4 min read
The questions to ask before signing a London tenancy
The things worth asking at a viewing that agents rarely volunteer — about the building, the bills, the deposit and the neighbours. Most of them cost one question.
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London publishes an enormous amount about itself — crime by street, every station, every school inspection, every park boundary, a census of who lives where. Very little of it is written down in a way that helps you decide where to live. That’s what this is for.
4 min read
Comparing two London areas without a spreadsheet
Most people narrow a London search to two or three areas and then get stuck. A method for comparing them that doesn't collapse into a list of numbers nobody can weigh.
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The cheapest months to move in London
Removal prices swing substantially by season, day of the week and day of the month. When London's moving market peaks, and what moving off-peak is actually worth.
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When the chain collapses: where your things go
Completion dates move, tenancies don't line up, and sometimes you have to be out before you can be in. What to do with everything you own in the gap.
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Who actually lives in your new neighbourhood
Age and tenure vary enormously across London, and they explain a lot of what people mean when an area 'feels right'. What the Census figures show, and why we never score them.
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Why your heating bill depends on the building, not the tariff
Two flats in the same London street can cost very different amounts to heat. What an EPC rating actually tells you, what it misses, and what to check at a viewing.
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Ofsted ratings are a snapshot, not a forecast
An Outstanding rating tells you what inspectors found on two days, possibly years ago. What the rating does and doesn't tell you about a school your child hasn't started at yet.
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The moving timeline: eight weeks out to day one
What to do and when, from eight weeks before a London move to the morning itself. The order matters more than the list — several things have lead times people discover too late.
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Inner vs outer London: what you actually trade
The inner/outer decision is usually framed as space versus commute. The real trade-offs are less obvious than that, and the data shows most of them clearly.
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What your contents insurance doesn't cover on moving day
Most home contents policies exclude belongings in transit, and a mover's own cover has limits well below what people assume. What is actually protected, and what to do about the gap.
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Broadband in London is a street-level lottery
Two flats on the same road can have completely different broadband options. Why London's connectivity varies street by street, and what to check before you sign anything.
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What it actually costs to move within London
Removals, deposits, overlapping rent, the boxes nobody budgets for, and the two costs that catch people out. A realistic breakdown for a London move.
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Westminster is not London's most dangerous borough
On paper Westminster records ten times the crime rate of Bexley. Almost all of that gap is an artefact of how the rate is calculated — and it's the single most common way London crime figures mislead.
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What "good transport links" actually means
Every London listing claims good transport links. The gap between the best and worst boroughs is roughly thirtyfold — here is how to tell which one you're being sold.
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Where London's green space actually is
London calls itself one of the greenest cities in the world. That is true of London as a whole and wildly untrue of large parts of it — the gap between the greenest and least green boroughs is around fivefold.
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