Of the back of my moving to London thread…

It’s all going ahead now. Flat found (nice place in Angel), deposits paid, next thing to do is to figure out how to get my STUFF there.

I don’t have much STUFF. But there is a certain amount of STUFF that I will need with me.

Whats the best way to get bulky, delicate STUFF from Southampton to London City?

I’m thinking rent an estate car and put the rear seats down. But not sure if the stress of driving in London will kill me before I arrive. Any other options?

Rent a van?

But not sure if the stress of driving in London will kill me before I arrive. Any other options?

If you can fit it all in an estate car then just choose a quiet time to drive/arrive at the Angel (early Sunday morning?).

I’d rent a small van as opposed to an estate. It will not only be cheaper but much better at getting everything in, some estates aren’t as big as you think.

Yeh, that would be ideal but think it’s going to have to be a day time thing.

We wont get the keys until the day we move in, so needs to be working hours. Unless one of us goes up before and picks them up. And the sunday/weekend I have a wedding, so weekend is out 🙁

ime driving in London isn’t as bad as you might imagine. I put it off for years but when I did it really wasn’t as bad as I expected, just keep your wits about you.

Angel isn’t a stressful drive in from the North, depending on what time of day you do it with a satnav it’s just about taking it easy.

Taproom and Hop and Berry would be contenders for locals if I were you!

You’re moving to London but think that driving in London will stress you out?

Gawd knows what you’ll make of the Tube at rush hour 🙂

Hire a van for the weekend if possible and do the big move on a Sunday morning.
If coming in from the north (North circular,A1) check Arsenal aren’t playing around the time you’re driving in.:-(
Angel is a good place to start off in London. Best of luck.

Ha just read the ops reply stating weekend not possible.
Bummer.

2 am into the Angel – only way I’d do it.
Leave southampton around 12-1’ish and unload in peace – once it passes 7am on any day you’re knackered.

Driving in London is no bother. If you can drive in the center of Southampton driving in London is no different. With GPS now it is even easier.

Gawd knows what you’ll make of the Tube at rush hour

Luckily I can walk to work!

Driving in London is no bother. If you can drive in the center of Southampton driving in London is no different. With GPS now it is even easier.

Yeah, so essentially it’s one road from the M25 into Angel. Might just drive it. Going to see if I can find a rental where I can return keys after working hours then go up in the evening.

2 am into the Angel – only way I’d do it.
Leave southampton around 12-1’ish and unload in peace – once it passes 7am on any day you’re knackered.

This

2 am into the Angel – only way I’d do it.
Leave southampton around 12-1’ish and unload in peace – once it passes 7am on any day you’re knackered.

+ another for absolute minimum faff, although you could do it at 7pm without too many issues.

Angel isn’t a stressful drive in from the North, depending on what time of day you do it with a satnav it’s just about taking it easy.

This too. Round the M25 and then M1 in before popping through Archway. Parking’s prob biggest issue.

I would also do the late night thing as parking will be so much easier and it will be cooler for lugging stuff around.

I don’t find driving in London that bad, I just get into aggressive London mode and off I go. The only thing I hate is the congestion so I now tend to park outside of London and get the train or tube in which won’t help in your case.

What about hiring a man with a van or could you fit it all on a pallet?

Hire something bigger than you think you will need. When i moved i sold loads of stuff, binned a load more, rented a huge van (with the intention of any last bits and pieces that i’d missed would be easy to fit in to a HUGE van)

Turns out that i actually needed to be really good at Tetris. And mattresses squish down further than you think.

Apparently not unusual when moving yourself. It always looks smaller piled up in the living room than it actually is.

I usually only head into London in the early hours of the morning for work. It’s actually quite pleasant. Did Portsmouth to centre of London last week leaving Portsmouth just after midnight and the drive was no stress at all. Coming back out at 6am it was starting to get busy but still ok.

“Flat found (nice place in Angel),”

How much pm, if you don’t mind me asking?

“2 am into the Angel – only way I’d do it.”

Not this. You will instantly incur the wrath of your neighbours if you start bashing about moving stuff in during the middle of the night. It’s extremely inconsiderate. One thing about a place as densely populated as London, is that it’s crucial to get on with your neighbours. Because you have to live in very close proximity to them, and good neighbour relations are key for things like security, peace and quiet and feeling relaxed. Piss them off before you’ve even moved in, and things might not be so nice.

Getting in: if the M1/A1 is snarled up, as it often can be, then consider the A10 down into Tottenham, then A1080-A504-A103 down to Highbury/Holloway Road. A lot of that’s through mainly residential areas, so can be a lot less congested.

It’s London, not New Delhi. The traffic isn’t that bad.
As someone who lives in that area I would go M25, M4 or A40, A406 (N. Circular), then down the A1 through Archway and down Holloway Road.
If you hit London away from Thursday-Saturday and outside of rush hour (8am-7pm) you should be fine.

As someone who lives in that area I would go M25, M4 or A40, A406 (N. Circular), then down the A1 through Archway and down Holloway Road.
If you hit London away from Thursday-Saturday and outside of rush hour (8am-7pm) you should be fine.

Agree with this as I lived in the area for years. Just check before you travel and during the journey to make sure the North Circular hasn’t become blocked up, if it has then the M1/A1 route would be the best option as when the north circular gets blocked up then all roads around suffer.

How much pm, if you don’t mind me asking?

So theres 4 of us, two couples – it’s £606 each pm, which is £2424 total, which sounds outrageous if you put it like that. But at £606 each it’s not so bad.

Regarding options, I think Thrifty will let me return a car out of hours, in which case I will leave southampton at 6pm to get to the flat between 7:30-8pm. Hopefully missing most of the traffic.

“So theres 4 of us, two couples – it’s £606 each pm, which is £2424 total, which sounds outrageous if you put it like that. But at £606 each it’s not so bad.”

😯

Oof. 2 or 3 bed place? That is just mad. It must be an amazing flat for that much!

It’s a nice area though. Plenty to see and do. Expensive down the Angel end (Ottolenghi place on Upper St, etc), but some nice pubs around. I’d walk a bit further from Upper St to some of the quieter places. The area east of Upper st is very good for proper traditional pubs rather than trendy bars. Or you could go down Rosebery Avenue, to Exmouth Market, where there are several good eateries and a great streetfood market (I forget which days). Enjoy!

It’s two bed and two bathrooms, separate kitchen and quite a large lounge. It’s not amazing, but it’s nice and spacious enough. but I agree, rent is astronomical. I guess that’s what you pay for if you want to walk to work in 15 mins.

What’s crazy is some of these flats are rented by just a couple, or sometimes even one person… it’s not as painful if you focus on the per-person figure 😆

It’s not in Rose Court is it?

Ottolenghi place on Upper St, etc

Mate works there. If you meet a very talented cook called Esme, say hi. 🙂

Can you all walk to work? Factor in say £5 a day tube (probably more?) each every day and it wipes £400 off your total rent a month.

But yes, that is huge rent for those of us outside of london to bare thinking about. Enjoy the price of beer too!

“I guess that’s what you pay for if you want to walk to work in 15 mins.”

So, probably worth the expense. Short commutes just improve quality of life. My wife is a 10-minute cycle from her work. You can’t put a price on how much less stress you suffer if you don’t have a long commute on packed transport/roads.

Can you all walk to work? Factor in say £5 a day tube (probably more?) each every day and it wipes £400 off your total rent a month.

You know this is a cycling forum, right? Cycling’s by far the best way to get around in London and it’s free.

Rent a van. Pick a time when congestion charge is not payable. Check the van does not incur the extra emissions charge.

Rent. 2 bedroom with secure underground parking, gym and pool is £3k at junction of Chelsea/Knightsbridge/Belgravia FYI. Seems quite a lot for Islington but then it has the “streed cred premium” vs “bourgesoie discount” of SW3 😉

Enjoy London. Fabulous city. Truely world class.

“Cycling’s by far the best way to get around in London and it’s free.”

This. Even in the pissing rain, freezing cold, wind etc, I’d rather be on my bike than a packed commuter train. And the fact is, that if you rode your bike into work every weekday for a year, you’d actually only experience proper rain a few times. Get a Brompton, and you’re laughing.

“Rent. 2 bedroom with secure underground parking, gym and pool is £3k at junction of Chelsea/Knightsbridge/Belgravia FYI. “

That’s going to be a really tiny flat, and tbh, that area isn’t as nice as around Angel imo.

M25,m4,a312 (2ndexit after m25),a40,a406,a1.
Don’t go all the way in on the m4.
Agreed about daft o clock load in .Not nice for neighbours.
I would get the keys.hire a van in London and go and get your stuff.(after or before rush hour.)
If you do it before September ,the whole of London is pretty quiet .
The cakes in ottolenghi are divine.:-)

@clod 80sqm 2 bed 2 bath, big enough lounge diner, seperate kitchen. Kensington is cheaper still, another 5-10 mins on the Boris Bike or two more tube stops. As for neighbourhood that’s personal preference, Chelsea is 45 mins from Surrey Hills for a Sunday ride, great pubs, restaurants and shops. Open spaces, close to the river, roadies get to Richmond Park in 20 mins I think.

OP if you are driving in at the weekend leave when you want (football schedule worth checking). Personally I would get a weekend rental, pick up Sat am, load up. Drive into town, unload and have a good night out. Retrun on Sunday after a lazy breakfast somewhere. Return van then train back up early evening.

I drive in and out of Londin at all times and any day of the week, obviously morning / evening rush hour adds anything from 60-90 mins if you are going with the traffic flow. TBH the M3/A3 is as bad as central London not least as more people are driving vs using public transport