After leaving my job from a London developer for a few months, I moved to London alone in late October 2023, chasing my long-held dream of starting a business. As the Financial Times points out, London's rental prices are currently at an all-time high, with an expected increase of over 23.3% in the next five years. I found that the demand for rental properties is high across all areas of London, even in the outskirts, and rental prices are extremely steep. Since the property I invested in won't be completed until the end of the year, I had no choice but to bear the expensive rent for now.
Although I have dealt with buying and selling properties in different areas of London before, I wanted to personally experience living in different neighborhoods to provide better recommendations to future clients. Over the past two months, I have rented various properties in different areas of London through Airbnb and stayed at friends' places while exploring multiple neighborhoods. Here are my brief opinions (purely based on personal preferences and the evaluation at the time, for reference only):
Marylebone: Convenient for Bond Street, but too central and expensive for my liking.
Chalk Farm and St. John's Wood area: 5-minute walk to my favorite Primrose Hill park for jogging, but lacks large supermarkets, and the walk to the nearest tube station takes over ten minutes, which can be daunting at night.
West Hampstead: Serene environment, but lacks large supermarkets compared to Finchley Road, which is just one stop away. Suitable for families with cars.
Old Street and Canary Wharf: Highly commercialized, feels like being in the business district.
Stratford: Eastern transportation hub with multiple lines converging, large shopping centers, but the population density feels a bit high for me, and Westfield has a similar atmosphere to Mong Kok.
Ealing: Enjoy the convenience of the Elizabeth line, well-equipped, but Zone 3 is a bit far for me as I often need to travel to Zone 1 for work. It feels like commuting from Tai Wai to Admiralty.
Vauxhall: Currently not suitable for a woman to live due to safety concerns, although convenient for my favorite dance studio, it's not a good enough reason to choose this area.
Battersea Power Station: A new large-scale development with a surprising shopping mall converted from a power station, but the rent is too expensive for me, feels like living in Kowloon Station.
Canning Town: A new residential area with many ongoing developments, it will take time to have complete facilities. Only two stops away from Canary Wharf, suitable for working or investing in Canary Wharf or East London, but not suitable for me.
Kennington: Convenient transportation to and from Bank, a hidden gem in Zone 1 with a comfortable environment, but lacks large supermarkets. Suitable for those working in East London or families.
After exploring around, I ended up renting in the area that I initially liked. The process of renting this time not only allowed me to experience different lifestyles in different areas of London but, more importantly, it helped me gain a deeper understanding of myself. Whether it's buying or renting a property or even dating, the most important thing is to understand yourself and what you want.
In the next article, I will share how I searched for properties online and rented directly from the landlords.
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