... I bought a 3 bedroom terraced house with a garden in the Thorburn Square conservation area (Alma Grove) for the price of a 1 bedroom flat in W1. And I couldn't be happier

The immediate area
The area around Grange Road/Southwark Park Road and the newly refurbished Bermondsey Spa Gardens is undergoing significant change as part of Southwark Council's grand plan to build 2,000 new homes and improve local amenities. There is a range of property available - from loft conversions in the Alaska Buildings, new flats around the Spa Gardens and spacious terraced houses in the streets south of Southwark Park road around Thorburn Square. For being in zone 1 and near excellent transport links (buses and Bermondsey/London Bridge tube), things are still pretty good value, although prices are rising rapidly. I also feel completely safe walking around at night (taking the usual London precautions, of course).

Bermondsey St. (a 10 minute walk)
Bermondey St. is fantastic. Lots of interesting architecture, interesting people and interesting shops and restaurants make it the perfect place for a stroll any time of the day. It has a cool, relaxed vibe, but isn't too pretentious...it's just right. At the moment, Bermondsey Square at the south end of Bermondsey St. (home to the weekly antiques market) is being redeveloped to provide flats, restaurants, a hotel, a supermarket, a community cinema and a new space for the market. The remains of the Abbey that used to be on the site are going to be displayed under a glass floor which I'm looking forward to checking out.

The rest of SE1
SE1 is becoming an increasingly popular place to live and it's easy to see why. Transport links to the City, the West End and the rest of London are excellent and there is a palpable buzz in the air created by the burgeoning arts scene, an influx of young people and the ongoing regeneration plans. Best of all though is the fact that SE1 is a friendly place where neighbours make the effort to get to know each other and say 'hello' on their way to work. We even have our own community web site - www.london-se1.co.uk - which provides lots of information about what's going on in SE1 and has a very active and friendly forum with new members joining every day.
Chris Smith

Shopping centre? Well having a supermarket on your doorstep is handy. It's changed a lot in the last 10 years and is due to change even more in the next 10 due to the massive re-development.
Jonathan Wood

Simon Lyons

I can now walk into the City every day (no more sodding Bakerloo), buy all my veggies at Borough Market and eat out at Butler's Wharf without having to pay £30 for a taxi home.

But the best thing about living in SE1 is that there are no North Londoners around. The Islington set won't go within a mile of the Bricklayers Arms without a bulletproof jacket.

If the Shoreditch fools had any idea how cool it is here, then they'd move in tomorrow. Now, we wouldn't want that, would we?!

So remember to keep it to yourselves. Keep telling everyone that Bermondsey is really dodgy and Shad Thames is overrated. It'll be our little secret.

The Waterloo festival took place each summer in the Lower Marsh with the local Guide and Scout packs providing stalls and entertainments.

The Rag and Bone man came trundling around every Sunday afternoon.

This may sound like sixty years ago but this was still the case up until the late Seventies!!!

As I grew up and met new people I was always amazed how many people didn't know anybody lived in Waterloo at all! Now of course when I say I live in Waterloo people accuse me of being a yuppie...

SE1 is a great place to live. There are countless bars and restaurants, especially along the Cut, Blackfriars Road and the Lower Marsh. The communities still exist to an extent and have a strong voice as far as development of the area goes.

The Young Vic is a fabulous theatre which reguarly offer discount tickets to its neighbours. The Old Vic and National Theatre, National Film Theatre and all the museums, concert halls and attractions of the South Bank make this a diverse and fun place to live!

Because of the ongoing regeneration there is an also a excitment about the place. On a Saturday afternoon it is a great walking along the Thames from Waterloo to the Borough, passing the Oxo Tower, the Bankside Tate, the Anchor pub, the ruins of Winchester House, the Clink and the Globe Theatre.

The riverside has been the most obvious beneficiary - Hays Galleria, the Globe,
Bankside power station et al - but the revolutionary glass tube of
Waterloo International (where the building stress is taken by the
glass and not the structure) is a real delight.

Streets to check - Lower Marsh market, Bermondsey Square (non food) market on
early Friday mornings, the Borough fruit and veg market, and the
shops of The Cut and the Elephant...but above all, the riverside
walk from Shad Thames in the east to the MI6 building in the west.