Bromley & Surroundings

[frolicmum]

Anyone from there? We're looking to buy there. What's the nice parts, which parts to avoid?

We've got 1 DS & TTC our 2nd, live in a 3 bed now but further south, would like to upsize you a 5 bed. Any advice would be appreciated.

[FlorrieMango]

Keston and Beckenham are both beautiful and really lovely places to live

[JoJoSM2]

@PettsWoodParadise knows the area really well and hopefully can advise if she’s around.

[jessstan2]

It depends on your budget. Chislehurst is lovely but the best bits are pricey. Chatterton Village in Bromley is very up and coming and popular with younger people, less expensive than other areas in Bromley.

[Ifailed]

Do you mean the 'town' of Bromley, or the Borough?

[Goslowlysideways]

Look at the schools you like - primary and secondary - and work from there. How much do you want to spend?

[PettsWoodParadise]

Thanks for mention. As you might guess I am from the lovely location of Petts Wood. It is great for families with good primary schools, shops, parks, clubs and community feel. The station goes to lots of different London stations which you don’t get one stop up the line as we are before the junction.
For secondary lots of Petts Wood children end up at grammars as within catchment for The superselectives in Orpington, Kent grammars and Bexley grammars. For comprehensives Boys often end up at Racens Wood or Darrick Wood, for girls Darrick (if on Crofton side of Petts Wood). There are also independents nearby..

Other mice areas include Beckenham, Hayes, old Chislehurst, Knoll / South end of Orpington. It depends if you want more urban, what your budget is etc. A Sixties style five bed townhouse in Crofton on edge of Petts Wood would set you back £500k, a mock Tudor detached in a nice road in Petts Wood would cost around £1.4 million upwards.

[mrsmummy1111]

It all depends on your budget and what you're looking for from the area. Very simply without taking anything else into the account, the main areas you want to avoid are Mottingham (more specifically the cold harbour estate), penge and downhan. West wickham has a lot of mock Tudor style houses (think Petts wood but 1/3 of the price), however you don't get the lovely feel of Petts wood with it. You do get a lot for your money there though. For the most part, Chislehurst is lovely but incredibly expensive. If you find something that's cheaper but purports to be in Chislehurst based on the postcode, I'd look closely at the exact area as "cheap" and "Chislehurst" don't mix, so chances are you're technically in Mottingham / new Eltham. Most parts of Bromley, generally speaking, are pretty nice. As long as you don't go too far down London Lane into downham. Hayes has some very pretty leafy roads, with shops and pubs close by. Beckenham is great if you manage to find close to the high street, especially park Langley, but again, pretty pricy compared to other areas nearby. It's a tricky area as it's one of those places that can have one end of the road with beautiful houses and quiet leafy streets, then the Mottingham estate at the other end (I'm thinking specifically of elmstead Lane)

[WoolyMammoth55]

Hey all, I'm a Bromley girl (down in Somerset now though after 15 years in north London!)

I grew up in Bromley town, on the north side, just past the edge of Downham. The town itself has north and south sides (depending on which of the stations you're closest to) and street to street it varies a lot. I always felt safe growing up, enjoyed being short walk from the cinema and the big Glades shopping centre. Went to Highfield Primary and got into the girls grammar school at 11 - both were excellent and I ended up at Cambridge for my degree so a decent outcome for Bromley state schools :)

In the borough of Bromley there's lots of variation, including some leafy verdant lovely bits (Chislehurst for sure, and is Keston still lush too?) but the downsides - as always with lovely bits - are the transport links and the house prices... Petts Wood wasn't all that back in my day but I'm fully prepared to believe it's a paradise now! :) Beckenham is like Bromley town in my view, some nice bits but some dodgier streets too.

One downside that I was always aware of - it's very white given that it's on the edge of London. I had a few black friends growing up and they were all racially bullied. Maybe that's changed now, I'd hope so. There's also a very specific type of aggressive drunk-all-the-time white guy who I will forever associate with Bromley, and in my experience was omnipresent in all parts of the borough... Yeuch.

I'd guess a 5 bed in a very lovely road would be a million quid (e.g. Kinnaird Avenue was 2 roads over from where we lived - speed bumped so very quiet, lots of trees on the street and big detached houses: www.zoopla.co.uk/house-prices/london/bromley/kinnaird-avenue/) so a lot is going to come down to your budget.

You might be best off doing some research about where you can afford and then posting up those specific areas for more feedback? Best of luck!

[Requinblanc]

Beckenham is lovely. Safe with a great high-street and parks, good leisure centres and fairly multicultural. Nice sense of community.

[AnotherMarshmallow]

Petts Wood is fab - loads of countryside on your doorstep, but good transport links as well. Lovely sense of community and very safe and good for families.

[ClamDango]

What is your budget.
Beckenham is very nice, this house overlooks the lovely Kelsey Park and is near shops, schools, station, buses.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-72383475.html

[InTheFamilyTree]

What's your budget OP?

I'd ignore the advice about Penge, it's on the up, great community feel, parks, access to facilities for young kids, some good/outstanding primary schools, as well as being 5 mins from crystal palace and beckenham.

[ClamDango]

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-81346927.html

[Twizbe]

I live in the borough but close to Sydenham / Penge.

I love living here. Being on the border meant I could have my kids at Lewisham hospital which was amazing

[frolicmum]

Thanks everyone - that's helpful. Budget is up to 800k but I would have to walk in and think; THAT'S IT, I'd rather spend £700-750k. From what I read it seems a squeeze to get a 5 bed but I'll start my research on Sunday.

I'll look into Petts Wood,, Chislehurst and Beckenham. Once I've done more research, I may be back! I will also look at schools as I want our next home to be our 'forever home'.

[PettsWoodParadise]

This utilitarian 5 bed townhouse would leave tons of money over in Crofton which is on the edge of Petts Wood and in good school catchments. www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-70638828.html

If you want something more pretty or in more central Petts Wood you might struggle if you want something pretty with 5 beds, e.g. this lovely house at £900k www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-78443812.html

Or this semi at just under £700k where the loft conversion isn't the most attractive but you get a lot of space for the money www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-68648085.html

If you win the lottery this 5 bed house in one of the premier roads in Petts Wood is a snip at £1.7m www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-72404067.html

[Goslowlysideways]

Petts Wood is nice just avoid Orpington. It’s a bit UKIP. Petts Wood can be a bit dull and the houses aren’t massive.
Sundridge Park is nice. The bit between Sundridge Park and Chislehurst is lovely. I’m not sure if it’s Chislehurst. This house is not pretty but in a very posh road.
Hillbrow Road, Bromley
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-63929973.html

[frolicmum]

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-72460983.html

What do you think about this one? I don't think it would be our forever home but a good home for the next 5 years. It's New Eltham but seems like a nice area? I don't think I'd offer asking but quite a bit less.

[PettsWoodParadise]

That is in Bexley Borough rather than Bromley, not so familiar with the environs so can't comment, hopefully someone else can advise.

[FlorrieMango]

@frolicmum

We have just bought our first flat in LBoBexley (between New Eltham and Sidcup) and have done a lot of research and visited the area 5+ times at all times of day. It seems really, really lovely and all of the residents I have spoken to are very happy with the area.

[CatAndHisKit]

Clam what a charming house that is! my taste to a t.

[mrsmummy1111]

@frolicmum

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-72460983.html

What do you think about this one? I don't think it would be our forever home but a good home for the next 5 years. It's New Eltham but seems like a nice area? I don't think I'd offer asking but quite a bit less.

A very good friend of mine is going to the open day for this house on Saturday and I think there is a fair bit of interest in it, it's a decent size and can be easily opened out downstairs. I think you'll have a bit of competition but agree it's a great house in a great road. It's actually 2 doors down from another v.good friend of mine and they love the road. Quiet family road and obvious perk is Dulverton primary across the road.

[mrsmummy1111]

The reason it's slightly cheaper is because new Eltham is "less desirable" than Bromley, but as far as new Eltham goes its a lovely road and a reasonable walk to the station too.

[jessstan2]

If you go up Green Lane, SE9 towards Chislehurst but staying just within SE9, there are some lovely properties. Move a few paces into Chislehurst and identical houses cost at least £100,000 more.

[frolicmum]

@mrsmummy1111 no issues with that at all. I wouldn't pay more than 590-600 for it though, there is a lot of things missing for me personally land I know I'd outgrow this home within 5 years but that's fine. If there is people willing to pay more than that, I haven't lost anything and they've won the home they want. X