Nice areas in London for first time buyer

jussterr

Hello everyone! My first post and I hope I've put this thread in the right place.

I am entering the market for the first time. Currently looking for a 2 bedroom house and a few places in Peckham/Camberwell have caught my eye. Specifically 2 houses in Choumert Square as well as a house tucked into a gated road off Peckham High Street.

Now I know that Peckham strikes fear into the hearts of many Londoners despite its recent regeneration but what I'd really like to know is exactly how bad is it?

I've lived in Walthamstow (not the village...) as well as Bow, albeit very briefly and I didn't feel unsafe in either of those areas. How does Peckham compare to those places?

Moomum

I work near Camberwell Green at Kings hospital and to be honest it's awful! Some of the abuse we get is horrific, but saying that there are good and bad in every area. It's close to town, close to Dulwich which is lovely, I guess it depends what you make of it. Sorry wasn't really much help!

padington

jussterr wrote: »

Hello everyone! My first post and I hope I've put this thread in the right place.

I am entering the market for the first time. Currently looking for a 2 bedroom house and a few places in Peckham/Camberwell have caught my eye. Specifically 2 houses in Choumert Square as well as a house tucked into a gated road off Peckham High Street.

Now I know that Peckham strikes fear into the hearts of many Londoners despite its recent regeneration but what I'd really like to know is exactly how bad is it?

I've lived in Walthamstow (not the village...) as well as Bow, albeit very briefly and I didn't feel unsafe in either of those areas. How does Peckham compare to those places?

You may feel this would help....

Peckham ...

http://www.police.uk/overview/?q=Peckham,%20Camberwell,%20Greater%20London%20SE15%201,%20UK

Walthamstow ....

http://www.police.uk/overview/?q=London%20E17,%20UK

However it confuses more than helps because the two areas are different sizes. Try being specific in exactly what road you want to compare with what road and you may have a better chance of making any comparison.

botchjob

i lived around there for a bit and it's mostly fine. I found the bit around peckham rye station a little dodgy, and north of peckham road is grim, but the prime bits around choumert square and bellenden road are nice enough. I know prices in East Dulwich have gone up but worth looking over there too. It's really gone up in the world over the past 10 years.

The_Drama_Llama

I used to live in Brixton and had friends in Peckham...I hated going to visit them. Felt really unsafe (one guy once came up to me in broad daylight and said 'you'll get mugged around here, love'...and I'm not a flashy dresser or anything). Brixton, on the other hand, was lovely...real sense of community.

House prices round Peckham/Camberwell are cheap for a reason...

jussterr

Is the area around Queen's Road station better than Peckham & Rye?

Could anyone suggest another area in London? My budget is £350k. I prefer a house with a garden as I have a dog. Zone 2-3 is preferable. I don't want to be too far out.

The_Drama_Llama

That was the area my friend lived...so I'd say no. There was an ice cream van that went round every day (even in the dead of winter)...it was selling drugs.

sorryitsme

I live in Lee/Grove park which is zone 3 and it is lovely, really leafy with period and lots of 1930 's properties. For 350k you could get a good sized 3/4 bed house with a big garden.

kavics17

We are in Camberwell, close to Peckham. Was property hunting in Peckham but put it off as it wasn't ideal for a family (we don't have kids yet though). Chose Camberwell, we live on a busy road, bus stops right in front of our house. WE feel safe here, also Burgess Park is only a minute away, property prices are the same as in Peckham.

jussterr

The_Drama_Llama wrote: »

That was the area my friend lived...so I'd say no. There was an ice cream van that went round every day (even in the dead of winter)...it was selling drugs.

What I worry more about is mugging, rape, burglary. Drug sellers are not a particularly good indication of area wealth/safety.

I live in central Edinburgh, one of the wealthiest areas in the UK and I can point out 4 or 5 different spots within 5 minutes of me to score a variety of recreational chems.

The_Drama_Llama

Agreed...drugs get sold everywhere. It was just so blatant...and no police anywhere to be seen. My friends have 2 motorbikes and a camper. One of the bikes got nicked and the camper was broken into and ransacked in the space of about a fortnight.

As kavics17 says, Camberwell is a bit better (it's starting to get quite an arty population...priced out of Brixton, people are moving just down the road). I would think long and hard about Peckham if I were in your shoes...take a walk around at night and see how it feels. You might be fine. I was a bit wary of living in Brixton at first, but as long as you showed a bit of common sense it was fine.