Live in Canary Wharf or Central (London Bridge) as AN1 in London?

Starting in a BB at Canary Wharf this July and looking for flats to share with my friend, what do the experienced ones suggest about choosing accomodation in London as first year Analysts - modern apartments at Canary Wharf or apartments in more central locations like Bermondsey/London Bridge?

 
 

Bermondsey works nicely. Two stops on the Jubilee to CW. The area is lively, not too stuffy but nice enough. Look at the Shad Thames area within Bermondsey, right by the river and a little gem.

 
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Pick CW. It's a no-brainer for me:

(1) Modern apartments feel ... modern. London Bridge is still expensive despite the pandemic. Do you want to live in the Victorian sh*t hole with weird carpets, old pipes, weirdly sized rooms, small-ass windows etc? Or in a modern apartment with air conditioning, a balcony, windows form floor to the ceilings, a good-sized bedroom with fitted good-sized wardrobe?

(2) A lot of the buildings in CW have:

  • Gym
  • Swimming pool
  • Cinema room
  • Conference centre
  • 24hour concierge
  • Some buildings have spa

Now, Gym and Swiming pool --> almost everyone is vaccinated now. we will have to come back to the office. the benefit of working in CW is that if you are a top-performer you can leave a bit early and go to gym or if your team switches to 3 days in the office model, there are still 2 days of WFH when you can sneak to the gym quickly while on a call. It'll be a lot more difficult to do so if you work in London Bridge.

Cinema room, conference centre --> cinema room is cool, you can watch football with friends. conference centre -> helps when you WFH if you want a change of scenery from your flat.

24hour concierge --> there is always staff who can pick up your parcels if you work late.

SPA --> good to have if you use SPA in general.

(3) Do you want to wake up 1 hour before work or do you want to sleep 30 minutes more? If you want to sleep more, pick CW. You will reduce your commute and will have more time to sleep or to go to gym or to have sex with your girlfriend in the morning.

(4) If you gain a good rep, you will always be able to sneak out from the office back home. If someone needs you ASAP, it only takes 5-10 minutes to come back. But of course don't yell around that you live that close just in case.

(5) CW is much better an area than it was 10 years ago. There are plenty of bars and restaurants now, which are opened until 12 midnight. On the flip-side (if you want nightlife), there is none but it only takes 15 min to get to Green Park from CW station.

The area is also constantly re-developing itself to face challenges ahead. I heard CW Group is now building a go-karting facility underground and in case if you like golf, there is a driving range 1 stop away from the CW.

(6) Some of the modern buildings have good young crowd with single girls / guys looking to make friends or have sex.

I love England but the country really needs more modern apartment blocks or houses. The state of some flats in Central London including London Bridge is appaling.

I am growing older and obviously the allure of CW is fading a little with age as you want a house for your family etc but so is the allure of London as a whole. However if you are just about to start a career and its in IB especially, picking Canary Wharf is a no-brainer (at least to me).

 

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