how to know if the property is in a good area or not

chivers1977

Melissa177 wrote: »

Crystal Palace? :eek:


My advice is to avoid West Norwood - I saw a car riddled with bullet holes when I stopped by to view some flats there one day!

I like Battersea, Tooting and Earlsfield...

That's when we moved out of our rented flat in WN in 1999 when there was a murder outside!

derek.gtalk

I will definitely not consider St Marys Cray. According to the link below, Orpington is not bad, but maybe the site is not accurate.
http://www.property-go.co.uk/area_guides/bromley.asp

Actually I'm quite open to any suburb as long as it's safe, quiet, good transportation, and under budget

Metranil_Vavin

Sorry know this is an ancient thread, but what rot about West Norwood!

I've lived there for 8 years now and had no problems at all.

The street I live in is leafy, quiet and full of middle class young prof types, and lovely Victorian houses.

Yes there are sh1tty bits, but hey there's those in every bloody part of London, including the so called 'nice' bits.

If you want to avoid parts of SE London I'd suggest giving Camberwell, Walworth and Brixton a wide berth.

End of rant! :T

puddy

born in Penge, raised in Penge, now living in beckenham for 12 years. i love it here, the transport is good, restaurants and bars, i feel safe, its leafy, green. i am struggling to find the samw where i want to move to

Metranil_Vavin

I honestly think that certain historically 'dodgy' areas of SE London have changed and improved vastly in the last few years.

I really like where we live in West Norwood, granted there are some roads towards the Gipsy Hill end which are mainly horrible council blocks and which I personally wouldnt walk past on my own at night, but I have staggered home at 2am on my tod in the past and not had any bother/seen any trouble. We live in a road off St Julians farm Rd which is very nice.

I've seen more fights outside pubs in leafy ealing where I was born and my parents still live, yet people seem to think its all terribly gentrified and middle class!

poppysarah

Metranil_Vavin wrote: »

I honestly think that certain historically 'dodgy' areas of SE London have changed and improved vastly in the last few years.!

Do you think they'll stay improved in a long recession?

What's improved them? Sarah Beeny said to look out for cafes and deli type shops for up and coming areas...
When these close ... what happens then?

Metranil_Vavin

I think the crazy house prices we have seen over the past few years have priced the old contingent of these areas out, and brought in people with more money who could afford the silly house prices.

I dont see these people moving anytime soon as prices have now dropped considerably, so they'll hang tight for now.

I also think the overspill effect of more affluent areas like Dulwich and Clapham mean that prof folk move into surrounding areas like WN/Gipsy Hill/Crystal Palace etc.

Peckham was a sh!thole 15 years ago and a no go area, but take a walk down there now and you'll be amazed at how the place has changed. The people that have moved in there because they couldnt afford other areas of London have spent money on doing their houses up (a lot of which are lovely Victorian red brick ones) and generally wanting to make the area they live in nicer.

The house I live in, in WN was a dump when I bought it 3 years ago. It had been tennanted out to a bunch of students who had just used it as a place to sleep and party. I've spent until now doing it up as and when i've had the money, including the front of it which was horrendous, and now it looks really smart. A lot of my neighbours have done the same over the years and the road is lovely now.

I couldnt have afforded a beautifully done up place, so had to buy a house that had been neglected and do it up.

I'm not saying I'd want to live in WN forever. My OH and I want to start a family this year, and I dont think the schools in the area are yet up to scratch. But for 2 prof 30-somethings its fine for now.

DKLS

I found when moving to a new area, the best advice I got was chatting to a local cop. He told me exactly which areas and streets to avoid like the plague.

Unlike the estate agents and letting agents, who wouldn't tell me the juicy stuff, and could only offer advice on which areas had good schools, very handy as I dont have/dont want kids.

ILW

milkydrink wrote: »

I actually DO think its helpful to give him an honest picture of what the vast majority of SE London is like. IF I go to London, I make sure I drive around with my car doors locked & windows open a crack. I don't need to do that here!!!

Oh come on, I lived in Lewisham until last year and still spend most of my time in and around SE London. Never lock the car doors when driving and do open the window if I want some air. Think you are being a bit over nervous and I believe the perception is a lot worse than the reality. You are more likely to get car jacked in Mayfair. It is mostly a bit of a dump though.

uberalles

Metranil_Vavin wrote: »

If you want to avoid parts of SE London I'd suggest giving Camberwell, Walworth and Brixton a wide berth.

End of rant! :T

Followed by

Metranil_Vavin wrote: »

I honestly think that certain historically 'dodgy' areas of SE London have changed and improved vastly in the last few years.
End of rant! :T

I'm sorry to pick up on this but it did tickle me. You have largely, although not totally, contradicted yourself. Especially after taking humbrage with others denigrating West Norwood.

BTW, Brixton is SW, not SE.

I agree your first point that by picking on West Norwood, or persons generalising about SE, is largely hyped 'Rot'.

There is good and bad in loads of areas throughout the country, I've seen more problems in some of the Home Counties than I did living in SE London, from spoilt toffs who believe mummy and daddy will bail them out once they are confronted by the law.

I moved from London 5 years back but still feel safe enough in the area and it is the people that put pride in an area, hence keep it fine to live in.

Your biggest problem in places like New Cross, Peckham, Walworth, Camberwell etc will be being able to walk freely, as half of the new population to these areas think they are in Barcelona and the likes, sitting out on the pavements in the freezing cold, sipping lattes.

SE London is alright, it is so easy to generalise. For the record, I lived 35 years in Peckham.