Making the move from North to South London

benjus

I've only been around London for 9 years, and mostly lived in SE London in that time, apart from a stint in Islington. 4 years out of that time was in Blackheath - like others on this thread, I really enjoyed living there.

One transport option that hasn't really been mentioned is the DLR. From the Lewisham side of Blackheath it's feasible to walk to Lewisham station, and from the Blackheath Standard area it's a beautiful (although longer) walk through Greenwich Park to Cutty Sark station. If you work in Canary Wharf or Bank it's a good (and generally reliable) way to get to work. More comfortable than the tube. (if you're near Bank it may be quicker to get a SouthEastern train to Cannon Street)

Other areas that have been mentioned (e.g. Brockley) have the Overground, which is another good line - if you work in the City you can walk from Shoreditch High Street station.

Jhoney_2

ringo_24601 wrote: »

Well £600k will buy you a nice 3 or 4 bed house up my way in South Hertfordshire. I can be in Euston in 35 minutes with the local trainline (via Watford). Sure we may not have gang-land knifing and popup taco-bars, but we've got some decent schools and lots of green spaces.

I heard there were dragons South of the river

Well an old fossil :hello: and maybe a few dinosaurs here or there, but dragons is a stretch of the imagination.

Jhoney_2

mjdh1957 wrote: »

When I was ten my parents moved us from Hammersmith to South-east London. Admittedly it was a long time ago, but it was like moving to a foreign country. It took me a long time to forgive them.

Tough age to move regardless of where to be fair. Hammersmith was not that desirable as recently as the 80's either and let's not talk about Shepherds Bush, lol.

Bladiohead

Waldorf_Statler wrote: »

Just curious, but why not move further out?

Thanks everyone for your helpful comments.

At the moment I'm only really entertaining the idea of a switch to the other side of river and if that's melting my mind, there's no chance of us moving even further away yet. The OH is well against it too so it's not an option. She's going to take some persuading to cross the river to be honest, and I guess I was hoping some positive experiences shared on here might help persuade her.

Obviously we could have a whole debate about what £600k would buy you in different places but that's not really what I'm asking. I know I could have a mansion in some places but that's not really the point. Same goes for East London - not a fan so it's not really under consideration for us. I guess it's about vibe and I quite liked the vibe of Blackheath when I was there, but one visit doesn't really give a full picture.

Appreciate the suggestion though.

suki1964

ringo_24601 wrote: »

Well £600k will buy you a nice 3 or 4 bed house up my way in South Hertfordshire. I can be in Euston in 35 minutes with the local trainline (via Watford). Sure we may not have gang-land knifing and popup taco-bars, but we've got some decent schools and lots of green spaces.

I heard there were dragons South of the river

This dragon moved 500 miles north of the river and would be hard pushed to find a house for 600k


https://www.propertypal.com/12a-mostragee-road-stranocum-ballymoney/149273

Bladiohead

I thought that too. I mean, I know everyone is entitled to their opinions but to be so blatant about it too!

For the record, I'm of the school of thought that diversity is what makes London great.

Jhoney_2

That Poster would be one of the first to say, 'they' don't integrate and 'they'.."won't learn english", lol.

Noone wants, crime etc in their locality so no need to stoke that line of debate I don't think.

Noone knows what hue or ethnicity you, the OP is - so on all levels it was inappropriate and entirely irrelvant to your question.

GaggingOrder

bouicca21 wrote: »

Only Londoners understand just how difficult it is to cross the river.

This.

It's like a foreign country for either side when they visit the other!

Blackheath is very nice though so if you can afford it, definitely consider it. With all the cafes and boutique shops it's quite a nice place to visit at the weekend and it's not far to walk to Greenwich Park so great if you've got kids. We had friends who lived there for a while and they loved it. I'll ask them what they think of the ex council bit of the Cator Estate and let you know what they say.

purple12

I moved from a two bed flat in Haringey to a semi-detached three bedroom house with a garden in Bexley. It's quieter, it's very different, it doesn't really feel like London so much but it's a mortgage free house with a lot more space and I am lucky enough to work at home so commuting isn't such an issue.

In an ideal world, I'd have bought a similar size house in north London areas I'm familiar with and lived in most my life (boroughs of Islington/Haringey) but ended up making a decision based on price. Not having a tube is a pain but so many of my friends who used to live in the Haringey/Hackney/Islington area have moved to south east London (because of house prices and growing families) now that we just meet up in different places or in central London.

Bladiohead

Thanks purple12, that's encouraging. Perhaps if we do it, we'll persuade our North London friends to do the same.