I'm currently renting a 2 bed flat shared with one other in Walworth/Camberwell (SE5) in London. It's a nice newly refurbished flat in an ok-ish street, but the surrounding area is like one huge council estate. I'm hacked off with the noise , crime and anti-social behavior so I'm moving to my own place in a different area in June. But I'm not that familiar with other areas of London. So, which area should I choose?

I'm looking for a 1 bed flat and my budget is £700/month. I know that's pushing it in London but I am prepared to compromise in terms of how centrally located the area is. I would like a quiet residential area that's not 'ghetto' if you know what I mean! Being on the tube isn't a big concern as I commute into central London (Aldwych) on my Vespa but it does put a limit on how far out I can go because I wouldn't want the commute to be more than 45mins - 1 hour absolute max.

The possible areas that I've identified are, Forest Hill, Honor Oak, Sydenham and Crystal Palace.

I had thought about Thamesmead West as the new-build flats with river views looked really good value but, having done some research, I heard so many horror stories about that area I wouldn't touch it with a barge-pole!

Any other suggestions?

Sydenham has a lot going for it, but anywhere cheap in London is going to have chavvery.

If you don't want to move too far out you could just about get a reasonable 1-bed for that or thereabouts with a bit of haggling in the Surrey Quays area, maybe even outlying Rotherhithe as prices are temporarily pushed down by the closure of the tube which wouldn't affect you? It's not exactly classy, but if what you're used to is Walworth, you might find it an improvement.

£700 pcm is really pushing it I'm afraid - you may have to look at studios as well. However, if you've got a scooter and can commute for an hour, you can cast your net pretty wide. If you consider zone 3 instead of zone 2, (easily commutable from Aldwych by scooter in an hour) your chavness levels should reduce somewhat.

Thanks for the advice.