London housing query

A key issue is how close to a tube station. As you look through listings, see just how far the commute is to a station.

The usual advice is to stay near or within the Circle Line route, but that applies to those with sightseeing as the major goal. I'd suggest looking at South Kensington or Bayswater or the South Bank. Nothing wrong with VRBO or AirBnB for finding a flat big enough for three generations. Probably a good idea to spread out some because your daily sleep/wake cycles may differ. Safety isn't really an issue, affordability of course is in the mind of the afforder.

You could also look for something called "serviced apartments." These are apartment buildings basically run as hotels. You get an apartment along with a front desk, housekeeping, etc.

Safety isn’t an issue unless you are going to walk into dark alleyways late at night whilst drunk. Just be sensible and don’t leave your wallet or mobile phone sticking out of your jeans pocket etc.

I have stopped using Airbnb, as there charges are too high - in the U.K., I use (in order of preference) Trip Advisor rentals, Booking.com and VRBO.

Greater London covers a huge area but then you mention the city centre. Generally, the further out you are, the cheaper the place. Expect to pay more for something with good transport links (bus or underground, not trains). London isn’t a cheap city for accommodation. If you want to be central, I would suggest Marylebone, Pimlico, Fitzrovia or Bloomsbury. If you want to be further out with a village feel - Hampstead, Chiswick, Putney or Wimbledon.

How does a commute via overground train compare with a tube commute? Looking at Barnes Bridge

(from a non-London resident but somebody with extensive London experience and many years of working trains in and out of London at all hours)

Except for the Metropolitan Line, I would say the primary difference between an overground rush hour commute in London and an Underground rush hour commute is that on a tube train people will be in all the seats along the walls of the car, looking into the centre but never catching each others' eyes (it is a London thing and always has been) and you will be standing up near the doors or in the aisle enjoying others' armpits; whereas on an overground main line train all the side by side seats will be full and you will be standing near the door but not in the aisle so much until it is really overcrowded, enjoying others' armpits.

If you mean on the London Overground orange trains the seats are along the walls.

The Metropolitan Line has mostly side by side seats except for the newest ones which are along the walls.

This sounds tongue in cheek but to me it is real.

If you travel out of peak hours you usually can get a seat on the tube, almost always on Overground.

The other difference is that the tube may take you where you are going, with perhaps an easy connection, whereas the Overground is much more limited in range with many fewer stations and fewer interchanges.

From Barnes Bridge you probably won't be interested in much outbound, although you can make a connection to Hampton Court Palace, but inbound you can change to the Victoria tube line at Vauxhall (pretty easy but lots of stairs) or at Waterloo, much more of a faff but you do get your pick of Bakerloo Line, Waterloo & City Line (when its working), Northern Line Charing Cross Branch, and Jubilee Line. You could also change trains at Clapham Junction for Victoria but be aware that Clapham Junction is a huge station with something like 19 platforms.

Main line and Overground trains run much less frequently than tube trains.

Be careful about using the term Overground when thinking about Barnes Bridge. Overground is a name given to inner city commuter above ground trains operated for Transport for London and are orange on the map and train sides. Mainline trains are privately owned, sort of, and are from much further away. The Barnes Bridge trains are operated by South Western Railway.

hey hey jebarnes
when are the dates and budget in pounds? affordable to you means what?
don't use AIRBNB or VRBO anymore, their fees keep going up and up plus don't forget to add taxes. like another poster, booking.com and tripadvisor.com under vacation rentals, put your filters in, map comes with whats open. read fine print, plus many charge a security deposit, any mobility issues and is their a lift (elevator), washer/dryer so can pack light, if early checkin before 3pm and if not where do you go with luggage. been there done that (waited 5 hours for key and checkin), lots to think about. further out more you pay in transportation, weigh the pros and cons.
aloha

My rule for riding public transport in London is to try to avoid rush hour if I can. As Nigel stated. It can be very uncomfortable.

To jebarnes, the OP of this thread:
Take a look at this thread recently posted. Some of these comments may answer your question.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/looking-for-an-ideal-area-to-stay-in-london
I would personally look at the neighborhoods of Covent Garden and Bloomsbury. Both are in central London and make it easy to get around and see the sights.

To treycorene, I have responded to you over on your thread.

It is difficult when there are two threads in one - it is possible to confuse them.

And all the responses go to the original poster.

replying the part:

Talking about trains from Barnes Bridge, does that mean the south western line could be affected by all the national rail construction?
And does this mean we'd have a harder time getting to Central london than the inner city commuter above ground trains?

What "all the national rail construction"? For what time of year, on which lines? After working on the trains for 3 decades all I know is that there is always work being done. There isn't any more or less at the moment than usual. Are you talking about HS2? That's nowhere near. Are you talking about Croydon? Also nowhere near and will be done after Christmas.

So where and when are you concerned about?

There isn't an Overground Line anywhere near Barnes Bridge. The nearest one is the line from Clapham Junction to Shepherds Bush and onward to Willesden Junction. It doesn't help get into Central London.

I think perhaps you are confusing the various transportation systems in London. To a newcomer they can be confusing and look like spaghetti. But it all works remarkably well for the world's oldest.

Perhaps it would be best if you created a thread about your transportation concerns.

"It is difficult when there are two threads in one - it is possible to confuse them."

Nigel, I totally agree.
That's why I usually respond only to the OP.
If someone else hijacks the thread or has questions they keep asking, it's always best from them to start a new thread, asking their questions as a new topic.