Safe area where to live in London (and nearby)!

[Valerietta1]

Hi everyone,
I have been browsing the website for some time now and I find all your threads and advice fantastic so I thought I’d give it a go!

I am in my late twenties and two years ago I purchased a place in East London.. unfortunately two years down the line I find the safety situation going downhill and now that I’m ready to get a slightly bigger place (promotion, yay!) I definitely want to make a long term move and buy somewhere safe.

Ideally I want a family friendly place, good commute to any mainline station, safe to walk at night and pubs/shops nearby. My top budget will probably be 280£ and I’m looking at 2 bedroom flats (tight but, hey ho).

I’d really appreciate some advice, at the moment I’m considering SE: Crystal Palace and nearby, Beckenham - Bromley - Bexley - SW: Surbiton - NW: Pinner - only area in East I’d consider is going Essex way in Brentwood.

Thanks in advance

www.met.police.uk/sd/stats-and-data/met/crime-data-dashboard/

That’s the stats. If you go into ‘safer neighbours’ you can look at smaller areas.

Sutton is very safe, zone 5 with a range of trains. It’s very family friendly with great schools and lots to do. The south side is particularly leafy and lovely. Next door, there are Cheam and Carshalton which are villagey and lovely.

Surbiton is very nice and safe with Maple Road and the river. I’d be very surprised if you can get a flat for 280k is a desirable part of Surbiton. Maybe more in Tolworth? It doesn’t have that lovely vibe.

Beckenham has a lovely town centre but seems to make the news for stabbings quite often.

I had a little look online.

This is what I’d get if you’re planning a family.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-87587921.html

Huge flat right by a zone 5 station with trains to London Victoria and London Bridge. Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and independent shops. Fantastic park and a great playground. Very safe with top schools. It’s also a short walk from a David Lloyd and numerous sports clubs.

Thanks, I often use that website but I don't think it's totally accurate because according to the Met, Westminster is the unsafest borough but that's obviously because of thefts to tourists and so on so I don't believe it paints the whole picture... I'd trust more opinions from people who actually live there :)

I will definitely have a look at those areas, Sutton is in my mind but I've only been once and seemed a bit dull - lovely though.

Thanks !

That flat looks amazing, thanks ! And a fun project too..
I should specify I'd need to be within 30 mins commute from a mainline station, Cheam looks more like 50 :( unfortunately I work shifts and after a 12 hours night I can't think of spending another hour on a train!

I’m not sure about the weekend trains but the weekday ones from Cheam take about 30 mins + it’s easy for Morden tube by bus or car.

Yes, Sutton town centre is never going to be love at first sight (or a later point). People tend to choose it for safety, schools, countryside on the doorstep and family amenities.

Eltham and New Eltham (SE London) are dull but feel safe and an easy train into Cannon Street or London Bridge.

When you say long term move do you mean “this is where I am going to settle and start a family and never really want to go into London much for entertainment”? Places like Cheam, Sutton and Beckenham would work for that. But if you want to be able to get into London without it feeling like a trek from afar, you probably want to keep a London postcode.

If you can stretch your budget closer to £300K then there’s some places for sale in SE26 and SE24 at the moment which could work.

Erm I live in Beckenham and there’s a train every fifteen minutes that takes you to Victoria in twenty one minutes (via Brixton in fifteen minutes so you can jump in the Victoria line) from beckenham junction, a train that gets from new beckenham to Charing Cross/Cannon Street in twenty six minutes, trains from shortlands to Blackfriars in half an hour, night bus all the way to Trafalgar Square and many other options from clock house etc
My DH starts work at 6am in Charing Cross so the transport has to be reliable.
I grew up in Crystal Palace and the beckenham trains are quicker into central London, start earlier and finish later.
We can go out in beckenham (restaurants, bars and a cinema) but we definitely still enjoy a social life and work in central London.

Thanks for the suggestions - no, ideally I want it to be long term as in a place where I can settle in the long run but will have to commute to London every day and I also go out a lot so need to get back fine after a few drinks kinda thing (:

Dull is good. Dull is quiet - Dull does not have nightclubs, drug gangs, vibrancy, edgy or HAppening. Dull is good.

@Snoopysimaginaryfriend - apologies, I am clearly not thinking of Beckenham. Somewhere else beginning with B I think and probably further out.

Beddington! Not Beckenham.

@Snoopysimaginaryfriend thanks, I was thinking about beckenham cause I've heard the same things ! Great insight thanks a lot

@ComtesseDeSpair unfortunately can't stretch to 300 :( but thanks for the advice !

@Frothybothie you know what, you're so right - after living in east London I probably would love dull and no walking around gang kids at every corner but I still enjoy my time out and what I mean with not-so-dull is a place that has both safety and friendly vibe but also a few cafes and restaurants around !

Unless it's really changed over the last 10 years then I'd go for Beckenham.

@ComtesseDeSpair

You’ve got some strange misconceptions. We live in Sutton and go out in central London regularly. There are direct trains to Victoria, London Bridge, Blackfriars for the Southbank, King’s Cross even. If we stay out past 1am, it’s a 10 min bus/cab ride from the Northern line which runs 24/7.

I also agree with @Frothybothie that ‘dull’ is preferable for family life. It’s safe, kids can walk around/ride their bikes from early on. You’ll also find that with a small child, your outings won’t be to bars but playgroups, leisure centre or the park.

@JoJoSM2 oh that's good, do you get to Morden I guess ? I'll check Sutton out properly - one of my friends lives there and he's a big fan too

We’ve just moved to Sutton and it feels a lot safer than the town next to Pinner that we moved from. Better schools too

@Vamyyy Yes, we just use Morden tube. It’s equally convenient from Sutton, Cheam or Carshalton. From North Sutton, Cheam or Carshalton people often commute daily via Morden too.

The North side can get scruffy in places (still safe, though) but there are some nice areas too. The South side is very leafy and lovely but pricier. If you want a future-proof property, then for schools anywhere in Sutton or Cheam is great. I wouldn’t go too far north in Carshalton - still good or excellent secondaries but primaries are a bit hit and miss.

@JoJoSM2 perfect thanks I'll keep it in mind !

@JJoSM2 - I live in Shoreditch and am childfree, and walk everywhere without thinking about cabs or trains, and I suppose my misconceptions come from visiting friends in these places which are another world away. I’m sure they’re great if you want and need a quiet life and a good primary school for the DC. Depending on where OP currently lives, the travel may seem quite daunting. Just another opinion, is all.

@ ComtesseDeSpair ah ok, I’ve never been to beddington so I’ll have to look it up!

@ComtesseDeSpair does that work, I’m so useless with this phone app

@ComtesseDeSpair yeah that's what I though, live two stops from shoreditch and I got a place there cause I was like it's so central and can just get an uber if I'm feeling lazy etc... but now I'm just like it's dirty, so many homeless around (bless them not their fault) and just dodgy looking people everywhere it's just scary

Tbf, my first flat was in zone 2 and I went out loads. It was in a naice area so all lovely and fancy. No one would have dragged me out to zone 5 at that stage in my life. Now that we have a toddler and are hoping for more children, there’s no way I’d move closer in.

I'd second Beckenham. Good train service and good schools for when/if children are in the picture, decent leisure centre with swimming pool, lots of families. I think it's safer than Crystal Palace.