Where else can we live!?

[Saffron]

We had a bulk collection from Lewisham last year, no charge.

P4 bus from Brockley rise runs to Horniman end of LL. 484 runs through Brockley, Nunhead, then P Rye and up to north end of LL. And the 122 will take you from Brockley to Crystal Palace. Brockley cross and Honor Oak Park can be bottlenecks for traffic at busy times of day.

(But as much as we love the Brockley area, Hubbie and I have talked about moving a little further out to Lower Sydenham or Clock House. For about the same rent, we could have a bigger garden. Still undecided.)

[mrcee]

HOP to east dulwich (upland) around 8am usually takes about 10mins, the traffic looks a lot worse than it actually is. The evening would take slightly longer between 15-20min

[borderpaul]

GWOD, many parents have moved to places less than perfect for the sake of their kids but it can only be admitted to close friends and family or after the house is sold.

I'd personally recommend Upper Sydenham, good amenities and transport. I managed to get rid of loads of rubbish just by putting it near the road including a bookcase, a filing cabinet and old laptops.

[Otta]

Saffron, I don't know exactly where you are thinking of, but I'd avoid the part of lower Sydenham near Lower Sydenham station and the big Sainsbury's (borders of Catford). It's a bit bleak down there.

Penge is a very underrated area with some beautiful housing in parts.

We may also look to move in the next year. Love the area and road we live on, and pay VERY good rent for the 3 bed semi we live in. However, our landlords are basically only charging such low rent because they clearly don't want to spend a penny improving the house.

[Mellors]

I moved to Upper Sydenham (Wells Park) from ED and highly recommend it.

Plus points:

- twice the house for the money, plus a big front and back garden, and I can park outside.

- Great parks/greenery

- better public transport (12 mins from Sydenham Hill - Victoria, so 30 mins door to door to Central London), or Overground for Islington/Canary Wharf/02. Husband still cycles to work, but College Rd is one for the fit!

- good nights out in Crystal Palace, or jump on train to Brixton for Brixton Village/cinema

- good butchers, fishmongers, bakers, coffee shop, fruit & veg etc

- walk to school through lovely woods following Green Chain Walk (to Horniman). I think generally the schools are good?

- walk down to Dulwich Park/Lordship Lane or there are tons of buses

I have no idea why its cheaper over here - to my mind it should be more expensive!

[SarahJaneS]

I rented in East Dulwich and when I came to buy had to extend the search somewhat. I initially looked at HOP and Gypsy Hill, but ( and after initially dismissing it as too far away ....)

I ended up in West Norwood ( SE27 ) which is on the border of SW2. This was 6 years ago when I was still thinking Nursery and Primary Schools. I am very happy here and the children went to school in West Dulwich ( 20 minutes walk ), however local schools very good I just got the timing wrong. ED still an easy drive and I still pop over most Saturdays.

But I am now on the cusp of secondary schools and, luckily, I seem to have a very good choice of State ( Dunraven ) plus the usual Dulwich fee paying. However,living here, it has also opened up Croydon ( very good independent boys schools Whitgift and Trinity - my son has just started at Trinity and gets there by school bus and is picked up from the end of the road ) and South West London eg Wimbledon. I only mention all of this as secondary schools weren't on my radar when I moved, but time has gone so quickly and it does help to have this in mind if you are planning a big move ( unless you are planning to move again when the secondary school time comes ), and I luckily seemed to have ended up in an area with good options. I am also within walking distance of Streatham Common ( a nice mixture of wood, formal and open space ) and I also looked at some really big houses off the Common ( where I believe Sarah Beeny lives ) so that area might be worth a closer look. In fact, Sarah Beeny was filming in my road the other day ( not sure if it was a recommendation , or avoid at all costs type scenario.....! )

Yes, the high street is dire in West Norwood; has still not recovered from Woolies closing down, but there is talk of a Ritzy opening on the library site and the new swimming pool and leisure centre should be finished in about a year. Nearest Waitrose is Balham. Very good community festival first Sunday of every month - Feast - next one is Dec 2.

Very, very good community spirit( mixture of young middle class families and older people who have lived here in the same road for 50+ years ); I know all my neighbours and and I have met loads of similar minded people who have all moved here from elsewhere. A big artistic community ( eg Edmund De Waal has his pottery studio in Tulse Hill ) as well, plus train links from Tulse Hill and West Norwood can take you to either London Bridge, Victoria or Blackfriars plus buses, of course. CP very easy to get to on the bus and handy for a drink/meal in the evening.

[Otta]

Mellors Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I moved to Upper Sydenham (Wells Park) from ED and

> highly recommend it.

>

> Plus points:

>

> - twice the house for the money, plus a big front

> and back garden, and I can park outside.

>

> - Great parks/greenery

>

> - better public transport (12 mins from Sydenham

> Hill - Victoria, so 30 mins door to door to

> Central London), or Overground for

> Islington/Canary Wharf/02. Husband still cycles

> to work, but College Rd is one for the fit!

>

> - good nights out in Crystal Palace, or jump on

> train to Brixton for Brixton Village/cinema

>

> - good butchers, fishmongers, bakers, coffee shop,

> fruit & veg etc

>

> - walk to school through lovely woods following

> Green Chain Walk (to Horniman). I think generally

> the schools are good?

>

> - walk down to Dulwich Park/Lordship Lane or there

> are tons of buses

>

> I have no idea why its cheaper over here - to my

> mind it should be more expensive!

Yep, agree with all that. We're down the road living between Kirkdale and Dartmouth Road, so roughly half way between Forest Hill & Sydenham stations. Love Wells Park and the woods.

Only downside is Wells Park medical practise, which I initially thought was wonderful, but now think has gone down hill very quickly. Tried to book jabs for the girls this orning, only to be told that there is no longer a practise nurse in post, and won't be for the foreseeable! Just the latest thing that has annoyed me about that place, their nurses were lovely too.

[dreamaholic]

I am not answering your question here: have you considered costs associated with selling and buying? Eg lawyers fees, stamp duty, agency fee, survey etc. at the end of the day the savings may not be as great as you initially thought, and you are leaving an area you like. Just thought I'd raise this.

[Saffron]

Otta Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Saffron, I don't know exactly where you are

> thinking of, but I'd avoid the part of lower

> Sydenham near Lower Sydenham station and the big

> Sainsbury's (borders of Catford). It's a bit bleak

> down there.

No, more like borders of Forest Hill. Agreed, Catford in general tends to be a bit bleak. Sad really, b/c a lot of the actual houses themselves are nice, if you don't mind the heroin addicts on the street corners. :(

[jennyh]

Ooh lots of useful info here, thanks everyone. We use to live in streatham actually and I know some parts of it are lovely. I think we've been spoilt in dulwich and have so many lovely friends that I would be very sad to go too far from them, currently it's sounding like we are on the right lines with all the great areas and are lucky to live in a good part of London! Have had lots of private messages too so thank you everyone for sparing your time!

Sadly dreamaholic we do need to move, have outgrown our flat which we have already extended so need more space, we have 4 rooms which works fine with 1 toddler but if we considered another we would seriously struggle. Also we've been there 7 years and its had its time if that makes sense. Good point though, would stay if we could!

[Cora]

Was thinking of moving across to Streatham Jenny as really liked it.....then panicked about have three teenage boys there...moving out of known area of ed to unknown of streatham plus changing local authority...any comments from you or others about Streatham very useful....

[Otta]

"Agreed, Catford in general tends to be a bit bleak."

There are nice parts as you go towards Bromley, but this end is basically pretty shite.

[jennyh]

I lived in streatham 7 years ago so it has prob changed hugely, I fear I would be more unhelpful! We found it a bit lifeless when we were there and lots of places were closing but I think that there have been some improvements and parts of it are prob very nice. Streatham common area is supposed to be nice, streatham hill was supposed to be a hotspot when I lived there which just seem to mean it had a couple of nice cafes and few less chicken shops but sure it has changed since then. Think the high street is actually pretty decent and there are quite a lot of shops that would be good to have on the doorstep. We lived near tooting bec common which was nice and there is an area between streatham and tooting that is supposed to be very nice, some kind of green/regeneration area if that makes sense, I can't remember what it is called I'm afraid but a bit of googling might help.

[The Nappy Lady]

We've been in Nunhead for over 15 years & have had a few discussions about whether to stay or go. In the end we've decided we are way too happy to move - great neighbours, great school (& happy with the choice of secondaries around), lovely green spaces, easy access to central London.

So, rather than spend money on moving we are going to do the typical loft conversion, house makeover etc with a view to making the house work for us as a family for the next 15 years & beyond.

Over recent years so many E. Dulwichers have moved this way to get more house for their money, but I think now the prices have increased to a point where you don't benefit so much as you do by going to Sydenham or HOP.

Happy house hunting!!

[Lacey]

There are some nice cafes, bars and restaurants in Streatham (Beyrouths, Earl Grey & Rose, Boyce de Roca, Pratts & Payne, which is a newish Antic pub, plus chains like Pizza Express). The shops include a very good selection of charity shops and a few basic chain stores. You also can't escape the fact Streatham High Road is a long, busy road!

Would echo the points Sarah made about West Norwood too - the monthly community lead West Norwood Feast is on this weekend (Sunday 10-4, and Saturday evening from 4pm with a Christmas light show, food stalls and kids activities).

Re Lambeth - waste and recycling collection is weekly, you need to pay for a garden waste permit (collected fortnightly).

[neilly1973]

jennyh - feel your pain - we are going through the same trauma....

[savage]

jennyh Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I lived in streatham 7 years ago so it has prob

> changed hugely, I fear I would be more unhelpful!

> We found it a bit lifeless when we were there and

> lots of places were closing but I think that there

> have been some improvements and parts of it are

> prob very nice. Streatham common area is supposed

> to be nice, streatham hill was supposed to be a

> hotspot when I lived there which just seem to mean

> it had a couple of nice cafes and few less chicken

> shops but sure it has changed since then. Think

> the high street is actually pretty decent and

> there are quite a lot of shops that would be good

> to have on the doorstep. We lived near tooting

> bec common which was nice and there is an area

> between streatham and tooting that is supposed to

> be very nice, some kind of green/regeneration area

> if that makes sense, I can't remember what it is

> called I'm afraid but a bit of googling might

> help.

Furzedown?

Housing stock is quite nice but I'm not sure how much cheaper it really is. I know they have some excellent primaries but the catchment is small. Iris's close to both Tooting bec & Broadway tube and also on the overground.

I know this as my brother lives there, but to be honest he doesn't really like it as it doesn't really have a centre. He spends most of his time across the common in Balham

[Carbonara]

My In laws live in Streatham Hill. The housing is so much cheaper than ED. If you place yourselves well you can be in reach of excellent schools - Julian's and Dunraven, or Streatham Wells and Dunraven, Dunraven are opening a new primary school, and Elmgreen is good, too.

I don't like Streatham High Rd but there are some excellent cafes and restaurants, more and more opening up every month, the High Rd is actually improving a lot. There are good small parks like Hillside Gardens, eayt reach of Brockwell Park and Tooting Common. They live in a part called the ABC roads, Amesbury - Downton Avenues and then Wavertree Rd.

I like Crystal palace, too. Westow Hill is brilliant, CP park, not sure what the primary schools are like, but the Harris CP is very popular.

[esme]

Honor Oak lovely, next ED for definite, quiet but nice shops (and getting better all the time), great transport links and nice parks :)

[bee74]

thank you for starting this post, I am very curious too. I live in Camberwell, which is so central and close to everything. I am cooncerned everything else would feel really suburban.

Can you tell me what postcodes you are talking about people living in Sydenham?

Thank you

[bluesuperted]

I lurked on this thread back in December, but we were involved in the most protracted property purchase so I didn't dare post as was so desperate to move to SE23... Well we've moved now and I know it's been a lovely sunny weekend but so far I'm so glad we moved to Forest Hill. We moved from Peckham/Nunhead borders near the top of Rye Lane/bottom of PR common (moved from renting in ED) and got so much more for our money here - period houses in even the Rye Lane part of Peckham are so pricey - eg Nigel Road - whereas the part of FH we've moved to (below HOP and off Stanstead Rd) has tree-lined streets of much more reasonably priced houses, especially the 30s ones. I think these streets have potential to become v popular given the schools are doing so well plus proximity to station and parks. Anyway loving it so far and wouldn't go back to ED even if I won the lottery like other posters, just prefer the peacefulness and wider streets and still feels very accessible to get to LL (and I don't drive). I love that I'm now a bit closer to the Horniman and Blythe Hill park too - life-affirming to be nice and high up IMO :)

[steffie]

Hi i lived in east dulwich all my life, my family still live there however we wanted a bigger place so we moved to lee on the boarder of blackheath we are in the borough of Greenwich. We got a semi detached with garage the property has already increased in price by 35%.great schools lovely residential area with great shops schools and parks.

[Ramble66]

We love Brockley/Crofton Park.

Ladywell is also developing nicely.

Edit - sorry hadn't seen 2nd page!