Thinking of moving to the area
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MonsterMunch
Posts: 2
Joined: Dec 2007
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12-12-2007 09:56 PM
Hi
I'm thinking of moving to SE23 or possibly Sydenham/Crystal Palace area.
Any advice, good areas, bad areas, any places to aviod?
What's SE23 like in general, good transport, shopping, open space, nightlife?
The rents do seem quite affordable compared to other areas of London and I'm just wondering why that should be because it's seems relatively close to central London.
Any advice welcome.
Thanks
Tom
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nevermodern
Posts: 653
Joined: Feb 2007
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Londondrz
Posts: 1,538
Joined: Apr 2006
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13-12-2007 08:53 AM
Have lived here since 2001 and love the place. Just stay away from Baboonery.
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Red67
Posts: 141
Joined: Nov 2007
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13-12-2007 09:41 AM
I've been here since 2001 as well, and i love it! I think Forest Hill still appears a reasonable option price wise, as perception of the area in terms of transport links is that it is not that well served - but don't let that fool you. It is not difficult to get around, and when the East London Line/Overground arrives, that perception will change.
I live near the Horniman Museum (which has super gardens) and 5 mins up the road are the Sydenham/Dulwich Woods which is a wonderful large area of well managed woodland. I reckon we do very well for open spaces and woodland considering FH is so close to central London.
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Mrjamon
Posts: 46
Joined: Jun 2007
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13-12-2007 09:55 AM
Forest Hill yes.
Sydenham No.
Crystal Palace yes but far.
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nevermodern
Posts: 653
Joined: Feb 2007
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13-12-2007 10:58 AM
I was looking to buy in Crystal Palace for ages: Forest Hill didn't even cross my mind. Then I bought the first place I saw here. Two years later and I really love it. The main problem is not totally adequate shopping in the centre and some empty shops, but there's more than the basics and increasingly nice places to eat, drink and carouse.
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hilltopgeneral
Posts: 156
Joined: Mar 2004
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13-12-2007 11:57 AM
There's more to do in Crystal Palace, and some better architecture, but you have to balance that with being that bit further out with poorer transport links. It's also a bit rougher (albeit no downtown Mogadishu) and suffers from being split between three boroughs, meaning no-one really takes responsibility for the area as a whole. I concede that Forest Hill doesn't appear to fare much better under Generalissimo Bullock.
They're not wildly dissimilar areas though and it's easy to get between the two - 5 mins on the train, a little longer on the buses. As an observation, although the converse might not be true, if you lived in Crystal Palace you would have little reason to go to Forest Hill.
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MonsterMunch
Posts: 2
Joined: Dec 2007
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16-12-2007 12:26 AM
Thanks for the advice.
I think I really need to take a look around to get a feel for these places but Forest Hill definately sounds promising.
I currently live in North Camberwell / Walworth. The street I live in is quite nice, lots of big Georgian terraces, but the surrounding area is a bit rough although it's really easy to get to work - 15mins on the Vespa. That's the other thing I'd have to consider, I commute into Aldwych by scooter, Crystal Palace might make a the commute longer than I'd like.
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kingkong
Posts: 61
Joined: Oct 2006
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16-12-2007 11:27 AM
Thanks for the advice.
I think I really need to take a look around to get a feel for these places but Forest Hill definately sounds promising.
I currently live in North Camberwell / Walworth. The street I live in is quite nice, lots of big Georgian terraces, but the surrounding area is a bit rough although it's really easy to get to work - 15mins on the Vespa. That's the other thing I'd have to consider, I commute into Aldwych by scooter, Crystal Palace might make a the commute longer than I'd like.
welcome Monstermunch,
I used to live in Camberwell myself and commuted to Camden by motorbike, it took me around 25 minutes. I now live in Honor Oak Park and it takes me 40 minutes. SE23 to Aldwych will take you around 25 minutes maximum I should think.
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Sandy67
Posts: 48
Joined: Dec 2007
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16-12-2007 01:07 PM
i've lived in forest hill since 1973 .. (with a brief departure to hither green for 6 months in '92)
i wouldnt live anywhere else
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Ooperlooper
Posts: 104
Joined: Jun 2006
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16-12-2007 09:48 PM
The western side of Forest Hill has good transport links. As well as the trains, there are buses including the 176 and 185 buses going to Oxford Street and Victoria (takes about 1 hour) via East Dulwich and Camberwell, and the P4 going to Lewisham (about 20 mins) one way and Brixton (about 25 mins) the other.
The main roads this side of the station are well lit and there is almost always some car and pedestrian traffic, so it feels pretty safe.
The Horniman Museum puts on a lot of free events for adults and kids, and the Gardens are a well kept and popular park with nice views of central London. There's also a triangular patch of grass and trees opposite the Gardens with some swings etc from kids (set for a ?40k revamp in the near future - see elsewhere on this forum) and there's the surprisingly large Sydenham Hill Wood nature reserve (about 30 mins to walk through with a nice pub at the other end) too. And Dulwich Park is also just a few mins away.
You'll know that there are few useful shops in Forest Hill around the station, and a few pubs and restaurants too. East Croydon is also just a 15 minute train ride away and has a couple of fairly large shopping malls and is generally more pleasant and civilised an experience than Oxford Street. East Dulwich is also just up the road and has some trendier shops and bars.
Was renting in the area for a couple of years and after looking all over London for a place to buy ended up deciding that Forest Hill was the best value. I don't really know why prices are so reasonable, other than the perception by north Londoners that anywhere without a tube stop ought to be accompanied by an Ennio Morricone soundtrack. I've not discovered any real catches so far apart from the slightly cruddy station.
Nice place, nice mixture of people, nice...err, place name.
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