Incoming ibd analyst at one of the two BBs in St. Pauls and will be starting in January. Don't have accommodation sorted and am beginning to get slightly worried. For those who are/were analysts at one of those two banks, do you have any recommendations for places to live in London?
I am unsure what would be considered a 'good commute' time as I've never been to London before (wfh sa)
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Farringdon / Clerkenwell are probably the best places to live if you want to walk to the office.
The central line is disgusting so you could live near a stop on the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan Line to get off at Farringdon and walk.
Most people who work in London have a commute time of about an hour.
Recommend you go onto SpareRoom and find a place for a short amount of time, say 3 months. You will learn a lot about the city in this time; particularly which areas you like. It’s very likely you’ll want to move within a couple of months into living in the City, so try not to lock yourself into a long term contract.
A lot of young professionals live around Clapham and Shoreditch. There’s a lot going on in those areas, so if your social life is important to you (with what time you’ll have) then consider those places. Hammersmith and Fulham has good links via the District and Piccadilly lines to your office, about half an hour.
Do not live in Brixton, Hackney, Elephant & Castle or most places in East London.
Most people do not have a one-way commute of an hour. 30mn is usually considered max. Besides, with IB salary, one can afford to live in central
I said most people in London. Not most people in London in banking.
An hour?? What are you talking about??
What is just as bizarre is that Clapham and Shoreditch aren’t an hour away either
See other reply. Plus nowhere did I say that Clapham/Shoreditch were an hour away.
A few cool developments around Tower Hill and Aldgate area
Spent 20 years of my life in London so can chime in a bit here. North of the river Clerkenwell, Fitzrovia and Shoreditch are the places to be. The former two are a bit pricy and the latter is younger with a bit more life/hipster crowd. Wapping is also an up-and-coming area, you just need to know where to live. Some places can still be iffy, whilst others are beautiful residential areas. South of the river your options are Borough, London Bridge and Elephan & Castle. Elephant & Castle gets a bad rep from how it was 10-15 years ago, but it has come a long way. Young crowd, new builds and plenty of services. Yes, some areas can still be shitty but you can just as easily get mugged in Mayfair. These are the main options for a walking distance type of commute.
If you don't mind taking transport/cycling in you can go a bit further. South of the river, areas with an increasing population of young professionals are Bermondsey, Vauxhall and Lambeth. I would recommend aiming for a new build here as they are still relatively affordable and have many amenities (spa, gym etc.). North of the river, you could stay around Regent's park or further down in Pimlico. Both are quite quiet and have the typical white London houses. Honestly, as long as you are in Zone 1/some areas of Zone 2 you are never too far from the City.
At one of these 2 - most of my friends live in 1) London Bridge, 2) Wapping, 3) Notting Hill, 4) Chelsea/Fullham, 5) Clapham, 6) Elephant & Castle. Note that say in chelsea it would be wayyy to expensive to rent alone but would be OK for a flat share. Aim to either have a direct bus to the office or direct tube. Changing sucks and really adds time to your commute.
Notting hill ?? This is pretty far. And Chelsea... you better like sleeping in your Uber home
Central Line is a relatively OK ride.
Chelsea is mostly for people sharing at the Associate level TBH.
Isn’t BAML the only BB in St. Paul’s?
GS too
Goldman Sachs is literally across the road
Oh yes, think they moved to farringdon now, but still pretty close
How's Elephant & Castle?
It doesn't look like it's too far away from canary wharf and seems decently connected to the rest of London through London Bridge Station?
Absolute dump. Avoid at all costs.
Depends where. Mercato Metropolitano is cool. A few nice new buildings/towers. Can find a few nice streets, just make sure connectivity is nice.
Would be pretty much next to Mercato in a nice new-looking tower. How come that some say it should be avoided?
Bump
St Paul banker and will look for: Bermondsey, Bankside (Tate), Blackfriars, London Bridge, Fitzrovia, Marylebone, Soho, Shoreditch, Farringdon.
Anyone got a view on a good place for an analyst to live if they work at a BB in the Liverpool street/Moorgate area? Especially in terms of walkable commutes?
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