Making the move from North to South London

[Deleted User]

suki1964 wrote: »

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

And only an hour from civilisation!

I'm mainly mentioning Hertfordshire as it's pretty much an extension of London these days. It's within the M25, there's fast transport to London and it's part of the greenbelt that holds London in shape.

If you want to talk East.. my mate bought a new build over in Harold Wood, Romford. £600k gets you a 4 bed detached out there, and there's a nice train into London. It's a bit close to Brentwood (i.e. TOWIE town), but frankly that whole area around the M25 junction is fairly decent.

zagubov

ringo_24601 wrote: »

.
I heard there were dragons South of the river

It's exactly the same as the north. Obviously there's no gravity, no death and a different shaped gearstick on the nissan micra, but everybody knows this and nobody moving south has trouble adjusting to life on the proper side of the Thames.

GaggingOrder

Caught up with my friends who used to live in Blackheath. Turns out they lived around the corner from the area you were asking about (I knew where they lived but didn't know it was the Cator Estate). They said they only went there a couple of times, to vote at the school, and that it seemed really nice. Apparently there's a duck pond. They also said they'd have bought there if they could've afforded it. Anyway, hope that's of some use.

Bladiohead

GaggingOrder wrote: »

Caught up with my friends who used to live in Blackheath. Turns out they lived around the corner from the area you were asking about (I knew where they lived but didn't know it was the Cator Estate). They said they only went there a couple of times, to vote at the school, and that it seemed really nice. Apparently there's a duck pond. They also said they'd have bought there if they could've afforded it. Anyway, hope that's of some use.

Thanks! I think me and the wife are going to go and check out Blackheath and some of the surrounding areas this weekend. Let's hope it's as sunny as it was last weekend!

Thanks everyone for your advice

Angie_B

If you are seriously looking at the Cator Estate, make sure you are fully aware of what living there means. Have a read through their Residents Company website and make sure you would be happy complying with all their rules and regulations.

It's a lovely place - mainly due to the rules and regs!

http://www.blackheathcatorestate.co.uk/

ManicRower

Hey Bladiohead,

Thought I could add to this thread. I've lived in London since 2009. I've always lived South of the river, Wandsworth, Clapham, Putney and now for the last 2 and bit years I've been fortunate enough to live in Blackheath on the Cator Estate.

Blackheath itself, I echo what's already been said....the heath, the shops, a couple of decent pubs and bars, it's pretty much ideal if you want to live near to the action of central London, but also want a 'leafy' village feel too. it's definitely somewhere that if I had the money I'd love to upsize and move from a flat to house.

In terms of transport, Personally I don't feel any less well-connected than I did when I lived in Putney even though there isn't a tube, and I arguably have more choice. Trains currently go into Victoria, Cannon St and Charing Cross during the week and usually 2 of the 3 at weekends (depending on engineering works). The station is reasonably busy in the mornings, you'll need to be on a train by 07:00ish to get a seat. If they're up the spout Lewisham is 20 mins walk away for the DLR or you can get the 108 bus to North Greenwich (takes about 15-20mins, rush hour would be longer) and hop on the Jubilee line.

In terms of the Cator Estate, it's a great place to live and has a good sense of community within the various sub-sections or estates. Definitely make sure you read the small print of wherever you buy as Angie B says. It *may* be different if you splash a few million on one of the huge mansions, but certainly the span flats and maybe some of the span houses are subject to restrictions. To give a few examples of some of the restrictions/caveats:

- Service charge (in line with standard London charges I would imagine)
- No pets that would 'cause a disturbance'. So yes to goldfish, no to cats and dogs.
- Occupier only or restrictions on how often a flat can be leased out (e.g. only for 6 months to one single tenant every X years).
- Any work that affects a building externally will usually need to be approved. This includes anything from changing single glazed windows in wooden frames to uPVC double glazing down to running a TV aerial cable. Depending on what part you live in, you may get someone on the committee who is capable of applying common sense, or not.....:)

In exchange for some/all of those relatively small (in my opinion) restrictions, you get a well-kept, resident-run estate. It's not a utopia by any stretch but by and large you recognize and say hello to your neighbours, they look out for you and vice versa.

You will get more for your money in Hither Green which is about 15-20mins walk from Blackheath. There is less going on in Hither Green and it can feel sleepy and suburban, but over the last 3-4 years it has livened up. £600k would get you a big chunk of house there!

Further out, Chislehurst appears nice though this is solely based on me cycling through it, and Sevenoaks is supposed to be reasonably nice too. I guess it depends what you are after? All of places listed above will probably feel a bit greener and quiet than Camden!

You're very much welcome to drop me a PM if you want to know more, good luck with your search!

Bladiohead

Angie_B wrote: »

If you are seriously looking at the Cator Estate, make sure you are fully aware of what living there means. Have a read through their Residents Company website and make sure you would be happy complying with all their rules and regulations.

It's a lovely place - mainly due to the rules and regs!

http://www.blackheathcatorestate.co.uk/

ManicRower wrote: »

In terms of the Cator Estate, it's a great place to live and has a good sense of community within the various sub-sections or estates. Definitely make sure you read the small print of wherever you buy as Angie B says. It *may* be different if you splash a few million on one of the huge mansions, but certainly the span flats and maybe some of the span houses are subject to restrictions.

Thanks both of you, that's really handy info and we'll bear that in mind. I better check there's nothing about North London sorts being banned

I bet it makes a real difference though, having all those rules to stop people ruining it.

I expect I'll be restricted to the ex council bit judging by the prices in this search but will definitely consider it, and Hither Green too.

hazyjo

Another vote for Chislehurst too. It is lovely. Just make sure it's actually there, and not somewhere on the outskirts calling itself that.

Also like Beckenham (slightly busier but compact), and West Wickham I think (I think that has a lot of potential too - can't say I know a lot about it but it did seem nice when I've been there).

Jx

bluedrop

I strongly recommend Bromley for ppl with kids. Areas around Bromley south station, west wickham, hayes and beckenham junction are very good.

For example : look at this property. My cousin lives down this road.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-52914523.html

its in the catchment for outstanding primary and secondary schools. 12 min walk to west wickham station. Its a lovely quiet safe area with lots of parks around.

I STRONGLY recommend you visit west wickham and hayes before deciding where to move. We moved to beckenham area from Canary Wharf and we love it here!

bouicca21

Beckenham is lovely - lots of parks (Beckenham Place Park is bigger than Greenwich Park, though of course it doesn't have the view), lots of independent coffee shops and restaurants as well as the usual chains, good transport links - and your money will go further than in Blackheath.

Bromley has more and better shops, but once out of the shopping centre it feels more suburban.