Living in Whitechapel? (Student)

[cringin]

DC is going into Year 2 of uni and moving into a flatshare in Whitechapel. Do any mumsnetters have experience of the area? I went for a wander around at about 4pm and there seemed to be lots of young, possibly migrant, families and lots of students. It seemed ok. But what is it like late at night? Any tips for food shopping and eateries?

It's fine. It's a mix of Bengali multi-generational families, hipsters/creatives and young professionals with a few of the East End families still left. Lots of doctors / hospital staff because of the proximity to the Royal London (which has the larger A&E in Europe, as well as the emergency helicopter that covers everywhere within the M25). Not that many students actually living in Whitechapel as it's a bit too expensive (unless they're funded by the bank of Mum & Dad, or are mature students - the undergrads tend to live nearer Mile End and further out).

There are quite a lot of homeless people / rough sleepers in the area and plenty of drug dealing goes on in some of the side streets. There can be some opportunistic mugging (the streets around Bethnal Green rail station are a bit of a hotspot, and around Brick Lane) so she needs to keep her wits about her as you would anywhere in a big city. Main roads are fine. Just stay alert in the quieter side streets.

It's never quiet. Even at 4am there are always people wandering about. It's walking distance to Brick Lane / Spitalfields and Shoreditch so there's usually a spillover from there. Food shopping - most people go to Whitechapel Sainsburys as it's the biggest one in inner east London. There are various Tesco Metro / Co-ops dotted around. A small Asda at Stepney. Waitrose in Wapping. More eateries than I could list. The quality of food and quality of coffee in the area is generally outstanding - if you ignore the ubiquitous fried chicken shops. Lots of independent shops/cafes etc. Excellent bakeries like Breid or the East End stalwart Rinkoffs. There's even an urban winery at Bethnal Green (although these days they just sell their wine and the actual wine-making has moved to their newer Walthamstow winery).

With the Elizabeth line, it's quick and easy to get to most places. From my front door to actually standing on the street at Tottenham Court Road it takes me 10 minutes total. District line, Hammersmith & City plus the Overground too. As well as walking distance to the Central line, Metropolitan line and Circles lines plus the DLR. Never had to wait longer than 3 mins for an Uber. I assume she won't have a car (I wouldn't recommend driving here, it's like the Wild West - there are very few rules and expect the unexpected). Lots of buses. Traffic is generally terrible. Cycling is easy as there are 2 cycle superhighways that goes straight through Whitechapel. Just watch out for broken glass in them - punctures can be a problem.

Sorry, just realised you wrote DC rather than DD. I assumed they're a DD because you visited with them. 🙃

@HundredMilesAnHour just wanted to come over and say what an excellent and informative reply!

That's really kind of you @ColumboOnTheCase and made my evening, thank you!

I lived in Whitechapel as a student. Great place to live. You can walk to Liverpool Street station in 20 mins. Plus you're near brick lane, loads of galleries, great food and pubs.

I work that way. Very busy, lots of hustle and bustle, very diverse - big Bangladeshi population, also a lot of gentrification. Got street market lined up outside the station on the main roads (where you can get a few bargains).

Abundant choice of great eateries - curry houses, restaurants, cafes, coffee shops.

A lot of workers are hospital and university staff.

Lovely big library and the town hall has recently been renovated.

It’s very central, near Liverpool Street and Bricklane. Would love have lived there as a student - your DC will have a great time!

My DDis going into her 3rd year at Uni and in a flat share in that area. She would say she is 'on edge' at night there, has seen a lot of criminal activity, fights etc.. Her boyfriend was mugged at knifepoint, as PP said it was on a side street late at night and not on a main road, he was not hurt, but had to hand over everything, phone, wallet, airpods, watch, even his designer trainers. Connections into Central London are great and she makes the most of it. A lot of students use the 'too good to go' app, where restaurants sell their excess food at end of evening at huge discounts. My daughter has also told me about some fresh fruit and veg market where everything it £1 (or maybe £2) can't remember the name of it now. Sunday morning they go to Brick Lane food market and then she heads to the flower market. I have been to visit her several times, it is definitely edgy there. Lots of bars, clubs etc. and she always seem to be trying out somewhere cool.

Beigels on Brick Lane, and cheesecake 😋

Thanks @HundredMilesAnHour and everyone else. Their nearest tube station will be Aldgate East. The flat is a former social housing property, in a street with a few other social housing blocks so quite densely populated, but I did walk down a "quiet side road" to get to it.

I assume they're studying at London Met then rather than QMUL? Aldgate is super-busy and very much in the thick of things for nightlife etc. I find Sundays around there absolutely hellish as there are so many 'out of towners' coming in to Brick Lane and Spitalfields. Students will probably love it 😂

Happy to give you more info if you want to post or PM me the street (but no worries if you don't) or PM me questions if you have any.

The area is quite mixed but has improved massively over the past decade as is demonstrated by the large number of hotels that have appeared. Some mornings it feels like wall-to-wall tourists and students there. (I assume you know that London Met's Student Union building is at Aldgate East).

Whitechapel Art Gallery is very good - often ground breaking actually - and occasionally a bit odd. 😜Their restaurant Townsend is very good.

Tower Hamlets residents can visit the Tower of London for £1 (DC will need a library/Idea store card as proof plus a bill with proof of address) and the Tower is easy walking distance. One of my favourite places to visit off season. Tons of history in the area. And I mean TONS.

I could write an essay. I've lived, worked and played in the area for 25+ years.

Thanks @HundredMilesAnHour . It's one of the blocks on Ellen Street. They're at UCL, not London Met, but good to know London Met is close. I saw a few students, mostly trailing suitcases, but its obviously a quiet time of year for them.

London Met is based at Aldgate East and QMUL have a big campus just up the road at Mile End so plenty of student support in the area.

I had a look at Ellen St. My advice would be try to stay west of that area when walking at night (i.e. Leman St) as that's Goodman Fields and it's quite flashy these days with lots of professionals and £million+ flats. Avoid the council estates immediately to the east around Christian Street Community Centre as I wouldn't consider that area particularly safe, especially at night. There aren't many places in the area where I've felt threatened but that is definitely one of them. A lot of 'yoof' hanging around and looking for trouble.

I just looked at the local crime stats and they seem consistent with my thoughts to avoid the east section. I wouldn't worry about anti-social behaviour (it's par for the course around here) but the theft and violence spots are ones to avoid. You can zoom in on the area around Ellen St:

https://www.police.uk/pu/your-area/metropolitan-police-service/whitechapel/?tab=CrimeMap

Ok, thanks for the advice.

Some excellent replies here. I'm an east ender, lived in this area for donkeys years, though I'm a bit further east in the nicer part of Bethnal Green.
I'd say she will be fine if she keeps her wits about her. It's a wonderful area, culturally rich, no shortage of food, entertainment, travel options. As with a lot of London, she should take sensible precautions, not walking alone at night, not walking down the street with phone in hand (phone snatching a big problem).
I second the advice above about getting a local library card (idea store) so that she can go to the Tower of London for £1! Also gives access to walk across the top of Tower Bridge too.
And she should go to Tayyabs, local restaurant a few streets away from her - the most wonderful food, award winning place.

Great area, diverse and lively. Really surprised a student can afford to live there, it’s pricey.

They’ll love it 😃

Seconded. That was a post that took time and thought.

Don't miss Tayyabs restaurant on Fieldgate St

Thank you so much @Florissante

I'm very happy to help. When I moved to Whitechapel many years ago, it was really rough and lots of people thought I was a bit bonkers. But it's really improved over the years (it's gone from 'rough' to 'edgy' to 'vibrant') and investment has been pouring into the area, most recently due to Tower Hamlets Town Hall moving here (and spending £8 million on old listed facade of the Royal London) and the area being upgraded. Obviously the Olympics and Crossrail have been significant contributors too. I'm quite actively involved in the local community at various levels (from Board Director to volunteer gardener) as well as working in the City nearby. There's pockets of huge wealth as well as severe poverty. In the last census, we were the 4th most linguistically diverse area in England & Wales. Never a dull moment living in Whitechapel 😜

Ah, Tayyab's, happy memories! I lived in Whitechapel from about 2004-09. Really liked it. I was in Brick Lane and Spitalfields all the time, although the area has been given over to chain retail since then and it's not as interesting.

The Bengali population don't tend to drink so much, so you don't get a big influx of loud and lairy people late at night like you do in some other areas. I always felt pretty safe.

The flat is £4000pcm between 5 of them (£800pcm each) so huge, but cheaper than many other options. It's not a luxury flat by any means.