Colindale and Edgware Road, good for family with young baby?

[Mia722]

Hey girls, hubby needs to relocate to London due to work and we are looking for the areas that suit for family with young baby(little boy is 7 month now). Hubby found a few seemingly nice 3 bedroom flats, brand new ones in the area of Colindale and Edgware Road NW9. Wondering if anyone is familiar with this area? It looks like it is under huge development and reconstruction, but I am still very concerned if it is safe to bring the small baby with us living in this area.

Any suggestions here in terms of family friendly area? thanks!

Colindale used to be a dump, even 20 or so years ago and is due for some kind of improvement, however if I were you would look at the crime reports as I think it is going to take a while longer to be regenerated. It is looking better but away from the new housing there is still some awful stuff. In particular look at crime in the local parks, it might be improved somewhat because there have been exclusion areas and some of the youths have been driven into the law abiding areas a bit further out.

I am not saying don't consider it, just look carefully at what is going on and what is nearby, people do live there and there are worse places, don't rush into it, do lots of research, it does look much better than it used to and might be a good investment.

I've only driven through but it's definitely on the "getting gentrified" end of the spectrum. I can't comment on safety, or amenities like parks etc. One bonus for when your son is bigger is the RAF museum which is fab! And there's a great Chinese food court (Bang Bang Oriental). You're also quite near Saracens rugby club if you like rugby.

New builds aren't my thing though and there are a lot going up around there. One plus is there's likely to be a lot of young professionals moving in I suppose!

Can I ask what your budget is and where you need to be able to commute to?

Hey Toad, thanks for your kind reply. Hmm, I think you have a good point, as I need to take the baby out for walk basically every day, I should really look into crime reports in nearby park or neighborhood, the property hubby is looking for is below one, not sure if it is nearby worse places you mentioned:

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-74402102.html

Hey Minimaxi, thanks for your kind response. We are looking for 3 beds flats/house, our budget is between 1900 to 2000 per month. Do you have any suggestion?

Also, anyone knows about Greenwich? It seems there are quite a few new flats too, is that area a bit more family friendly?

Hi Mia, well I don't know the rental market very well but if you're keen to be on the northern line then Finchley Central is quite family friendly - Victoria Park and Stephens House & Gardens both lovely for days out with baby!

Otherwise Greenwich and Blackheath have some lovely areas - the parks and Heath are amazing, but worth checking location and if you can, take a walk around the area that flats you're considering are actually in.

Generally you get better value for money in South London compared with North, largely because transport links (especially the tube) are better north of the river.

Do you know where your husband's office will be located? Might affect your choice of where to live as if you're not on the tube it's super handy to be able to commute directly into the nearest main line station.

I'd choose Greenwich over Colindale every time and I live in NW London.

HTH

Does it have to be in London itself? Would you not be better looking at on the edge as you get a lot more for your money and the difference can pay the season ticket Ground Lane, Hatfield
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-73281800.html

I would also prefer Greenwich over Colindale/Edgware Road in your position, although transport might be a bit less convenient (decent trains but not tube frequency).

Hi Minimaxi,

His office is near London bridge but he does not need to go city centre every day, 3 days a week, 2 days work from home basically. Any area in South London you would recommend?

Hi mydogishot, good to know the insight from people who actually live in NW:)

Hi MissCherryCakeyBun, no, not really in London, we will consider some suburb areas nearby London as long as the commute is not too much of a hassle. Any suburb family friendly areas you would recommend? Hubby's colleague mentioned St Albans, not sure if that would be suitable place....

Hi, BendingSpoons, thanks for your reply. I am currently living in Dublin and it seems people here I met keep telling me in London, North is always better than South. Not sure if it is because of the transportation wise?

Orpington And beckenham are both quick to get to London bridge if you wanted to look a little further out. Nice parks, small high streets, lots of choice of property.

St Alban's is very nice but expensive and have thought south London would be better for travel if he's working in London Bridge. Definitely check out journey times/regularity and number of changes for anywhere you're considering as it will make a massive difference to your husband's quality of life. Also the cost of a season ticket or daily tickets if he's not going in much.

North London has more tube lines which are more regular and less liable to disruption (usually!) But if he's only going in 3x a week I'd say overground or national rail would be fine.

And North does have a reputation for being posher than south but it's mainly rubbish and talked up due to North/South rivalry. Obvs Hampstead is nicer that Croydon but there are good and bad places both sides of the river (and actually I visited Croydon recently and parts of it are looking really good!).

@Mia722 you will get a lot more for your money in places like Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, Hertford etc I live North of London so don't know about the outer areas south of London. Moving into places like Colindale if your coming from Dublin will be a huge shock TBH, a good friend was from Dublin and used to visit home a lot (family etc) I know she hated North London as it's very built up polluted and the crime levels can be awful.
It depends how long your OH is prepared to spend on a commute TBH but if you decide on that and then look at stations etc from Harpenden/St Albans ( expensive but very nice) you would get the train to St Pancras (30 minutes or so) and then the circle line round to London Bridge. You can use Trainline to give you ideas of commute times ( obviously trains get delayed etc but rough ideas) you put in traveling from and too and it tells you routes and times etc www.thetrainline.com
For example this house is 1hr 5 minutes commute and in a nice area and you would get a whole house and garden. Living in a town outside London with nice shopping low crime etc Ground Lane, Hatfield is a very short walk to the station
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-73281800.html

I personally would not live in London in a flat with a small child if, as you do, I could afford to live on the outskirts in a house. I know many people who live in London will say I'm talking bollocks but tbh quality of life is better outside of London especially if you want to go for walks in the countryside and have fresh air, low crime and peace and quiet.

I would strongly suggest you come over for a long weekend ( flights to Luton are cheap) hire a car and drive to these places and see what you think. It's very important you get an idea what North London is like as the Ethnic Areas can be very clearly defined, my Aunt (who is Ugandan) ended up living in a very West Indian area and had no end of problems, lovely neighbours but the underlying tensions were huge
This is a link to the Metpolice crime map too. www.met.police.uk/sd/stats-and-data/

I have lived north and south London. North is a bit pricier and I think transport (tube) has a lot to do with it. There are nice and rough areas in both.

I wouldn't bother with St Albans etc if husband is travelling to London Bridge. Personally I enjoyed living central-ish (zone 2/3) with a baby, as there is lots on. You could always move out later if it didn't suit. I would look at Greenwich, Maze Hill, Brockley, Forest Hill, Dulwich etc that have all become popular with young families and have trains into London Bridge. If you want more suburban, then heading out towards Kent or parts of Surrey might be your best bet, but there is likely to be less to do, and it would be good if you had a car/were on good bus routes.

Agree with Bending's advice on places to look a short commute from London Bridge. I'd add Herne Hill too which has direct trains from North Dulwich station, as well as Blackheath which isn't on the tube but overground to LB is about 15 mins.

And defo second pp's suggestion of popping over for a weekend to check areas out!

If you did want to live in North London (possibly easier access to airports for cheap flights?) then I would say that a lot of the High Barnet branch of the Northern line is quite nice, although some are quite pricey: Highgate, Crouch End, Muswell Hill, Finchley and further out. I don't know the Edgware branch as well but would be more wary of certain areas. I agree that it would be ideal to see areas before you decide if you can manage it.

Ex Londoner (South) here. Would recommend, not suburbs but Folkestone has HS trains going into London (less than an hour’s commute), property is FAR cheaper than London (and most of it is gorgeous period housing stock) and the countryside and coastline is phenomenal. Fantastic family scene as many young folk have moved down from v trendy parts of London where they have been priced out or want to cash in on equity. We took the plunge last year and wished we had done it sooner.

I am from Dublin and lived in North London for 8 years, I also had my son over there before moving back home.

My opinion is north is better than south - if coming from somewhere like Dublin with kids.

I lived in Potters Bar which has a train going directly into Moorgate and also isn't far from the Piccadilly line. Barnet, Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield are also easily within reach and are far enough out of central London to enjoy some quiet. There's lovely countryside nearby and the option to hop on the train into the city if you want to. You'll also get a lot more for your money. Schools are excellent too.

Collindale is very erm "urban" shall we say. Not the nicest area. And rather far out too.
Brent in general is a very very very deprived borough. Being one of the poorest areas in the country so with that comes all the related social issues.

I lived on the edgeware rd or just off it for many years. But more the kilburn,maida vale end.

Maybe worth a look at Kilburn? Better transport links, little more central and very strong Irish links.

Or Dolis Hill may also be worth a look it is a bit more suburban.

But I agree with those saying the finchley side is alot nicer.

Blackheath pricy but lovely. St Albans also very family friendly, and there is a direct train into London Bridge. Greenwich i think there will be more going on and a shorter commute but it feels more like London - the other two could be miles away from the feeling when you’re there. I agree with what was said upthread - visit if possible!