Londoners on the move come up against the age old renting question time and time again.

Live central - pay more - extra time - less space?

Or

Live out - pay less - no time - extra space?

It seems central types prefer time to space, as do north, east and westenders. Southsiders seem completely bamboozled as to what do with a 50-50 split according to a survey by FindaProperty.com

Zone 2 - the balance of space and time

When asked which of the six London Underground Zones they would ideally live in to create the perfect balance between space and time, a majority of 46% of buyers said they would ideally live no further out than the quite centrally located Zone 2 - interestingly, only a fraction of that amount, 14%, wanted to live in the heart of Zone 1.

A majority of 63% of Londoners decided that they would move no more than 15-20 miles out of the city before the commuting distance became too great. When asked if they would move closer to the city centre to save time on their commute, 60% of Londoners said they would. East and West Londoners would lead the charge into town, with 72% and 74% in those areas voting yes respectively.

Walking is the way - tube panned

When it came to modes of transport that people take to work the tube was panned, only 8% wanted to descend underground despite 42% of buyers having to commute by it.

A majority of 38% of Londoners chose walking as their ideal way of getting there. This was followed by a significant minority of 23% who chose overground trains as their ideal mode of transport.
 

Michael O’Flynn, Content Editor for FindaProperty.com notes:

"The overall picture seems to indicate that Londoners really do value their time when it comes to a decision about where to live, and getting the balance just right is key. It is interesting to note that people would probably save the most time by living in the heart of Zone 1, but only a small minority wanted to do that, preferring to live a little further out in Zone 2, and enjoy a less urban, but still quite centrally located environment. Also judging by these results, there is no love lost between the Tube and Londoners, which perhaps might explain why Londoners are keen to live reasonably centrally."