Views on Gipsy Hill

[firsttimer08]

Any views on Gipsy hill? We are considering buying a property there - near Gipsy hill station. We don't know many (any) people in the area and therefore are rather unfamiliar with it.

In particular, we are keen to know how about the safety/crime etc. etc. Is it an area popular with young families?

Thanks !

Well this is going back 10 years ago, we once lived on Gipsy Road backing onto the railway. The estate round Berridge Road and the nearest streets are probably not very safe TBH. I would not walk back in the dark that way from the station. But in the way of London, just a few streets away is not so bad. We know a family who've lived on Oaks Avenue for years and it's more kind of "Dulwich-y" on that side of the railway. I know that sounds a bit judgy but that was just our experience! The house prices should tell their own story, if it's a bargain there may be a reason.

In regard to young families, that area generally (Crystal Palace/Dulwich/Norwood) is great, loads of parks, good transport, good enough schools and really diverse and interesting too. If you can afford enough bedrooms and a garden!

I lived there for most of my life. It's a lovely area in many ways: nice housing stock, good transport links, getting quite gentrified and arty at the top of the hill, nice interesting mix of people.

Bad news? Well, it's very London. Quite edgy, IME. I (and all my family) have been mugged/suffered aggro at some stage around there, particularly around the station and the bus garage. But I don't support it's any worse than most of the rest of London; you just have to know which streets are safe and when.

In your shoes, I would certainly view the house.

thanks - that is a bit worrying. Safety comes first for us - the area looked nice, quiet and clean when we visited it over the weekend and the house was fantastic. We currently live in Greenwich and I don't think I would ever be worried here about being mugged etc. etc. - it is very very safe, so the views on gipsy hill get me concerned :(

Firsttimer, we own two properties in gipsy hill and use to live in one. The estate in question use to be quite bad years ago but is much much better now, lots of the houses are now privately owned. In the time that I lived in gh I was never mugged or ever felt threatened. There is an awful lot to do with children and cp has a few very good toddler groups and the cafes are very child friendly. The primary schools are very good there and Paxton green medical centre is excellent, especially mw and hv's. My only gripe with gh is the hill, it's a killer to walk-up!

View the house anyway - can you say which road it's on? You could ask the vendor straight out about safety - would they nip out to the corner shop or walk back from the bus stop in the evening?

If you're already living in Greenwich then it's not really any worse. I think hester's comment is that you might not wander around the roughest estate streets at 10pm but that goes for everywhere in London.

Yes the walk is agonising - and we are very much used to walking wherever we go ! Well I must say the part of Greenwich we live in is very safe, almost like a bubble. Paxton Green (the health centre) and shopping around it seemed really nice and that is what prompted us to do the viewing at the house. The house itself is on Gipsy Hill (i think that is the name of the road)- just a short walk up from the train station on the main road - I believe the same road leads up to the triangle. We didn't stay on to explore much, but from a cursory view, it seemed the area surrounding us was mostly houses rather than flats. We did not take a look at the side streets - which one of the posters suggests may be more worrying.

Good idea, if the property is still available when I go for a 2nd viewing, I will ask the vendors directly.

I'm sorry if I put you off. I don't know Greenwich well, but all I can say as a lifelong Londoner is that I think safey being paramount and living in the capital don't sit together terribly easily! Obviously it comes down to the vibe you get off the place and how comfortable you think you can be with moving out of your current area. I should also acknowledge that the area has become much more gentrified since I spent my youth there, and I know that it is now very popular with young families. Oh, and my mum lives at the top of Gipsy Hill and she loves it

Getting up and down that hill does keep you fit, though.

Lots of schools and families. Handy for the park.

My friend used to own a flat on Bedwardine Road at the top of Gipsy Hill (so Upper Norwood, I believe?) It was a bit of a walk up the hill from the station, I seem to recall. Her street was ok, lots of houses split into flats but never any trouble. When we went walking I could see there were lots of lovely (unsplit) houses in the surrounding streets too.

There is the big Sainsburys there which is handy, and the high street had quite a few good noodle bars and restaurants. There was an excellent chippy across from the Sainsburys which had won awards.

And in the little lane off her road, there was a very charming antiques market where I used to buy loads of stuff. Not sure if it's there anymore, but have a look.

All in all she was quite happy there, except that it was very hard to get home from central London after the trains stopped. (But I imagine that's the same for everyone...)

Funnily enough she used to live in Greenwich (well, Maze Hill) and I think she was just as happy there as Upper Norwood, if that helps? Greenwich proper does have a bigger and more vibrant high street, but I felt that transport issues into central London were the same when I used to visit her there.