Woolwich and Harlow

[EmmaH2022]

Hi all
I just wondered if anyone had experience living in these areas and what you think of them.

single, childfree, live very quietly. A local community - people you can go down t'pub with - is a bonus. So schools aren't a factor for me.

thank you.

Hopeful bump

Do you have a reason for these areas?
Will you be renting or buying? Flat or house? Transport links needed, garden etc?

I know Woolwich a tiny bit and think some of it is nice and probably could provide what you want.

Harlow I'm not convinced about. Where I live currently, Harlow could be choice for buying a larger property for a reasonable price but some of it is a bit run down. We do know a few people that have moved there and again, there are prob some nicer bits.

Hopefully people with more knowledge will jump on and advise.

Thanks Katniss

I would be buying a flat. Don't want a garden. I would be near a station. That stuff is easy to check, it's really the vibe and gang culture I'm wondering about.

also the sense of overcrowding. I think Harlow is bound to be an improvement in that way.

Yes, I see what you mean re Harlow in that case. I've been to a few pubs there and nice enough!

I’ve heard ‘Old Harlow’ is very nice and apparently pleasanter than the newer part. My friend lives close by in Bishops Stortford and grew up in Harlow. She’s never referenced a gang culture as such but kids spent a lot of time milling around in the town centre as there wasn’t much to do in the evenings. I suppose that’s the same in any town?

I have direct experience of Woolwich as I lived close by for some time and would not live there if avoiding mid to high levels of crime is very important. However it is well connected and I think massively improved with lots of investment in recent years.

Harlow would certainly be the less crowded off the two.

Thanks Eastie that's good to know.

If looking at Harlow look at church Langley .. or 10 mins drive is a little village called North Weald .

Thanks but I need to be near a station. I will have a look later but thinking those two aren’t great if you don’t drive.

Roydon near Harlow would be good, has its own train station. But maybe doesn’t have flats.

harlow you def have to chose your area, some of it is very run down. The nice flats near the train station dont have to community vibe you describe.

Would Ware or Hertford be of interest? Tonnes of apartments near the stations and nice towns with plenty of bars etc. I have to admit I just don't like Harlow.

Do you know stuff about the flats near the station?

I obviously can’t judge but I have a feeling they might be like my area was fifteen years ago. Outsiders perceived us as having no community - no idea why - but we had a lovely one centred on the big blocks of flats.

Terrys sadly I think Ware and Hertford are not suitable transport wise.

I worked in Harlow for four years and would pick Woolwich instead .

Thanks Ace
why is that please?

No, I don’t have direct knowledge of the flats, they have been built/converted since I left Harlow for one of the other places named on the thread.

The problem is that Harlow station is out of the town centre, so the flats near the station are not near much else. They are also on main roads with no visible community areas. Of course they could have a lovely social life I know nothing about!

If I had to live in Harlow, I’d look for somewhere further away from the station, and take a bus.

Why is Hertford not suitable? It has 3 train stations on different train lines.

Woolwich....eh. I mean, now it has The Elizabeth line, its really well connected. The actual town centre is a shithole and there is a lot of crime. I cant think of any nice pubs around there. They have just built a whole set of newbuild flats to try and attract people like yourself, but i think it would be a case of waiting for (gentrification) facilities to catch up.

Re the flats, yes, if you looked around here when I moved in, I think a lot of people would have said "No visible community". But we had a lovely one, sadly all bar three of us have left London. (The other two are mid 70s now and not in great health). It was based on the flats so if you don't live in the blocks, you wouldn't know.

Woolwich was a really long shot. Suffice to say Woolwich and Harlow are closer to the places I need to go, but within price range.

I think London has probably changed too much for anywhere to suit me but as long as I have to look after mum....le sigh.

Hertford doesn't connect to anywhere I need to go. I suspect not many properties in my price range anyway.

Harlow has a very poor reputation. It’s run down and the poverty is palpable.

Agree with the comments about large parts of Harlow being very run down, a lot of poverty, very little for teens to do so a lot of anti-social behaviour and petty crime. Having worked there, we chose to buy a one bed flat elsewhere when we could have afforded a 2 or 3 bed house with a garden in Harlow - there is a reason it is affordable compared to surrounding areas.

The flats around the station are near little else. I wouldn't drink in the pubs around the centre of town.

I would consider old Harlow and church Langley if it had to be Harlow.

It also has a very white population if that is a consideration for you. I don't think it somewhere that people who are BAME - or even not White British - find it very easy to find people they want to be close friends with. In recent memory a Polish man was attacked and killed by a group of teens in the town centre who already had offending history.

I live in Harlow; as you need access to the train station, I'd suggest Old Harlow or Sawbridgeworth.

Harlow is not all bad, I live on Church Langley, it's great, but I do not think there is a direct bus to the train station; it would be bus to town and then back out to station.

Woolwich Arsenal is totally gentrified and has several pubs, a new music venue, theatre and soon have a posh cinema. It also has the Thames Clipper, Elizabeth line, DLR and overground. It was in the Sunday times at the weekend as an up and coming place to live.

I lived in Harlow and had very bad neighbours so choose carefully. But this could happen anywhere

Otherwise I liked it but as I was childfree then I cant say where best catchment is

Lots of people like high wych or sawbridgworth as it's a lot quieter. More village feel.

Not familiar with Harlow at all (had never heard of it until your post) but I was very pleasantly surprised by Woolwich Arsenal. It's on the Elizabeth line now which makes getting into central London so quick and easy (but it also has the DLR and national rail if you need something else). Couple of good pubs, arts venues, gyms, riverside walk -- definitely worth checking out. Lots of really beautiful historic buildings.

Woolwich town centre is more rundown / less gentrified but still looks quite interesting -- lots of multicultural shops, food trucks and so on. Huge Tesco. Not sure about crime etc.

I was also very pleasantly surprised by how beautiful Woolwich Common is too - it forms part of the green chain walk and you can continue on to Oxleas Wood, which are lovely if you want a countryside feeling within walking distance of London.

Thanks for the information, everyone, really useful.

I will obviously check them out but it's handy to have some advanced views. It can be quite weird just pottering round an area trying to get a feel for the place.

I have friends who live in Harlow and one in Old Harlow. The latter is definitely nicer on the whole but it does depend on the area. No experience of Woolwich to compare though I'm afraid.

What area do you need to get to and what is your budget/size of property needed?

Hi OP, what did you decide?

im looking at Woolwich there are some really nice 2 and interestingly 3 beds in Woolwich. The Arsenal is lovely and the town centre has big plans to change.