East or West Dulwich

[Jeremy]

To me, W Dulwich feels very quiet and isolated, I wouldn't fancy living there. But others like the larger houses and leafy streets. Depends what your priorities are, I suppose.

[steveo]

Am I the only one who thinks this is a not terribly good response to the GOOD troll thread?

[henryb]

We moved here from near West Dulwich four years ago after our first baby. Really love it here. There is definitely more a of a friendly community feel and lots more to do for young families and adults for that matter. West Dulwich always felt like a suburb of Dulwich Village to me.

[cle]

Both West Dulwich and Forest Hill are zone 3, which adds cost and not a tiny amount of shame. But if you're coming from Clapham (blow ins, as the conspicuously absent contributor would say) - then Balham is normalised for your circles no doubt, so zone 3 may be acceptable.

HOP is duller, but you're on the cusp, Overground is more frequent than via Denmark Hill, and LL is very close. West Dulwich isn't really much of a place, but good line to Victoria. You'd be better at the Herne Hill end and using the amenities there, which are quite good when it's not submerged.

[sillywoman]

Sorry tiddles but I strongly disagree with you: tiddles Wrote:

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> I think West Dulwich is probably easier for

> schools if you are not going private (elm

> green/dunraven/charter)

Dunraven intake is mostly Streatham, and you've a snowflake in hell's chance of getting into The Charter from West Dulwich - it's an East Dulwich/Camberwell/Herne Hill school. ED state Primaries are pretty much all brilliant, and the secondary situation with Charter/Kingsdale/Harris boys & girls plus a new school planned is as good as, if not better than, WD's.

> Larger houses for your money. West norwood high

> street is not far away - grittier than Lordship

> lane but lots of useful shops and some nice coffee

> places.

Yes WD does have larger gardens. ED's Lordship Lane has the 'useful shops and an abundance of 'nice coffee places', just with a pleasanter feel to the high street - it's a nice place to browse, especially on a Saturday with Northcross market - sadly I couldn't say the same of Norwood High street.

> also getting a cinema and have recently had a

> sports centre refurbed, many family friendly pubs.

You're describing East Dulwich here aren't you?

> I think East Dulwich has peaked and LL will be a

> victim of its own success and become more like

> Northcote road with its chains and parking

> charges.

I've been hearing this for the last 15 years - it hasn't happened yet - but you could still be proved right. Still, if a couple is moving from Cla'ham, maybe the Northcote Rd parallel makes ED even more appealing?

WD is lovely, but it's a no-brainer to me - anyone who knows the area at all would surely go for ED every time? ED is fab :D

[LadyNorwood]

cle Wrote:

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

> Both West Dulwich and Forest Hill are zone 3,

> which adds cost and not a tiny amount of shame.

> But if you're coming from Clapham (blow ins, as

> the conspicuously absent contributor would say) -

> then Balham is normalised for your circles no

> doubt, so zone 3 may be acceptable.

>

> HOP is duller, but you're on the cusp, Overground

> is more frequent than via Denmark Hill, and LL is

> very close. West Dulwich isn't really much of a

> place, but good line to Victoria. You'd be better

> at the Herne Hill end and using the amenities

> there, which are quite good when it's not

> submerged.

"Not a tiny amount of shame" - what a ridiculous comment.... "West Dulwich isn't really much of a place" - well we've lived here for 16 years and love it - there's a wonderful community spirit and people are very friendly, but then you'd only know that if you lived here.....

[edcam]

Several unhelpful and unamusing tossers posting in this thread I see. Both places are nice, both very different. ED has more amenities, shops, restaurants etc. WD has bigger properties but less to do and is less well served by public transport.

[ClaphamCouple]

Thanks Guys, It is quite an active forum. I think we will love Dulwich. In the interim our offer on a small (~55sqmt) 2 bedroom flat near WD has been accepted at ?400,000. Its a ground floor garden flat. What do you guys think? Regards - A & N

[Jah Lush]

400 grand! Jeez!

Good luck though. Hope you'll be very happy.

[fatcats]

I lived in Denmark hill for a few years followed by east dulwich for a few years (peckham rye park side) then lSt year moved to a street where we're slap bang on the border between west dulwich and west norwood.

I don't miss east dulwich at all apart from peckham rye park. Everywhere had started to feel very samey to me, perhaps I had been there for too long.Many of the pubs started to resemble each other and the crowd always seemed exactly the same, wherever you went. There's not one restaurant in east dulwich that I've wanted to go back to since we left. But while I was living in se22 I thought I never wanted to leave it.

We do back regularly to Denmark hill though which feels a bit more eclectic to me.

I do agree there are fewer pubs and restaurants in wd and se27 but as our friends started to buy properties and disperse we often find ourselves travelling to other parts of london to see them so we do not feel we need dozens of places on our doorstep. We have a handful and that's fine. The bus links from west norwood are so good we can be in brixton in 15 min max, or crystal palace, or Denmark hill or we can walk to dulwich village, or herne hill. Transport from tulse hill station into the city and beyond is excellent. I love walking through west dulwich and gipsy hill up to crystal palace, the streets and the views are beautiful.

I think you could be very happy east or west. Both places have a lot to offer.

[jimbo1964]

Is this real? It seems like a post designed to wind up the regulars with as many flash points as possible. Apologies if I'm wrong.

[StraferJack]

yeah the OP seems too designed to antagonise the usual

On the other hand, fatcats makes some cracking points

[LondonMix]

KalamityKel Wrote:

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

>

> a 40 minute walk is good for you! Come now, lets

> not be soft. Besides, depends on the route taken.

> Cycling is quite popular I hear.

>

> I used to walk every day to and from school from

> East Dulwich to West Dulwich no more than a 30

> minute walk, never did me any harm and certainly

> taught me to not depend on motorised modes of

> transport.

> I'm confused over your comment over amenities.

> What is your definition of an amenity? BOTH areas

> have an abundance of everything one could possibly

> need - shops (whether a cluster of tacky

> independent shops or several "local" supermarket

> chains near by), schools, transport, health

> facilities, pubs/bars/eateries. What more could

> you want?

> When people think of East Dulwich where do they

> actually mean? Lordship Lane? Of course it's a

> buzzing area (LL) but then what else is there, if

> you were to take away the "high street", that

> makes ED superior to West Dulwich?

My comment about amenities just refers to variety. So for instance, I am not aware that there is a gym in West Dulwich itself (though I think someone mentioned there was one nearby in Norwood). If you live in East Dulwich, you have tennis clubs, squash courts, the Fusion Gym, Push Studios (for classes / yoga / pilates / Zumba etc), and two parks with organized fitness activities such as British Military Fitness a running club etc.

For pubs / Gastropubs, it?s the same. West Dulwich has the Rosedale (which I like) and the Allen?s Head as far as I know (maybe there are more decent ones). Whereas in East Dulwich, you have The EDT, The Bishop, The Actress, The Great Exhibition, Franklins, The Palmerston, The Patch, The Castle, the Cherry Tree, the Herne Tavern, The Dulwich Plough, and the Rose.

The same is true when you look at shops, restaurants, caf??s, hairdressers etc. East Dulwich just has a lot more choice and variety of things to do / places to shop etc.

And as you can see from the above, I don?t just mean Lordship Lane. East Dulwich Road, North Cross Road, Whately, Melbourne, Barry Road etc all have amenities on them spread throughout the area though Lordship Land is obviously the main drag.

I don?t mind walking 40 minutes and it is good for you but a 1 hour 20 min round trip on foot to visit the amenities in East Dulwich isn?t exactly easily accessible / casual access. A bike would make it much shorter but if you want to go out to dinner or out drinking you?ll probably be looking at a 7-10 quid taxi back home. Not really a big deal but Peckham, Forest Hill and Dulwich Village are much more easily accessible to East Dulwich than West Dulwich.

Lastly, I didn?t say ED was superior to West Dulwich. I said both were very nice areas, but with a different vibe. West Dulwich has better housing stock and is a bit quieter and East Dulwich has more amenities and buzz but with tiny houses and is poorer value for money in that respect.

[Otta]

If you do come, introduce yourselves to the lovely Louisa. She's very positive about people from Clapham.

[StraferJack]

If anyone doesn't know what Louisa looks like, there is a picture in the Plough - left hand wall as you go in

[Jacqui5254]

Don't believe this isn't a wind-up.

Ask for help deciding between East and West Dulwich then announce...

"In the interim our offer on a small (~55sqmt) 2 bedroom flat near WD has been accepted at ?400,000. Its a ground floor garden flat. What do you guys think? Regards - A & N"

"WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?".....

My vote is on a bored or mischievous EDForumite.

Either way, its been entertaining so far.

[kimling]

ive lived in ED for the past 15 Years and love it....

studied at southbank and when looking to relocate - i just knew ED would be the place...

ammenities, transport links, schools are all very good....close to central but yet far enough for a less urban london feel....

[pinecone]

louisa and i will be in violent agreement, i expect

[lisa_n22]

Wind up or not, I wanted to comment :-) West Dulwich has great commuting options: West Dulwich station goes to Victoria and Blackfriars. We also have Tulse Hill which serves London Bridge and Blackfriars.

West Dulwich is not as big as East Dulwich, true, but it is still a great area. Shops on South Croxted Road and Rosendale Road cover everything you might need - deli, butchers, toy shop, award winning book shop, bakery, a bank, plenty of hairdressers, gift shops, clothes shops, a garden centre & a few places to eat. And of course the family friendly Rosendale Pub. Then there is the lovely Belair Park and Belair House, for cocktails and food.

Dulwich Park and Dulwich Pic Gallery are only 15 mins walk away.

Great nurseries and state primary schools too.

[Louisa]

West Dulwich because it has massive big houses, it's near umpteen private schools, greenery, the village and it has tennis courts.

East Dulwich doesn't even have a space NK I mean, what's the point?

Anyone know where to get a nice bit of pizza etc

Louisa.

[muffins78]

I moved to ED 4 years ago, after about 10 years in WD. You can't compare the two really, it depends on what you are looking for. ED has a lot more going on and more transport options, however WD has everything that you may need - if you love a place, you'll simply make things work for you.

I loved living WD, was very happy there - but chose to buy here in the end. I'd not say no to moving back to WD either, if things had to change etc.. There is an excellent GP practice (well it was for me), Paxton Green Group Practice, if you happen to be in the catchment for it.

[Gerrard]

I left ED two years ago for the better value of Honor Oak Park. In its defence, HOP has some great restaurants for a relatively small area - Donde, Babur, Le Querce and Sodo Pizza are all in a different league. It is far from dull and I hardly ever feel the need to return to Lordship Lane. Transport links are much better than either WD or ED too.

[Jah Lush]

They're moving to West Dulwich... End of chat. Move on, nothing to see here.

[steveo]

I think there are more suicides in East Dulwich

[Liz8685]

west Dulwich definitely - get in the catchment for Rosendale primary school and then you'll be near Herne Hill too which is fab and family friendly. Not sure why people keep saying transport is rubbish - its not at all! W Dulwich goes to Victoria and St Pancras during morning rush hour, and obviously Brixton for the tube and herne hill also goes to City thameslink etc Easy walk through the park to Brixton Tube (or number 3 bus) and then you have the brilliant Brixton market with loads of great restaurants. Also its smack bang in the middle of 3 parks - Dulwich, brockwell and Belair. Also have the lido in brockwell park. Rosendale pub is great - good food and great for children.