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South East London / Kent area


Kurt Barlow

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Looking to buy next year and my wife has now cast her eye on SE London / Kent area as her job has taken her in that direction. I currently work in Stratford so would like to keep my commute to below 1 hour. 

Apart from a few relatives who live in Crayford or further in at Lee I don't really know the area at all. I have heard that the golden rule in SE london / Kent is to lives south of the A2-M2  (Similarly in Essex its North of the A127)

Areas that look ok are Bromley, Bexley,  Orpington, Chislehurst. Not sure about Sidcup. My Great Aunt (who is 90 today) lives in Sheltered Accommodation in Crayford and described it as the Arsehole of London (verbatim) her being a proper Cockerney girl which shocked my wife a littlexD

 

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Bobthebuilder

I live North of the A2. Its not posh like Chislehurst or Bromley.

Used to be not to bad in price 5 years ago before HTB, crossrail etc. All overpriced at the moment i reckon.(but still not bad for London).((but still bat shit crazy mind)).

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While the places you mention are all in the "nice" bucket (well, maybe not Bexley...), as with everywhere, they have their nice bits and their not so nice bits.

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4 hours ago, Durabo said:

Welwyn Garden City is nice. The commute to the city centre is 35ish minutes but I'm not sure how that translates exactly for you. Expensive though

I've spent a couple of nights in WGC for a job interview and I found it nice and leafy but impossible to get around without a car. 

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2 minutes ago, kibuc said:

I've spent a couple of nights in WGC for a job interview and I found it nice and leafy but impossible to get around without a car. 

As nice as WGC is its no good for a job based in Erith (SE London) hence the title of this thread!

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16 minutes ago, Kurt Barlow said:

As nice as WGC is its no good for a job based in Erith (SE London) hence the title of this thread!

Have you thought of NE London?  Dartford and blackwall tunnels. If interested, pm me and I can make some suggestions.  

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2 minutes ago, One percent said:

Have you thought of NE London?  Dartford and blackwall tunnels. If interested, pm me and I can make some suggestions.  

Apart from Upminster / Hornchurch most of it is a shithole?? In any case if we were going to do those two might as well stay in Billers. 

A major worry I have is Jnr growing up and getting stabbed in some gang warfare in Londonistan if we move there. . There are chavs in Billers but as my Grandad would say - they are poofs. Spend most their time comparing their designer jeans and handbags. 

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2 minutes ago, Kurt Barlow said:

Apart from Upminster / Hornchurch most of it is a shithole?? In any case if we were going to do those two might as well stay in Billers. 

A major worry I have is Jnr growing up and getting stabbed in some gang warfare in Londonistan if we move there. . There are chavs in Billers but as my Grandad would say - they are poofs. Spend most their time comparing their designer jeans and handbags. 

Where I am is tucked away. The tidlewave  (sp?) of enrichment has largely passed it by. It has changed but not as much as other parts. Still some diamond geezers around and still multigenerational. Stable. 

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1 minute ago, One percent said:

Where I am is tucked away. The tidlewave  (sp?) of enrichment has largely passed it by. It has changed but not as much as other parts. Still some diamond geezers around and still multigenerational. Stable. 

If its south of Upminster isn't this where Kalifa Khan plans to build his great London Overspill Ghetto (Blatant gerrymandering exercise)? 

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1 minute ago, Kurt Barlow said:

If its south of Upminster isn't this where Kalifa Khan plans to build his great London Overspill Ghetto (Blatant gerrymandering exercise)? 

Much further in, go west young man. :)

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36 minutes ago, Kurt Barlow said:

As nice as WGC is its no good for a job based in Erith (SE London) hence the title of this thread!

If you've got the budget, Blackheath/Greenwich. It would need to be a hefty budget!

Some areas of Deptford/Peckham/Woolwich or near to them are now actually quite nice (for example East Dulwich) but you'll never be far from rougher areas - although that's basically true of all of London.

Avoid Plumstead/Thamesmead like the plague.

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5 minutes ago, Durabo said:

If you've got the budget, Blackheath/Greenwich. It would need to be a hefty budget!

Avoid Plumstead/Thamesmead like the plague.

I know Greenwich - my Mums parents lived in Vanburgh Park. 

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2 minutes ago, Kurt Barlow said:

I know Greenwich - my Mums parents lived in Vanburgh Park. 

That area between Blackheath/Greenwich is decent except for the odd estate e.g Cherry Tree. It can also be very HMO heavy in some areas. With a bit of work you could find a good area. Less pricey than either Greenwich or Blackheath, but less well connected. Some great Primary/Secondary schools too

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7 hours ago, Kurt Barlow said:

Areas that look ok are Bromley, Bexley,  Orpington, Chislehurst. Not sure about Sidcup. 

I would look at Bromley, Orpington and Chislehurst. Commute to Stratford would not be too bad train to London Bridge then Jubilee line? Or you might be able to use the overground. I have commuted using train to London Bridge and Jubilee in the past found it ok does not get as busy as the Northern line at rush hour. The trains are fairly reliable but still very slow on the approach to London Bridge. Might be worth considering nearly all the fast trains stop at eg Orpington whereas more of a wait for the smaller ones like Chislehurst. Sidcup maybe avoid based on what I have heard about schools. 

Easy to drive south at the weekend to get into the countryside. Sevenoaks swimming pool is nice and next to Knole Park, Tonbridge has outdoor pool and near a playground and ride on model railway (need to book pool on busy days), Ightham Mote + Emmetts garden if you have national trust. Near enough to Greenwich, London, and the Kent + Sussex coast lots of nice days out with children. Easy to get to gatwick and France for holidays.

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Commute to Stratford from a lot of those areas may be easier to do by getting the bus/train into Woolwich then the DLR. It will definitely be a less packed journey than going into LB then back out

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14 minutes ago, Durabo said:

Commute to Stratford from a lot of those areas may be easier to do by getting the bus/train into Woolwich then the DLR. It will definitely be a less packed journey than going into LB then back out

Would be cheaper too by avoiding zone 1. I know a few commuters who have switched from train to coach to canary wharf, doing that and a day or two WFH per week they are saving £500 per month.

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12 minutes ago, maudit said:

Would be cheaper too by avoiding zone 1. I know a few commuters who have switched from train to coach to canary wharf, doing that and a day or two WFH per week they are saving £500 per month.

75% of my commute costs are covered by my employer. TBH Id prefer to live outside Londonistan and commute in on National Rail then jammed into a TFL cattle wagon. Billericay in Essex where we live is good but pricey and choice is limited. 

My boss lives in 7 Oaks but thats too far out. 

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There are some nice detached bungalows in orpington in our price range. 

I'm quite partial to a single storey house as I have MS and although I don't have any disability symptoms you never know with More Shit  whats round the corner. 

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Do you need to think about primary school yet? 

https://admissionsday.co.uk

+ check school websites for admission rules.

I know a couple who spent a lot on a house not realising it was not in catchment for any good primaries. They got offered a special measures primary and have had to pay for private when they could have been offered an outstanding state primary if they had bought 0.5km down the road.

Just now, Kurt Barlow said:

There are some nice detached bungalows in orpington in our price range. 

Lots of nice 30s houses in Orpington!

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2 minutes ago, maudit said:

Do you need to think about primary school yet? 

https://admissionsday.co.uk

+ check school websites for admission rules.

I know a couple who spent a lot on a house not realising it was not in catchment for any good primaries. They got offered a special measures primary and have had to pay for private when they could have been offered an outstanding state primary if they had bought 0.5km down the road.

Lots of nice 30s houses in Orpington!

One of the reasons I'm minded to stay in Billericay. The prices have kept the cnutary (at least that part Id be concerned about) of Essex out of the Town. 

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8 hours ago, Kurt Barlow said:

Looking to buy next year and my wife has now cast her eye on SE London / Kent area as her job has taken her in that direction. I currently work in Stratford so would like to keep my commute to below 1 hour. 

Apart from a few relatives who live in Crayford or further in at Lee I don't really know the area at all. I have heard that the golden rule in SE london / Kent is to lives south of the A2-M2  (Similarly in Essex its North of the A127)

Areas that look ok are Bromley, Bexley,  Orpington, Chislehurst. Not sure about Sidcup. My Great Aunt (who is 90 today) lives in Sheltered Accommodation in Crayford and described it as the Arsehole of London (verbatim) her being a proper Cockerney girl which shocked my wife a littlexD

 

 

Bromley is alright, a bit chavvy. Chislehurst is expensive and snotty, but near enough to Eltham that it's not immune from occasional trouble from youths. Orpington is OK, a bit boring. It's similar to places like Eden Park or West Wickham elsewhere in the borough of Bromley (which is very large). My impression of the Eltham- Sidcup - Welling - Bexley axis is that it's a bit less diversified than elsewhere in London, but not a great deal better for it, fewer imported scumbags but more of your traditional white doley ones. I don't know if the census stats back that up, I don't head that way often enough to know them well. Sidcup and Bexley are reasonably nice still, Eltham and Welling not so much.

Bromley or Bexley boroughs aren't a bad shout for someone with a kid as they still have grammar schools- I understand that competition to get into St Olaves is mental, not so sure about Chis & Sid. If you can afford to go private, then obviously I'd recommend Eltham College, seeing as I went there... Mottingham where it's located is a mixture of big posh houses and run down estates, but New Eltham, up the road on the way to Chislehurst, is pleasant enough.

Lee is actually reasonably nice, and a bit further in still there's a concerted attempt going on to gentrify Hither Green- whether that's a good thing depends on your outlook. I've lived most of my life just south of Catford town centre. The centre of Catford itself has a well deserved reputation for being a dump, but the houses in the Culverley Green Conservation Area are large and surprisingly nice, and the Corbett Estate houses like the one I live in at the moment are fine. The double fronted ones are huge.

There aren't any bargain areas to be found, obviously. The trains into London Bridge have been really unreliable recently, I'm constantly being regaled with tales of delays by my friends who commute in. To get to Stratford I would give serious consideration to cycling to Lewisham and then getting the DLR, it'll be packed but AFAIK it's reliable enough. You can cycle from Bromley to Lewisham in 20 minutes if you're fit, it's pretty flat. Driving through the Blackwall tunnel in the morning takes bloody ages. It's fine on a scooter though!

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9 minutes ago, Rave said:

 

Bromley is alright, a bit chavvy. Chislehurst is expensive and snotty, but near enough to Eltham that it's not immune from occasional trouble from youths. Orpington is OK, a bit boring. It's similar to places like Eden Park or West Wickham elsewhere in the borough of Bromley (which is very large). My impression of the Eltham- Sidcup - Welling - Bexley axis is that it's a bit less diversified than elsewhere in London, but not a great deal better for it, fewer imported scumbags but more of your traditional white doley ones. I don't know if the census stats back that up, I don't head that way often enough to know them well. Sidcup and Bexley are reasonably nice still, Eltham and Welling not so much.

Bromley or Bexley boroughs aren't a bad shout for someone with a kid as they still have grammar schools- I understand that competition to get into St Olaves is mental, not so sure about Chis & Sid. If you can afford to go private, then obviously I'd recommend Eltham College, seeing as I went there... Mottingham where it's located is a mixture of big posh houses and run down estates, but New Eltham, up the road on the way to Chislehurst, is pleasant enough.

Lee is actually reasonably nice, and a bit further in still there's a concerted attempt going on to gentrify Hither Green- whether that's a good thing depends on your outlook. I've lived most of my life just south of Catford town centre. The centre of Catford itself has a well deserved reputation for being a dump, but the houses in the Culverley Green Conservation Area are large and surprisingly nice, and the Corbett Estate houses like the one I live in at the moment are fine. The double fronted ones are huge.

There aren't any bargain areas to be found, obviously. The trains into London Bridge have been really unreliable recently, I'm constantly being regaled with tales of delays by my friends who commute in. To get to Stratford I would give serious consideration to cycling to Lewisham and then getting the DLR, it'll be packed but AFAIK it's reliable enough. You can cycle from Bromley to Lewisham in 20 minutes if you're fit, it's pretty flat. Driving through the Blackwall tunnel in the morning takes bloody ages. It's fine on a scooter though!

Orpington is looking increasingly attractive. Its good commute times to Stratford and Erith. Our budget is about 550K. Some nice Bungalows and detached houses. Schooling an open question. 

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19 minutes ago, Rave said:

I understand that competition to get into St Olaves is mental, not so sure about Chis & Sid.

Problem with the Bromley/Orpington area is being near London you have to compete with anyone in South London who has applied. Grammars near Sutton same problem most places taken by children from London. Much easier to get in to grammar in other parts of Kent.

If you go to state school end up with the accent, have a friend from Penge with a strong accent. I sound quite chavvy to posh people xD

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1 minute ago, maudit said:

Problem with the Bromley/Orpington area is being near London you have to compete with anyone in South London who has applied. Grammars near Sutton same problem most places taken by children from London. Much easier to get in to grammar in other parts of Kent.

If you go to state school end up with the accent, have a friend from Penge with a strong accent. I sound quite chavvy to posh people xD

Ah yes the Greenwich ruling. 

This delighted my Aunt (Former teacher in Enfield)...

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