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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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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:

EssentialHummus · 05/02/2017 15:53

Another vote for Nothing like Tottenham. DH used to live there and would move back in a heartbeat.

LadyOfTheCanyon · 05/02/2017 15:53

I used to live next to Broadwater Farm estate in Tottenham. I would have cut off my leg with a spoon if someone had said I could live in West Hampstead.

ChardonnayKnickertonSmythe · 05/02/2017 15:55

Sumatra Road is good.

And nothing like Tottenham. Mind you, few places are...

Lules · 05/02/2017 15:56

Have to say the title of this post made me laugh. But yes it's true what is described as WH is often Kilburn which is less nice. And of course nowhere is completely safe.

ChardonnayKnickertonSmythe · 05/02/2017 15:56

Also, two rail stations and the tube nearby.

JayzuzMaryJoseph · 05/02/2017 15:56

The roads linking up to Finchley Road are extortionate! I used to rent a flat on one of them and it was wall-to-wall Americans with serious wedge.

Original poster

wanderingsole · 05/02/2017 16:00

Ok, you're all making me feel that it's probably a good decision to move there! So thank you.

I'm sorry I think I'm actually a very bad judge of places when it comes to first impressions in that it reminded me of Tottenham, which I find scary after dark when walking alone. At the same time though it seems like Tottenham is in a league of it's own, which I hadn't realised.

OP posts:

SeaLionsOnMyShirt · 05/02/2017 16:02

Ha ha, this thread reminds me of when I met DH who lived in West Hampstead at the time, and I innocently asked "wasn't West Hampstead the dodgy end of Kilburn High Road?" spot the girl who never went north of the river

West Hampstead is lovely, wish I'd bought there 10 years ago when it was relatively unknown & affordable. Traffic is dreadful though on West End Lane, but that's probably the only downside to the area. You'll be fine there OP.

blueredyellow · 05/02/2017 16:07

I know Sumatra Road - Lovely street - we stayed just off it with friends for a while whilst we were house hunting. It's got a play area too!

CardinalSin · 05/02/2017 16:09

It's quite a lively area, with plenty still happening late at night which will contribute to a bit of litter, and a few groups of youngsters hanging around, but in all my years living there the only problem I had was having a bag nicked down by the station.

Apart from closing down the best local bar in London recently, there are plenty of good facilities, and a great cafe culture sitting outside bars in the summer. Traffic is getting worse as they build more flats with inadequate parking, but the transport links are superb. I'd gladly move back there given the opportunity.

"Tottenham is in a league of it's own" - Middlesex Lower League Fourth Division by comparison.

I remember a tweet from a fellow WH resident during the Tottenham London riots along the lines of "West Hampsted responding to the riots by continuing to drink good wine in pavement cafes".

GreedyDuck · 05/02/2017 16:14

As someone who lives in Tottenham, well South Tottenham, I can assure you that it's nothing like West Hampstead. I'd rather live in Tottenham though, it's improving and it's still possible (just) to buy a house for under £500k.

Even Islington has sketchy parts though, that's just part of living in a city.

Goingtobeawesome · 05/02/2017 16:16

I loved next to Hampstead in the early 90's just moving from Tottenham. They are , well were, nothing alike!

Wolpertinger · 05/02/2017 16:17

If you think West Hampstead is rough, you prob should leave London.

And I used to work in Tottenham, it's not scary. It's just a place which even then was on the verge of gentrification.

JayzuzMaryJoseph · 05/02/2017 16:22

If I was doing it all again old gimmer I'd buy in Tottenham now. I say that as someone who benefited from buying a property crack infested shithole in Stoke Newington years ago. Quids in, mate

Robstersgirl · 05/02/2017 16:23

Wasn't that road in a Sherlock episode?

GloriousGoosebumps · 05/02/2017 16:26

I was brought up in West Hampstead and visit regularly. It's expensive but lively with plenty of wine bars, pubs and restaurants. I'm amazed you think Sumatra Road is rough - where are you living now? But if West Hampstead isn't for you, try looking in Swiss Cottage, which is "next door"

gunnergirl · 05/02/2017 16:33

I've lived in tottenham over 25 years never had no problem plenty of kind people rather here than a place full of snob who don't talk to you

Claxonia · 05/02/2017 16:37

WH didn't give me a great impression when I first visited but as I spend more time there I like it a lot. There are good cafés and pubs and the transport is great, especially the buses.

Original poster

wanderingsole · 05/02/2017 16:40

I only got a snapshot glance, so it seems I was very wrong in my first impressions.

Currently in Hampstead. The villagey bit with the northern line. I love it here but am simply being priced out.

OP posts:

EmeraldScorn · 05/02/2017 16:47

Nowhere is a guaranteed "safe area" to live - If someone wants to ransack your home or mug you, then they will do so regardless of what postcode you live in.

Are you genuinely concerned for your safety OP or are you a bit of a snob? To imagine that someone would be put off living somewhere because there were a few teenagers hanging about seems over the top and bordering on hysterically unreasonable.

EssentialHummus · 05/02/2017 16:48

Well, yes, it's not Hampstead. But the transport is better in WH in my opinion, and there are better shopping options (Sainsbury's at the O2 Centre, huge Waitrose).

SpringerS · 05/02/2017 16:50

There isn't any area of London where you definitely won't get groups of teenagers hanging around.

Sure there is. I lived in Wimbledon for a few years and groups of teenagers hanging about was just not tolerated. After school each day groups of teens would come off the train and try hanging out in Centre Court (the shopping centre not the tennis court) and there were always 8-10 uniformed police officers patrolling the tiny area and quite a number of plain clothes officers too. If any teens got even a slightly out of hand some random couple who seemed to be window shopping would suddenly flash their badge and eject/arrest them. It was quite discomfiting as the teens were black and not from Wimbledon and the heavy police presence felt racially motivated. (I'm not necessarily blaming the police for that as the business owners and residential associations seemed to be the driving force behind it. And that was just the Broadway, stroll up the hill to the much posher village and the only teens you'd see hanging about were cantering from the stables to the common on their expensive ponies.

I moved to Wimbledon after two years living in Tottenham and the contrast was stark. Going from one of the most racially diverse neighbourhoods in the world to the whitest in London was a strange experience. I actually quite liked Tottenham, it has fantastic housing stock (10 years ago we bought a big, beautifully renovated Victorian red brick for £252k), it's so convenient to central London (When I worked on Bond St and my husband in the city we both had less than a 30 min door to door commute and the night bus only took 35 min from TCR if we stayed out late), the parks there are fantastic, the Lea Valley is a short walk away, Cheshunt and Epping Forest are 20 mins on the train, and there was just so much super cheap fresh fruit, veg and bread everywhere. I never minded the atmosphere of the High St, it wasn't great but it was far from scary. Buuuut we had the worst experiences with some of our neighbours and were so pleased to move to a much smaller, less nice rented house in Wimbledon after a couple of years. (Though some of our neighbours were amazing and we trusted them with our house keys and alarm codes when we were away). Tottenham has amazing potential but there are quite a lot of people there who make it less than pleasant.

JassyRadlett · 05/02/2017 16:57

Ah, this thread has made me nostalgic. West Hampstead was my first home in London, moved out nearly 10 years ago. Still miss it, it was a lovely place to live.

tangerino · 05/02/2017 16:59

Ooh I know someone who lives on Sumatra Road. She's lovely, her house is lovely. However, they have had problems with some people hanging out outside the little park and dealing drugs, so I would avoid anywhere too close to that park (I think it's a really local issue to the park- it's not the whole street). TBH I think there are few areas of London where you can guarantee you won't get something similar.

LaurieMarlow · 05/02/2017 17:01

I used to live close to Sumatra road. It's very naice. Still miss the area.

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