North London - which area?

[GreenPalmTree]

Hello all,

Have lived in south London for 10 years, due to a work change now seeking a new home which provides an easy commute to Cambridge and an easy commute to central London…

Preferably want to stay within zones 2/3 and don’t want to leave London (so not St Albans or Essex, or Hitchin/ Royston)

Areas on radar include Angel, De Beauvoir Town, Kentish Town/ Gospel Oak/ Dalston.

Budget £1m to £1.5m, need at least two bedrooms, would prefer a house but if an amazing period maisonette with outdoor space could consider it. Can also consider modern properties if a full house / mews.

Struggling at the moment to figure out what areas are lovely, and attainable. Don’t mind a renovation project!

Also struggling with expectation management as we have the horrible problem of trying to move from a cheaper area to a more expensive one.

Any suggestions or wisdom welcomed!

A quick Rightmove search of N1 shows you’d be able to get a modern-ish two- or even possibly three-bed house in the De Beauvoir / Dalston / Haggerston / Barnsbury / edges of Angel and Highbury for £1.5million, although not in the most popular streets.

But they’re quite different areas. I wouldn’t choose Dalston: it’s fine, but always seems overpriced to me property wise, I have several friends who live in the Dalston Square development, but I find the area itself a bit bland with no particularly good restaurants and pubs (unless you head up towards Stokey or down towards Hoxton, and I’d rather live in either of those areas at the same price.)

Do you need to be near schools? Any particular tube line which would be most convenient for commuting?

Highbury n5
Along tbe river Lea (train lines, big properties (for London lol) and nice walks)

I'd look at Finsbury Park towards crouch end/hill and maybe stoke newington. Commuting to Cambridge from FP is really easy, lots of stuff in budget and FP is definitely up and coming. (Stokie probably already up and come)

A nice flat in Primrose Hill? Hampstead? Maybe even in St John's Wood. Lovely areas but depends if you're happy with less square footage compared to Kentish Town etc. West Hampstead is also popular and relatively nice.

By the way these areas are great for all the north London schools too.

We went for location over space and love being in walking distance of the West End

muswell hill is nice also

are you driving to Cambridge or using the train? If the latter, you'd want to be in easy reach of Kings Cross or Finsbury Park I think.

Angel and Kentish Town both nice imo and easy to get into Central London and to Kings Cross. De Beauvoir is slightly further away from a station. Have you thought about Stoke Newington? You could walk to Finsbury Park station from there. Although no tube - lots of buses to Central London.

I'd suggest Finsbury Park too. Mostly because of its great transport links to both Cambridge and C. London. But its also a great area with great schools.

@SallyMcNally

I'd look at Finsbury Park towards crouch end/hill and maybe stoke newington. Commuting to Cambridge from FP is really easy, lots of stuff in budget and FP is definitely up and coming. (Stokie probably already up and come)

Seconded. FP is perfect for your commutes and you could get a nice 3 bed house for your budget.

Thank you all- loving the local insight!! Much better than me looking on Rightmove and trying to work out on street view if it’s a dive or not. Next step will obviously be walking the streets to get a feel.

Schools are not an immediate concern, but for future proofing they may be, or not (having some TTC issues) - I don’t think living on a road next to a popular catchment school is high on the priority list, but would recognise it as a plus.

Commute to Cambridge is likely to be public transport but only a couple of days a week- anticipate getting rid of our car due to my assumption of a lack of parking in North London, but would keep if we were able to park it. The Liverpool Street Cambridge line is also an option for us ( I know not as fast as Kings Cross) but based on frequency of commute could work.

Finsbury Park came up as a suggestion due to the transport links- I have friends that love it but I find it really chaotic around the station when I visit, any suggestions of more peaceful parts? Any good roads or roads to avoid! I don’t mind up and coming ( I live in an area like that at the moment) but also see our change in circumstances to live somewhere a bit nicer at the expense of square footage!

Stokie I didn’t include due to transport links but maybe that’s misguided if easy to get to other nearby stations.

As far as I know, all the areas you've mentioned have residents' parking so no issue with having a car.

I lived in FP for years and loved it- it's quite grotty and chaotic around the station but within a few streets it's full of young professionals and middle class families (whether that's a good thing or not is up to you)- nice Victorian housing stock, great transport links, reasonably priced. Also an option is to go up the hill to Crouch End which is really lovely (a bit nappy valley but that might be a good thing depending on circs), great schools etc. No tube but you can get the bus to FP station in minutes, or (depending on which side you're on) walk to Highgate tube (Northern line) or Horney station (overland into the City).

Hornsey not Horney!

I would live at the Crouch Hill/ Stroud Green end of FP. But also the roads near Stokey are quite nice I think.

I'm not a particular fan of the park itself I must say but parks are a key factor to me as I spend alot of my time dog walking and taking kids there.

Stick Tufnell Park in the mix too, if you’re interested in Kentish Town and Gospel Oak. Your budget is a bit tight but they’re nice areas, parking isn’t a problem and nice schools.

Stoke Newington Church Street.

Lots of independent shops, park, nearby Wetlands and best of all it's closed to cars 7-7 every day!

A friend lives there and travels to Cambridge from Finsbury Park station.

For City workers, Stoke Newington Station is about 15 minutes to Liverpool Street.

There are some nice streets between Finsbury Park & Crouch End that are close to Harringay Station - so you can go direct from there to Kings Cross. Around Quernmore Road N4 (not the Green Lanes side of the railway). You can drop down into Crouch End for drinks etc but you're closer to good transport.

Or maybe the trains go direct from Harringay station to Cambridge? I think they might.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/118992431#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.thehouseshop.com/property-for-sale/ridge-road-hornsey-n8-9lh/5581130?utm_source=mitula&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=agency-sales&utm_source=Lifull-connect&utm_medium=referrer

Omg I'm jealous as a North Londoner who moved south!

If you are lucky enough to be able to live within walking distance of Hampstead Heath then I urge you to! It's beautiful.

Crouch End is lovely, Kentish Town v cool. Highgate surrounds are stunning. Finsbury Park is ok but I find part of it a bit meh and for your budget you can move somewhere lovelier.

Another vote for crouch end/ Stroud green areas. Finsbury Park is a great start for journeys to Cambridge, city, west end. I also found access to various airports really straightforward when I lived there.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/113925494#/?channel=RES_BUY at the top end of your budget and it’s a maisonette/flat but it’s a private garden on a great road.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/114642782#/?channel=RES_BUY Just over budget but I’ve put it here as if I had the money this is the street I’d live on. It’s so pretty. Whole house and mini garden!