South london area advice

Helplesssheep

Hello, I am looking to buy a 2 bed in London with some outdoor space. Budget is around 300k, could be pushed a bit higher.

Quite a few places coming up in my budget are in areas like Thornton Heath, Selhurst, South Norwood, Grove Park and Mottingham. I do know SE London well, but not these areas.

Does anyone have advice on these areas? I’ve read Thornton Heath is a bit rough, but is that outdated information? 

Thanks! 

ash4040

I live in TH. It can be a little rough but like every part of london - some parts are rough and others aren't.

Just be vigilant

bouicca21

All those areas have rough bits.  All have nicer bits.  There’s no substitute for going and having a look round.  Plenty of lovely green space in and around South Norwood but the traffic round Selhurst Park on a match day is a nightmare.  

movilogo

You can look at deprivation area maps which are available online for free. Typically, more deprived means worse areas. 

These maps could be misleading though, so there is no substitute for visiting the places yourself and apply your own gut feeling.

Is living in London absolute must? You can get better value for money further you move away from London. Freehold houses are usually better for resale letter compared to leasehold flats.

Izzy8484

I've lived all over SE London for the past 10 years and live in Lewisham now. 

I've recently bought in Lewisham, near Grove Park also and also struggled with budget. 

Areas I can recommend:

• Lewisham
• Grove Park
• Lee
• Eltham
• Mottingham
• Chislehurst
• Elmstead Woods
• Crystal Palace (maybe out of budget)

Areas that I have lived in or lived close-by that I absolutely cannot recommend because of either getting mugged myself or general roughness:

• West Croydon (the absolute worst, I will never go there again)
• Closely followed by Thornton Heath
• West Norwood although it has some lovely green spaces so not as bad as the two above
• Selhurst

hazyjo

Izzy8484 said:

I've lived all over SE London for the past 10 years and live in Lewisham now. 

I've recently bought in Lewisham, near Grove Park also and also struggled with budget. 

Areas I can recommend:

• Lewisham
• Grove Park
• Lee
• Eltham
• Mottingham
• Chislehurst
• Elmstead Woods
• Crystal Palace (maybe out of budget)

Also wanted to recommend Eltham/ New Eltham, Crystal Palace and Gipsy Hill. Plus Chislehurst if affordable.

bouicca21

That’s a definite plus one for avoiding West Croydon!

I rather like Catford, and Hither Green.

Helplesssheep

Thanks everyone! 

I am definitely looking at Lee, Catford and Grove Park, Hither Green mostly goes out of budget. Hadn't been considering Eltham, just as didn't know that direction really, but have started looking at options there today.

I'd heard Mottingham was a no-go, but good to hear others think differently as it does come up in my budget.

On TH, I am not sure where it delineates. Is around Grangewood Park a no-go?

FYI I am a single woman, so that needs to be taken into account re. safety

NameUnavailable

I have a friend who lives in Grove Park, he's happy there, seems a nice enough area. I used to live in Croydon - East and South are fine, West and towards TH get's rough to be frank although there are some nice pockets, but you are still in amongst roughness.

I recently moved out of Croydon, the town centre is dead, really very sad to see it as someone who lived there most of my life. BUT it can only come back up and there's a lot of new build investment in the area.

From Croydon, out towards Shirley/West Wickham/Beckenham and Bromley is very nice, also Beddington/Wallington and Purley/Coulsdon. Beyond that you have Redhill or Reigate, a little more on the fringes of countryside and where I was looking but I ended up going out further to the south coast.

Spend a weekend going around the areas you're looking at, maybe stop over at a local hotel so you can go out at night and see what the vibe is.

dell12

I've lived in Thornton Heath for a decade without any bother. You can still get a decent two double bedroom bed flat here for £300,000. It would either be in a house which has been converted into two flats or a small private block. Of course there are nicer parts of London, but it all comes down to your budget and what you want from it.

I'd echo the other comments about West Croydon though, I'd steer well clear.

kidmugsy

We have friends who are very fond of Nunhead.