Crystal Palace/Anerley/Penge

[Rozziie]

Hi everyone,

Not sure this is the right place to ask but am looking to buy my first property as a FTB in London and am looking into these areas. I've never lived in SE London before but prices where I am at the moment (Hackney area) are just too high. The area around Crystal Palace seems to have lots of nice period properties, green space and is relatively well connected compared to some of the other areas I've been looking in (Woolwich, Plumstead, Lee).

Is there anything I might want to know, having not spent time around these places? I've already been to a few viewings and have had a nosy round the area and it seems lovely, but it's hard to tell with the pandemic and most things being shut/people not being out and about as much. I'm a single woman buying alone so largely concerned about safety and would also like plenty of things to do locally like cafes, pubs, that kind of thing.

Finally, is it a good time to buy? It's hard to tell what will happen with prices going into a recession. It seems a lot of people are selling for what they bought for a few years ago, or slightly less, because their priority is to move out of the city or upsize with kids. I'm not sure if this means I'll be able to pick up a bargain at this time, or whether prices are going to crash and leave me in negative equity. So hard to know!

@BovineJuice

Penge has really changed over the last 4 or 5 years so always check whether the people commenting or articles online actually know the area now. Unlike CP and Beckenham where everything is focused on the Triangle or High Street respectively, Penge has some great little places tucked away, usually only 3 or 4 mins from the High street. When I moved to the area 25 years ago I was forever going to CP or Beck for nights out but I never need to these days as the area now offers great competition and choices without hopping on a bus.

For bars/restaurants it has:
Bridge House Tavern (gastropub with garden),
Craft Metropolis (trendy craft beer place),
Goldsmiths (family friendly pub with garden),
Southey taproom (brewery and cute bar),
Alexandra pub (gastropub),
BR3WERY (taproom)

Cafes:
Antonellas (Italian)
Bluebelle (cute homemade meals and cakes)
SE20 Cycles (big garden out the back and great coffee)
Little Things (great coffee)
Kent House Coffee (nice place to watch world go by)
Alexandra Nurseries (garden/vintage place with coffee shop)

Restaurants:
Sicilian Art (pizza)
Friends of Flavours (Italian)
El Molinos (Spanish)
Chez Yves (French)

• all the usual takeaways incl Japanese, Thai, Himalayan, American, etc

The High Street has the usual functional shops (Sainsburys, Wilkos, Poundland, Boots, Superdrug, Homebase, etc). Many people in Beckenham and CP have to come to Penge for these shops.

Transport is fantastic with loads of buses, and trains to Victoria (18 mins, Brixton (9 mins), Canary Wharf (20 mins), Shoreditch (28 mins) and London Bridge (22 mins)

Lots of community activities too in normal times.

This.

My husband and his sister grew up in Sydenham and have always had this view of Penge as being a bit shit.

I love it. Especially since being on maternity leave / SAHP I've found out so much more about how great a place it is.

Bovinejuice thank you I was was racking my brain for the name of the cafe Antonella’s, Br3wery tap room is my neighbours brainwave he kept us supplied during the first lockdown. I live nearer to Beckenham but go to Penge more as shops are better for everyday needs.
I wish Bromley council would invest more in penge especially the maple road market it’s always been a bit Cinderella compared with Beckenham

We don't live in Penge anymore but we really miss Friends of Flavours - amazing food! Also miss the Blue Belle, run by the most lovely woman whose name I can't recall.

@Throughabushbackwards

We don't live in Penge anymore but we really miss Friends of Flavours - amazing food! Also miss the Blue Belle, run by the most lovely woman whose name I can't recall.

Erica. She is indeed lovely. Sadly not well at the moment so her cafe is currently closed for a few weeks.

Oh I miss Flavours! I’m moving back in two months time after living overseas and can’t wait to go back! Oh and Alexandria Nurseries. Hopefully the Yoga place near Penge West will be there too? I am so looking forward to going home!

Chrystal Palace is also nice but I would give Anerley a miss!

*Crystal!

@ElaineMarieBenes

Oh I miss Flavours! I’m moving back in two months time after living overseas and can’t wait to go back! Oh and Alexandria Nurseries. Hopefully the Yoga place near Penge West will be there too? I am so looking forward to going home!

Chrystal Palace is also nice but I would give Anerley a miss!

I’m pretty certain the yoga place up by homebase is still going I hope you get back home very soon.

Hopefully the yoga place will reopen tomorrow.

@ElaineMarieBenes why would you give Anerley a miss? Just because there's not much going on or is there something else about it?

Just because there isn’t much there and the transport links aren’t as good - I need a nice walk to Flavours! Good luck looking around the area.

Oh good news on the yoga place - yes near Homebase! Just over two months to go for me (assuming Turkey doesn’t end up as a red country - it’s my stopover point to avoid quarantine in a travel lodge near Heathrow!).

I used to live in an amazing garden flat just off the CP triangle for many years then bought a house in Anerley in the cluster of roads near Marlow Road to get some more space. This area has rows of nice Victorian terraces and gardens / green space not too far from the country park.

CP is awesome, such a great part of London and I really rate Penge as well for the reasons other posters have mentioned. The area around Alexandra Nurseries is beautiful.

Anerley is a bit sleepier but really you are not far from other places. To my mind it’s a functional, low hassle place to live and allowed me to get a house in a price bracket I could afford- not possible in CP and would have been smaller in Penge. There’s a few nice local places e.g. The Douglas Fir pub, SE20 Café but you’d need to head to CP for the finer things in life such as the glorious Everyman cinema.

In terms of transport Anerley and Penge are better served than CP.

Anerley has the slow train to London Bridge and Overground to Canada Water and Shoreditch. You can also hop on the bus to Norwood Junction for the fast thameslink trains to London Bridge (12 mins) and up to St Pancras. From Anerley you can walk to Penge east or Kent House and get the good fast train to Victoria, or down to Clock House/ Elmers End for Charing Cross. You have the tram at Birkbeck nearby for Beckenham and Croydon.

I really like having many options to get home from wherever I am in London.

Happy flat hunting!

Anerley is a bit of a no man's land, we saw a lovely flat there but realised there was nothing around it.

I'd do CP or FH (or upper Sydenham but I see you've ruled that out :) )

Thanks all! What about Gipsy Hill? I've yet to look at anything there. Is it a nice/safe area?

I'd also take a look at the Crystal Palace side of South norwood - Auckland Road, Cypress Road, South Norwood Hill, the roads around the lake. You'll get a bit more for your money and walking distance to the triangle. Norwood Junction station is great - on the thameslink - fast to London Bridge in around 15 mins. Plus South Norwood lake is a lovely spot.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property/77874999
www.rightmove.co.uk/property/78984993
www.rightmove.co.uk/property/77715141

I did actually look at a place round there @PalacePalacePalace! Place wasn't for me but the area looked nice. The only thing that concerns me is it's quite a long walk from any station at night, and the area is very quiet. Also was warned about Crystal Palace match days...hate football so have no idea what to expect regarding that. I assume avoiding the streets directly around the stadium would be good?

Been in Gipsy Hill for the last 5 years and I like it here. It was an adjustment after living in Brixton but now I prefer it as its less hectic. Travel links are good and we're up the road from the Victoria Line - the No.3 bus whizzes down the South Croxted Rd or an uber on a night out. There are so many accessible and amazing parks - Norwood, CP, Dulwich and Brockwell. As to feeling safe, well that's subjective but I've never really felt worried, well no more comparable to any other urban area.

Just a few comments about Penge. There is quite a lot of low level crime, muggings, phone snatching and cars broken into etc. I've also witnessed lunch fights in the High Street between local school girls (pre Covid obviously).

To anyone who wonders, yes, I do know Penge, I've worked in this area for years.

@MissMarplesGoddaughter do you think it's the same in Forest Hill and Sydenham? DD is looking at a flat in those areas and I was a little concerned regarding her safety

@MissMarplesGoddaughter

Just a few comments about Penge. There is quite a lot of low level crime, muggings, phone snatching and cars broken into etc. I've also witnessed lunch fights in the High Street between local school girls (pre Covid obviously).

To anyone who wonders, yes, I do know Penge, I've worked in this area for years.

The crime stats are on the Met Police site and are comparable with other London urban areas of similar size. I really wouldn't site crime as a reason not to move to Penge because in all likelihood you'll be moving to somewhere not dissimilar.

If you want to know more about Penge I recommend you join the Penge Tourist Board on Facebook (11300 members) or follow the PTB on Twitter (4300 followers) or just check out the PTB website (www.pengetouristboard.co.uk)

Yes walking from station can be an issue. I tend to get 410 bus from cp or 196 from norwood junction or even an uber. Very occasionally I get off the train / tube at West norwood / Brixton and get the bus the rest of the way. The variety and flexibly of the transport was a selling point for me. Previously lived in gipsy hill, and being on one train line that regularly got blocked was very frustrating!

Match day doesn't bother me too much. Around kick off and final whistle definitely more people about, parking can get tricky, and good to avoid the station for an hour or so either side, but it's not a massive problem. In 6 years I've only got stuck in football traffic once.

I used to live near CP park and it was really lovely. We had a baby though and wanted somewhere bigger so moved to Penge. I found it a very friendly place with some lovely parks around and stuff for kids. I prefer it to Anerley.

@dontcallmelen

Bovinejuice thank you I was was racking my brain for the name of the cafe Antonella’s, Br3wery tap room is my neighbours brainwave he kept us supplied during the first lockdown. I live nearer to Beckenham but go to Penge more as shops are better for everyday needs. I wish Bromley council would invest more in penge especially the maple road market it’s always been a bit Cinderella compared with Beckenham

So you must live in Pengenham (some call it Clock House)

I would say that Crystal Palace is better for nightlife - bars and restaurants but Penge is better for ordinary shops and transport.
Anywhere round there including Anerley, Sydenham and Forest Hill, there's lots of period property at reasonable prices for London, decent transport links to central London and will be quite near a range of bars and restaurants, as well as parks such as Crystal Palace Park.

@BovineJuice 😀 yup I’m a couple of minutes from Clockhouse or Pengenham
I’m not keen on Norwood mainly as my Ds went to school in the area & had some tricky situations that may have coloured my opinion
@76ghv6t7 Forest hill is nicer than Sydenham, lower Sydenham can be a bit grim.