advice on Finsbury Park/ Highbury or better bets

[greyvix]

We have seen a lovely flat, though well over budget. Can anyone tell me about Finsbury Park, as the flat is borderline between the two areas? The estate agent implied most properties go to sealed bids- is it really that crazy, or is he hyping it up? I know nothing about North London. Thanks.

Where is it exactly? Up Blackstock Road or Stroud Green Road? I'm not far from there andfrom friends buying, the market has been pretty fast. It is a nice area, are you considering kid related stuff for this purchase?

I used to live just off Blackstock Rd which was fine and easy to get anywhere by bus or tube. I'm not sure about N. London but can tell you that the market in Hackney which is not a million miles away is very brisk, most people I know that are selling have sold above asking price and had sealed bids.

I live off Blackstock Rd, Hackney side; been here 8yrs, locally since 1998; it's changed...a lot! Views on the area flit from day to day sometimes - come out of the tube, faced with grubby streets, drunks and beggars, too many chicken takeaways, betting shops and 99p stores I want to run screaming. Mostly I really like it though, there are truly wonderful shop keepers, cafes and restaurants with great community support, new theatre (The Park Theatre), schools are great, primaries mostly outstanding, but small catchments and mainly full; watch out for Secondaries, many are good, but their catchments have shrunk recently. Finsbury and Clissold Park, Clissold leisure centre / Highbury Pool etc all v handy. Great transport connections. Wonderfully diverse area, but I'm not sure it's particularly integrated, groups live in their own bubbles, maybe that's true anywhere. We have a Playing Out street! I've never felt threatened, even at night, although I know people who wouldn't agree with me. It doesn't strike me there's a lot of movement in the property market at the moment, I suspect properties are being snapped up very quickly; prices make me reel, we couldn't afford to buy our own flat now! Good luck!

You couldn't pay me to live in Finsbury Park. I'm not a pussy, I lived in Haggerston for ten years, and have the muggings and burglaries to prove it, but I really really hate Finsbury Park. I wouldn't pay over the odds to live on the border. Hackney, yes, Highbury, of course, but Finsbury Park can bugger itself with a rusty pole (and probably does).

I think I mean Highgate, not Highbury. So near Blackstock Road.
Thanks for the comments, which are useful.

If you mean the border of Blackstock Rd, then it is Highbury you mean. Highgate is more north of the borough.

I live close to the Stroud Green part of FP, and it's nice. Crouch End is nearby, tube station 2 mins walk with tube straight to central London, and loads of buses to just about everywhere.

Crouch End is much nicer and has some good schools.
Is there still a red light area at Finsbury Park? It's expensive and shite IMO but the travel links are excellent and there are some posh shops popping up. Everyone I know who lived there had neighbour problems.

No Rosh...I think the reg lighters were cleaned up some years ago

I think having good neighbours these days is just sheer luck. Mine are lovely, but I lived in a "naice" area a few years ago near Highgate, and had the neighbour from hell.

red

We live in FP. Brilliant primary schools, great parks, great transport, gorgeous property stock. Have been here for 10 years. We are in the process of moving and the market is moving very fast. I wish we could afford a house here, but we are £200k shy, so moving to the ladder. Small weep. Gorgeous house though.

Crouch End is a disaster for transport.

I live in Crouch End, and to be fair it is only 25 mins walk to the tube at FP and I am short and pg! Or five mins on the very regular bus to FP, or five mins walk to Hornsey station. So I don't really agree with fufulina.

But Stroud Green is also nice, and Highbury is gorgeous. I also like the Blackstock Road.

Crazy, I love the 'short and pg' qualifier! I think having been 5 mins walk from the tube, anything else feels disastrous!