Please Advise Me - High Holborn

Hi,
I am a 25 yrs old female engineer & shall be moving soon to London (Nov.). This is my first time in the city.

my job is with a company located in High Holborn (WC1). please tell me where to live in London. preferably close to high holborn , so that i can walk down to office .

my internet search has yielded areas : Bloomsbury , Clerkenwell.
i am looking for a 1 bed apartment, in a nice , safe area. i hail from a small city , so am a bit scared of London. thats y i keep singing "safe" "safe" again & again..

Waiting For Your Response
Chacha

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Hi there,

I'd recommend you look for somewhere west of Holborn with access to a central line tube station, somewhere like Notting Hill would be ideal if you want a nice safe area.

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Thanks,
notting hill sounds nice.........but how about areas around high holborn? i mean bloomsbury, clerkenwell?????

sorry to be bothering you again....................

Chacha

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Hello People,
please help me chose between an apartment in Southampton row & Covent Garden. both of them are roughly the same rent & both are a comfortable walking distance from my new office.

i would be very thankfull if u could advice on the areas....please.............ive heard stories of mugging, thefts etc in London..& i am a bit scared. ive never been alone on my own.in a big city..........so please help me.......

thanx in anticipation
Chacha

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Hi Chaha,

First up, I'd say not to be afraid about coming to London. The fear of crime is far greater than crime itself. If you're coming from a small town then I can appreciate that the sheer number of people milling arround 24 hours a day can be a bit overwhelming, but rest assured that they're not all waiting to mug you! Bear in mind that the population of London is very transitory and many people will be in a similar situation to you. Muggers tend to go for easy targets so if you look vulnerable, you make yourself a target. Throw yourself into London life, project an air of confidence and they'll look elsewhere.

As for the areas you mention, Holborn is a great place to work as it is so close to the centre of town and has plenty going on there in terms of bars, restaurants etc. I'm not too sure that there are many places to live round there though as most of the old big houses look like they've been converted into offices so you might have to look a little bit further afield. Clerkenwell might be a good option - it's home to a lively media and City crowd during the week but is nice and quiet at the weekend (providing you stay away from the clubs Fabric and Turnmills!). Might be quite expensive though as it's a bit trendy.

Southampton Row is fine - there will probably be a lot of students in that area as there are a couple of colleges nearby. One thing I will say is that I've seen a lot of homeless guys in that area (not sure why, maybe there's a hostel round there or something) and whilst I've never seen any hassle from them, I know they can sometimes unnerve people. Alternatively, you could try the area north of Farringdon, round Exmouth Market which is quite a cool street, if a little shabby. Or, heading up towards Islington there's the area round Sadler's Wells which seems ok, although you're starting to get a bit further afield there.

One other option might be the area north of Oxford Street/west of Tottenham Court Road (I think it's called Fitzrovia). I don't know it too well round here but I sometimes walk through it to avoid the crowds on Oxford Street and it always seems remarkably peaceful and it looks like there are some decent looking flats.

Anyway, good luck and enjoy living in London!

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If you want to know more about Holborn I would recommend a visit to the official Holborn website at www.4holborn.org.

The areas you mention are the closest but are quite pricey. You could think about living a few stops further east on the central line which provides a fast service to Chancery Lane and Holborn.

London is one of the safest cities in the world (but you still need to be careful). Think of it not as one big city, but rather as a collection of small towns and villages.

And if you ever need help finding your way around, feel free to call a London taxi driver for directions on 0906 265 6565.

Hope that helps.

The Knowledge.
www.theknowledge.com

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Hi Dave C,
thanks a ton for your advice. i am already feeling a lot better & confident...........know atlesat i know the areas im going to live in.....thanks again..............

Chacha

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