Anyone know different parts of Colchester?

GoldenShadow

As you do, when getting further down the line re house buying I seem to do more and more Googling which inevitably turns up something that makes me ponder. I should probably say that, so far, housebuying has gone very smoothly and I do have a tendency to over analyse.

The house we are buying is in an area which seems to appear on a lot of people's 'I wouldn't look in this area' list. I do know a few people who live in Colchester, and most have said the one we're going for isn't that bad/seems OK, so it is literally only on good old Google/here that I've come across things which make me more cautious.

We've sat outside the house a few times to try and scout the area a bit and it seems alright. I know which ones are council houses down the road and they all look well kept. Houses seem to sell fine. That's something else, Highwoods is an area that almost everyone I know has advised me against, saying there is enough bad that it is harder to find the good bits now, but evidently that still has good bits too. I was advised off the north and east entirely by one person!

I've done the crime maps etc and there doesn't seem to be much going on on 'the' road at all, nor a huge amount in the local area (I've gone back over a year etc) and the current owners have been there over 20 years. I don't know if I am trying to convince myself or what here really. Maybe my sense of bad is different to others. This will be our first house and we might stay 5-10 years but we will probably then move further north. This house ticks most of our boxes for now though, and even if you buy in what seems like a nice location, I feel like that can change in a couple of years. We live in a very nice area now, but I know it had its issues with yobs at points.

Does anyone know Colchester to know what the problems are with the 'worse' bits?

cr1mson

I lived there 20 years ago whilst at Uni and certainly don't recall Highwoods being mentioned as a bad area but having done a quick google a lot of the properties look relatively modern. It is not too far from the Uni could there be student lets that are putting people off? A few listings describe it as up and coming but that could be good or bed depending on your viewpoint.

Jenny007

Highwoods is not the worst area in Colchester.
However I always think an area is only as nice as your neighbours...!

flea72

Worst bits wld depend on how snobby you are. Greenstead/white city are usually the areas most people mention when asked, as to be the areas to avoid, with all the other council estates (monkwick, shrubend) folloeing along.

Highwoods is a real mix. Big houses, flats, social housing, so it all comes down to who your neighbours are. All i will say is, highwoods has a high turnover of residents. Its not somewhere peolle stay long. Its an area you move to find your feet, due to price and proximitey to A12. Whilst you suss out, where you really want to live in colchester

Personally i would avoid the north/east of colchester if i worked/drive in the town as its gridlock traffic. Its so much quicker to get in from west and south

GoldenShadow

Thank you for the replies everyone. Apologies for my slightly misleading location in the OP.

We discounted highwoods. Both work in Chelmsford and it is Monkwick area. The road in question (Prince Charles) has about 50 properties and from my stalking of sales approx 30% are still council owned. There's nothing to look at that makes me worry on that road that I have noticed. Some of the surrounding roads look less good in terms of I have seen a couple of less well looked after properties but again, I haven't seen anything that made me too worried I don't think...

If anyone has any further info please feel free to share. Forewarned is forearmed (I think...)

flea72

Given the choice, if i lived in monkwick, i would choose the queen elizabeth estate over The Willows or Australia.

OH is a binman and says you can tell alot about an area by how 'clean' they r with their rubbish. he says prince charles is ok

yoshiyella

Highwoods in Colchester is fine! Used to teach (only 2 years ago) at The Gilberd school and kids are lovely in the area!

As with all places you have one or two idiots but generally it is a nice area and close to the A12

mi55pink

There are a few parts of Colchester that are on people's 'don't want to buy here' lists which I hear of on a fairly regular basis (as an estate agent).

Monkwick does come up sometimes although not as often as others (greenstead/white city). In my experience these are mainly because they have heard these are bad areas and don't from first hand experience. Usually the 'no go' areas are because they are mostly council/ex-council.

My feeling is that Monkwick is ok, not the best area and has had some bad things happen there, but you could get bad neighbours anywhere so I wouldn't not buy a house there just because of this. It's an area that you can get a decent size house cheaper than other parts of town so that is a definite plus.

If you have scouted the area at different times of day and still feel happy with it then I wouldn't worry too much about 'reputation'.

I live in an area that has had a poor reputation for the same reasons and is on some people's 'no go' list but I have very quiet neighbours and it's a lovely place to live.