Where to go after East Dulwich?

[HollyGrove]

The Highbury & Islington to Clapham line opens up brilliant new horizons - no need for a car here in Peckham. Would recommend.

[Jeremy]

Peckham has loads going for it these days, but the nicer bits are not really that much cheaper than ED.

[Otta]

KidKruger Wrote:

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

> "Penge Tourist Board"

>

> ha ha - love it !

Great name isn't it.

It's a FB Group, and is actually really useful for local info.

[Ctheo]

I?m going to give a shout out to South Norwood (SE25).

According to Haart Estate agents in Crystal Palace, they?re getting a lot of ED renters buying in SE25. Buyers are coming from Tooting, West Norwood, Herne Hill and north London.

Pros:

South Norwood has great parks (South Norwood Country Park and South Norwood Lakes). There are more parks, these are the two that stick out.

Amazing community spirit

Excellent travel connections ? Norwood Junction, zone 4

Ginger line

Trains to London Bridge ? journey time 11 minutes

Trains to Victoria ? journey time 28 mins (or less if you go to East Croydon and change)

Gatwick ? direct journey time 37 mins (20 mins if you change at East Croydon).

Property ? good housing stock ? Victorian/Edwardian and 1930s and so much cheaper than ED and lot cheaper than Penge, Crystal, Palace and Anerley. You can still get a 3 bed for under ?350 http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-45362647.html

Stanley Halls ? has been given back to the community; this will be hub for theatre, film, business and arts. It?s an amazing building.

Proximity to Westfield when that?s completed

Money has been allocated for regeneration (which is long overdue for this part of Croydon?s borough). I understand that there?s a local regeneration group working with the council on this.

There's South Norwood Tourist board, which I'm sure inspired Penge to set their board up.

Cons:

Pubs ? not many decent ones (possibly one).

Restaurants not too many ? Mantannah is the best one (even Crystal Palace residents envy).

Schools ? not many outstanding ones, but are getting better with the change of demographics.

Currently the area looks run down (like Hackney was back in its cheaper day!)

[KalamityKate]

I moved to South Norwood nearly 3 years ago. Got a 3 bed house for same price as a 1/2 bed flat in Dulwich.

Yes it is run down, great if you want jerk chicken though! My daughter who uses public transport all the time feels very safe. Great community spirit. Local Harris Academy is apparently joining up with the Upper Norwood Academy which is v good.

South Norwood Tourist Board getting rave coverage from national press and had BBC down for a piece on their referendum on leaving Croydon. They even got Captain Sensible over to unveil his commemorative bench - priceless.

I really feel it's a great place to buy, certainly worth a look!

[ednewmy]

Again, I'd like to thank everyone who keeps chipping in. Really helping give some substance to all these areas that have up to now been just names in my mind. I don't expect it'll be a short search given I'm still not 100% sure on the search area - I'll have to have a few more recce outings to scout out all these areas, test commute times and what have you.

[Oily Telly Tyke]

Another vote for Penge, as per lots of threads on here, and all that Otta says on this one. New refurb pub by EDT people Attic opening in few short weeks to add to list of upward development in area. We love it.

[steveo]

Isn't there a regular meet up of dandies at the Pawleyne Arms?

That's sufficient reason enough to move there

Penge Dandies

[DuncanW]

Agree with most of what you say about South Norwood. It's undervalued I would say, but help me out: where is this one possibly decent pub you speak of? I've never been lucky enough to find it.

Ctheo Wrote:

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

> I?m going to give a shout out to South Norwood

> (SE25).

>

> According to Haart Estate agents in Crystal

> Palace, they?re getting a lot of ED renters buying

> in SE25. Buyers are coming from Tooting, West

> Norwood, Herne Hill and north London.

>

> Pros:

>

> South Norwood has great parks (South Norwood

> Country Park and South Norwood Lakes). There are

> more parks, these are the two that stick out.

>

> Amazing community spirit

>

> Excellent travel connections ? Norwood Junction,

> zone 4

>

> Ginger line

> Trains to London Bridge ? journey time 11 minutes

> Trains to Victoria ? journey time 28 mins (or less

> if you go to East Croydon and change)

> Gatwick ? direct journey time 37 mins (20 mins if

> you change at East Croydon).

>

> Property ? good housing stock ?

> Victorian/Edwardian and 1930s and so much cheaper

> than ED and lot cheaper than Penge, Crystal,

> Palace and Anerley. You can still get a 3 bed for

> under ?350

> http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prope

> rty-45362647.html

>

> Stanley Halls ? has been given back to the

> community; this will be hub for theatre, film,

> business and arts. It?s an amazing building.

>

> Proximity to Westfield when that?s completed

>

> Money has been allocated for regeneration (which

> is long overdue for this part of Croydon?s

> borough). I understand that there?s a local

> regeneration group working with the council on

> this.

>

> There's South Norwood Tourist board, which I'm

> sure inspired Penge to set their board up.

>

> Cons:

>

> Pubs ? not many decent ones (possibly one).

>

> Restaurants not too many ? Mantannah is the best

> one (even Crystal Palace residents envy).

>

> Schools ? not many outstanding ones, but are

> getting better with the change of demographics.

>

> Currently the area looks run down (like Hackney

> was back in its cheaper day!)

[Bluelagoon]

We're actually planning a move to Brighton... We can buy a nice house for what our flat is worth - that said...

I'd consider Leytonstone if out East, it's central enough and on bus routes to town,more central that Forest Gate and certain properties still really good value.

Catford - really grim town centre but some nice Victorian housing stock and still close to ED. Stuff happening, reckon it might be Peckham in 3 years.

Hither Green - lots of my clients live there, seems nice, full of learner drivers but definite zone 3 prices.

[niki_nje]

We are leaving East Dulwich after five years in a similar situation (absolutely gutted, priced out two years ago before we managed to scrape our deposit together). Priced out of Forest Hill about 9 months ago.

We have finally bought in Anerley. We looked in Crystal Palace, which is becoming very nice, however you pay for the postcode! We are 12 minutes from the triangle but our place costs a third less than some only a 7 minute walk away which are Crystal Palace postcode.

Apparently a micro-brewery has opened in Anerley which my other half is very excited about! So hopefully the gentrification is upon us!

[Otta]

"So hopefully the gentrification is upon us!"

Please don't take this as an attack on you, it's not. I am glad you've found a place, and Anerley is nicer than people give it credit for, and as you say, right next door to CP.

But that last statement just makes me sad.

I want to live in a nice place with things to do, and friendly people. But why is "gentrification" what every bloody person seems to want?

[nxjen]

"We looked in Crystal Palace, which is becoming very nice, however you pay for the postcode!"

I was renting in Crystal Palace just over 30 years ago and when I wanted to buy, was unable to afford Crystal Palace or Anerley. So I came to East Dulwich.

[Louisa]

be careful what you wish for. On the one hand bemoaning being priced out of postcode after postcode presumably as a result of gentrification, and then on the other hand settling for an area you hope is becoming gentrified is cutting off your nose to spite your face. Gentrification is great if you already own somewhere and want your house price to keep rising and rising, but the long term damage it can do when whole swathes of this city become unaffordable to the next generation of home owners are frightening. Nice areas do not have to be gentrified to be nice, they can be made nice by the community living in it without having fancy coffee shops popping up on every corner.

Louisa.

[Otta]

What Louisa said. 100%

[niki_nje]

Idealism is all well and good (especially if you already own) but unfortunately that isn't the reality. I'm making this move pragmatically rather than because I want to. With the deposit we have now we could have afforded to settle in Peckham/ED but two years ago that dream was shattered when prices doubled. I was and am still pretty devastated to have to move away from my friends and my home of five years (where I imagined having children) and we are buying partially as we can't afford to risk the rent increases. The area we have moved to really isn't that nice at the moment so yes I'd like 'gentrification' (which was said tongue in cheek anyway) because it would be nice to live in an area with things to do, places to eat, rather than settling for the idea of moving out of London or earning more and upgrading.

What's wrong with wanting to live in a nice place? Yes gentrification ruined my previous dreams but could help transform and fulfill what I want in my new area.

[miga]

.

[Jeremy]

To be fair, there are clear arguments on both sides. If you want pubs that do a nice Sunday roast and a good range of beers, maybe a nice local bakery and butcher, and one or two decent restaurants.. but can't afford an area that already has these things... then you don't have much choice but guess which areas are going to come up in the world and place your bets.

[Louisa]

Or move out of London altogether and get all of those things in an area with good transport links into London but without the annoying gentrification tags and overwhelmingly high prices?

Louisa.

[Otta]

niki_nje Wrote:

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

> I was and am still pretty devastated to have to move away from my friends

> and my home of five years

Not being blas? here, you really won't be that far. It's 15 minutes on the bus.

And some of us had to move away from our home of our whole lives because of gentrification. That's the reality.

[Earl Aelfheah]

I like the Dulwich Raider's quote on this ( http://deserter.co.uk/2014/09/streetlife-lordship-lane-se22/ ), talking of Lordship Lane: "More recently it has attracted the attention of the anti-gentrification brigade, to which we all belong, of course, until you can?t get wifi, fresh coffee and a pulled pork bap."

[Louisa]

Gentrification is an especially london centric phenomenon (in this country anyway), and it has displaced many local people born and brought up in certain parts of the city. So I have little sympathy for people who come to London actively seeking all the positives of gentrification, causing house/rental prices to rise as a result, and then moving onto the next down at heel cheap part of town and repeating the process again. Members of my own family have been forced out of the area because of the process, and it's a shame someone who's born and raised in an area cannot stay there purely because of gentrification.

Louisa.

[niki_nje]

Miga I agree, but where are the young people supposed to go? Renting is one thing but for buying young people are priced out of most of the 'trendy' areas. I am one of the 'young people' by the way!! A couple of my much better off friends have bought in Brixton which isn't too bad, but they are on double my salary and not representative of the majority. With all the rent increases I don't know how people my age and younger will be able to afford anywhere vaguely central in future, after all commonly my friends pay around ?700 rent for a room a month in a reasonable area in zone 2/3 (although most North Londoners are zone 5), and that is cheap!

Thanks Jeremy!

Otta, which route are you using exactly, by public transport it will take 45 minutes or 30 min cycle ride, so no it isn't 15 minutes away. Also why do you feel the need to tell me about "reality" - I'm living it, dealing with it, that's my point. Blame the game not the player ;-)

[niki_nje]

Louisa I'm very sorry to hear that about your family but I am not the cause of gentrification, I am also a victim being a millennial affected by all the crazy house prices. I have to work in London as there are no jobs for me elsewhere (meaning I can't live near my Mum either). If I could wish for anything it would be to live in a half decent area (not super trendy, or posh) affording a house and not spending my entire salary on living. Unfortunately that isn't the case so I have to deal with what I've got, including wishing the boring/cheap area I'm buying into will improve.

[njc97]

Otta - isnt a "a nice place with things to do" just "somewhere gentrified"? People seem to conflate gentrification with rising house prices: areas that have always been "nice" or became gentrified a long time ago have had the same massive price rises.

Louisa - I dont think people in, for example, Brighton, Axminster, Ludlow and many other places, think that gentrification is only a London thing.