Putney
SW15

Putney has loads of great pubs and restaurants, it's safe to walk the streets at night, close to the river, it's really well-served by public transport via the District Line and mainline stations. Richmond Park is only a quick hop away, as are Putney and Wimbledon Commons and Putney Heath so there is loads of wide open space (so you don't get that claustrophobic London feeling of seeing nothing but buildings the whole time), and Putney and its surrounds are packed full of folk from the Southern hemisphere! Another plus if you're of the rugby incline (fairly likely) is that Putney's only four or five mainline stops to Twickenham. Finally for all you homesick South Africans there's a Nando's, a South African butcher selling biltong (just off Upper Richmond Road, going towards Richmond Park), and a supermarket on Upper Richmond Road (near East Putney tube station) which sells all sorts of SA treats, including Oma rusks!