Where else can we live!?

[jennyh]

Sadly having to consider selling up in east dulwich and moving to the surrounding areas in the hope of getting a little more for our money. Sooooo...where is good???

Have friends in crystal palace, Sydenham, honour oak, nunhead but don't REALLY know these areas and if I ask them they all say its great, which is brilliant but it that informative or unbiased! Due to nursery location nunhead or honor oak would be better than the other locations but have even considered herne hill, west dulwich etc too. The things we love about dulwich are proximity of the parks, the libraries, the music groups, shops and transport links (use peckham rye, Denmark hill, ED and forest hill regularly). Have a car so can travel to see friends and go to Tippee toes etc still but would love somewhere that has something of a community vibe and convenient high street too, doesn't have to be as twee as dulwich mind! We have to lose some of the nice bits that make it so expensive to live here. Def need to have good schools as we will be staying in the next house for quite a while.

Anyone got any thoughts??? I'm at a loss and its making me quite nervy. Would love to stay in ED but just not feasible sadly :(

[midivydale]

I live in Nunhead and feel that we are priviliged as we can still get full use of the ED essentials. Nunhead is a lovely area with a great community feel. There are alot of improvments being made for residents and new additions such as dish & spoon and bambuni. PR park is a short stroll away and for travel nunhead, brockley, honour oak and pr stations are all close by.

I am registered with DMC still so if you are with them you dont need to change doctors.

If you have children both ivydale and holyde are considered good schools. The nunhead library is a true gen with alot of activites for children.

I dont want to sound like an estate agent, but nunhead really is a lovely place to live.

[Otta]

As someone who grew up in, and loved East Dulwich, I was a bit reluctant when I moved in to my girlfriend's (now wife) flat in Sydenham, and was hoping to get her down to ED.

Having now lived in Sydenham for nearly 7 years, I can honestly say if I had half a million quid and the choice of identical houses in ED or Sydenham, I'd choose the latter,. All the good things about ED are just down the road and easily accessible, but you get to leave the less good bits (some of the people) behind and live in an area with much nicer housing stock and a lot more trees. Plus there are things I prefer about Lewisham Council over Southwark.

Downside is that there isn't much in the way of places to go out, but ED 10 minutes on a bus, or Crystal Palace 5 minutes, so not really a problem.

[Gidget]

What are the plus points of Lewisham Council vs. Southwark? Do they do same kind of recycling ie everything? Free pickups of furniture etc?

[greeners]

We moved to Honor oak 6 months ago and have never looked back. We say that every time we step out we discover something lovely and new to us. We actually now much prefer it (sorry to say that on edf!) but still are in ED regularly as it is only a short drive. We're about to have baby #1 and amenities, activities & schools all look good.

It is a lot more affordable- we simply couldn't have the house we have in HOP in ED.

[Ramble66]

We're in Brockley now and love it. Great green spaces, great mix of people and a brilliant Saturday Market.

You can get lots of info on Brockley on Brockley Central.

You just have to go and explore areas.

[Saffron]

We're in Brockley too... it's a bit like a shabby ED (I mean that in a nice way!). Hilly Fields in Brockley is a great park. Ladywell Fields park is also lovely and nearby, as is Telegraph Hill park. Brockley is now catching (and benefitting from) the overspill from Nunhead which caught the overspill from ED and Dulwich Village.

We're within walking/cycling distance of Wellbeloved butchers in Deptford, the Broca alternative food shop near Brockley Station, lots of nice cafes like Brockley Mess or Pistachios, an excellent fish and chip shop (Brockley Rock), Wavelengths pool in Deptford or the new pools in Forest Hill, lots of stuff happening for children in the area too like local Baby Sensory classes and Boppin Bunnies.

[cactus]

Otta, I'm genuinely interested in the differences that you have noticed between Southwark & Lewisham Boroughs.

[midivydale]

Oh i love brockley too!

[Otta]

Gidget / Cactus, I guess it's personal opinion, but I think they do a better job with refuse collection (2 wheelybins outside, one for rubbish one for recycling, and both emptied weekly), and I definitely see way more street cleaners, it just feels like it's taken care of better. Parks also tend to be much nicer and better kept.

Not great on street lighting though, as the roads near me are very dark at night. Guess that is partly to do with lovely big trees blocking the light though. Can't have everything.

All in all, I just feel like my council tax is better spent, and that I actually benefit from it.

[jennyh]

Thanks everyone, and for the private messages. Otta do you have feedback on any of the schools in Sydenham? Interesting to hear the comments on nunhead as I wasn't sure what was really there. Similarly Brockley as I wasn't sure how convenient it is to get back to ED to see all my pals! I know I need to get out and investigate, it's just one of the things I can never quite muster the energy for on a weekend, how unadventurous of me! I'm really appreciating all the comments! Thanks.

[Otta]

Brockley is on the same train line as Honor Oak Park, Forest Hill and Sydenham. Plus there is the 484 bus.

Primary Schools around here seem pretty good to me (our eldest will start next year so we are in the process of looking around now).

The outstanding ofsted school is Eliot Bank, but when our daughter was offered a preschool place there we didn't get a particularly nice vibe from it, and have heard similar comments from others, but different folks and all that.

We are not worried that our little ones won't end up in a decent local school, there are plenty.

[Gidget]

Interesting that Lewisham do weekly rubbish and recycling collections. Did they ever try the alternate week thing? do you have a bin for garden waste? Do they collect unwanted household goods for free like Southwark. Was gobsmacked when I moved here that a borough did that. I had left a borough that didn't even have wheely bins - Camden.

[Otta]

Garden bins if you request one (which I think is a better idea than giving them to every household, as a lot of gardens are paved).

As far as I know they will collect things, but haven't used the service so not 100% sure.

As I say, it's a personal thing, and I'm sure both councils have good and bad points, I wasn't trying to win a competition, just saying to the OP that she could do worse than consider Sydenham.

[jennyh]

This kind of info is really helpful, thank you!!

[midivydale]

From Nunhead you can walk to ED in 15-20min, and a nice walk at that through the PR-park. When we lookes at places to live we looked at honour oak, forest hill, sydenham, nunhead and brockley and i think i would have been happy in all of them.

[shellbear]

Honor Oak park is lovely - little high street with gorgeous deli, cafes and great tapas. The best indian in london -Babur (Zagat 2013), great sardinian - Le Querce. good local pubs. Proper community feeling. Several excellent primary schools. Lovely parks, great local festivals at Blythe Hill and Hilly Fields and St Hildas carnival. Orange line means 20 minutes to get up east plus regular trains to London Bridge. I really like Crofton Park too that links Honor Oak to Brockley. It is great with small kids. Weve been here for 2 years after moving from Bellenden road area and I really love it. Be quick though, its a best kept secret but soon won't be.

[hanstands]

Hi -- we've just moved from ED to FH-Sydenham borders also known as Upper Sydenham. We also wanted to be close to ED. We are now very close to Sydenham/Dulwich woods and the other entrance to Cox's walk [accessible on the ED side opposite the Grove Tavern]. Its also really near the Horniman with its gardens and park and feels, in a way, 'just off Lordship Lane' [hmmm, sort of!!]. Places to go out on a night are the spacious super cool and trendy 'Sylvan Post' on Dartmouth Road or the cosier [armchair-ish] yet chic Dartmouth Arms near FH station. Both really lovely with different vibes. Very good cafes are rich and plentiful over here with late opening arty 'Canvas and Cream', day opening 'Teapot', the cute one opposite the station I've forgotten the name of but they do great cake and have friendly staff and 'St Davids' just around the corner from there on your left if you follow the road round. Also, in Upper Syd you have Kirkdale where there is a growing number of interesting shops. Old timer 'Behind the Boxes' is there for any retro furniture, Alhambra for funky objects and rugs and a French bakery that do the best Almond croissants ever. Oh and 'Doorz' for retro doors and other furniture. On the FH-Syd borders you also have the brand new swimming pools and gym with library next door and even a new deli and old fashioned sweet shop down from there. And if you like a bit of charity shopping try ALD life opposite the swimming pool it has a high turnover of anything and everything. Schools you have Eliot Bank/Horniman/St Barts...All Good or Outstanding schools in terms of Ofsted with a good mix of children. Besides all that ED is just down the road, up Kirkdale, down Syd Hill and you're at the start of Lordship Lane and then Dulwich Park. Oh and instant access to the Underground network and Overground trains at FH Station. With Bakerloo line soon to connect to Sydenham station [i think]. Hope that helps.

[simonethebeaver]

Lewisham charge for collections.

Eliot Bank is a fab school. My stepson is very happy there indeed. I wish our daughter could go but we live too far away now. You need to be close to get in though-its catchment is tiny. What put us off Sydenham was that further down towards Bell Green, where there are great houses, the schools aren't nearly as good. Secondary options are possibly better than East Dulwich.

[mrcee]

HOP all the way, great schools stillness, dal main, fairlawn.

Great transport London bridge, canary wharf, shoreditch, kings cross from nearby crofton park

Great parks in honor oak rec, Blyth hill etc

Great restaurants in Babur, le querce,stone, try

Great nights out in brockley, east dulwich

All of the areas mentioned are good but HOP has its own good things and access to all the other good things nearby bordering east dulwich, nunhead, brockley,forest hill with easy access to Sydenham and crystal palace

[jennyh]

What are people's thoughts on traffic going between HOP and ED? Daughter goes to nursery on upland road and for various reasons we don't want to move her so need to be able to do the journey relatively quickly and easily around 8am and 5.30pm...

[ratty]

Beckenham

[gwod]

Sounds like theres no-one who has moved anywhere that's less than perfect...

[snowboarder]

gwod - !!

I have....I wish I was back in ED!!

[Otta]

gwod, Sydenham is far from perfect (as is ED for that matter), but it's not a shit hole either.