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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask is West Hampstead in London a rough scary place to live like Tottenham?

66 replies

wanderingsole · 05/02/2017 15:34

Went to view a flat there yesterday, on the ground floor at the front of the building so at a higher risk for robberies.

The whole area just didn't feel that nice, I was expecting it to feel much nicer but it reminded me of Tottenham. Am I just jumping to conclusions? Is it a safe part of the city?

OP posts:
CruCru · 05/02/2017 15:36

West Hampstead is pretty smart these days. Often the area of choice for people who want to send their kids to the Hampstead prep schools (think it's only one stop to Finchley Road and Frognal on the Overground).

user1471446905 · 05/02/2017 15:37

No west hampstead is not remotely like Tottenham!

ambereeree · 05/02/2017 15:38

Ha! Quite the opposite. A lovely place to live.

JayzuzMaryJoseph · 05/02/2017 15:39

Nothing like Tottenham. Although...when you say 'West Hampstead' - which road? Estate agents have been marketing Kilburn and Cricklewood as W.Hampstead for years...although again, neither is anything like good old Tottenham Grin. Kilburn a bit edgier at night, but only because there are some decent pubs on the High Road about which attract young folk.

Original poster
wanderingsole · 05/02/2017 15:40

User, what makes you say that? I appreciate I don't know the area but curious? There was a gang of teenage youths who whooped and shouted at me in the street - just teenage nonsense but still not pleasant - and loads of litter, they're the two things stuck in my mind.

Cru was it once considered rougher than now then?

Sorry, as I say I don't know the area.

OP posts:
underneaththeash · 05/02/2017 15:40

I'd also be wary about the road. I lived in West Hampstead for years and felt very safe there, but didn't in Kilburn.

juniorcakeoff · 05/02/2017 15:41

Tottenham is not a rough scary place. It is like everywhere normal in London, with good bits and bad bits. West hampstead is a bit of a made up place with wanky little coffee shops. And a large part of what was historically Kilburn is now called w hampstead. Congratulations Foxtons.

Claxonia · 05/02/2017 15:42

It is pretty nice and will be even more so when the building work around the station is finished.

CruCru · 05/02/2017 15:42

It's also only a couple of stops to Swiss Cottage and St John's Wood.

Original poster
wanderingsole · 05/02/2017 15:43

Hmm don't remember name of road, it's on a piece of paper in my coat pocket. It was about half a mile from the West Hampstead tube though?

I think when I viewed it on a map earlier it was about a mile away from Kilburn.

OP posts:
AlrightChuck · 05/02/2017 15:43

Was it Kilburn pretending to be West Hampstead?

WH has a shop selling frozen food ready made - not Iceland or M&S but directly made by London's finest chefs apparently Hmm

Definitely posh!

JayzuzMaryJoseph · 05/02/2017 15:44

Actual West Hampstead proper - ie. the roads off West End Lane and leading up to Finchley Road - are expensive and pretty nice. There is a decent cafe culture around there and its not rough at all - although its inner London, so obviously you exercise caution at night and want to take decent security measures.

AlrightChuck · 05/02/2017 15:44

I actually prefer Kilburn btw, it's real London although that is changing.

pikapoo · 05/02/2017 15:44

Agreed with PP about being careful of exact road. The character of the area turns quickly depending on whether it falls in W Hampstead or Kilburn.

CruCru · 05/02/2017 15:45

It probably was once considered rougher - a bit like Islington (where I live).

There isn't any area of London where you definitely won't get groups of teenagers hanging around. We definitely have them in Islington and my old nanny said thatNotting Hill used to have a real gang problem.

JayzuzMaryJoseph · 05/02/2017 15:45

Estate agents have been branding Kilburn and Cricklewood 'West Hampstead' since the 1980s. Its not new. Grin

Original poster
wanderingsole · 05/02/2017 15:45

It's Sumatra Road! If that means anything to anyone!

OP posts:
tovelitime · 05/02/2017 15:45

If it's Kilburn it's better than Tottenham but on the rough side. If it's West Hampstead proper it's one of the most desirable parts of NW London and absolutely not even on the same planet as Tottenham

spidey66 · 05/02/2017 15:46

Yeah West Hampstead is just Kilburn with a fancy name and prices to go with it.

I live close to Tottenham, there a lot of regeneration going on there. In 5 years time people will be asking 'Is Tottenham scary, you know like West Hampstead?

JayzuzMaryJoseph · 05/02/2017 15:46

Sumatra Road is West Hampstead proper. Its a nice area. The police station is a 5 minute walk Grin Wink.

underneaththeash · 05/02/2017 15:48

Yes great road, we lived just round the corner for over 10 years and its a lovely safe area.

JayzuzMaryJoseph · 05/02/2017 15:48

Promise you...Sumatra Road is a world away from Totts (which I do love a soft spot for...but honestly...nothing like it).

AndShesGone · 05/02/2017 15:49

577 square feet for £550,000

It's posh as fuck.

To ask is West Hampstead in London a rough scary place to live like Tottenham?
tovelitime · 05/02/2017 15:50

Ok so Sumatra road, depends which end, the W Hampstead end is still nice but it does get rougher at the other end but still nothing like Tottenham. It's quite a desirable address. The other side of West End Lane, the roads linking to Finchley Road are better but Sumatra road is a good address

JigglyTuff · 05/02/2017 15:52

If you think Sumatra Road is rough, I suggest you move out of London. You sound like you'd cope better in Surrey