Thursday, January 23, 2014

Making Wimbledon your home

By Madelin Moor


Wimbledon is most famous for its yearly tennis competition, and offers a lot to potential residents. The area has excellent rail and tube/underground links to both London and Surrey.

Wimbledon is located in Merton, and is a very large area consisting of Wimbledon, Wimbledon Village, South Wimbledon and Wimbledon Chase. All of these areas are within easy reach of each other on foot or by public transport. In the last six or seven years, the town centre has had a facelift, with a variety of new shops and flats having been built.

Housing options

Wimbledon offers a wide range of types of accommodation. Whilst in the village you will find upmarket penthouses and mansions, in the cheaper area of South Wimbledon there is a large housing estate, tower blocks and maisonettes. There is a great rental market, with decent accommodation to suit a wide range of budgets.

Unless you are a successful tennis player or very rich indeed, Wimbledon Village is going to be out of reach in terms of housing, although sometimes privately let flats may become available below normal rates, so it is certainly worth checking out. Wimbledon is also one of the most pleasant areas of London to live in.

In central Wimbledon, flats and houseshares are much more affordable, and normally a great deal cheaper than in nearby Putney. A wide range of new flats and apartments are available if you have a bigger budget, although the difference in price between old and new flats can be considerable. The cheapest accommodation is in South Wimbledon, although this area is rougher than Wimbledon town centre. However, the borough of Merton has one of the best crime rates in the whole of London, so it is worth investigating if you are on a limited budget.

Diverse population and culture

There is a huge community of settlers (short and long term) in Wimbledon from the southern hemisphere, and a huge South African community too. This leads to the area often being called 'WimbleDurban', and this results in a very lively weekend nightlife. Most of the residents from the UK are young professional tenants and families. Wimbledon Village, at the top of Wimbledon Hill (the posh area of Wimbledon), hosts millionaires, celebrities, and those living the 'Playboy' lifestyle.

South Wimbledon is a very diverse area indeed, and in particular there are a lot of North African and Polish people there. As a result of this diversity, Wimbledon has a very friendly and welcoming atmosphere for visitors. No matter where you are from, you are sure to find people from a wide range of cultures.

Recreation activities and parks

Wimbledon Common is home to the Wombles, and with its lake, tearoom, woodland and windmill, makes for a peaceful and calm day out. Wimbledon Park offers water sports, tennis courts, mini golf and playing fields for the more sporty and energetic individual. Because Wimbledon is on the outskirts of London, there are a lot of parks and green space, which is great for spending time outdoors in summer, although it can get somewhat crowded when the weather is nice.




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