How is living in ED? How is the commute? Looking for some help and advice

[maybeED]

We are thinking of moving to ED, as a nice area to live in London that is well connected, near to parks, shops and local life. I don't know ED very well and am a little bit worried about the commute - how is it on an everyday basis? Also being new, i would like to meet other women/mums and children and be able to build up local connections. Is that something easy to do in ED? Any other similar experiences of people who have recently moved in ED would be great. By the way this forum is great.

[edanna]

Hi maybeED, it really depends where you are commuting to and what you think is too long/too many changes.

[Landy10]

MaybeED - if you are going to Canary Wharf it's super easy. I take the bus up to Denmark Hill and it only takes 40mins door to desk!

[Caroline_S]

It depends a bit on where in East Dulwich you are living. We use Peckham Rye station which has trains to London Bridge, Victoria and the overground. It takes my husband half an hour door to door to get to Canary Wharf and although the trains get busy, he rarely has problems.

In terms of meeting new people, and other mums, it's really easy! This forum is amazing at facilitating meet-ups for new people - I met lots of my friends through the seasonal 'babies' threads. There are so many groups for babies / small children too so you often bump into familiar faces.

We really love it here and feel very settled. It's the best of both worlds - a great community feeling and lots of green spaces but still pretty central and easy to get into town.

[tomskip]

It takes a very long time to commute in to the West End on a bus. More than an hour.

The trains from ED station are super fast (to London Bridge only) but a huge part of ED is > 20 minutes walk to the station, as the station is really on the border with Camberwell.

It takes me an hour to get to Vauxhall on a bus practically door to door.

So ... commuting is slow and this is why our house prices are not as high as other areas on the Tube.

[Strawbs]

50 mins door to door to cannon street using peck rye station. The trains from Ed / or are super quick to London bridge / black friars / the new orange line is good too.

I have been here 7 years now and have made some great friends through the forum and NCT. If you are thinking of moving then I'd get on a nursery waiting list (if required) as they can be long.

X

[EGL]

Hi there. Re the commute, I think it's fine. I'm lucky to live near the station, and as a PP said, since part of ED is a fair old walk away, you should take that into account if short commuting time is a priority. It takes me 30 mins to get to Westminster (train to London Bridge, then tube for 3 stops). Canary Wharf would be slightly more going from ED as opposed to Peckham Rye, which has more connections. Trains from ED aren't that busy until you get close to 8am. I always get the 07:30 or 07:40 and there are lots of seats to be had. Coming back around 5pm is also totally fine. We don't have train problems too often, but when we do there are other nearby stations like Denmark Hill, Forest Hill etc. so you're never totally scuppered.

We've lived here for 3 yrs or so (we have 2 small children) and we love it here. I'm sure it'd be easy to make friends through this forum and by going to the various kids activities that take place weekly. There's quite a lot going on most of the time.

[Convex]

I work in w12 and it's between 50mins and 70mins.

I'd rather handle the commute and live where I want to, than move closer to work.

Super easy to meet people here. I've been here over 10 years but made a lot of friends when I had kids... Many via this forum!

[Jellybeanz]

I love East Dulwich but commute to Paddington. Wouldn't live anywhere else though - you have everything here you could ever want / need - from bars/restaurants/nice shops to parks/museum/art gallery and lots catering for kids and family life... You can get easily to London Bridge or Victoria from ED or Peckham Rye (or Forest Hill just up the road) and commuting is always horrible, wherever you live, lets face it!

[Earl Aelfheah]

London bridge is a nightmare at the moment due to redevelopment of the station. Once it's finished things should get better. Buses are incredibly slow during rush hour, but good in the evenings and at weekends. This part if London is does not have as fast or as regular transport as other parts due to lack of tube, but it's relatively close to the centre and a really nice locality. Cycling into town is easier and faster than you may think. I commute to Southbank and it takes 30-40 minutes depending on mode of transport (cycling being the quickest).

[LondonMix]

Door to door its 30 min to the City. It totally depends on where you are commuting to and where you live oin ED. If having a short commute is important to you just restrict your search area to be close to the right station. Justknow that means you can't have too many other deal breakers.

[maybeED]

Hi everyone for all your useful responses, much appreciated.

My commute would be to Chancery Lane, so from London bridge either on the tube or on the bus. I want to actually try it out, before we make a decision to move, i want to do the commute and see how it is.

My dilemma with ED is that you are either near the train station and therefore further away from ED park; or the other way around, nearer to the park but further away from the station. I would chose to be nearer the station as the commute is something i would twice a day; and going to the park on my day off or at the weekend will be more relaxed.

But then there is the issue of schools - Goodrich and Heber schools seem to be better than say Goose Green, which takes us away from the station again. And then there is the new school to open in Sep 15 (if i have got it right?) which will be somewhere in the middle. ???

On the social side, of meeting other mums, this forum seems like the perfect solution... similar to the nappyevalleynet thanks to which i have made some friends in our current area.

Thanks again everyone, it's a difficult decision to make. For now it is between ED and Balham/tooting. We will see how it goes... :-)

[Pickle]

We live near Goodrich School, and our closest park is Peckham Rye (which is made up of a common, and a beautiful park), which I prefer to Dulwich Park. Something to bear in mind perhaps?

For us, the easiest station to get to is Peckham Rye, with buses travelling down Barry Rd to the station every couple of minutes. As a station, it gives more flexibility than East Dulwich.

That said, my husband commutes to work by cycling or running, the train is a rarity.

Good luck with your decision!

[KatsuQueen]

I commute to chancery lane! Which end of chancery lane are you? I am close to the Holborn end. It,s quite quick from ED or peckham rye station, about 10 mins. Then you can either get the 521 bus or the tube ( northern to bank, and then the central line) I prefer to get the bus in the morning. The bit that will add time to your journey is how far away you are from the station. Luckily we are quite close about 8-10 mins walk.

One thing I would recommend is to try and get close to peckham rye station if transport is important to you. From there you can catch trains to LB, Victoria, blackfriars, kings cross and you can get on the ginger line.

[KatsuQueen]

Also, goose green school is fab! Another plus is that it is right next to the station which means that drop-offs on the way to work are easier. There is a new primary school opening in Sept 2015 I think, but that is in bellenden road, if that is the one you mean.

[Piaf]

I work in Temple and my husband is now up in Holborn and we go from Denmark hill or Peckham Rye (nr nursery) and it is easy and quick (though can be busy). Don't discount the Camberwell / Bellenden rd area - for me, we get the best of all worlds: 5-10 minutes from three stations, close to east dulwich for the shops, caf?s, baby stuff, but also close to Camberwell and Peckham for different options. Three parks nearby. And good schools - DKH, Lyndhurst, the new one on Bellenden Rd etc.

We moved 18 mths ago from North London and we are really glad we made the move! Good luck with your choice.

[njc97]

From Denmark hill/Peckham Rye, I'd go to City Thameslink on the train (15 mins) and walk/bus down Holborn over the viaduct.

But you should really me moving over to near me in Nunhead/Telegraph Hill. One more stop out on the train, and good schools, park, only a mile from Lordship Lane....

[motorbird83]

I live 10 min to Dulwich Park and 10 min to the station and am in catchment (100m) of Heber- had all your same priorities! We would probably just get in to Goodrich and for secondary we are within a mile walking of the Charter so would stand a reasonable chance of getting in there too.

I am on Pellatt rd and it's much closer to the station than it seems if you use Melbourne grove as a short cut. I think Pellatt and the surrounding roads are close to everything: the gym, NorthX rd market, the high street, both Dulwich and Peckam Rye parks, Dulwich Village and the new Picture House cinema.

The big downside is virtually all of the houses In my and the surrounding streets have tiny gardens. It was a compromise we decided we could live with for the schools, park, high street and transport links. If you have to have a decent garden a handful on Landcroft rd do but only one came up during our one year search and we were massively outbid.

Good luck!

ETA: using crystal palace rd to get to the park is usually faster from my bit of ED

[Jessie]

Goose Green is a brilliant school. Being near the station for commute into central London is also brilliant, and something for which I am very grateful. As well as the amazing teaching staff, of course.

[goldilocks]

Not sure what the comment 'Goodrich and Heber seem better than Goose Green' are based on really. Ofsted? Personal experience? Historically it was the case, it doesn't seem to be any more. I wouldn't discount the area around the station based on hearsay

[hpsaucey]

goldilocks Wrote:

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

> Not sure what the comment 'Goodrich and Heber seem

> better than Goose Green' are based on really.

> Ofsted? Personal experience? Historically it was

> the case, it doesn't seem to be any more. I

> wouldn't discount the area around the station

> based on hearsay

Agree. Don't go on just OfSTED or other people's opinions. Go and look at the schools yourself. You might find the one you prefer/think would suit your child best isn't the one you expected!

HP

[motorbird83]

I should say that I think all the ED primaries are good, particularly Bessemer. I just wanted to be near the park, transport and any if the good primary schools. To get the park and transport, the only primaries possible are Goodrich and Heber which are both good but not necessarily any better than others.

If you aren't interested in being close to Dulwich park (I run most mornings there) then I would not make being close to Heber a specific priority at all as long as you are near a primary school.

[hpsaucey]

As someone else has already said - better rail links from Peckham Rye - so closer to Peckham Rye Park good if you're not set on Dulwich Park. I'm biased but personally I much prefer Peckham Rye Park/Common.

Re: primaries - there is also of course the new Harris on Lordship Lane near Goodrich and Heber and St Anthonys Catholic.

[canela]

I commute from near Dulwich library to near Chancery Lane. If I do a mix of bus to Denmark Hill and then train to City plus walk, I can drop the kids off at 9 and be at work by 9:45. Though most days I cycle into Convent Garden and walk - door to desk including shower.