Northwood v/s Northwood Hills v/s Pinner

[asks62]

Hi there,

We're planning to move to Northwood, London as my daughter has been offered a place at one of the schools there.
Since the schools are themselves closer to the Northwood station - we think we should rent for an year to see what living in Northwood feels like.

Both of us parents work central London, so it is a bit of a commute to manage.

So here are my questions.

1. Would you say that Northwood Hills is a much worse off place than Northwood to live & bring up a family? (Rents & property prices seem to have a very large differential)

1. I am confused between Northwood, Northwood hills & Pinner. One of my friends at work has mentioned to me that Northwood offers a far safer & superior experience compared to Northwood Hills and that's why the difference in prices/rents.

But on the met police site, the number of crimes reported seem very close to each other. Anyone with local knowledge who can shed some real-life light on this topic?

Questions are quite basic, but like any parent moving to a new place, we're a bit anxious & want to do our research.
Thanks a lot.

I'm in Ruislip. Pinner is lovely, more expensive to buy property in and average age is quite high, mostly white retirees. Northwood is very green and lots of gated communities and posh properties. More multicultural than Pinner. Lots of upper middle class young families. Can't speak for Northwood Hills, just is more affordable but also a bit rundown in parts.
Connections for both are Met line or railways.
Ruislip has Central, Met and Piccadilly :)

Northwood is lovely, Northwood Hills ok but not as nice. It's probably gone downhill since KFC opened up there on Joel Street. It's brought a crop of teenagers on bikes, mopeds etc. there to congregate and litter the streets. There have been a few muggings on Joel Street of late. One sports bar there and another pub opening next month.
Northwood on the other hand is very nice and has a villagey atmosphere. Waitrose, Costa and a few fairly nice independent restaurants and it feels very safe even late at night, and I don't think you can say the same about Northwood Hills.
Pinner is also very nice and has got even better since they got rid of McDonalds a few years ago.
Regarding housing, Pinner very nice, Northwood very nice with the bigger properties tending to be on the Moor Park side of Northwood. Northwood Hills housing is fine.
I presume your daughter has been offered a place at either Northwood College or St. Helens, both very good apparently and an easy walk from Northwood station.

Also, Northwood to Baker Street on the Met line is just less than 30 minutes.

@Laffinalltheway, @Extrapepperoni- thank you so much. Very helpful!

Northwood is slightly (only by a few minutes) farther on the underground from Pinner but feels much more village-y to me. Northwood has a small but very nice high street (as PP said, Waitrose, Costa and some other small shops). Lots of big houses and a David Lloyd gym.

Pinner Village (the area around the station) is also lovely. The high street is longer and busier with a bit more going on. Pinner Memorial Park is right off the high street and lovely with a little cafe that is very child friendly.

Northwood Hills is between Northwood and Pinner. It has easy access to both but a less posh feel than the other two.

I think you'd get a good feel of the differences if you visit and take a bit of a stroll down the high street for each area. They are all very close so would be easy to do in a day.

Great, thank you so much. I do intend to visit soon and get a feel but great to get all of your feedback

If you do visit Northwood, High Street isn't actually 'The' High Street, it's quite a grotty little street with a mish mash of shops on one side of the road and small houses on the other side. Green Lane is the 'proper' High Street where Waitrose, Costa, Cook, Northwood tube station and the 'nice' shops are. Bit confusing, but it is what it is.

In the absence of visiting, take a look at Google Street view of Joel Street, Northwood Hills, Green Lane, Northwood and Bridge Street & High Street, Pinner. You'll get a bit of a feel for the place.

If you can afford Pinner or Northwood I'd ignore Northwood Hills. It's fine, but the other two are much nicer. As previous posters have said, Northwood particularly has a "villagey" feel to it and is very nice.

My preferences, in order, would be:

Northwood
Pinner
Northwood Hills

You all people are phenomenal. Thanks for the inputs. I'll visit soon too and i'm sure these inputs will help us

@asks62 We are in the same boat as you were in 2020. Would you mind telling where did you decide to buy and how do you find the area.
Thanks