Advice on Leytonstone please!

[cakecake11]

Hello, I have been house hunting for several months with my husband and we are strongly considering moving to Leytonstone to hopefully start a family. I am from SW London and not all that familiar with East London, so am looking to find out from other East Londoners what they think of the area as I've had mixed responses from people when I've mentioned it. Have some viewings tomorrow, but would love to hear from locals. Is it good for young families and are there nice cafes, as am self employed and sometimes like working in a coffee shop. I know that Wanstead is lovely, but is unfortunately out of our budget.

Thank you in advance!

Sell and go into rental , London is in crash mode as we post

Leytonstone is great.
Look at Bushwood area. North Star is a great pub (if you like that sort of pub) surrounded by conservation area with smaller cottages. I like the bigger houses on roads around Bushwood leading towards the forest.

Also look at Upper Leytonstone which is on the other side of the tube line. There are some lovely quiet roads with big houses. Near to Leyton flats.

@roneik We don't own at the moment, and although the market has been coming down since the Summer, I'm told by estate agent friends that it's not going to crash, rather normalise, which is a good thing. We really need to get somewhere soon as we are staying with family and rents in London are really high these days sadly.

Sorry missed the coffee bit
There is a chain coffee shop but can't remember which chain, on Leytnstone High road. Also try the Red Lion.

Also have you considered Walthamstow village

@catellington
Thank you for the tips, we are looking at Upper Leytonstone, which is more expensive, but there are a few that need work which are cheaper :). Will also look at Bushwood. Is it a safe area? Years ago there were stories of crime, but I'm guessing that things have changed a lot as it sounds like a great area to live. The other bonus is that it's close to the West End and Liverpool Street.Thanks again!

I think Walthamstow village is out of our budget now, we'd get a bigger house in Leytonstone and the Central line connection is a big draw

We are in Walthamstow village and you do pay over the odds here for houses. There is a bit of a hipster cafe society developing in Walthamstow, which seems to be spreading to Leytonstone. I'm not massively familiar with Leytonstone but advantages are the tube links, proximity to all the greenery of Epping Forest, the Red Lion pub, and some lovely big old Victorian houses. There is a Facebook group called Leytonstone Life which might give you a flavour of who lives there and what's going on.

@TheFarSide

Thank you so much, I've just requested to join the FB group.

We are in Leytonstone.
Great coffee and bakery at Wild Goose Bakery. Only been open for a few months.
Red Lion great pub, Wanstead Tap another great bar/cafe (but not on high street).
High street isn't great (nail bars, estate agents, bookies) but quite a local drive to try and improve it... So close to Westfield Stratford that it must be hard to compete unfortunately.
Leyton also has some new cafes and great pub (Leyton Technical).
We really like it here, schools seem good, nice mixed area, quiet. I'd really recommend it. Good luck!

@citysnow That sounds great, and it's good that there's a local drive to improve the High Street - I can see Westfield being a problem, though I'd prefer small local shops any day!

It's really useful to hear positive things from the locals, when I did a bit of a search online, there was a lot about petty crime as well as gang crime in the area which my husband was concerned about. I know that most of London has these issues, but I think it was the number of stabbings/thefts reported that were of concern. Having said that, Islington is fancy and has gang problems too....

Wanstead and South Woodford are lovely and cheaper than Walthamstow village, but pricier than Leytonstone. Bit 'nicer' though.

It's getting the 24-hour tube. If what happened on the East London line is anything to go by, get in now, as prices will rocket. Good luck!

We moved from a higher crime area so crime stats didn't seem so bad. I think it depends on area of E11 too.

Thanks all, we had a look round yesterday, seems like a nice quiet area. Had coffee at The Wild Goose bakery :).

Fingers crossed we can find a house in our budget!

Hi cakecake. You can look at crime maps online which show the crime hotspots. Try not to let it put you off too much. The worst areas are usually immediately around any station (eg for Leytonstone, the tube station but also Leytonstone High Rd station) but you would find that to be the case anywhere as it's where most muggings, pick pocketing etc takes place. But personally I would steer clear of the area heading along Leytonstone High
Rd out of Leytonstone from High Rd station onwards wher there used to more gang related crime although that may have changed (I left two years ago).

There was also a gang crime map but i can't remember which website. But in short you are fine in the areas I mentioned before.

If you were happy with a 10/15 minute walk to the tube station to get a bit more for your money, I recommend you look at the Barclay Estate. Where I lived happily for 7yrs. It's an area of Victorian houses, between Lea Bridge Rd ( that end only 5 minute walk to Walthamstow village), Leyton High rd and leading up to Upper Leytonstone.

It's really the slightly longer walk to the tube that keeps prices a bit lower, but I actually preferred to be there as I was equidistant between Walthamstow and Leytonstone tubes so could choose between two lens and the national rail service to Liv. Street.

A wild card - have you considered Forest gate 'village' - quiet streets with victorian houses leading up to Wanstead flats?

I'm also considering Leytonstone (bushwood area) or forest gate "villiage'. Op, have you moved yet? What did you decide about the area?

Bushwood is by far the best part of Leytonstone. For one it's not cut off by the dual carriageway. I never have cause to cross that side because all the restaurants and cafes are between Leytonstone tube station - just five minutes walk away - and my front door. Leytonstone High St improves by the day. Another restaurant opening in late April 15. This one Vietnamese. Already we have Italian - La Bella Vita, Mediterrean, The Olive, kids love the waffles at the yellow Sunflower cafe... Sunday lunch at The Red Lion. My pair cycle on Wansted Flats which is again five minutes from my door. Best thing we ever did moving here. Where else can ordinary mortals/professionals afford 1500sq feet?

Millie (or anyone really) - can I ask your opinion on the area south of Bushwood (i.e. east of the A12 and south of the overground line?) Houses down there seem sooo much cheaper, and it seems perfectly nice, but I wonder if there is a catch!?

The bridge / overground line has in the past marked the point where the shops became a bit fast food and tattier and the streets were more likely to have people taking less care of their properties.... but this is changing. The real catalyst for improvement for South Leytonstone is going to be Crossrail at Maryland where the High Street it is at its most run down (and nearest to Westfield) which may have sucked the life out it until the cafes and restaurants pop up again. But just look at (for example) the map view of Foxtons properties for sale in E11 as their properties (for sale and sold) are concentrated down there at the moment. So many are changing hands and the houses that haven't been looked after for years are being brought back to life. There are slightly more council estates in South Leytonstone but one of the advantages of the area is that nowhere in Leytonstone do huge blocks back to back dominate architecturally. I moved here from an Islington flat where the opposite is true. Bushwood has the advantage of a great residents association (BARA), feeling like it knits together as a genuine area rather than an artificial construct and of course being a shorter walk to the Central line.

Thanks Millie, that is super helpful

We looked at Bushwood but felt we'd already missed that boat, prices were too high for what we wanted. I would agree that overall it is the best location, some lovely houses around there. I wouldn't discount the other side of the A12 though, particularly the area around Twickenham, Richmond Roads. It's changing fast, some nice houses and more and more are being renovated and improved. It also gives you easy access to Francis Road in Leyton which has a lot of potential (look up Marmelo, it's wonderful and doing very well). The Northcote Pub is starting to look interesting too (the Heathcote not so much at the moment but there is always hope!).

It lacks the bigger houses of parts of Bushwood and Upper Leytonstone but is much better value for money in my opinion.