London areas - where to buy?

Dan29 · 14 August 2006 at 1:36PM

goldbyron wrote:

Decent areas:
Hampstead
Highgate
Richmond
Blackheath/Greenwich
Putney
Chiswick
Crouch End

Good list - I'd agree with all of those. What do you think of Ealing?

lowis · 14 August 2006 at 1:49PM

i have lived in various parts of islington for years and currently live in the Old Street area - have never felt safer and would recommend it to anyone. yes i have had my car broken in to a couple of times - but this happened to me when i lived in Hampstead too (London Borough of Camden)

perhaps working in social services gives you a skewed idea of what an area is like to actually live in? i think every borough has its areas to avoid - Islington covers a HUGE area and most of it is absolutely fine - which is why alot of people wish to live in the borough and property prices are ridiculously high. I certainly agree that pcokets of the borough are to be avoided though.

Bargain_Rzl · 14 August 2006 at 2:23PM

Imelda wrote:

Ha ha, Bargain Rzl, I live in Welling, moved from Camberwell last year(couldn't afford to buy there) and loads of people at work turn their noses up at me too. It does the job for me, cheap enough (1 bed flat under £120k), safe enough and not too far from the centre of London where I work. My advice, if you're renting is not to commit yourself to one area, move about and try different locations.

There are lots of MSEers in the area, Imelda

... I can't say I chose to live there really, I was offered a cheap roof over my head by a good friend ... But like you say, it certainly serves its purpose! ... As for Camberwell, I've always fancied living there, and am going for a shared-ownership place ... Mind you, if I was on the OP's £300pw budget, I'd certainly choose to live a bit more centrally than Welling (I'd still consider Camberwell, I'd just buy a bigger flat on a leafier road with some outside space

) ... I've never wanted to live anywhere that was truly "upmarket", I can't abide gentrification and don't feel like I fit in at all! (And that's speaking as somebody who gets called "posh" by the folks who know me best on this forum!

)

tanith · 14 August 2006 at 2:36PM

There doesn't seem to be any posts for West London.. have lived in this part of London all my life, from Kilburn , Wembley, Perivale, and now Northolt, Ealing, I consider Ealing one of the nicest Boroughs in London , its green and has very good travel links into town and also easy access to the countryside. Of course there are small pockets that are grotty but on the whole its clean , quiet with good shops and lots of green space.....
In my job I have spent my days driving around every other part of London and nowhere I have I found such green and peaceful streets as Ealing.
Maybe I am biased:rotfl:

goldbyron · 14 August 2006 at 4:58PM

Yes not sure about Ealing - I have heard bad things about Acton and White City. The far rungs of West London are somewhat of a mystery to me.

Fair enough point about social services giving me a skewed version of Islington. I guess I don't get to see the good side enough. However very recent statistics/research suggest it is a highly deprived area with a huge drug/alcohol problem. Also I find it lacks green areas in a big way. There seems to be no escape from the urban feel.

Also one of my collegues now has brain damage from being happy slapped in daylight. Another had a knife held to her for her mobile. A friend has been robbed of her bike by knife. I have had my bike stolen twice in daylight. This was nothing to do with work. I guess London is pretty grim sometimes. One day I will make it to the country!

Dan29 · 14 August 2006 at 5:46PM

goldbyron wrote:

Yes not sure about Ealing - I have heard bad things about Acton and White City. The far rungs of West London are somewhat of a mystery to me.

I think Ealing's nice. However;

Acton: Bad
White City: Awful
Shepherds Bush: Also pretty bad

That's why I lived in Chiswick and then Richmond when I worked in the Bush

wigginsmum · 14 August 2006 at 6:18PM

Chiswick's nice but dull - lived there for a while down by the river.

SammyD_2 · 14 August 2006 at 7:54PM

Imelda wrote:

Ha ha, Bargain Rzl, I live in Welling, moved from Camberwell last year(couldn't afford to buy there) and loads of people at work turn their noses up at me too. It does the job for me, cheap enough (1 bed flat under £120k), safe enough and not too far from the centre of London where I work. My advice, if you're renting is not to commit yourself to one area, move about and try different locations.

Yes, there are a lot of snobs out there (love the person who said Kensington and Hamstead are nice places to live - great if you want to spend all your money on accomodation). It all depends on what you want. I live in Morden - lived here for 5 years, it is very safe, I am quite happy walking home from the tube or train in the dark, good transport links, and close to more expensive areas like Wimbledon. You can still get cheap flats, and "nice" 3 bed semis or terraces for reasonable (for London) prices. Great for families, but if you want to party it might not be right for you!

People at my work also laugh at me. But then I have two little children and a great big garden for them to play in...whereas they are trying to lug a pushchair down three flights of stairs to get to the park in their Richmond flat.

Dan29 · 14 August 2006 at 11:07PM

wigginsmum wrote:

Chiswick's nice but dull - lived there for a while down by the river.

Yep there's nothing by the river except the river. You need to be on the High Road

SunnySusie · 4 September 2006 at 1:20PM

itgirlinuk wrote:

I don't know how many Londoners are on this site, but I was wondering if people could post replies to message regarding areas that they consider good / safe to live / bad / avoid it if you can.

I would help me choose an area (I am currently look all over and at all areas in Zone 2 & 3 and I dont know London very well).

Please help me get an idea of the areas I should concentrate on and avoid.

Thanks in advance

Hi! Id suggest having a look round the suburbs, dont rule out the more distant areas! For one some of these places can be very affordable, you can get a house instead of a flat etc, check out this little
FTB story.

I live in Zone 6 but it takes me 40 mins to get to the City (train is 20 mins into London Bridge). Not only that but Victoria trains run 24hrs a day and tbh I get home quicker than my more central friends. Plus if I go South I am in the Surrey countryside in a few mins, only the other day my car was blocked by a herd of cows lol!

So best of both worlds really. GL!

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