Leaving East Dulwich and London... some reflections

[youandiaredominoes]

Hi everyone

Due to a change in circumstances I have just moved out of London, and more precisely: East Dulwich. I thought I'd write a few words...

I moved to the area 6 years ago. I had a box room in a house on Bellenden Road and saw it change massively. I then moved to Copleston Road and then onto Champion Grove. Throughout this time I have always considered ED and lordship lane our home. I thoroughly enjoyed living in the area and it has so much going for it and hope to make a visit from time to time

Things I loved:

William Rose butchers

Playing 7 a side football at Dulwich Hamlet

Review bookshop

Blue mountain cafe

VietVan on NCR

Franklins

Blackbird bakery

Running around Ruskin park and to North Dulwich and back

Dulwich park and the picture gallery

10 mins to London Bridge on train

The East Dulwich Forum - especially the thread about mysterious bottles of orange liquid!

Fireworks at Brockwell Park (before it got busy!)

[Jennys]

Good luck in your new home. Hope there are lots of fun things to do in your new neighbourhood.

[ultraburner]

Same as you, dominoes. We left yesterday after 8 years. I've been living within a mile or two for the last twenty years now.

Things Im gonna miss:

Peckham rye park

Barry, Boss and Shine at Barrys offie

Rye books

Hirst bakers

Si mangia

Aneto

French cafe

Nunhead cemetery

Brockwell park

goose green

[Robert Poste's Child]

But through the magic of the internet you can both continue to post on the EDF as though nothing has happened, like so many others. Virtual reality, folks.

Hope the moves go smoothly.

[Parker82]

Good luck mate it's been an absolute pleasure to play football with you on Monday nights and you will be sorely missed because you have become a rock in defense.

Good luck with the move and father hood and if your ever back and fancy a game give me a ring

[ClareC]

We left 2 1/2 years ago. I loved living in ED but felt differently once I had children. I didn't want them growing up in London plus felt it was a waste living in London at huge premium when you no longer make the most of it!

I don't regret the move at all, we have a much better quality of life in the country. I miss the friends I made in ED but have made lots of new friends. I still work in London but am home based so only cone in @ once per month.

It's definitely far more laid back in the country which is lovely although still a learning experience :)

[El Pibe]

change 2/12 years for 7 months and it's word for word what ClareC *waves hello* said.

Actually scratch the new friends, one or two nice parents via kids' schools is about it.

I do miss ED though, especially Moxons and William Rose (the butchers here are friendly but terrible, and the fishmongers is lovely, very fresh produce, and stocks anything you want as long as its cod...or ling on a good day).

Miss the variety of SE London really, the colours, the smells, the people, the food, our friends.

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

Good luck with your move and I hope you settle .

ClareC, I think London is great for kids , so much to do and easy access to the country also but I appreciate that we all seek different things at different times of our lives .

[johnki]

Robert Poste's Child Wrote:

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

> But through the magic of the internet you can both

> continue to post on the EDF as though nothing has

> happened, like so many others. Virtual reality,

> folks.

>

> Hope the moves go smoothly.

I moved abroad for a few years before returning and found that the forum wasn't accessible from outside the country..

[Robert Poste's Child]

Might depend on the country you're in.

[Peckhampam]

yep-its fine in Sweden

[Mick Mac]

El Pibe Wrote:

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

> change 2/12 years for 7 months and it's word for

> word what ClareC *waves hello* said.

> Actually scratch the new friends, one or two nice

> parents via kids' schools is about it.

>

> I do miss ED though, especially Moxons and William

> Rose (the butchers here are friendly but terrible,

> and the fishmongers is lovely, very fresh produce,

> and stocks anything you want as long as its

> cod...or ling on a good day).

>

> Miss the variety of SE London really, the colours,

> the smells, the people, the food, our friends.

OMG - where have you gone to EP - it sounds terrible !

[El Pibe]

The sticks!!!!

[StraferJack]

Closing in on a year away from ED now so this thread is timely

For us, moving was A Good Thing

I don?t agree with ?not wanting my kids growing up in London? tho?.. ? I think London is a fantastic place for kids to grow up and one of the few (partial) regrets I have is that mine won?t. The opposite side of that regret is that there are positives to growing up outside London as well

That said, I don?t ?miss? London, SE London, or East Dulwich specifically ? I do still love them just as much as when I lived there and on visits back it?s nice to bump into people I got to know as well as friends and family still there. It was basically the only place I ever lived I called home and I lived there longer than anywhere else (barring childhood home which doesn?t count in same way). I felt London was in my bones

But moving somewhere very different (not as different as El Pibe to be fair) has been just as enjoyable as that initial move to SE22 13 years ago ? that sense of jumping in at the deepish end and struggling (a bit) coupled with the constant feedback of ?new stimuli? is something I very much enjoy. The last couple of years in ED had become a rut... a very very enjoyable and comfortable rut but a rut, nonetheless

(this isn't to suggest anyone else is in a rut btw. Just what happend to us)

Having looked at other, more affordable parts of London we had to balance ?staying in the capital? v ? a new experience?. Staying in the capital would have meant rebooting the code from 13 years ago ? locate up and coming but decentish spot, watch it change over the next decade and then restart again?. It's not a bad idea by any means but not one that appealed to us... Whereas moving out was more of an unknown (not totally unknown I guess ? both of us come from small-ish towns anyway)

Unlike Pibe, I get to spend a lot of time in London every week anyway so the smells, sounds, colours etc aren?t a memory. And they are great.. but my real enjoyment comes from the new versions elsewhere

[El Pibe]

I know MM was being tongue in cheek, but just to clarify i was seconding the good stuff in Clare's post. The better quality of life, everyone says i look dramatically healthier, albeit as a result of no sicial life but hey.

There are terrific positives to my new home.

On the kids thing, London is great for young kids, but I think I may have become nervous as they grew older and became vulnerable to less savoury influences, like that MLE accent ;)

[david_carnell]

Yeah, cos that weird hybrid they're gonna get now won't be a problem AT ALL ;-)

[StraferJack]

at all

[jimbo1964]

On the kids thing, London is great for young kids, but I think I may have become nervous as they grew older and became vulnerable to less savoury influences, like that MLE accent ;)

I'm sure bored teens in Haselmere (or wherever) are just as prone to a bit of Ali G speak.

[Smiler]

Moved 4 years ago to get a bigger place and because partner disliked living in a city, was very sad to leave.

Main things I miss are all the shops and services on Lordship Lane, Peckham Rye Park, Dulwich Park and Library and the London buses!

Two people commuting to London doesn't feel like great quality of life. Think the main benefits of where we are now apart from lower housing costs are fresh air and nature, more school/childcare options and less pressure on services, eg we can always get a GP appointment, no waiting lists for children's activities.

Not had a decent takeaway since we left!

[El Pibe]

"Not had a decent takeaway since we left!"

definitely this!!

I'm a very long way from haselmere. There's a weird topogrpahy of accents around here (deepest SE ireland), some of which I really like, and some of which are rather flat and almost a bit whiny frankly.

Eldest Piblet has hung on to his london accent so far, with some admittedly jarring hybrid moments, but it won't last.

I am thinking that I'm finding myself using the gerund too much.

[david_carnell]

El Pibe Wrote:

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> I am thinking that I'm finding myself using the

> gerund too much.

I am loving that.

[MrBen]

Nice to get some different perspectives on this thread. It's easy to do the post-rational justification thing so it's good to hear some honesty what people genuinely miss (or don't). And even 2 hours out in stockbroker belt many are still tied to London for work reasons.

If we go, it will be out,out (copyright M.Flanagan)...most likely to another country altogether. Not sure I could spend the rest of my life morris dancing or at the Toby Carvery. :-)

[LondonMix]

Same- if I leave it will be back to another city or more likely to the US.

[jimbo1964]

I would hate the commuter hell of a long train journey every day. Luckily we have relatives in the sticks so easy to get a regular fix of trees. I do like the country in the summer but I find it bloody awful in the winter.

[HannahSE23]

We have a campervan to enjoy the countryside and it means we have a good balance. Lots of great camp sites an hour from ED. Never understood the thinking that London isn't good for kids, either. So many people leave once they have children but why exactly? I grew up here and loved it. So much more to do than for my friends in the sticks who were so desperately bored. Especially as teenagers! What's not good about experiencing all that a global city has to offer?? Is the reason for moving out house prices, traffic, schools, safety fears or what? Seriously I'd be interested to know!