I am not sure that my comments are still relevant to you but I'll offer them just in case. You ask what kind of place is Walthamstow. It's part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest: one of the most deprived local authorities in the whole country. Walthamstow is not a good place to live. We moved here in 2006 when the choice was between a smaller mortgage in the Home Counties with higher commuting costs vs. a bigger mortgage in London with smaller commuting costs and shorter journeys. We weren?t keen on moving out of London, so we went for option two. I wish we hadn?t. Walthamstow is dirty and rough. The ?public space?, the front of houses, public buildings, streets, gardens etc. are uncared for and there is a general sense of shabbiness and low expectations wherever you go. Yes, there are a few nice areas, but as soon as you step out of them the grime, dreariness and neglect are visible and palpable. Major and long thoroughfares such as Forest Road, Hoe Street, and Markhouse Road are littered with shabby shops and run-down properties. The market area, the High Street, is a pathetic eyesore from beginning to end and it's a touch threatening after dark, where there are hardly any women around. People through rubbish out on the pavement or leave large items of discarded beddings and furniture to rot in their small front garden, as if it was a normal thing to do.
As for the sense of community, frequently quoted in some quarters, I couldn?t say that I have noticed anything different from other parts of London: we say ?good morning? and ?good evening? to the neighbours on the left, and, every six months or so, we have a chat about the weather with those on the right. Very occasionally, we take in each other?s parcels and exchange Christmas card through the letterbox. That?s about it. Further down the road, on either side, properties are mostly rented and there is a continuous turnover of people from all corners of the world who stay a little while and then move on. Many of them are decent, some less so: about a year ago a number of Rumanian men rented the house two doors from ours, along the terrace, and we were frequently treated to nights of merry-making in the backyard, complete with accordion music and singing. I am not sure what they did for a living, but the front garden was always full of wood, metal and other material in various conditions of decay. They've gone now: replaced by a Polish family I believe.
The newly refurbished William Morris Gallery is a good place to spend an afternoon, but there is no other cultural life to speak of, or at least none that I would feel comfortable in joining in. At the moment, there are few decent restaurants, up on the village, and they are oversubscribed. No cinema, no theatre, no decent bars or coffe shops. A development is taking place in the centre of Walthamstow: it may increase the number of leasure venues and finally bring a cinema, but will not change in any significant way the look and feel of this miserable place.
Religion, especially Islam, are pretty much in your face.
Seriously, think carefully before moving to Walthamstow!