Would you move to Hither Green if you had the choice to live in Kew/Barnes?

[Sarahhhh5]

Hello!
For those living in Hither Green, would you still recommend it? We are looking there; however, we are toying with giving up on buying and renting instead. The main reason is safety. We were viewing a house yesterday and just missed the stabbing in Hither Green. Lane. The house we viewed was two streets over, so less than a two-minute walk. We live in Colliers Wood, so we are very familiar with stabbings and crime. It happens everywhere. Hither Green seems like the "last" place people can actually still afford to buy, but the safety issues keep coming up. There were two stabbings just weeks before. We are thinking of renting somewhere small just because it is "safe", like Kew/Barnes and throwing in the towel on ownership. Thoughts? Many thanks, Sarah

@SE13Mummy I haven't been to Catford centre for absolutely ages (possibly since pre-covid days 😱).
I always thought that area by the Tesco and Iceland felt like I'd been transported to being in old 1970s photograph of some kind of concrete "new town" 😂

Chislehurst/Petts Wood/Eltham/Sidcup are all nice places close to London Bridge. They’re still expensive but can get a lot more for your money. Close to London Bridge but still lots of space. I think you should have a look

If you're concern is safety don't move to HG, someone got stabbed in broad daylight there the other day.

Between Barnes/ Kew and Hither Green there's no contest IMO. I lived in HG years ago I moved out because of the schools, which were dreadful at the time but I think might have improved because English schools have all improved in the last 20 years.

Thank you for all your help. we walked all around Hitter Green yesterday and walked to Blackheath for lunch. We did both sides down to Catford Bridge and over to Lee High St. both feel safe. I work at Guy’s Hospital so the commute is a dream. we will l definitely consider the other suggestions too as SE London is new to us. Googling SE 20 now!

I moved to Hither Green 5 years ago. I feel safe and honestly you can’t beat a 9mins train to London Bridge and a walk to Blackheath and Greenwich Park. If anything it’s a bit too quiet . I lived near Richmond ages ago and it’s super nice but further out. I guess it depends on your priorities but really there are much worse areas than HG!

I've lived in the Hither Green/Lee area for 40 years.
I know the area very well. I feel very safe here, and have never personally witnessed any violence or serious crime. The SE12 area, feels more family friendly and more spaced out. Have a look on the other side of the south circular, you'd get a detached house for under 1m, and only ten minute walk to Lee station.
Hither Green has more to offer in terms of community, but I'd opt for the space and calm that Lee has.

Thanks you for all the suggestions. The recent headlines are unfortunate and I probably need to visit a bit more to get them out of my head and to become better acquainted. I did think the Lee side had a nicer feel than SE 13/ SE6 side we had viewings at last month only because of Manor Park, which is nice

I’m also in Hither Green; have lived here for 15 years now. There is a great sense of community (especially if you have kids, which a lot of people here do) and I have always felt safe and never experienced any crime (other than noticing very occasional anti-social stuff but really not bad). The commute times to London are also great and you can cycle in on a “quietway” too.
Originally we chose this area for the (relatively) lower property prices but I’m really glad we did and feel very settled here.

Btw, Lee Green Open Studios is running next weekend and the one following - might be a good time to visit so you can have a nose in a few houses and local venues!

Lived in Blackheath, Hither Green, now surbiton. Also know Kew and barnes very well

Kew and barnes are stunning - but much tougher for Lb

i really liked Hither Green - but it was the Lee side of the station near the station pub. Really nice independent shops, community events, a gorgeous park (Manor Park - with a lovely pond. Library, cafe, baby events). Had my first child there during covid and we loved loved it.

short walk to Blackheath and greenwich

everything was on our doorstep - gp, library etc

never saw druggies or felt like I would be mugged

i don’t know enough about Catford

Lewisham is fine for a quick shop but Canary Wharf is also on your doorstep and has a lot of shops etc

and Blackheath is just perfect.

I currently live in Lee, equidistant between Lee & Hither Green Station, just off Manor Lane. If you had told me 20 yrs ago I would end up here, I would have laughed at you.

I feel safe and I live in a proper community with great neighbours. Good transport system, nice balance of independent shops and chains. There is good access to other London villages from here, a great Farmer’s Matket up in Blackheath, plenty of green spaces.

The downside is that over the past year there have been several reported stabbings / murders, but they are reported because they are unusual rather than the norm.

if you want to meet for a coffee with people who live locally, I can whip up some friends who can talk to you about living here.

Why are you specifically looking at Hither Green? For £1m you could buy in lots of areas. If you wanted south east you could buy in Nunhead which is lovely. You could also probably buy in East Dulwich which I don’t think feels very crime ridden!

@kirinm East Dulwich can be a bit hit and miss for trains to London Bridge which the OP needs.

Ah sorry I missed the LB connection,

In that case OP, you can look at Telegraph Hill and Nunhead / Peckham. Nunhead is probably do-able if you want a house - you can walk to Queens Road Peckham for a LB train or even to New Cross Gate depending on which side of Nunhead you’re in

I assume Brockley goes to London Bridge as well.

I travel into London Bridge 3x a week and never have any problems with the trains from Queens Road Peckham which I think actually go via East Dulwich but not 100% on that.

I live in HG, the stabbings are almost always between "like minded people" rather than random stabbings of the middle class families. Still terrible, but worth bearing in mind.

The recent stabbing mentioned by the OP was retribution for someone stealing their electric scooter. Criminals assaulting criminals.

HG is great value for money (for London), safe with good primary schools. Very nice area for young families, of which there are loads, all of whom tend to be professionals who have moved in o the area from "nicer" areas they can not afford to buy in.

Gentrification here is real.

Of course Kew and Richmond are nicer, but the property prices are incomparable.

I’d rule out Kew on grounds of cost, crappiness of the commute from there to London Bridge, and plane noise/pollution.

Are schools a consideration? Would want to be clear on that before looking: if you already have or want DC it’d be a pain to move again to get into a popular school, when property prices are a stretch for your budget, and if you don’t want DC you’ll probably want to avoid paying a high premium for a house close to the popular secondary school(s).

We moved to HG 4 years ago and it’s perfect for us. We live close to Manor Cafe. I work in the city and my wife works in Canary Wharf. We can both get to work in less than 40 mins. We have a library, park, park cafe, and a gym (Colfe) at our doorstep. Blackheath is a short walk away and on sunny weekends we walk to Greenwich park and enjoy the maritime museum which our kids love. Best part - I can cycle to work in around 40 mins. Excellent primary schools nearby. What’s not to like :)