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Original poster

Herne Hill vs East Dulwich?

86 replies

Umnitsa · 30/01/2011 19:57

We are looking to buy a house somewhere in the area and I would be interested in your views re: these two neighbourhoods. Do you think they are more or less similar in demographics / desirability / safety? Which would be better from the investment point of view (ie which is likely to appreciate more)?

Herne Hill would be more convenient transport-wise (City Thameslink) but it also seems more expensive.

I was rather freaked out by the stabbing at the East Dulwich station last week - but I guess Herne Hill is also rather exposed being so close to Brixton...

I would be grateful if you could share your views and experiences.

PS To give some background, we are refugees from Hampstead and are currently renting in E.Dulwich around Hornimann's.

OP posts:
macmama · 01/02/2011 15:09

nice links blu you are selling me...

Original poster
Umnitsa · 01/02/2011 16:21

Thank you for the suggestions, Blu and Macmama. These houses do indeed look interesting, but I think we want to stick with HH/ED. As I've mentioned, we have already explored quite a few areas all over London but each was picked out very specifically for a combination of factors. In SE London HH seems to fit us best, as well as perhaps some parts of E.Dulwich.

OP posts:
jeanjeannie · 01/02/2011 16:39

Ohhh...all this talk of HH is making me sad. I miss it. I loved being in Poets Corner...wandering down to the Ritz or off up to the Commercial. Ho hum...happy days Smile
I do remember all seeing the 'slebs' turning up around 2005 time...ah well, them or gang members - you can't have it all!!

tattycoram · 01/02/2011 18:31

Just for the record I think poets corner distinctly unedgy, but I lived there for years and had a neighbour who had been persuaded by an estate agent that it was a good alternative to Dulwich. She was nervy the whole time and moved after only two years

iskra · 01/02/2011 18:40

I have to agree that Poets Corner does not seem edgy to me one bit - but then I live in Brixton proper Wink

bigTillyMint · 01/02/2011 19:09

I don't find Poet's Corner edgy, but just thought a blow-in from Hampstead who is looking for private schools might find it a bit edgy Wink

Blu · 01/02/2011 19:24

I found Poets Corner rather cosy, and miss it.

Blu · 01/02/2011 19:26

The Florence has been a good development in HH, and Sesami. And the Blackbird Bakery. Jeanjeannie - the Commercial has had a makeover, you know!

bibbitybobbityhat · 01/02/2011 19:38

Awww, the dear old Commercial.

Y'see, OP, Herne Hill is not 100% upmarket, city types, £750,000 houses and Alleyns and JAGS.

There are council estates and poor people and unemployed people living right on your doorstep.

Are you sure you want to be south of the river? You're going to have to rub along with all sorts.

Original poster
Umnitsa · 01/02/2011 19:53

Isn't it true with most of London, Bibbitybobbityhat? The same goes for huge apartment blocks in Swiss Cottage or Kilburn next to Maida Vale.

(...remembers the chapter on London in an old Soviet schoolbook which started thus, "London is the city of contrasts...")

OP posts:
jeanjeannie · 01/02/2011 20:39

Blu...has it had a make-over since the last make-over? I remember it with all the rugby shirts up round the wall...about 10 blokes in there(no teeth and at least 80 yrs old) and sticky carpets. I was quite fond of it then. My Dad was always at home there too Hmm

Fond memories - please tell me the wood yard next to the big hardware store is still there..weird place for a timber merchants.

Is the Mimosa deli still there? My mates had that as a hat shop before they made a killing and sold up! Oh and Pullens...breakfast (hung over) in Pullens....OOoooo - OP don't live in ED...it's nowhere near as much fun as HH ...especially as the East Dulwich Tavern no longer holds its legendary pub quiz!

Can you tell I miss it? Grin

Original poster
Umnitsa · 01/02/2011 21:00

JeanJeannie, your enthusiasm for HH is contagious!

You might be pleased to know that today I received particulars on a property in the Poet's Corner at £850K - and it is not even particularly big! So the area is definitely smartening up.

I can confirm that Mimosa is still there and very yummy!

OP posts:
Blu · 01/02/2011 21:16

No sticky carpets in the Commercial, any more! But it still has old men and footie fans.

I remember Mimosa as a hat shop, and the dress shop next door that had that yellow fil in the window to keep the sunlight out. I rmember Pullens when it was the old RestaurantProvencal, too, before that moved to the corner and became Cafe Provencal (and a lot less provencalesque) and Pullens became Pullens.

yes, the timber yard is still there, attached to the marvellous sell-everything hardware and builders merchants, but I'd say it's days are numbered as the whole little bit of road has now been blocked off as a cul de sac with pedestrianised pavements for cafe tables.

And the Lido Cafe has been re-invented - very nice, and great mid-week deals on dinner. I love the Lido.

bibbitybobbityhat · 01/02/2011 21:21

Heh heh heh, JeanJeannie, one night dh and I were in the Commercial with our mates (in the Rugby shirt days) and suddenly there was a Pub Quiz going on. We sort of got sucked up in to it, along with the 8 toothless regulars. We were doing ever so well but the quiz itself went badly off track because the host was pissed and couldn't do the scores properly Grin.

Somehow I think OP not interested in pub quizzes, whether in ED or HH.

Blu · 01/02/2011 21:25

bbh, I bet you know my mate who always drank in the commercial..

1234ThumbWar · 01/02/2011 21:36

I've lived in both HH and ED, they are different personally Im more an ED type but I think Hh is more in line with north London. Rosemead is a lovely private primary as is Herne Hill.

There is more crime in Ed, well in my experience there was and we often had to schlep to hh to get the train,so all in all it sounds like a better match for you.

jeanjeannie · 01/02/2011 21:40

What bibbity....OP not interested in pub quizzes?!! Really?! (big fan of the Tulse Hill Tavern with regard to nights out to challenge the old grey matter....and dodge pitbulls)

Sorry Umnitsa..got carried away Grin Thrilled Mimosa is still there!

Thanks all...I feel up to date now Smile

TrailMix · 01/02/2011 21:57

Oooo, good thread. We're looking to move back into ED (also lived in Poet's Corner for one lovely year and it was not edgy!). So what does a far more modest budget of £400K get you these days? Where to look for a house?

TrailMix · 01/02/2011 22:18

Thanks! I'm flexible on the area - I love the area around the Horniman.

bibbitybobbityhat · 01/02/2011 22:19

Trailmix: you will be fine so long as you don't want more than 2 bedrooms.

Spero · 01/02/2011 22:22

I was in Herne Hill a few weeks ago - Pullens was heaving and the commerical eerily empty, which was weird as it seems quite well done up.

I am glad to see others agreeing with me about the complete and utter lack of hard core that is poet's corner. Only those who have never been to Brixton centrale could say that.

wigglybeezer · 01/02/2011 22:36

You're making me nostalgic, I lived in HH and then ED from '92 to '98, when I moved back to Scotland, they definitely hadn't been gentrified then! I was on the dole and living in a house in Kestrel Avenue full of ex-art students who were all on the enterprise allowance scheme! There were pigeons in the loft, beetles under the lino and a 1940's water heater in the bathroom that meant you had to bathe with the window open to avoid being gassed!
I then moved to ED and loved it (went to the pub quizzes in the ED tavern too!) although I seemed to spend half my life sitting in buses creeping along Walworth road. Oh how I wish we hadn't pulled out of buying our Landlord's 3-bed terrace in Hindman's road for £100K (there was a boundary issue) we would have made so much money on it we would now be living in a castle up here (we never seem to get the timing right with the property market!).
Maybe I'll go for a wander round next time I'm London.

bibbitybobbityhat · 01/02/2011 22:45

If you sold now wiggly you'd have about £500-£550k. Would that buy you a castle up in Scotty-land?