Moving to Wanstead/South Woodford

[Verity28]

Hi I am 25 weeks pregnant and looking to relocate from zone 2. We have fallen in love with Wanstead but realise for our budget we get more for our money if we locate slightly further out.

We have found a property in the nightingale estate in South Woodford close to nightingale school. Any advice on this area would be very helpful as pretty clueless!

I live in South Woodford.

Wanstead is slightly more trendy. Practically, day to day, the local shops in SW are more useful for example, SW has a large Sainsbury's, M and S food and a Waitrose. All have parking. Wanstead has a small Co op, a small Tesco and an M and S Food. None of them have their own parking.
I don't know about the schools as my kids are adults.

Both Wanstead and South Woodford are fairly safe at night. SW has an Odeon cinema which is useful, Wanstead has more communal outdoor space.

What’s your budget? Wanstead is very £ indeed! Have you looked at Highams Park?

I live in Wanstead and would agree with the above although the two areas are so close that any distinction is slightly meaningless
I'm a bit confused though as I would class the Nightingale Estate as Wanstead anyway.

Thanks very much for the comments.

@peachypetite our budget is up to £950k which would give us enough to buy something we could do up and extend in South Woodford but not in Wanstead. Not looked as Highams Park as husband needs central line to commute into London.

@Puppylucky the road is in on the edge of the Nightingale estate (Onslow Gardens) and is E18 not E11. It’s therefore a 20 min walk to Wanstead High Street. Just trying to work out and convince husband this will be fine and we won’t get annoyed we aren’t closer.

I think you can get Firs estate in South Woodford for £950. One that needs doing up. Onslow Gdns, as an area, is not as nice (sorry). I would say a house Inn Onslow should cost quite a bit less than, say, the Firs estate in SW.

@mosaic123 Looked the Firs estate as well and yes it’s more expensive. Is there anything particular wrong with Onslow Gardens or just not as nice of a road/houses? We like the fact it’s on the same road as Nightingale Primary school.

Onslow Gardens is nice. Nothing wrong with it.
I lived in SW on the Firs Estate for over 30 years. I still live nearby in a large flat near the Odeon.

That side of South Woodford is not the best side. You can afford the best side. You will (and should) get a bigger house in Onslow Gdns for your money than you would in some other parts of South Woodford. Go to a local estate agent, such as RL Morris and chat it over.

I agree for your budget you should be looking at the other side.

I've also lived very near by and would think South Woodford would be the easier tube stop and amenities. Whilst Wanstead Highstreet has a nice feel to it it really isn't very practical - you've got a small co-op or tesco but little else.

Mostly though I'd worry about how loud it is going to feel in a house on Onslow Road - you are right below the North Circular and the M11 slip road - both are busy aaaaaall the time!

Oh we had the same problem, Wanstead tastes but not the budget. We ended up changing tack and have moved sort of half way between Highams Park and Woodford Green. We love it. I commute on the Central Line from Woodford, DH on the Overground from HP (although obviously neither of us doing that at the moment). It's a lovely community. I like having two routes home in case one goes down.

Definitely agree that talking to a local agent is a good idea. We liked Petty Son & Prestwich who were friendly but not pushy, and cover both areas.

North Chingford too.

Does anyone have a view on living just off Wanstead flats? The houses look great and there's seemingly a nice family feel - it just seems a little quiet for eating out/ pubs etc. We currently live in Hackney so are used to things being busy but appreciate that Wanstead is very much not Hackney!

Is there a good community spirit, lots going on, outdoor gym classes etc? Finding it a little hard to find much online so any advice very welcome.

Do you mean Aldersbrook @newbie202020? We looked there and liked it v much, the gardens are enormous, but were put off by the long walk to a station (probably not such a big deal now) and the fact that there were no shops locally to pop out for a pint of milk etc. We don't drive so for me that was a dealbreaker.

You have Wanstead - which has great options for eating out and a lovely sense of community - and Leytonstone - which is developing very fast - but both are a decent stroll from the Aldersbrook estate. We were also in Hackney before moving to Woodford Green and it has been a bit of a mental shift but we are so glad to have the massive increase in living space and access to the forest. You might want to check out Highams Park as well, I think a lot of ex-Hackneyites end up there, and it's got a fantastic community. There are a couple of active parents groups on Facebook for Wanstead and for Highams Park which might give you a better idea of what's going on in the areas.

Thanks so much @FrieasBathtub. Aldersbrook is exactly where we meant. Super helped info.

Have you looked at brushwood @newbie202020? Other side of the flats in leytonstone but great family feel and atmosphere, pubs and shops easy access but also next to the flats (although smaller gardens than aldersbrook!)

Bushwood!

I grew up in Wanstead/snearsbrook and moved 7 years ago as it’s really expensive :( If I could go back with my young son I would in a heartbeat. Beautiful Epping Forest nearby, good train connections into London but still a village like feel. Good luck!

I realise the original post is from June but I lived in Onslow Gardens 20 years ago for two years. My friend and I rented a conversion there. Don’t know if they are still there but there were around 4 mock Tudor buildings which looked like houses from the outside but were actually split into flats.
We loved it there!! Brilliant location for bars and restaurants, easy to walk to the tube and well located for the A406. We used to enjoy a curry at Bhangra Beat regularly at the top of the road.
Anyway, that’s my trip down memory lane done!

Mmm @Clickncollect love Bhangra Beat!!

Sorry, bringing this back up as we are in a similar situation. We really like the Wanstead area and are looking for a property here. Similar to @Verity28, we have a found a property we really like within our budget on Alexandra road which is in South Woodford although fairly close to Wanstead. I am wondering whether anyone is familiar with this street and can give any advice that will help in our decision. Thank you so much in advance.

We are targeting the same territory by the sound of things. We used to live in the area a few years ago and are moving back so my knowledge isn't bang up to date. My feeling about the roads south of the tracks to SW station is that they can get very snarled up with traffic at times. They weren't made for the volume of traffic there is now. I'm not meaning specifically your road but George Lane, Pulteney, Victoria and Daisy. I think I saw the house you are talking about a few days ago and it is lovely but it looks as if it's SSTC now.

@allusernamesweretaken

Sorry, bringing this back up as we are in a similar situation. We really like the Wanstead area and are looking for a property here. Similar to *@Verity28*, we have a found a property we really like within our budget on Alexandra road which is in South Woodford although fairly close to Wanstead. I am wondering whether anyone is familiar with this street and can give any advice that will help in our decision. Thank you so much in advance.

Hi I was a stone's throw away from that road for several years. It's lovely and as you say close to Wanstead too.

I don't think Alexandra suffers with the same volume of traffic to Pulteney which is does merge onto. I always got the feeling only people really living there went onto it.

yeah - unfortunately someone else came in for the property we were looking at on Alexandra road - there are a few semi detached houses available around the nightingale estate (elmcroft avenue, lorne gardens, Deynecourt gardens). Anyone familiar with these streets...?

Yes me! The Nightingale estate is the less desirable bit of Wanstead generally - although by London standards its still pretty safe. It's close to the High St and transportation though.

I think I've seen the properties you are talking about around the Nightingale estate. Many of them seem to have been on the market for quite a while at a time when most houses are selling fast. I'm a little sceptical and wonder if they are over priced and the sellers are just being opportunistic in the current circumstances.