Brentford?

[Blondie1984]

Hi

Does anyone have any knowledge of living in Brentford? Am considering buying a flat there but i don't know much about the area......

Thanks in advance

Lived there about six years ago so I might be out of date...

The high street was UGH. The crappiest high street I've known in London.

I never felt unsafe, and it was quiet, but it felt like a place divided, in a bit of a way. As though there were wealthy people there - there's a bit called the Butts which is quite fancy - but they didn't hang around, just came in and out in shiny cars. And then there were a poorer lot (like me), who actually used the high street, such as it was. It didn't feel like a community to me, is what I mean, the way most parts of London do to some extent. There never really seemed to be anyone around.

You do have access to lovely green spaces though - there are some glorious walks to Isleworth and Richmond etc and some wonderful little hidden river pubs. It was lovely when it snowed to be able to go out walking in proper pristine snowy fields.

We have bought a flat in the great west quarter as DH works in London and is finding the commute a living hell. It is still being built, but the whole regeneration of the area is making it a very interesting area to consider. There are bars and hotels in the GWQ as well as shops and a gym. I'm sure that other developments have much the same. The buses are good so getting around is easy. It is a short walk to Kew green too.
Good luck with your hunt.

I used to live a few miles away and meet my friend there quite a lot as it was in the middle. It's quite a funny area. The new shiny flats seem a bit soulless to me. The 60s flats in Brentford Dock look like better value.

There's a couple of nice places to go - The Weir is a nice gastopub and Poppadoms is quite a fancy Indian restaurant. There's also a Thai place, but they're all quite a walk from each other amongst bookies and deserted furniture shops. The great west quarter is up and coming, but quite a distance from the high street, so it feels like a separate place.

It's not a glowing recommendation, is it? It is near some really nice ( and probably too expensive places) - chiswick, Richmond, kew. Have you thought about Whitton? Just the other side of Isleworth. That's quite nice.

I live a mile up the road in Northfields and work in Brentford.

The high street isn't fab, just okay-ish, but there is massive amounts of development and it's starting to getting a bit of overspill from Chiswick, so its probably on the up - mind you people have been saying that for years?

My main issue with it would be transport, it has an overground train station but no tube, although it does also have a few bus routes.

I'm afraid I don't know about schools as I'm just over the border in Ealing.

Anything specific you want to know?

Thanks everyone - much of what has bee said is what I already thought...think I might look at some alternatives...

Thanks again!