Often have flat to yourself. Good transport links.

Rent: £425 per calendar month, including bills, provision of bedding, bed linen & towels and use of the washing machine.

The room and the flat: It's a double-size room for one person in a fairly quiet and tidy two-bedroom 5th floor flat on the very popular, green and peaceful Dulwich Estate in Crystal Palace. The room has a single bed, built-in wardrobe, chest-of-drawers, armchair, bookshelves, desk & chair, desktop computer with broadband, and television. You'd be sharing the bathroom, open-plan living room and kitchen with me, but I'm quite often away.

Me: I took early retirement a few months ago from a job with a children's charity but I still do a bit of freelance work running workshops for parents. I have a campervan and I spend significant amounts of time out of London. When I'm in London I spend most weekends at my partner's place - he lives a mile away. (I have 2 adult sons – one in London and one in Oxford.)

The area: From the flat it's a 10 minute walk to the centre of Crystal Palace (known as “The Triangle”), which has a wide range of restaurants, bars, coffee bars, independent shops (including a very good bookshop and numerous vintage shops), markets and Sainsbury's. There's lots going on locally including live music in local pubs, film club, dance classes, yoga classes, book groups, a growing art scene, community choir, friends of the local nature reserve, transition town activities, etc, etc. It's 10 minutes walk to Crystal Palace Park from the flat, where there's a gym, swimming pool, sports facilities, boating lake, etc. and 5 mins walk to Dulwich Upper Wood. To get a good feel of what Crystal Palace is like google “The Triangle SE19” and “Crystal Palace, London”

Transport: There's free off-street parking outside the flat. It's 10 mins walk to Sydenham Hill Train Station (15 min journey to London Victoria via Brixton; and to Orpington). 10 mins walk to Gipsy Hill Train Station (trains to Balham, where there's a connection with the Northern Line, Clapham Junction, London Victoria & London Bridge; and to Norwood Junction, Beckenham Junction & Sutton). 12-15 mins walk to Crystal Palace London Overground Station (trains to Highbury & Islington via Docklands; and to West Croydon). 2 mins walk to No 3 bus (to Oxford Circus via Brixton & Westminster) and No 450 bus (to West Croydon). 10 mins walk to Crystal Palace Bus Station (buses to all over).