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I am young and planning to go to London for a week by myself and stay in a hostel dorm. I wanted to know what area of the city would be best for me. I'm looking to stay in a hip fun area that will have me close to everything. Not necessarily a touristy area though. I'm from Chicago in the USA so I'm used to big cities but don't know much about London.
Thanks
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Based purely on my own prejudices, Earls Court or anywhere near the left of the Circle Line (the yellow one on the tube map), anywhere within the Circle Line, or failing that there were a couple from your link in Camden Town. Victoria would be OK.
Centrally, I would avoid King's Cross or around the right hand side of the Circle Line. As a tourist I would never go south of the river, or too far north; come to think of it, avoid suburban outer London completely. These are all very vague, and you may find something great if it is yards from a tube station.
Use Google Streetview to see if you are on a busy road.
Most younger people who know what they're doing usually gravitate towards east London - Shoreditch and Brick Lane are the most obvious spots, but you could also try Clerkenwell and Farringdon if you prefer to be a bit more central and urbane, or Dalston or Bethnal Green if you're a little more adventurous.
There are obviously lots of other spots you could try - Waterloo has a few decent hostels and is a good jumping off point for the rest of the city; Soho in the West End still has a great atmosphere in spite of being such a well-established entertainment area.
I have to disagree with the last two posts. Most places around the west side of the circle line will either be expensive, or dominated by other tourists, or rather dull. One possible exception could be North Kensington, around the top of Portobello Road - it's a fun and mixed up sort of area with lots to see, and Portugese and Morrocan communities add to a lively street culture. King's Cross has lots going on at the moment and could certainly be of interest, and although it's true that it has a bad reputation for safety, I doubt that it's any worse than the tourist spots of the West End. Camden Town is a dump and totally dominated by tourists, and while there are some great pubs and venues there, I wouldn't recommend it as a general area in which to get a taste of London. If you want good, cheap market food, try Brick Lane, the top end of Portobello Road, or Brixton - and of course there are countless others. Camden would be close to the bottom of my list.
There are several places to stay...depending on your taste and budget. I like the Old Church Street B&B please check reviews [url=http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g186338-d309384-r81598137-Old_Church_Street-London_England.html]Wonderful - the best place to stay in London - Old Church Street, London Traveller Reviews - TripAdvisor[/url]
Looks like a nice place, but given the op is looking to stay in a hostel, it'll be over his budget by an order of magnitude. Hostels are also much better for meeting people, which is fairly important as a young solo traveller.
Based purely on my own prejudices, Earls Court or anywhere near the left of the Circle Line (the yellow one on the tube map), anywhere within the Circle Line, or failing that there were a couple from your link in Camden Town. Victoria would be OK.
Centrally, I would avoid King's Cross or around the right hand side of the Circle Line. As a tourist I would never go south of the river, or too far north; come to think of it, avoid suburban outer London completely. These are all very vague, and you may find something great if it is yards from a tube station.
Use Google Streetview to see if you are on a busy road.
It's not the 1980s anymore. Can we please stop peddling this 'don't go south of the river' nonsense as it's a ridiculously out of date thing to say.
Currently just south of the river in southwark and its not a bad area. Good night life and everything. However, I was expecting more from London based on what I read from people comparing it to Chicago. The architecture and skyline is nothing compared to Chicago. For being a financial capital and "world class city" I was expecting bigger and more high rises. The pace of life also seems a little slower and more casual, but people are much more polite. I was watching people walk around after work and they just don't seem as clean cut and serious as Chicago professionals. The nightlife is good though. Seems like the bars were packed from after work until late every night. It's like people don't even go home. They go straight from work to the pub and don't leave until late. The SOHO area round Chinatown was pretty cool. Tons of bars and restaurants. I noticed that the bars love their rainbow colored diskoballs. They seem to be at every bar and the bars plan mostly american music.
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