Do you live on a steep slope with little ones?

[apenn]

I'm looking at buying a house on one of the streets behind the Horniman. It's on quite a steep slope and there are steep concrete steps leading up to the house. I was considering excavating the front garden to build a more accessable entrace - but no one else on these roads seems to have done this. I'm wondering:

1. Why? Perhaps impossible to accomplish or prohibitively expensive?

2. How do all these families with children in the area cope? I've got a toddler and one due in October and the thought of negoitiating those steps with two little ones and a buggy fills me with dread.

This is really my only reservation regarding the house, but it's a major concern and I'm absolutely stuck in my decision making. If anyone has experience dealing with this situation I would be so grateful to hear from you!

Thanks for reading,

-A

[Otta]

Before having a kid, we very nearly bought a place on canonbie road. I am now very pleased it fell trough, as I think it would've been a total nightmare!

[EDmummy]

They are only babies/toddlers for a very small percentage of their lives. If you like the house, the amenities and schools, go for it. You and the kids will adapt for the short time that you need to.

[Otta]

And think of the fun you can have sledging when it snows! >:D

[dollydaydream]

To me this would be a nightmare, think of winter specially the winter we have just had, icy steps with little ones, lugging the babies and the shopping up and down the steps. edmummy said it's only for a short time, but I assume you will be staying there for years and not less than a year. I would look round for somewhere else on level ground. Also just another thought, I think houses around there suffer with subsidence. sorry to be doom and gloom.

[Hillbilly]

I've brought up my two little ones (now not so little - 12 year old is about to overtake me)extremely happily on Westwood Park - though with steps down rather than steps up. Every other house has small children in and it's a lovely place to live. There was a bit of struggling with the buggy, but nothing that couldn't be coped with and is already a very distant memory. Good for the legs walking up and down to school too.

[Hillbilly]

Amazing sunsets at this time of year as well!

[jollybaby]

One of my Nct group lives on a road around there and she has 3 runs if stairs up to her front door. I think she did find it very hard in the early days -an additional barrier to leaving the house. She used to keep her pram in her car at the foot of the steps. I suppose you just need to adapt and have a system which includes a light pram and making sure you always have someone else to hand when you've done a large shop.

[The Nappy Lady]

Do all your shopping through Ocado or other home delivery service!!

It would be tough with two little ones, but if you don't have plans for more then I guess in theory it wouldn't be bad for long in relative terms. My youngest is 3 in October and now walks or scooters to school and back 5-10 minutes each way depending how fast she's going...would certainly manage steps etc. if need be. If house is very close to future school then it's all less of an issue - think school runs 2 times a day, plus any possible after school activities with youngest in tow once older child starts.

Re excavation...I've known others who considered this for their back garden. The issue is that moving earth is VERY expensive...lots of skips (more than you ever imagine), and if you dig out your garden, then potentially it can have an effect on the gardens either side, so you have to make sure whoever does it knows what they are doing and puts in plenty of restraining walls etc. properly. I'd be very cautious about doing anything like this.

Hope this helps a bit....home buying is such a dilemma. Come to Nunhead, it's lovely over here ;-)

[Dodo1]

These roads and pavements are a nighmare in winter. Remember we now have had 2 consecutive winters with snow. On the plus side though you will be close to The Horniman- best place around for sledghing

[sillywoman]

EDmummy Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> They are only babies/toddlers for a very small

> percentage of their lives. If you like the house,

> the amenities and schools, go for it. You and the

> kids will adapt for the short time that you need

> to.

They are, but it depends how many you have. I spent 10 years pushing a pram & that would be lot of time lugging up & down steps (4 children; 7 years between oldest & youngest). Ohh, I can feel the sympathy backache starting now . . .

[apenn]

Thanks so much for all of your comments, ladies. Unfortunately it's now the end of the day - well the office day at least- and I am no closer to breaking my decision impasse! It's going to be a long night . . .

[malumbu]

Live on a slope near Horniman with family for 13 years, from birth onwards. No problems with the slope. Never even thought of it.

Only problems are the yummy mummies moving west from East Dulwich, and East from Clapham and beyond to the area. Bringing their four wheel drive tanks. And the contstant bloody building work with more and more grandoise designs.

So if it is just the hill you are bothered about move in. If you tick any of the boxes in my second paragraph go and live somewhere else. Notting Hill, Hoxton or Hampstead.

PS excavation in the unstable geography that is Horniman heights is just plane daft.

[malumbu]

The only other problem with the area is that dreadful SE23.com

[sillywoman]

Not very welcoming Malumbo :-S?

[Ruth_Baldock]

Malumbu; *plain, not plane.

Apenn, I wouldn't worry about the slope but the stairs may be a bit tricky. We have a lot of stairs going up to our flat, and it's...tricky. it did make it harder to get out and about when Seb was little, and I dread to think how I'll handle it with the P+T. The older Seb got, the easier it got though- so hopefully when he doesn't need to be in a pushchair anymore, I can go back to using the maclaren with my youngest and then it'll be quite easy again.

[apenn]

Thanks again for all the comments. All is now moot. We decided to put an offer forward in the end - but it wasn't accepted. Back to the drawing board . . .

[prm]

hi apenn, sorry your offer hasn't been accepted... I have been living not far from that spot for almost 4 years now and I am very happy I moved here. Although living on a hill has its downsides (i.e. sometimes I don't fancy pushing the pram up the hill!) it is a lovely lovely area, and for me the ups really make it worth it: big houses, great views, lots of greenery, outstanding schools, the horniman at your doorstep, great transport links with the train & the overground, great library and the new pools opening next year... Please don't be put off by malumbu, I have found all of my neighbours to be really friendly and very welcoming, and there is a nice mix of people who have lived in the area for a long time and young families that have moved here more recently.

[BB100]

It's true about the snow though - many families were snowed in unable to move their cars for days.

[malumbu]

Disappointed for the lack of abuse I received - I thought that I would have stirred up a debate on the gentrification of Horniman Heights. Funny thing is of course that I am very active in the community and enjoy a discussion. I just believe that there has to be diversity in the community and whilst I have been amazed at the tranformation of East Dulwich over the last 15 years there is always a downside. Despite my criticms of SE23.com, which does not allow free speach unlike the EDF, there were good debates on SE23.com in the past about SE22 vs SE23.

Perhaps you may understand why I have issues over the demographic changes in the Horniman area, with what appears to be extensions going up every other week, some (not all) of which are awful.

As for the snow, we've had a couple of freak winters. From 1997 - 2008 we only had one or two snowy days

Anyway, perhaps someone can direct me to the relevant soapbox on this site.