Hello all,With many people familiar with living in London, I would appreciate if someone could advice me on possible areas to look at for renting a 1 bed (min) for £1000 pcm (max) with parking space (would like to have one but may sacrifise for other benefits).I am a gradaute and will be starting work in reigate, with the mrs working in aldwych. I did some research online and am beginning to think that its best to live on jubilee line or northern line to hop on a tube to london bridge and then to reigate. Not sure of the balance of travelling costs and rent. Would appreciate if anyone can suggest areas that could be ideal for my situation or something that I may have not thought of so far.Cheers

OK dude, you're clearly so confused and so messed up I feel I just gotta help you.Here is my suggestion:1. Sacrifice is spelt with a "C" before the "E".2. Why not live in Reigate and have the Mrs commute in via London Bridge then change to Charing X. Get on the train from three bridges station or somewhere like that. Simple and easy. Let's face it, London is an over-priced dump and you really don't wanna be using the tube if you can help it. Especially the northern line. Good grief. Your money will strech much, much further in reigate (may even be able to rent a house instead of a smelly little basement flat in a poorly maintained house with junkie neighbours and all-night party animals).Hope you appreciate this high-quality advice, and remember: Those who can't, teach.

Will leave teaching aside for now.Thanks for the adviSe...oops sorry advice, definitely appreciated.

To Those: Why would anyone want to live with the cows and sheep out in Reigate?I suppose it depends on where you want to spend your weekends and go out in the evenings. Of course once you have kids this may change. And none of your mates will want to come and visit you out in the sticks. Have a look at places like: - Balham - Sydenham - Forest Hill - Streatham - Clapham JunctionI've never rented so no idea about prices.

If I were you I'd go for somewhere like Brockley or Crystal Palace that have good trains to London bridge for the mrs and you can go out to Norwood Junction and pick up the Reigate train from there. Then you don't have to go through London at all but you're not out in the sticks either.If you stay in SE London you can get something nice for £1000pcm in most places. For instance I live in Greenwich- nice area and the mainline train takes about 15 mins to London Bridge- and we pay £850 a month for a slightly dated/grubby 1 bed flat. From Bob's list I'd have thought only Clapham might be difficult to get something nice for £1000pcm.

Look at Clapham Junction. The Mrs can get a train from there to Waterloo, then walk across the bridge. The exercise will do her good - nobody wants an averweight girlfriend.You can get a train from CJ station and change at Redhill. Only a 40 minute journey, no getting the tube to London Bridge and will save you a fortune not going into central London just to head back out again. You won't get a palace for £1k per month but should be able to find something. If CJ is too expensive, then start thinking of places like Streatham, where you can still get a train relatively easily but it's a fair bit cheaper - however, the balance is entirely nice/fun location and size. Personally, I'd go for location every time. However, to really make your (tight) budget work, if I were you I'd consider sharing. It cuts your costs considerable so you'll find yourself somewhere much nicer (quality / location).

If you do choose to live in Clapham or Streatham, I highly recommend you buy one of these for both yourself, your wife, and any kids you may have: <A HREF="http://tinyurl.com/38gw6zv">Click here</A>Practical and stylish - ideal for cosmopolitan Clapham and Streatham living.

is Clapham that bad these days? used to be a de rigueur location for Accenture consultants and relatively genteel. Streatham on the other hand was always a pit... the recent TV series &apos;Peckham finishing school for girls&apos; showed us another delightful area to consider

Hi all,Many thanks for your responses. The two places where I found flats that I liked, that were affordable and with reasonable comuting distances for either of us are in Wimbledon and Canning town.I know none of these are superb locations but what would you suggest as an option between living in Wimbledon and Canning town? Cheers

Is it those who can&apos;t , teach. Those you can&apos;t teach , teach PE?

Assuming you aren&apos;t taking the ****, Wimbledon is almost all fine and Canning Town is wholly awful and should not even enter your mind. I can&apos;t understand why you would menntion them in the same sentence.This is entirely reasonable advice. I am not a clueless Clapham clone/clown and have lived in various bits of E and SE London, of which not all were particualrly nice. But Canning Town is beyond the pale.

The difference is that it is socially acceptable to tell a client you live in Wimbledon.

Well unless you&apos;re planning to invite said client back to your place for a glass of wine and some giggles, you can tell them you live pretty much anywhere you want. Belgravia is one suggestion.

tell them Belgravia and they may want to negotiate your rate down a bit.....

To be honest DCF, canning town didn&apos;t appeal all that much, just that it had some half decent flats (pictures). Quite a candid opinion but thanks!Balham and clapham are better areas but nothing in my reach.Wine and giggles aren&apos;t even at the bottom of the list Dave.

Hi Wannabe,The truth is on your budget you can forget anything but a doorway and a dustbin close to Aldwych. Your Missus is going to have to commute and you are going to have to choose a more suburban spot to make your rent feel like it is worth paying. Once that has sunk in, the only way to really decide is to do some leg work. By the sound of it you don&apos;t have a great deal of experience of London. All of us that do love it or hate it for different reasons but these only come from experience. My advice would be to get a short term let somewhere in SE (maybe a studio in Dulwich or Tulse Hill) and then spend a few weekends exploring. Check out Wimbledon, Mitcham, Norbury, Croydon and see waht you think. Get in a few pubs, wander around and see what you think. Keep Canning Town and anywhere else north of the river off the radar though as it makes the commute so much easier for you if you are south. Finally, the stab proof vest is an optional accessory in most parts of London now, from Belgravia to Bethnal Green, so don&apos;t think you can avoid it by living in a &apos;nice&apos; part of town! Good luck!

Thanks for the post Dodge,Having searched for places relentlessly, I am beginning to think that a short let will do for the time being. Budget stretched to 1300 already. Was living in Manchester for a top spec 2 bed apartment in a nice area very close to town for 700pcm, hence the slight optimism.Thanks,Wannabe

You&apos;ll need that stab vest if you go flat hunting in Canning Town. Not a place to be walking around alone late at night.

Are you seriously struggling to find a 1-bed for under £1300 per month in Clapham and Balham?Try either of these - both great and within that budget...http://www.findaproperty.com/displayprop.aspx?edid=00&salerent=1&pid=1768483http://www.findaproperty.com/displayprop.aspx?edid=00&salerent=1&pid=6832967

Or - if you have a couple more quid to spendhttp://www.findaproperty.com/displayprop.aspx?edid=00&salerent=1&pid=5956578