What areas are up-and-coming?

[surfcity]

I’d like to find an up-and-coming area to settle in London. Not someplace crazy expensive but an area that’s constantly changing and just really interesting and exciting to live in. I’m not that a few of London’s boroughs (is that what they’re called?) are like that, including Brixton. What are some of the others and what are they like to live in? And how easily can you commute from them to the central business districts?

[Linus_Sioland]

Brixton has become really quite expensive in the past few years, and you're unlikely to find a particularly good deal.

For south of the river Peckham is quite good for your pusposes, as is Stoke Newington in the north, although both have become more expensive as they've grown more popular. Camberwell, just to the east of Peckham, could be a better shout. Stratford is a decent balance. I've heard decent things about Forest Gate as well.

Commuting is generally decent in most places except for Hackney in the northeast, that is only loosely covered by the Tube/Overground network. South of the river has less coverage than north of the river, but is generally manageable.

[jnnfrrss]

Brixton is definitely not an up and coming area. It's well established, gentrified, and expensive. It's also within the borough of Lambeth which has quite a few different neighborhoods and spans over them.

What do you mean by up and coming? Do you want places where lots of new homes are being built or where nightlife, cafes etc are opening? There is a big difference in London between places that are moving in these directions. Either way, everywhere within reasonable commute of central is expensive, you're better off just trying to find somewhere you can afford and is easy to get to work.

[Christopher_Moore]

Hi Joe, It might not be what you're looking for but Woolwich is an area that's worth a look. The transport links to Canary Wharf and the City are good and about to get better when the Crossrail opens in 2018.
It's not crazy expensive by London standards - you can get two bedrooms and two bathrooms for around £450k or rent around £1,300pm.
It's not great for nightlife. There are a few decent pubs in the area and a couple of restaurants - especially the Eritrean restaurant, 'Blue Nile'. Just about the best African food I've ever had.
There's a fair bit of money being invested in the area, not all of it well. A terrible huge Tesco has gone in and a few beautiful buildings have been pulled down.
It's a really diverse population from all over the world - big Afro-Carribean community, Irish community, Polish and eastern European. The big development is at the Royal Arsenal and that's full of professional couples and singles, some families.But there are some other interesting areas as well.

[chriswalts]

Finding an area that isn't "expensive" can be quite a tall order even if they are in an "up and coming area". Generally speaking your are probably looking at something on the outskirts of zone 2 or zone three these days, with South of the river tending to be less developed than North.

In terms of commute, anything under an hour is general considered good, but it really depends on where you are trying to get to and from (and you can get quick trains from outside of London that get you into the city in under an hour).

With all of that being said, here's a few places worth considering:

If you are looking South - Elephant and Castle, Bermondsey, Peckham, Streatham, Lewisham, Tooting, Crystal Palace

East - Mile End, Bow, Stratford, Popular, Dalston, Stoke Newington, Hackney (although it's pretty far along)

North - Tottenham, Seven Sisters, Mannor House, Kings Cross (although it's pretty far along)

West - Battersea, Southfields, Roehampton

(Sorry, I'm less useful West).

[Nic]

More or less anything within zone 2 has become very/even more expensive in the last 4-5 years. It doesn't mean you won't find anything cheapish, but when you do it'll be awful. I can't speak for south of the river, but in the East Startford / Forest Gate are good bets.

Stratford is turning fast into a startup hub; it doesn't quite have the amenities of Hackney yet and is ugly as sin, but it's right next door, you can be there in 10 minute on a bike if you want, and the Wick is a splendid place that has so far managed to keep its edgy character.

Forest Gate is 5 minutes east of Stratford, and feels more like a village - huge park with a forest and Victorian houses. Again, amenities are only starting to appear, but you're only 12 minutes to Liverpool Street in the train, and Crossrail will open in a couple of years, making travelling anywhere in London really convenient. In the meantime, both are amongst the most culturaly diverse communities in Europe, with large populations from South Asia, Eastern Europe, and Central Africa on top of Western Europeans.

[grudelsud]

hey

really depends what you're looking for and what your centre of gravity will be work-wise. Speaking of north east, and living in N4 I definitely vouch for my neighborhood which has a nice buzz of restaurants, really well connected with public transport (overground, piccadilly, victoria, train, loads of buses...) and you can get to Silicon roundabout in minutes. But if you're looking for youngsters / hipsters neighborhoods then it'd be probably better to look closer to Stokey. Or if you're more adventurous and don't mind a little longer commute then Walthamstow, Clapton, Leyton, Homerton.

Everything else you can read in this thread is very considerate for other parts of London

[Natalia_Natashka]

Cricklewood. Very close to central and not expensive. Lots of transport links and good shops. It's not fancy though.