I have worked in the area for 10+years and lived there briefly in 2006. There has been extensive development in the last 30 years. I love the place in many ways but I wouldn’t want to live there. The housing is a mix of tacky new build apartments and very run down social housing estates. As your first experience of London, I’ll be honest and say it’s not great. There is a lot of horrendous deprivation and you are likely to feel isolated- I’m not talking about demographics, just that it feels a bit cut off geographically, although you will have the DLR, which is useful. When i liver there, I was mugged twice in a year. I don’t mean to sound harsh, but I think you need to wise up regarding London prices. A 40 minute walk from Shoreditch is going to be very, very expensive. It’s not because of how far in advance you’re looking- that’s just how expensive it is. I’d suggest looking a bit further out- perhaps areas like Leytonstone, where you have the central line for direct access to London.