Tell me about Wanstead?

[Wansteadmaybe]

Thinking about moving to Wanstead. I’ve been a few times to the Flats and I like it, but I could hear a lot of car noise as I walked around the Flats! It’s so close to the A12 and A406.

What’s it like living there? How does traffic feel? Does it feel close and polluted? Or do you hardly notice?

What’s the community like? Seems like a good primary option in Aldersbrook?

Other places we’re considering are Walthamstow. Any other suggestions?

Nice high street, parking can be a nightmare. Walthamstow has undergone rapid gentrification and prices are crazy. What's your budget and do you need to factor in commute?

Our budget is £800-£850k and seems like we can get a house there, but haven’t started viewing anything yet. Commute the same for both of us - into Shoreditch on bikes (preferably!).

(Although at the moment no commute - working from home. There’s talk of only part time commuting, part time home working for the foreseeable. Who knows if that’ll happen or not!)

I would also look at north Chingford and Highams park.

That’s interesting about Chingford and Highams Park. I don’t know either and will take a look.

Not sure I want to go much father out of London though. This move already feels quite far out as I’m used to being quite central! (I’d stay central, but can’t afford to.)

Another thing about walthamstow - there is so much construction going on, it's starting to feel extremely built up and crowded. If you aren't familiar with the areas I would suggest spending some time in each and getting a feel for them.

The Aldersbrook estate is lovely but very cut off - depending which end you are you can be quite a trek from the tube and the local corner shop is the petrol station though handy for a vegan sausage roll.

We lived in Walthamstow until we moved out of London to be near elderly parents. Had our DC in Walthamstow. Absolutely loved it there and would have stayed if circumstances could have allowed. With your budget you could afford to live right in the village - which is where we were. It's a great place to be. Mini Holland makes it super bike friendly and quite quiet. And there's some fab pubs and coffee shops and a real sense of community. Plus fab for kids if that's what you're planning. You can walk/bike everywhere in 5-10 mins - swimming, cinema, tube etc etc. Have a trip up there and visit the Castle for a sense of it all. Can you tell I still miss it?!

Wanstead is lovely. Really nice high street, excellent transport links, great primary schools. Good community feel.

Aldersbrook is separate to Wanstead. It's nice too but no shops/cafes. It's closer to Wanstead flats (which are actually set apart from Wanstead itself).

I used to live in Wanstead and the car noise never bothered me at all. I have seen others on here list it as a disadvantage though.

Wanstead is great - buzzy high street, nice community feel, choice of two (central line) stations. Easy bike to Shoreditch.

I second the comment that Aldersbrook is absolutely lovely but actually not near anything - it’s a good 20+ walk to wanstead from there.

Wanstead is great but pricy (though you should get something for your budget).

Would second the recc to check out North Chingford (the area around the overground station) and Highams Park - you'll get more for your money - both are leafy with lovely cafes and parks (and Epping Forest!). True, these are zone 4-5 (but Wanstead is similarly zone 4?) but are around 10-15 mins to different spots in Hackney and around 25 mins from Liverpool Street on the overground, plus a stop or two from Walthamstow (and the Victoria line, which I have to say is much more reliable and quick than the Central - though both are handy to have nearby).

Having done the well-worn route from zone 1-2 Hackney to Walthamstow and now to North Chingford, all have their strong points. And the whole area of Highams Park - Chingford - Woodfood - Wanstead is just a really nice bit of London to be in, really.

Yazoop that’s the same well-worn route we’re embarking on! Zone 1/2 Hackney to the next place!

Interesting about Aldersbrook being quite a trek from Wanstead proper. I didn’t actually know!

banana you make Walthamstow sound great! I do like the village a lot.

And I will definitely check north chingford. In my mind, it’s Essex so completely out of london - but sounds like it’s not!

We are also considering this move OP. We need to visit the area. I cant make out on Google maps which bit is Wanstead proper as it seems to be divided by a busy main road.

We would want the kids to get into Wanstead High School so probably need to be south of the main road but is this near the shops etc?

I know we need to visit and get a feel for it. Close to Leytonstone by the looks of things.

Aldersbrook primary does look lovely but as other have said appears to be quite separate from Wanstead.

Wanstead high street is the road which runs between Snaresbrook and Wanstead tube stations.

As things stand, you'd get a place at Wanstead High from most parts of Wanstead I think, you don't need to live on the doorstep. Obviously catchment areas can change though.

Aldersbrook is lovely but yes, not really near anything. If you like the flats then Leytonstone and Forest Gate also border them and full of Hackney exiles with babies.

Wanstead is nice, great high street, but your budget won’t stretch as far as in any of the places above.

I really need to look around!

DH is working from home and the plan is to do a mix of both home and office when that changes, but I am part time in because of my job (and I job share so only work part time, Shoreditch way). So I really need to have a proper look at commute times from the other areas suggested, too.

At the moment, my commute is a bike ride! I will miss that!

I’d be on the we look out for places like this which give you a reasonable amount of room for a family (under offer so just an example):

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/58131936?utm_source=v1:5bWFDybfWx7C7AGpeagt7mP3PgcqjuqJ&utm_medium=api

You’d be on the right side of Leytonstone/Leyton to keep commuting by bike, it’s a nice run through the Olympic Park and Victoria park to get to Shoreditch. The feel is definitely a bit more “London” than Wanstead. I really like Wanstead but the vibe more suburban over there, really nice to have as an option to visit that’s only a few minutes away on the tube. I can completely see why some people prefer that, but other ex- Hackney types (like me) want something that felt a bit more urban.

Just be honest with yourself about what stage of life you’re at and what you’re looking for.

we have a house in wanstead...currently let out long term...used to live there for a while...its very nice generally..useful shops and some cafes etc plus the stations and buses to other places are good...its expensive and a lot of conservation areas so cant extend much which i like as some areas are ruined by extensions....HP also nice but not as cheap as it was 10 years ago...a lot from walthamstow discovered it and moved there....walthamstow is turning into a mini manhattan..plans going ahead for yet more high rise blocks...about 7 to be built this year....vicoria line already horrendous ...hard to get doctors or dentist slots already....

I cycle from leytonstone to Bethnal Green. It’s lovely cycle (Olympic park —> Victoria Park)