Would you buy in the "up and coming" area

hazyjo

I'd say it all depends on where you need to get to for work. If in the City, consider Essex and parts slightly further out like Highams Park/Chingford, both E4.

If you're more south of the river for work, consider south.

My old flat (LOVED IT) was up in the last year or so in Blackheath, SE3 and sold for £250k. So you can still afford REALLY nice areas on that budget if you're willing to compromise on things (it had a galley kitchen, small bathroom with no window, small bed 2, but a large lounge/dining space and a large bedroom, and the kitchen was well fitted). Slightly main road, but very quiet at night.

Hither Green's okay - and definitely agree with the 2 links above - got friends that way and they love it.

Jx

kwmlondon

hazyjo wrote: »

I'd say it all depends on where you need to get to for work. If in the City, consider Essex and parts slightly further out like Highams Park/Chingford, both E4.

If you're more south of the river for work, consider south.

My old flat (LOVED IT) was up in the last year or so in Blackheath, SE3 and sold for £250k. So you can still afford REALLY nice areas on that budget if you're willing to compromise on things (it had a galley kitchen, small bathroom with no window, small bed 2, but a large lounge/dining space and a large bedroom, and the kitchen was well fitted). Slightly main road, but very quiet at night.

Hither Green's okay - and definitely agree with the 2 links above - got friends that way and they love it.

Jx

On the subject of SE London,Honor Oak is very leafy and pleasant, zone 3 and on the overground. Not too expensive, though you'll have to work out what your priorities are for less than £250k as you won't have size AND location AND garden etc. but you can get something that will tick some of your boxes.

cwcw

kwmlondon wrote: »

Yup. I know it's over-priced, polluted, hard to get around and STILL I would not live anywhere else. It's not because I'm stupid, or ignorant (I've lived in other places, rural and urban) and after moving here I knew I'd never want to live anywhere else.

I know more of London's faults than you do, and STILL I chose to live here.

Join me in celebrating the fact that we have different tastes!

Yes, let's celebrate.

I've given several reasons for why I like where I live, and we've both given several reasons why London is bad, so what are the good things to offset the bad? They must outweigh the bad in your eyes for you to still choose to live there.

Lizling

I_have_spoken wrote: »

EAs opening up in the highstreet, replacing fried-chicken places
Pubs painted slate grey and becoming gastropub "Pub and Kitchen"
Skips outside houses getting done up and HMOs returned to family homes
Organic butcher opens in what had been international fone shop
Bookies getting converted into coffee shops
Children can be heard saying 'please' and 'thankyou'
More women cycling about
New reg. cars parked by "yummy mummys" block the high street
Rumours of a Waitrose opening, flyers go up objecting to a Tesco metro

Haha. Spot on, especially the slate grey pubs! Do we get bonus points around my way for the stall selling overpriced 'artisan' bread beside the gardens, or for the coffee shop that replaced the bookies having a posh French name and being organic?

More seriously, I'd add being on the Crossrail route or having a local school graded Outstanding to the list.

Oh, and to answer the original question, I would move to an up and coming area if I really knew it well and was confident it would be up and coming and not remain a dump. For that reason, I wouldn't be brave enough to buy in Canning Town.

demontfort

cwcw wrote: »

Yes, let's celebrate.

I've given several reasons for why I like where I live, and we've both given several reasons why London is bad, so what are the good things to offset the bad? They must outweigh the bad in your eyes for you to still choose to live there.

As somebody who has lived in London for 3 years it still beats me what the good things about London are apart from the well paid jobs. As far as I can see many people who move to London like to kid themselves that they are living a metropolitan dreaming rather than just scraping by with all the other dreamers.

As for celebrating London I won't be celebrating when I hand over my massive deposit in return for the glorified shoebox I will be calling home. :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Lilly_L

I can so second that I have lived all over England you cannot beat London even if i get crammed in a minging shoebox in a dump area lol

t0rt0ise

demontfort wrote: »

As somebody who has lived in London for 3 years it still beats me what the good things about London are apart from the well paid jobs. As far as I can see many people who move to London like to kid themselves that they are living a metropolitan dreaming rather than just scraping by with all the other dreamers.

I moved to Central London three years ago and love it. There's always something to do, museums, galleries, exhibitions, shows (free tickets for TV recordings), the fireworks on the river, lovely parks, plenty of great pubs to choose from. Everyone moans about the tube but you can't beat a train every two or three minutes, and buses every five to seven minutes so no hanging about in the rain. Shopping is great. I live a five minute walk from a large Waitrose and 25 minutes from Oxford Street. I don't drive so having everything on my doorstep is ideal for me.

I_have_spoken

you cannot beat London even if i get crammed in a minging shoebox

I lived in a warehouse conversion in SE1 (Southwark) for 3 years to 'keep it real'. But eventually I wanted space, a garden and peace and quiet and moved to the 'burbs.

suestew

As another poster has suggested, places like North Chingford, Highams Park are pretty nice places to live. You can get really nice converted 2 bed flats or houses for around £220-£250 with gardens, 25 mins to Liverpool street and no tube. They come under East London but 2 mins up the road is still Essex. South Woodford & Wanstead are also nice but Wanstead can be pricey now.

abankerbutnotafatcat

Lizling wrote: »

Oh, and to answer the original question, I would move to an up and coming area if I really knew it well and was confident it would be up and coming and not remain a dump. For that reason, I wouldn't be brave enough to buy in Canning Town.

What she said.

That's why I (personally, i'm not trying to persuade you) would go for Crystal Palace. The primary reason it is relatively under-valued is the lack of tube plus a general lack of fashionableness of SE London which is part-caused by the tube 'issue'.

If you can manage that (which as I've said, isn't an issue for me) then you get an already quite established area so a much lower risk.

My two-pennies worth - London's fab, something there for everyone if only to visit. My OH hates the hustle and bustle so now we live in Surrey but when I persuade him in (I work there, he doesn't) he loves it! Our faves are wandering along the south bank Hungerford to Tower Bridges and the quirky little shops and bars of Soho.