What's it really like to live in Dulwich?

[jsmith]

Hi everyone,

I've just found out that I'm pregnant and currently live in an area of London which is less that what I'd call desirable. I'm looking for an area where your neighbours know you are, there aren't groups of men boozing outside the corner shop, there are nice deli's and local pubs. Not rough pubs you wouldn't set foot in!

Also somewhere which is a great, safe place to be when bringing up a baby for the first time.

Does Dulwich fit the bill? Any advice and good streets to live in? What are the people generally like?

Thank you

JS

[jsmith]

-- moved topic --

[littleEDfamily]

Hi there,

We've been here for 5 years and for the time of our lives it has been perfect. I honestly cannot think of a place I would rather have lived. Now our first is a little older and we have another one on the way, the pull to more space and a bigger house outside of London is becoming quite strong though.

The parks are wonderful, the local businesses fabulous, and in general, the people very nice (lots of media/ arty types as well as civil servants and city people/ professionals - not too many of the 'original' locals is what I hear - good diverse mix). It's not totally idyllic, but if you want to raise your kids in London I don't think you'd find anywhere better.

We're close to both Dulwich Park and Peckham Rye as well as the library, the mini Sainsbury's and only a 5 min walk to Northcross Rd. Our road is full of nice people and quiet.

Good luck with your decision!

[Fuschia]

Just be careful you are no more than about 400m as the crow flies from your nearest primary school

[R&A]

and make sure you never admit you live in SE15

[Fliss]

Have you been to have a look around yet? That would probably give you the best idea.

[Belle]

It's great - have lived here in pre baby days, and now again with baby and I love it. As little ed family says there is so much on our doorstep, and I found it a lifesaver in early days with baby to be able to get out to the park easily or just wander to the shops without it meaning a major journey. There are tonnes of nice cafes etc to sit in when baby is quite small and lots of activities for when they're bigger (including plenty of free ones eg One o clock club, whippersnappers). there are good community midwifery teams but they get booked up early on so you'd need to get in quick...and the other down side is that since it's such a nice place to live the house prices are v high. We're not on the tube but I find transport quite easy as there's trains to London Bridge from ED (no steps on the London side, only a couple on the way back - makes trips to Borough market/Tate Modern with buggy v easy) plus buses to the west end, waterloo and victoria. Or you can go to Peckham Rye or Denmark Hill for trains to victoria and the city. There are nice delis (some might say overpriced...) and pubs yes, and I do know my neighbours pretty well. It's a good place for making mum friends too.

[snss75]

Going a bit off topic but I just have to break the golden rule and admit to living in SE15 :)) We've lived in the Bellenden area for 4 years now and I love it! Bellenden Road is lovely, Peckham shops are just minutes away as is the train station & buses and ED is just around the corner. Also very convenient for the baby groups in SE15, SE22 and SE5, all walking distance. It also seems that we've had less trouble with the primary school places than SE22. Just thought I'd put in a good word for SE15 in case you find yourself with a lovely house on the "wrong side of the tracks" so to speak :)

[bonaome]

We moved just over a year ago, from Brixton. Only 2 miles as the crow flies, but a whole world away. I'd echo all the points made above. It's lovely here (ED). It's got enough going on to make life easy and interesting and, well Londony, but without all the agro, grief and hassle.

The Belenden Regeneration area (roughly the bit of Peckham that's south of Lyndhurst Grove and west of Rye Lane) is also very nice. The Village is absolutely lovely and if you're pregnant to a multi-millionaire you might want to look over there, but I think we'd find it a bit too quiet. Herne Hill is also very nice, though I think it's even more expensive than here.

Nunhead - particularly the streets south east of the cemetary - is also very nice and very "popular" as the estate agents would describe it.

True enough about primary schools though. If you're going to be here with a little one, it's surprising how soon you find yourself applying for school places and so even though I know school must seem a long long way off you'd be well advised to read up some of the forum threads on school places and have a think about it. Fushia isn't exaggerating, some of the schools offer out to no further than literally 300-400 meters away.

Also worthy of a mention is the Horniman - nice kid friendly museum and gardens.

There?s basically loads to do and it?s very friendly - we also know our neighbours and not just the immediate ones. All in all, I wouldn?t want to live anywhere else.

[meadow408]

hi there just wanted to post my experience and concerns here.

I moved a few months ago to ED with my bf, exactly for all the reasons mentioned above: it's a lovely area, with quircky little shops and beautiful parks and you get so much more space then in central London.

We are renting out at the moment to see how we like the area with thea idea to buy a property further down the line and start a family :-)

However the idyllic experience has been recently overcasted by the discovery that a neighbour likes to entertain "ladies" at his place; it's his personal business and I'm not mentioning this as to highlight the moral side of it, however we have noticed a few gentlemen waiting for these ladies and hanging around the area looking rather suspicious...

I am just a bit concerned about the side effects of this, but having said that, short of running background checks on your prospect neighbours, it's a very lovely place to live!

[philiphenslowe]

"not too many of the 'original' locals is what I hear"

What makes you think that? Most people in my road have been here well over 30 years.

[sanity girl]

Yes, I thought that was an odd comment too. I grew up in Dulwich and I am back living here now. I love it - it's a great place to grow up, loads of lovely green spaces but still close to central london. My parents are still living in Dulwich in the house they bought almost 40 years ago, where I grew up, and the same goes for many people in their road.

[littleEDfamily]

That was my comment: "not too many of the 'original' locals is what I hear"

To be honest I am not really sure how substantiated by fact it is - lots of tradesmen I have used have commented about how the area is has changed and is now occupied by 'fancy types!'. I do have to admit that for some reason everyone we know is 'newish' to the area - between 2 and 8 years, but maybe that's just the circles we move in. There are streets with larger houses where I think people may be inclined to settle longterm - our street is mostly small 2 or 3 bedders so there is very high turnover of housing stock as young families (I assume) outgrown their places.

[littleEDfamily]

PS I wasn't passing comment on whether it's good or bad that the area is full of 'newer' people, just that the general view seems to be that the ares has changed a lot in the last few years. Can't really comment on what it used to be like, but I like how it is now.

[sanity girl]

My parents live closer to Dulwich Village, so maybe it's more the case for that area and there has been a higher turnaround of residents in East Dulwich which has the smaller 2/3 bedders like you say

[sillywoman]

Would echo the query about original locals -Sensibleman was HH born & bred, but went to school over here. In our road we're still considered by many to be relative newcomers as we've only been here 15 years! It's an absolutely smashing place to raise kids there's so much for them to do at any age.

In fact we are the flipside of littleEDfamily. I'd love to move to have a bigger garden but my kids have such a great life here that they've made us promise not to move out of our road at all (even within ED) until they've left home! As everything they need is within an easy walk/bus or train journey I can see their point.

[akc74]

I also just want to put a good word in for SE15 - perhaps not all of it, but certainly the Bellenden bit. We were looking in SE22 at first but ended up moving to SE15 (nr Bellenden Rd) at the end of last year and are about to have our first baby. I am so happy with our decision - I have loved every minute of living here, and am still enjoying getting to know it -I am really happy to be starting a family here. We lived in SW London before (Tooting Bec/Balham) and I find it so much more friendly and villagey here. Last night we sat in the newly refurbed Victoria Inn on Bellenden Road and just felt so lucky to be in such a fab area. I think primary schools and space may become an issue for us in a few years time, but for now it's perfect. There are so many nice parks, cafes, restaurants and shops all within walking distance.

Good luck.

[The Nappy Lady]

I think it is a great place to bring up children - plenty of activities and groups (some free, some not so you can pick and choose), plenty of parents to befriend and hang out with and child friendly places to go.

Would also like to say that Nunhead is in SE15, we have lived in a road off Ivydale Road (south east end of Nunhead as mentioned earlier) for 15 years now and have seen it change a lot as many expanding families (a lot from ED) move to the area to get more house for their money. It is well worth looking over there too, and you have Ivydale School & Surestart Centre/Playgroup just around the corner. There are still plenty of 'original locals' despite the inevitible change to the area - we have two old ladies in our street who grew up in the houses they live in to this day, I love that. It is a real mix. They tell some interesting tales when you get chatting to them.

Whilst the dream of a (big!) house in the country is without doubt tempting there are downsides - fewer baby groups to go to, sometimes lack of pavements making it hard to go out the front door with a buggy - most places a drive away, school run potentially harder work and certainly not all the London 'add ons' that we enjoy - all the central London museums, days out on the Southbank, Princess Diana Memorial Playground, lots of local summer fayres and other events to go to. I sometimes have to remind myself of all this, and when I do I realise just how lucky we are.

Molly

[Smiler]

We have lived here (near Lordship Lane) for nearly nine years, and have found it a lovely place to be, both pre-kids and with a little one.

Now, with a two-year-old and another on the way we have reluctantly decided to move away due to v.high house prices, childcare costs/availability and issues with school catchment areas (see other threads).

As others have said, there are some great midwifery services here, but their lists fill up very fast so pregnant ladies need to get on them as early as possible! They may not accept you on their lists until you've actually moved here. Contact details for the different practices are on older threads.

Childcare is expensive and there doesn't seem to be enough places to go round, although am sure this is also a problem elsewhere in London and the south-east. If you're considering nursery, many have very long waiting lists and not many take kids under two, so if you'd like this as an option, get on the lists sharpish!

Sorry if this sounds negative, because have enjoyed living here and will be sad to leave.

Good luck with making a decision and the move.

[Keef]

I grew up in ED, and my parents still live ther, and I think a lot of peple my age couldn't afford to buy a place there, or could afford to, but would rather get more for their money elsewhere.

I'm going to put in a shout for Sydenham. It's a 10 minute bus ride from ED, so everything you could want from ED is easily accessible, but the houses are a bit cheaper (and generally nicer), and it is just a lot greener, with more trees and stuff. Hornimans is on the doorstep, and we have Wells Park, which is a lovely little park!

I won't say what we pay in rent, but our house is nicer than anything I've seen on offer in ED, and about ?500 a month cheaper than something of the same size in ED.

[jalapeno]

Jsmith,

Have you considered Forest Hill, SE23? Very green and leafy with popular children attractions like the Horniman & sandpit at your doorstep. The East London Line is here so trendy places like Hoxton and Shoreditch are a tube journey away if you ever need a distraction from ED. Certainly more space for your money, propertywise. There's a huge boom in the area with lots of new establishments starting to open. The best part is you're never too far away from ED as it's only 5 mins up the road!

[Lemon1]

I have lived in the area for 3 years now and really love it. Now that I have my baby (6 weeks old) I have found I appreciate the area even more for the parks, local shops, library and lots of cafes and child friendly pubs. I really like that there is so much to do locally. I didn't have many friends or family in the area as I am from North London but with a bit of effort have made lots of local friends and I even set up a regular meet with local mums which has been great. The only thing I would say is that due to rising house prices, lack of childcare and problems getting into schools as mentioned above I feel like it's not somewhere we will be able to stay which is a real shame now that we are settled here.

[reren]

Ah - you've touched on a favourite topic for those of us who live in East Dulwich! It is a great place to live - but I also wanted to put a vote in for Peckham Rye. We ended up in East Dulwich largely because we liked the house we saw there best - but I always slightly wish we'd gone for Peckham Rye. East Dulwich is lovely and Lordship Lane has everything you need - including some useful shops as well as pretty cafes/delis - nice combination of chi-chi and proper high street - but, in my opinion, Peckham Rye is a bit cooler / alternative in feel. If you're used to a more urban area - might be a nice mix for you of the liveliness of an urban area with some pretty quiet streets - also more ethnically mixed than East Dulwich it seems to me. There are some great local restaurants and bars/pubs tucked away in Peckham Rye. If you're looking for leafy green streets / more surburban feel then East Dulwich is more for you.

Depending on whether you need to go into Victoria or London Bridge and exactly where you live in East Dulwich - its worth noting that Peckham Rye & Denmark Hill will connect into the East London Line in 2012. Going to effectively mean you've got a tube-like service and should also have an impact on making the area even more desireable to live in/ better investment (though its already quite expensive so who knows what that means in terms of house prices longterm?)

If you do end up in East dulwich - i'd suggest trying to be somewhere on an easy bus route into Peckham Rye so that you'll have easy access to the east london line in future.

You might also check out Honor Oak - already on the East London extension...and some nice shops/ restaurants as well.

[Keef]

See, I mention Sydenham, and everyone else has to get a vote in for their areas! ;-)

[jalapeno]

The much hyped ED is on location location location on chnl 4 tonight for any first time house hunters, people looking at moving into the area!:)