I live in Upper Sydenham (about equal walking distance between Forest Hill & Sydenham stations), in a 3 bed house with garden, and the rent is waaay cheaper than it would be in Dulwich (in fact, it seems cheap for around here too, but I'm not going to mention that to the landlord!). It's great for the kids up here, we have Wells Park, which is a bit small, but IMO better / prettier than anything in ED. We also have Mayow Park, which has a decent playground, and I think they're actualy spending a bit doing the place up a bit. My wife takes our daughter to lots of groups locally, so there is stuff going on, and a more mixed group of people. It feels a lot greener, and the housing stock is a lot nicer than in ED. 197 & 176 buses are regular, and take 10-15 minutes down to the shop part of Lordship Lane, so all the stuff you want down there is on the doorstep basically. I'm from ED, and I love it, but I genuinely feel I have the best of both worlds living up here. (plus if there is ever a massive flood, we're up hill, ED is doomed!!!! ;-)) PS. I wouldn't particularly recommend Lower Sydenham / Catford, always seem quite bleak to me.