Eltham - what’s it like?

[tigerbear]

Thinking of moving from Greenwich to Eltham to get more space, and been to see a few places to buy.
Specifically, roads very near the station.
we quite like houses on the Progress Estate.
anyone familiar with the area and can tell me what it’s like?
Thanks in advance!

@Nimbostratus100 don’t need to worry about schools - DD is already in secondary in Westminster, another reason we’re looking for somewhere close to a station which goes into Victoria.

It's a big mix.
Firstly are you aware of the recent changes for Southeastern trains? You can no longer get trains direct to Charing x as frequently it's a nightmare for many on that line. Therefore it's a crush if you're lucky enough to get one beyond on London Bridge.
Progress estate for reference is in very close proximity to the location of Stephen Lawrence murder and sadly little has changed since. It's hard for the area to "shake off" this memory.
This said you're in decent travelling distance of some fantastic green spaces, museums, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich which is vibrant and loads to see and do...

Honestly, if you have children I'd consider carefully how long you'd like to be there. Id say for primary options are better, but secondary schools are really lacking. I'd also factor in the fact that Eltham is not what I'd consider a safe place for teenagers to be, sadly the gang /drugs/knife related crime is very frequent. I'd never sleep if I had teenage boys at home...

Eltham high street itself is a bit meh - Debenhams has gone and is nowTK max , there's a decent m&s but then really it's just chicken and nail shops which I find depressing when I visit. A few cafes and stuff and a newly opened cinema...

If you drive you're not far from Charlton retail parks which are far better (but busy).

On the plus side there is I think a better mix of population around the area you're looking at than previously... it's gone up in price a fair bit lately but this seems to be the trend everywhere these days...

I'd suggest for similar money you could find a better location within a maybe 15 minute drive?

I think if the best that can be said of Eltham is that it is near Greenwich, no one is likely to want to move from Greenwich to Eltham, by choice

I'd stay in Greenwich

Eltham is horrible IMHO. Why don’t you look for somewhere on the Victoria-Orpington line? Herne Hill, West Dulwich, Sydenham Hill, Penge or Crystal palace. Much nicer.

I'd second Penge if you want the Victoria trains and more space.

I'd agree with this 100%

Wow, quite negative reviews of Eltham here! We have a very different experience: in the two years since we moved, it continues improving every day: new cafes with decent coffee are popping up. A lot of diversity now, with younger families with children replacing older residents. Fantastic green spaces: Oxleas Woods, Eltham Palace Gardens are beautiful. Depending where you are at Progress estate, an easy bus ride to Woolwich to Elizabeth line, or walk to Eltham station. I agree that the reduced off peak timetable is a pain though.

It’s not nice, but it is cheap and fairly well connected. Eltham palace is lovely of course.

I’d absolutely look for other options.

@MrsBunnyEars thats the thing - it’s not that cheap anymore! The house we love is £750k, and we’d need to spend at least that - if not more - to get somewhere substantially bigger than what we have now. The other decent sized places are between £750-850k
Ideally, we don’t want to pay more than £750k. Nearly 3/4 million for Eltham seems mad.

For various reasons, we have to be on that train line into Victoria, so the other suggestions such as Crystal Palace etc aren’t an option.

Other places on that line - eg Blackheath and Lewisham, or further in such as Nunhead, we’d struggle to get anywhere bigger than what we have now for 750k.

@Notanotherlostone have you experienced any of what others have said are the negatives, eg street crime, gangs wandering around etc?
i looked online to see how Eltham scores compared to other boroughs/areas for crime levels, and it seemed lower than average??

I've lived in Eltham for 16 years having previously lived in NW London and Richmond and I have never had any trouble living here, my DD meets her friends at the high street and goes to the cinema. It had quite an elder demographic but now has a lot more families and the secondary schools are all good. Compared to other London boroughs, it's a really safe place to live with lots of green space and things to do and only 25 mins to the West End.

I wouldn’t want to live there. Not a nice area imo.

I would look on the direct train that stops in South West , Streatham very affordable and much nicer

Have not experienced any anti-social behaviour, drug dealing or gang crime. I'm sure it is here, like everywhere in London. But it is certainly a lot less visible than in a nice part of Islington where we lived previously! I generally feel very safe walking in the evenings, and I'm a bit of a scaredy cat, the only nuisance is foxes haha. In terms of Progress estate, I have an impression that the side closer to Westmount road is nicer (Lovelace green, Maudsley, Prince Rupert etc), rather than on the other side of Well Hall. But maybe it is because I spent less time there.

What's wrong with Eltham? It looks fine?

If Eltham isn't a nice area, wait until you see the rest of London.

@JaneDSE9 and @Notanotherlostone thank you for your comments. Out of interest, is there anywhere decent to go out for lunch/dinner round there, or do you tend to go elsewhere, eg Blackheath or Greenwich?

I noticed that the old pottery cafe has been replaced by a very upmarket looking cafe/wine place…

Yes there's loads of new restaurants that have opened in the last few years, Azzurro Italian, Nakhon Thai, 3 or 4 fancy Turkish Grills, but I goto Woolwich to the TipTaiMein noodle bar which is a fantastic place to take kids, very relaxed, cheap and tasty!

Bickley - zone 5 I think- is also on the Victoria line and much nicer. But no idea about house prices these days but definitely cheaper than Greenwich. Lots of doctors in the area because the train also stops at Denmark Hill.

We moved to Eltham a year ago and love it. We're on the Eltham Park Gardens side of WestMount Road, near Oxleas Wood. Slightly closer to Falconwood station than Eltham but only by ai minute or so walking. And there's a bus up from Falconwood.

Like all parts of London there are good and bad parts. Families in our local primary school are lovely. Absolutely love it.

I quite like Eltham although some roads are far far nicer than others so you have to be careful. I quite like the high street though, there's a cinema, leisure centre with a pool, pizza express, nandos, a few independent restaurants and cafes, m&s, lidl and sainsburys. Lots of useful shops.

I agree that it’s no-one’s dream location. But it is good for green spaces and is improving. There are some decent pubs and restaurant.

It will definitely help to have a car. It’s not as well connected as some other nearby places, by public transport.

Like all moves further out, it’s a question of whether what you gain will make up for what you lose out on.

Oh yes, that place is called Chez Maitre and it is absolutely lovely. Opened by a local French guy, amazing pastries, sourdough and decent coffee. They serve food and wine too. There are quite a few restaurants on High Street, and I heard an Italian restaurant is due to open by the same owners as some popular establishment in Hackney. So things are getting more interesting 🙂 but currently for a nicer dinner I tend to go to Blackheath tbh

Chez Maitre is great alright. I love that strip of shops on WestMount. Popped into All In A Pickle for some.local Eltham honey the other day.

Thanks for all the tips and info @Coraline353 @Notanotherlostone and @JaneDSE9

We have to be on that particular train line into Victoria for various other reasons, so can’t consider places such as Bickley, Beckenham, Penge, Bromley etc

Choices are limited to Bexleyheath, Kidbrooke, Eltham, Blackheath, Lewisham etc
Considering houses in Bexleyheath as seems that you get loads more space, but just seems soooo suburban to me.