Does anyone live in Gidea Park? What is it like?

[areyouhavingagiraffe]

Hello all,
Long story, but have been house hunting for a while. Last March, I offered on a place in Gidea Park, which I then lost. Kept the search going. Then started looking in Romford, and Hornchurch. Had an offer accepted on a place in Romford (RM7) last year but then I pulled out (no paperwork for extension, loft etc). Anyway, I went ahead with my Sale in the Summer. Have kept looking and looking....Feeling hopeless.
Saw a house a few doors down from the original Gidea Park house (which I offered on last March). £30k more. Lovely from the outside, semi detached, grand looking. Needs A LOT of work inside, but has potential. Anyway, offered and has been accepted. It's an RM2 postcode, which I know is quite sought after. I hear lovely things about Gidea Park, that it has a nice village like feel. Anyone living there that can tell me more?
I am mid forties, single, no kids. I know the area has good schools but that is irrelevant to me. The house is about 15 mins walk to GP station, perfect for me. About 10 mins walk to High Street, which looks like it has a few nice shops. There are loads of bus routes which go into Romford. I worry that perhaps it is perfect for someone who is married with kids, and whether I would fit in? Sorry I know that sounds silly. I like the fact that I can jump on a bus into Romford if I want some hustle and bustle. I always knew the RM7 house was only a temporary thing, i.e I would sell it to be in a nicer area, nicer house. This RM2 house is defo nicer outside, and nicer area I think, although a project house, but I can see myself living there for a long time/ forever even!

[quote areyouhavingagiraffe]@AwkwardPaws27....that sounds so eye-watering and is already making me worry! I will be looking at something bigger, but hopefully there is some economies of scale, and not just linear, or even exponential. But I need to remember it does not need to be done straightaway[/quote]
Just make sure your fit golfer is also a builder

I'm having the extension dilemma too. I've finally got the means to extend, as has always been my intention since I moved in, but I just can't justify the prices at the moment. I swear a few years back you could build a whole house for the price of a modest extension these days. I'm sitting tight at the moment and keeping a close eye. I know it's unlikely prices will reduce dramatically, but I feel they can't possibly keep rising the way they have been. I'm hoping if demand dies down/materials are more readily available, at least the whole process might be less stressful, even if not cheaper!

Good luck in your new home @areyouhavingagiraffe.

I've lived in this area for ages and have built a really good network of friends and have always felt safe around here too.

Thanks all. Dreaming about a fit golfer / builder / architect / Project Manager / Interior designer / (naked) handyman....ha ha
@Sallycinnamum, thank you. Am a long way off from moving in and so aware that things could go wrong. But this will be my long term home (and not planning on moving again in the next few yrs which is what I was planning on with the rm7 house which fell through), so I think taking my time with the work will be fine.

Oh gosh that takes me back i lived there for twenty year. Grew up there. Used to go and watch the trains come past ( that was when u didn’t need a train ticket to walk through from one side of the station to another. Would love to move back.

So, I went to have another look at the house the other day. I think it is in fairly good condition, just very dated. Trying not to get too carried away with plans. I don't feel that excited about it, but I think it is because I am have been looking for so long and it is just not fun anymore. A few people have been stressing me out on the renovation etc, about how stressy it is etc. Is it usual to feel like this? It doesn't feel like "home", I did not get that "wow" feeling, but I do get that feeling when I look at google searching on 1930's house renovations; it looks like even the smallest of changes (ripping our the horrid carpets, removing wallpaper etc) would make a big difference. Any words of wisdom for me? I am focussing on the location and area, surely that it the main thing, location, location, location with potential.

Renovations are always going to be stressful.... especially at the moment when tradesman are like gold dust and there's a shortage of materials. Only you know how worth it that stress is to you. However, currently being without children will help. Are you quite assertive? As tradesman can speak a load of bull at the best of times... but especially like to try it on with a single woman who they assume will believe anything they're fed

Is there anything that's specifically putting you off that you can pinpoint? Could it be that you wasn't expecting your offer to be accepted and now after months of bad luck with houses you're feeling underwhelmed? Kind of like the typical 'want what we can't have' mentality that we're all guilty of at some point? I know this happened to me with my house. I loved it but thought I couldn't afford it. Then I could but offered lower than asking and lost out on it. Then I spent 3 months grieving for it and no house could compare. Then their buyer pulled out and we were offered it again. I was elated for 10 minutes, then started having doubts

Thanks @CellophaneFlower. Yeah, am assertive. I work for property developers in the City, it's an old boys club so I can defo hold my own.
I don't know why I'm feeling like this. So I decided to take a walk from the house to GP station around 5pm today. The road which the house is one was busy but I guess it was peak time. I walked through the back roads, it was dark, hardly anyone around. Felt really out of place walking past these multimillion pound houses.....I realise doing this walk in the dark was probably a silly idea. On the way back, I walked via the High St and that felt better.
I think I just felt scared when I looked at the house, it's a semi detached, and I lived in a two bed second floor flat which felt so secure. And now I have been at my folks for 6 months I just feel like GP feels so far away. I think I need to take a wander around in the daytime.
Everyone I speak to is telling me it is impossible to find builders and work will cost 100,000+...... I don't have that, although I could put down a smaller deposit and keep some cash and the monthly payments are still manageable.
Think I feel scared!

With regards to the walk.... I guarantee you'll love the quiet way in the daytime! And obviously you'll have the option to go via the main road if late, or jump on the bus. I think moving anywhere on your own is always going to be scary, but I get that flats do feel safer. Once you become familiar with the area though, I'm sure your outside space will outweigh the security of the flat. So many security camera options now too to put your mind at rest.

The renovations - of course it will boil down to whether you can afford them/how long you'd be ok living with it in it's current state, or were you going to stay with parents and get it all done in 1 go? Do you have contacts through work who could perhaps view with you and give you a realistic figure? Perhaps sit down (if you haven't already) and write down an order of works? Sometimes breaking it down a bit rather than seeing it as a whole may make it seem less daunting.

It's a shit time to take on a reno right now... but location seems really important to you so you just need to weigh up what you'd be compromising on by getting a house that needed less work and whether you could accept that.

Thanks for the response @CellophaneFlower. I don't have any contacts. The property developers I work for to the big stuff, new skyscrapers, big urban extensions on land. I have had a look at some online calcs to get an idea and it seems to be okay. It is only when I browse Mumsnet that I can see people saying the cost are hundreds of thousands and no tradesmen anywhere. Just scary to me. Then one minute I think the road is busy then I think it doesn't matter because I lived on a fairly busy road with my flat. It just doesn't feel warm and cosy but I guess that's what I will do, put my stamp on it.
I'm going back to GP today, gonna get the train there, walk to high street and then to house. Then get the bus into romford to see how it feels. Last night I felt really isolated there

Wish I knew which house it was. Then I could have a nose and a walk down memory lane.

It is only when I browse Mumsnet that I can see people saying the cost are hundreds of thousands and no tradesmen anywhere

It really depends on what's needed. We'll have spent over £100k on our house (which looked tired but not particularly like a project on the listing!) by the time we're done.

That will include a small (around 11x5ft) extension, new slate roof, boiler, upvc sash windows, kitchen, two bathrooms, partial repointing, replacing radiators, flooring & decorating throughout etc.

We've been doing it gradually until now but starting the extension & new kitchen soon (which will be the bulk of it, around £50-60k).

If we'd need a full central heating system installed and a full rewire it would have been more difficult to live there and do it gradually as that's pretty disruptive messy work in every room.

Thanks all. Spent the day there today. The road is noisy, cars are speeding, I couldn't believe how busy the traffic was at midday today. I thought it would only be busy during peaks. I also had a wander down GP High Road; it was just really dead, no atmosphere at all. I just wasn't expecting that. I felt quite isolated. On paper, the location is good, as it's 15min walk to station but I honestly feel like the busy road has put me off, as well as Main Road being a ghost town. The people that I did see were OAP's.
I have heard such great things about GP but I didn't like it.....Sorry if that's offensive to anyone!!! I feel like Hornchurch High Street has more of a community feel to it

Guess who is now living in Gidea Park?! Completed on my purchase a week ago. Saw a place in Feb and really liked it. Two mins from the station, adjacent to conservation area, less than 10 mins to Main Road, and 20 min walk to Romford town centre. Anyway, love the location and really like Gidea Park :-)

Hey OP I live in Gidea Park, just read your thread and happy it all worked out in the end!!