Moving to East Dulwich - advice

[NewWave]

If its Primary schools that are the deciding factor in the move I would consider Forest Hill around the London Road/Horniman museum area.

You have Elliotbank, Horniman and another that I can't remember the name of!

Theres a Sainsburys, Easy walk to the Overground with frequent trains, and its walking distance or Bus ride to LL shops.

plus there are several nice independent cafes and shops,Libary,Swimming pool and gym, butcher etc ,Horniman Gardens and museum to keep a toddler occupied and prices are about 30% less than ED

[penfold]

Fairlawn and Stillness.....

[NewWave]

penfold Wrote:

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> Fairlawn and Stillness.....

Thank you!

those are the ones.

[Seabag]

benschiffer Wrote:

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> Coach Beth Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Do bear in mind that as your baby is now just

> > under 5 months old, that you will find a

> schools

> > reputation can change between now and then.

> But

> > as you say in your first post there are many

> great

> > schools in East Dulwich - also near Bellenden

> > Road, you have St.Johns & St. Clements, Goose

> > Green Primary (had some problems but under

> > leadership of Simon Wattam, the school has

> > improved dramatically and Bellenden School (not

> > The Belham but another state school very near).

>

> > You also will find you form your own options as

> > you do the inevitable school tours in a few

> years.

>

> This is a great point... it?s obviously a bit mad

> to be thinking of schools so early but I guess

> that?s just part of living in London? It does seem

> like ED gives us a good chance of finding (and

> getting into) a school we like in 4/5 years

> time...

Hi Ben

Is this your first child?

I?ve two boys and another on the way, and from experience I?d say it?s never too early to think about schools. Time really does fly and you?ll reap the rewards of planning and discovering early about your choices.

It?s a great area in general, I?m sure you?ll be happy here.

Best of luck

👍🏽

[Ebenezer]

If you can afford to buy in ED I would definitely recommend - 10 years ago we also moved with a baby and we are still loving it - sure you can buy a larger property further away in Bromley, Sevenoaks etc... in a more suburban area but to echo some earlier post and as you probably know the demographics is a bit different. It really depends what you are looking for. With 2 parks, a great community feel, a nearby child friendly museum (Horniman) and good schools...

to be honest I don't see where in South London you could find a better place for a young family - maybe i'm biased but I lived in many places from Greenwich to Clapham.

Sydenham, Forest Hill and Crystal Palace are also worth considering imo.

[tigerranks]

try nunhead used to live in dulwich

[hpsaucey]

Ditto - moved from ed to nunhead 15 years ago. More peaceful, great pubs, community feel. Just walk across park to east dulwich or peckham. Surrounded by green spaces from park to one tree hill etc.

Love it here!

HP

gerranks Wrote:

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> try nunhead used to live in dulwich

[Growlybear]

I would seriously consider Forest Hill or Sydenham. Both areas are much cheaper, much nicer, and far less pretentious than East Dulwich.

[Reg Smeeton]

Some reasons to love East Dulwich, especially with young family:

- because of local amenities, can manage without a car, even with young family

- walkability to many 'useful' shops (groceries/butcher/drink/newsagent/post office/hair/DIY)

- being able to walk/take very short bus ride to a good cinema

- numerous good primary and secondary schools (can't actually think of any 'bad' ones)

- good selection of pubs and cafes/places to hang out/meet up.

- close to Dulwich Park and Dulwich village/Gallery

- Dulwich Hamlet FC, and lots of good sports amenities (cycling at velodrome, swimming pools, football, hockey and cricket grounds)

- the brand new Dulwich Day Health centre opening in 2020 (and for anything more serious, Kings College Hospital)

- convenience of 13-minute train ride to London Bridge (and Denmark Hill is a very handy station too), trains frequent enough to be a reasonable substitute for tube.

- the East Dulwich Forum, which we've found invaluable over the years, particularly for buying/selling and for general advice and expertise, it's probably one of the best such local forums in the country

[LJC56]

Moved here 20 years ago, wouldn't live anywhere else. In spite of the ongoing concerns about small shops being forced out, the fact is we have all those shops that villages and towns wish they still had: butchers, bakeries, a fishmonger, as well as supermarkets and a wide variety of restaurants. What cliches the area for me is the large anmount of green space and parks, only 13 minutes from central London.

[benschiffer]

hpsaucey Wrote:

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> Ditto - moved from ed to nunhead 15 years ago.

> More peaceful, great pubs, community feel. Just

> walk across park to east dulwich or peckham.

> Surrounded by green spaces from park to one tree

> hill etc.

>

> Love it here!

>

> HP

>

> gerranks Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > try nunhead used to live in dulwich

Funny you should mention Nunhead... we?ve been thinking about there too... but didn?t want to attract the pitchforks by mentioning it on the ED Forum.

It seems like Nunhead is ED?s little sibling. Smaller but similar, slightly cheaper and with similar housing stock.

My only worry is... are the schools as good? Ivydale seems to be the best bet but also seems pretty big to me. Might be a bit overwhelming for a kid? Are there others that were highly rated?

[tigerranks]

st thomas the opposile is one of the best in the country

and ivydale is good also

[fishbiscuits]

St Thomas The Apostle is a Catholic boys school, btw. So clearly not for everyone!

[B&G]

It's fab, you'll love it. Great parks, lovely people, very easy with a baby and young kids. You'll find a parent group easily. Loads going on.

I don't think the transport is bad at all (we tend to use Peckham for quick links into the City, but we work there).

If you can afford it I would. We moved here 10 years ago so thankfully.

[paul*]

To pick up your point about commuting, I often get the train into London Bridge either just before or after 9am, and it is a world away from trying it at 8am. It's so much nicer and saner.

Bear in mind that the buses from Myatts Field will seem a lot quicker than those coming over from ED. I guess it's another 15 minutes or so between them. Also the options through ED are way slimmer than Camberwell. Yes you can change bus but frankly who can be ar5ed some days. ;-)

I'd echo the points about affordability above and the trade-off with distance to central London. That said, there's no doubt that ED is a nicer area than some of the alternatives pitched above. Which leaves you with a house size vs area trade-off.

[Treehugger2]

I know mention of cycling annoys some people. I am a 59 year old woman and I cycle slowly and safely into Bank at 8am in 31 minutes using Citymapper "quiet" route. Cycling into the West End takes about 38 minutes and is equally enjoyable and safe.