does anyone know Forest Gate and Hither Green/Lewisham

[LaurieFairyCake]

We were pretty settled on moving to Hither Green/Lee/Lewisham this year - visited it lots and love it.

But watched Location the other day and it seemed that in Forest Gate you get even more for your cash.

Does anyone know both and could offer me a comparison?

Lovely community here, nice schools. Friendliest bit of London I have ever lived in.

Given the time it takes to travel across London, I would consider where friends and family are and factor that in. There are definitely families moving to forest gate (but as said above only a particular part) so it is gentrifying in a family friendly way (and of course families have always lived there). Green street is great for south Indian food, especially if you are vegetarian. For investment, Leyton is looking like a good bet, especially around Francis road (also on location). For your budget you may still be able to buy a house in the downsell road area. Not so good for green spaces though.

I suspect none of the areas mentioned are bad investments, my guess is east London will have greater increases, but this shouldnt be your only factor in deciding. You will have to live there!

If you would be prepared to have a longer commute, you could move to a much nicer area. Guildford? Woking? Haslemere? Liphook? Liss? All on the main line to Waterloo.

This seems a bit ott to me. I know a young family in forest gate who moved there for similar reasons. Their house is nice, surrounded by similar nice streets and near a park. They're near Wanstead Park overground but it's not Wanstead. Why not take a look OP?

I have grown up in forest gate OP and my mum still lives there. Now DP and I are buying a flat in Hither Green. IMO Hither Green is a nicer area although there's less there IYSWIM. I have to say I'm really not sure you'd get more for your money in FG if you want to live in the nice part, as many parts of FG are really quite rough. The nice bits are the bits round wanstead flats, and the flats themselves are lovely.

Area wise I much prefer Hither Green, personally. I don't think FG is unsafe, having lived there so long, but it is grittier.

Romford road is Forest Gate's red light district, FYI.

FG definitely on the up by the way. We actually couldn't afford to buy there in a nice bit. Hence why we switched to SE. Give it a few years and it will be vastly different I think.

This thread on the Easat Dulwich forum might be useful. Single person looking to buy a place asking for advice and getting views on various parts of SE London and Forest Gate.

I should add now I've finished reading that EDF thread that it was started two years ago but seems to have had people posting on it every so often right up to the last couple of days. So still fairly current.

My friend lives in FG (in a house with her husband, baby, and mother in law). It's quite a deprived area, although you can get a lot more for your money, and transport links will vastly improve once Crossrail comes in. Not much to do there - walking in Wanstead flats is nice, but not nearly as nice as Blackheath / Greenwich park imo!

If looking near Westcombe Park/ Charlton I'd stay as far away from Blackwall tunnel approach as possible - the noise and pollution is already terrible, and is only going to get worse if / or more like when the Silvertown tunnel and Greenwich IKEA get planning permission.

Also, Hither Green is ridiculously overpriced imo - most people who are buying there now are moving for the schools. If you do but there, be careful it's not a property at risk of flooding (look at the environment agency map).

I live in HG and my mate has just brought a lovely house in FG.

Forest Gate is already demanding prices reflecting the Crossrail introduction and will undergo a huge transformation over the next few years. The housing stock is brilliant and the conservation area has some lovely houses, plus you are very close to Wanstead Flats. Romford Road however is horrible and I would avoid buyng a house there.
HG on the other hand is quiet, very community focused and as previous people have stated the schools are fantastic if that is what you are after. Transport links are decent with 9 trains an hour going into Central London.
It is definitely not over priced, you can still get a good house for a lot less than you would pay in North London. I love it, but then I like being somewhere quieter and being not far from the buzz of Brockley, Lewisham & Greenwich.

Unhelpful, but we love love living in blackheath/lee.

Having the expanse of the Heath and the park so close by makes all the difference...there's a huge value in having breathing space even though you're still in the City.

Completely biased but we much prefer it to the crowded roads of Clapham gets. It is also more diverse.