House buying tips in London for young couple

BigAunty

tkmk wrote: »

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

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

Sorry, I have no idea, don't have kids.

Hopefully other posters will be able to give you links to websites that publish tables of test results and so forth by area.

Where i previously lived in South London, I also couldn't tell you the results either but the Police had in the past asked schools to shut down because of intelligence about gang violence. I saw pupils openly smoke drugs and steam in groups into shops to steal. But I suppose I could be describing any deprived area...

hazyjo

PS - sorry to act as Ambassador for Highams Park ('HP')/North Chingford but FYI, the senior school in HP is classed out 'outstanding'. Link here (2009, not sure if done since: http://www.highamsparkschool.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=428&Itemid=296).

Jx

thequant

Just want put a recommendation for East Croydon, fast and regular train to central trains to central london. Victoria 15 mins, London Bridge 12 mins, plus trains are 24 hours.

Despite it reputation, there is some very good areas in croydon. In particular the Park Hill area, which is very middle class and easily affordable on your Budget.

BigAunty

thequant wrote: »

Just want put a recommendation for East Croydon, fast and regular train to central trains to central london. Victoria 15 mins, London Bridge 12 mins, plus trains are 24 hours.

....

My reservations about this, though I suppose I could be talking about urban centre with high commuting levels, is that I used to catch the trains into and out of Victoria and London Bridge at peak hours from Brighton which is on the same line about 7 years ago.

And they were total bun fights to board, rammed to the gills by the time it reached Croydon, and a pain to board back at night at both stations, a pain to catch any onward tube trains due to congestion. I used to see people have virtual meltdowns in frustration (but then I used to see quite a bit of shoutiness from people at Finsbury Park, Seven Sisters and so on who also couldn't find space to enter the tube trains that came further down from the line).

Not that I expect catching a tube train from Walthamstow or an overline train from Essex/East London is going to be any better.

katejo

tkmk wrote: »

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.

I find Hackney expensive for what it offers and much prefer Walthamstow for transport. I have the Victoria line, the overground to Liverpool St and also London overground to Gospel Oak to connect with the other sections of the Overground (can also change at Highbury & Islington). An ex colleague has just sold a 1 bedroom flat in Hackney for the same price as I paid for a 2 bedroom terrace in the centre of Walthamstow in 2006.

hazyjo

BigAunty wrote: »

Not that I expect catching a tube train from Walthamstow or an overline train from Essex/East London is going to be any better.

At least Walthamstow (and Chingford) are at the end of their lines so you're first to board at least one direction.

Jx

tkmk

Hi guys, thanks for all the responses! Lots to think about and lots of areas to check out :-) It's going to be fun and hopefully we'll find something ideal. Might post back here on how we get on, if we remember.

katejo

hazyjo wrote: »

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

I know Highams park as my grandparents lived there for many years. It is ok but remember that it is in zone 4 (not zone 3 as most of Walthamstow is) so a travelcard into Central London will be more expensive. i have just renewed my zone 1-3 and paid about £1360 for that. It will be more after New year.