies, terrorists and Tories - ok so a southern MC staple diet for a weekend offRubbish football teams that haven't won the PL for years, it's dirty, smelly and has nearly bankrupted the country - dont subscribe to the they subsidise the rest of the country we in the north are bailing them out.In the north we have clean air, nice women, good football and no buffoons like BorisI have to point out though the biggest problem in the north is at weekends - southerners have an annoying habit of coming here !

Hold on a minute. Maybe he's training to be a Cage Fighter and is just using MC to pay the bills in the meantime. In which case, living in somewhere like Stockwell would be ideal for helping him to "toughen up" and to learn skills such as dodging crazed knife-wielding druggies.