Would you live in Harold Hill?

[LizzyKay]

Soo.. Myself and my boyfriend are first time buyers in our twenties looking to move out.

We have found a place in Harold Hill roughly 30min walk from the station with an option of a 12min bus journey.

Is the area worth it? We work a lot in central London so ideally wanted a short walk but the house is lovely however is Harold Hill a good area to live in, also is it safe?

It is a bit of a rough area with some social problems. But if it’s commutable and affordable then it might work well enough for you guys. It’s all about the compromise with first time buying. Few people can afford the what they want in the area they want first time or even the times after that tbh.

Harold Hill is cheap for Havering due to the fact it's a predominantly council area, which obviously can bring it's problems. It really depends what you're used to I guess. Where are you living currently? What's your budget and what kind of property are you looking for?

Thanks @vincettenoir for your reply, you’re right it is commutable which is perfect. Just wouldn’t want to get stuck there and it be a bad area

It was quite rough in the 80s but may have improved, I am not in that part of the country anymore

Thanks @CellophaneFlower for your comment, ahh that’s interesting, predominantly being a council area. I grew up in West London and boyf grew up in East London, we’re currently in Chadwell Heath together. Our max is £360k, we would loveee to be close to a train station that has good links to London with a max 1hr 15min / 1hr 30 min journey we’re hoping for a 2 bed house!

Oh really! Thanks @RubyJack this is good to know

It has its problems - it's cheaper than the rest of Havering for a reason - but you can definitely get a decent house for a good price by London standards and it has some beautiful green spaces and a decent community on the whole. The Manor is one of my favourite places. There isn't much else right there, just a few parades of basic shops. You need to go into Hornchurch, Romford or Gidea Park for better shopping or pubs etc.

If you want the station then Harold Wood would be better . There's Kings Park across the road , it was the site of Harold Wood Hospital. Mainly flats though .
Harold Hill does have more housing stock .

Harold Hill does have a big health centre, Lidl, the Sports Centre , huge B&Q . Still easy access to HW Station if you go nearer to the A12.

What's stopping you staying in Chadwell Heath ?

Oh you're not far at all in Chadwell Heath!

Yes, Harold Hill was formed to house a lot of people after the war, so many of the houses are pre-fab... something to watch out for as can sometimes be tricky with lenders.

Some roads are worse than others... it's definitely worth taking a few visits at different times of the day to see what you think. It's great for public transport though, as Havering is in general. I'm in Rainham, but nearer Elm Park, so have both the c2c and tube very close by. I love my immediate area but there are definitely roads within a short walking distance that I'd not want to live in, so it really can be that specific.

I lived there, and went to school there, back in the 80's.
There was a devide, either side of Straight Road, we were the old side, and then the other side was the 'new estate'. I had a great childhood where we were. The new estate is mostly town houses. I dont think they have weathered too well.
There a few different area's. Some better than others.
Obviously changed a fair bit now.
But I have fond memories of it.
Harold Wood was more 'posh'
Had my first child in Harold Wood hospital, now gone, as mentioned by pp.
Went back a few years ago and checked out our old house, one thing I did notice is that the road surfaces were atrocious.

OP for £360k you could buy a 2 bed home in Brentwood rather than Harold Hill. It’s a much nicer/safer area, will hold value more than Harold Hill, good schools, great social aspect. PP are correct that there are definitely better bits of HH than others but you cannot escape the fact that it was previously one enormous LA estate and there is a certain snobbery locally that lingers. At the end of the day it is always location, location, location. Brentwood is one stop further out than Harold Wood and has train services that are slightly faster each hour. A couple of options here are no more than a 7/8min walk to the station. Ugly duckling houses maybe but potential to add value plus will always resell quickly. Also maybe consider West Horndon (on the c2c line into Fenchurch st which is cheaper to use) and everywhere is walking distance to the station with added bonus of more bang for your buck there. Good luck with the move.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/111222473#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/108248867#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/80178096#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/90465949#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/107342912#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110416250#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/108204548#/?channel=RES_BUY

I was wondering why you weren't looking in Brentwood too with your budget!

Ps a lot of people who want to get into London from Brentwood quickly get the train to Shenfield in the morning (five min journey) and then you have fast trains into London every few minutes that can get you there in 25 mins. I was born in Harold Wood hospital but I would 100% choose Brentwood. Nice high street with lots of restaurants and cafes, great schools for the future if considering children, lovely countryside parks close by and very safe.

The Rightmove server is down so I can't check but Harold Hill would be at the bottom of my list of places to live in Havering.

I agree with all the above comments although there is a lovely big Next and B&Q at Gallows Corner

I would try to get somewhere on the tube line or accessible to C2C into Fenchurch Street in half hour, it's a quick and very reliable line. Otherwise Brentwood is a great shout too. Keep looking....

Thanks @NotThatSocial for your comment this is good to know, I’ve been there a few times and it does seem very quiet which may be a bit boring for us as you said there’s not much to do

Thank you all for the comments, really do appreciate it - coming from West London, I don't know much about East London / Havering - were also looking at South East too.

But yes seems like Brentwood could be a possibility thank you so much for looking @Dickiegreenleaf !!

thanks @UncomfortableSilence yes we would love to be next to a tube line - we though with the Elizabeth line coming that could be perfect

that's a good idea @Bodgers going to shenfield - with it being zone 9 (i believe) this could make travel more expensive but i'll research into this

@70isaLimitNotaTarget were not staying in Chadwell heath as there are no houses there in our range and we're currently living with his parents so time to move haha

Hey there. I recently bought a home in Harold hill. I was more focused on getting a bigger nicer home so chose on paper be less favourable area in Havering. I was worried as well about moving here, but don't regret the decision. You are 10 mins drive from Brentwood, upminister and hornchurch if you have a car your sorted. I would always rather have a bigger nicer home 10 mins away than a low quality home in a nicer area but that's me. We have found people in the area to be friendly and whilst it's far from fancy it has everything you need. I do hope crossrail brings some new shops restaurants etc but if I need those now I jump in the car or an Uber. All the best.

We used to live in a very small flat in posh St. John's Wood until last year and we wanted a three-bedroom that would fit our not-london-friendly budget that was very low, since my husband is not a massive fan of real estate.
At the end we compromised for a three-bedroom in Harold Hill and it was the best decision ever to be honest (his words!).
Before taking this decision we explored the area a lot: Harold Wood, Chadwell Heath, Manor Park, Brentwood, Hornchurch etc...
Houses in Harold Hill in the end of 2020 were WAY underpriced! You could easily spot that by checking all the areas inside the M25 in London in the 350-400K price bracket.
I think it's pretty personal but Harold Wood was better in terms of proximity to the tube but it lacked of the nature around, same thing with Chadwell Heath, Manor Park a bit too much "exotic" for us,
Brentwood had a too expensive price to commute into central london but super nice, Hornchurch a bit too far away from the TFL cross rail, but very nice (prices were higher over there).
My husband and I are commuting to Central London pretty much every day, the TFL cross rail takes 35 mins from Harold Wood to Liverpool Street. There are two bus lines that operate in Harold Hill and they take around 10-12 minutes to get to Harold Wood station.
By the way, it takes less than 5 minutes by car, if you are really in a rush.

The central section of the Elizabeth Line will open soon and we will be able to reach Bond Street, Paddington, Tottenam Court Road, Farringdon etc... directly! It will be easy to commute Canary Wharf (my hubby works there).

But best thing is nature! There's very nice park in Harold Hill called Dagnam Park (check it out!).

In this area there are outstanding Primary schools as well, we don't have children but we are planning to, at some point. Dunno much about the secondary school to be honest!

Neighbours is made mostly of nice old people, from what we can tell they care a lot about the community, they are helping each other out and they made us feel welcome. It was something that we really missed when living in central London.

There are not good restaurants in this area but I think this situation will improve in the next few years though (WE HOPE SO!). I have seen so many people moving from central london
to this place in the last year and I think it will be gentrified very quickly with the opening of the Elizabeth Line.

Good luck!

Hi Lizzie Kay,
Did you end up moving to Harold Hill ?
I am also interested to know as we have just had our offer accepted . It is a lovely 3 bed semi that would have been simply unaffordable for us in the surrounding areas . We have visited many houses in the area and have found them to be quiet and full of green spaces .
We have a a three year old and a baby on the way. We would be moving from Bow in London so are more than used to a bit rough and are aware that there is more to an area than to think of them as “council estates “. We would also need to travel to London for work.
My only concern is the lack of diversity I guess , it seems that if people like @napy found Manor Park to be “exotic “ would they be welcoming to us.
We are of Asian descent . Any thoughts . Thanks !

@Bushra385 Sorry for the poor choice of the word "exotic". I really meant "chaotic", given we are not natively British ourselves... We also lived close to Bow in the past, in Poplar, so I bet we come from a similar background. Happy your offer was accepted. Good luck with your new house then :-)

@nap No worries , I would also find manor park far too chaotic plus expensive!
And thank you , I’m looking forward to the move .