I live in Hanwell (W7) and have for 25 years and I would recommend it and not just because our Victorian terraced house is for sale. We are relocating for reasons that have nothing to do with the area, in fact, without the canal, the river, the parks, the meadows, and the woods the past year would have been unbearable.
I used to cycle to Shepherd's Bush for work. It took me about 35 minutes but anyone fitter than me takes less than 30.
Hanwell has nice cafes and pubs, a thriving broadway, a small zoo, a large Lidl (and is a ten minute cycle from a Waitrose), a carnival, a small music festival that is rapidly gaining an excellent reputation, great primaries and secondary schools, a library, a hospital, 12 minute journeys to Paddington (and soon 15 mins into Central London when Crossrail is completed), the Piccadilly Line into Hammersmith or Heathrow, etc.
Makes me wonder why I'm moving (ah yes, it isn't on the coast). But, just in case you think I've got rose tinted glasses on, you can hear aircraft noise and when the wind is in a certain direction we are on the flight path for planes taking off. But 25 years in the same house suggests that you do get used to it.
Finally, if the sign of an area that people like is a forest of loft extensions then people really like Hanwell.