I live in SE London, just off of Old Kent Road. It's not the greatest area, but I've never had any problems, we live in a nice house on a fairly quiet little side street, but there are some horrible blocks of flats and estates which aren't so nice. I'm about 20 minutes away from Oxford Street or Covent Garden by bus, and about a 20 minute drive from Greenwich in the other direction. There's nothing great about the local area though really - sandwiched between Old Kent Road and Walworth Road which have shops and supermarkets, but they're a bit yucky. I could think of worse places to live (Peckham, Deptford, Brixton, Lewisham for starters) but I'm happy enough here for now. I'd love an apartment overlooking the river near Shad Thames (or anywhere along the South Bank really), or a nice house in Dulwich Village.