House buying tips in London for young couple

Moomum

Vote here for Eltham and surrounding areas, myself, hubby and son moved to Eltham from Nw London and found it very friendly and reasonable. Has some great schools and you can get to charing cross and Victoria in about 20 minutes. Can get a 2-3 bed victorian property for £250k and up.

BigAunty

tkmk wrote: »

Thanks! That sounds really positive and what we might be looking for. We may take a walk around there this weekend :-)

As well as the high street with its huge market (albeit largely tat when I lived there) do pop along to the village area which has a couple of cracking restaurants and a nice pub, I think.

I went to a Tapas restaurant there and it was the best tapas I ever had outside of spain.

A lot of the estate agents are in the same area there, not too far from the village - Hoe Street, I think..

And yes, it's a real village, albeit absorbed into and surrounded by the larger town. People used to think I made it up.

hazyjo

Highams Park is just 2 stops up from Walthamstow, btw. Easy for the Victoria line from Walthamstow. Either a bus ride, or two train stops. You also have the choice of a bus to the Central Line at Woodford if there are Victoria line probs, or if the overheads are down.

Hardly anyone konws of Highams Park - funny little place lol! Bit of a village with a few of the usual takeaways, etc, but there's a spanking new big Tesco there now, other smaller supermarkets (including a great Turkish one), a nice Italian, a lovely modern Indian (few nice Indian restaurants), a traditional sweet shop, ice cream parlour, a few cafes, hairdressers, etc. Used to walk to a shop, or stop on way home after a night out, that was open 'til midnight. Great fresh produce outside (the best peaches in London!).

Try a 'virtual' walk round on google maps too. Chingford (still E4) has quite a lot too. Chingford Mount is the cheaper side, but North Chingford (where Chingford station is) has some posher places, boutique type shops, a few nice restaurants, bistro, etc.

Jx

nollag2006

If I was starting again, I'd strongly consider Crystal Palace. Good train links to Victoria, and on the tube.

It's very up and coming, and the park there is lovely.

Lots in your price range too:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=STATION^2507&insId=3&minPrice=200000&maxPrice=300000&minBedrooms=2&radius=0.25&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying

suestew

I have lived in Hainault but it was many years ago, it's near the Limesfarm Esate in Chigwell, yes that is birds of a feather but not the posh houses. I don't think it's a particularly nice place to live.

Walthamstow is not bad, the village is really nice but a bit more pricey.
Higham's Park and North Chingford are both nice too with good transfport links to Liverpool Street.
What's wrong with Hackney where you are living now, that's pretty trendy now isn't it?

totallybored

nollag2006 wrote: »

If I was starting again, I'd strongly consider Crystal Palace. Good train links to Victoria, and on the tube.

It's very up and coming, and the park there is lovely.

Lots in your price range too:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=STATION^2507&insId=3&minPrice=200000&maxPrice=300000&minBedrooms=2&radius=0.25&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying

I agree, Crystal Palace would be a good place.

Forest Hill, Sydenham and Streatham also have good train links to Victoria.

BigAunty

totallybored wrote: »

Forest Hill, Sydenham and Streatham also have good train links to Victoria.

I've commuted into central London, including Victoria and London Bridge from south London on overground trains and into central London from Walthamstow/Blackhorse Road.

Things may have changed since I did these journeys 8-10 years ago, though - perhaps someone can give a more up to date opinion?.

I always preferred the tube from Walthamstow - of course, its still a bun fight in the centre of London to board but it's the end of the line and so was easier to get a seat into the city centre in the morning unlike the trains from Surrey/Kent which can be full up many stops before south london.

At peak times, getting down to the Victoria tube platforms from the overground station was terrible due to overcrowding. The staff would close the access gates to the tube most mornings and it would take ages to reach the platforms, many tubes would go pass before there was space to board and the overcrowding was a nightmare. Has the congestion got any better?

I know there is some kind of circular link up on the trains now that makes it easier to go west, north and east from South London? I forget the name of this new scheme?

When I lived in south London more than 6 years ago, perhaps to complete this scheme, don't know if it was temporary, I found that links to East Croydon virtually vanished and train frequency to Victoria and London Bridge reduced a lot.

tkmk

suestew wrote: »

I have lived in Hainault but it was many years ago, it's near the Limesfarm Esate in Chigwell, yes that is birds of a feather but not the posh houses. I don't think it's a particularly nice place to live.

Walthamstow is not bad, the village is really nice but a bit more pricey.
Higham's Park and North Chingford are both nice too with good transfport links to Liverpool Street.
What's wrong with Hackney where you are living now, that's pretty trendy now isn't it?

Hackney is great. We like living here. But to get something nice costs way beyond our budget, and from the places recommended on this forum, it seems like we'll get more for our money outside of Hackney.

namecheck

OP - make sure you check out the local primary schools (and their catchment areas) in places you are interested in.

"Nice" areas do not always have good schools.

tkmk

BigAunty wrote: »

At peak times, getting down to the Victoria tube platforms from the overground station was terrible due to overcrowding. The staff would close the access gates to the tube most mornings and it would take ages to reach the platforms, many tubes would go pass before there was space to board and the overcrowding was a nightmare.

I agree with this that Victoria does present many challenges at peak times.

From your personal view, what are the schools like Walthamstow?