How is Southfields area?

[sonta8]

Heyy everyone,

My husband and I are looking for a rental property in London. We don't have kids yet but we are ttc. (Trying to navigate this really competitive property market 😭where houses get taken off the market before you know it)

We checked out an apartment in Southfields Drive. It seems like nice gated community. But we know nothing about the area (we are rather new in London) - what is your opinion of the area? Also, anyone knows about this gated society?

Think it's close to Wimbledon. Not sure if its considered part of Wimbledon though.

Southfield is Southfield, though spitting distance to Wimbledon and depending where you live probably closer to the famous lawn tennis club than Wimbledon is. Very nice part of the world. Lots of affluent suburban types, the screech of Phoebe get your hands out of the avocados resonating from within quaint shops. All this mixed with a large antipodean community - the saffa triangle as I used to know it as a lad of Southfields, Earlsfield and Wimbledon. Basically you’ll be very happy there if you can afford it.

I know it well. We have a couple of btls there and dd's bf has a flat there. I can't place Southfields Drive.

At the North it is adjacent to Wandsworth (it's in the Borough of Wandsworth), to the south, Wimbledon Village and Wimbledon Park, (it is not partnof Wimbledon which is in Merton) to the east, Earlsfield and to the west, Putney.

It's served by the district line. You can pick up the tram and trains two stops away at Wimbledon and 39 bus is quite quick to Clapham Junction.

It is mostly made up of Edwardian Terraced houses, principally The Grid and the Triangle, with some 30's houses beyond the tube. Lots of Edwardian maisonettes and newer infill property. It has a main street with shops, Replingham Road.

Lots of middle class families and dinkies but not as Aussie/South African as it used to be. There is also a significant Muslim community due to the HQ of the Amhadiya (sp) mosque being based there.

Nightlife is limited and the speed bumps are ludicrous. Good primary schools, not very good secondaries. Mostly residents' parking.

It's pretty safe and not in the least bit edgy, more family centric.

Will Google map Southfields Drive and give you the low down.

Ah, I have you now. It's just off Queensmere which I know very well. It's the tennis club side close to Wimbledon Village right on the border with Merton. About 15 minutes from the tube at Southfields but also handy for buses along Parkside to either Wimbledon or Putney. It's very nice there, pretty safe but also where Wimbledon, Putney and Southfields converge so not really one or the other. Very safe to turn left and walk down to Wimbledon Park Road for the tube or right up to Parkside for the buses but there is a swathe of LA housing very close by. I'd recommend sussing out your closest shop.

As a young couple without dc, you might find the centre of Southfields has more community or that the flats off Putney Hill are rather better connected and probably no more expensive. Not gated but don't need to be.

I thought the HQ of the Ahmadiya Muslim community was in Morden, near where the mosque is?

Very familiar with this development! I wouldn’t class it as Southfields, it’s kind of in between Southfields/ Wimbledon village and Putney, as per pp. Very safe area. Nice bars/ restaurants and shops in the Wimbledon village, Wimbledon common less than 10 min away. Quick access to central London from Putney/ Southfields.

I miss Southfields, I feel like I didn't appreciate it enough when I lived there. Hope you like Biltong! 😁

@Meredusoleil yes, technically, but the Imam, or chief Imam, based himself and his family at the Ahmadiya mosque in Southfields, just off West Hill and the growth of what shoukd be the smaller one has been disproportionate to the local infrastructure which cannot support its size and the impact on traffic/parking on Fridays.

As others have said, it's not really Southfields, but kinda 'in between' Southfields/Wimbledon.

That specific area has little in the way of shops, cafes, pubs and eateries on the door step, if that's important to you. But within 1.5 miles you can get to Arthur Road (Wimbledon Park small 'high street'), Replingham Road (Southfields slightly bigger 'high street'), and Wimbledon Village (super posh with great pubs, cafes and eateries).

In terms of bigger 'local shopping towns' Wimbledon (main, not village) has lots of shops and cinemas etc. and great transport links, but is a bit tatty these days. The other way you have Putney which is quite nice, particularly down by the river (either side of Putney Bridge).

You would also have good access to Wimbledon Common (nice, country-style walks) and Wimbledon Park (running, tennis, great stuff for kids when they come along).

The whole area is really nice and safe (very, for London). However, to the north-west of you iare quite a few council blocks (mostly low-rise), which sometimes have some 'issues', but I don't see that you would really go through that for much. Though, in London you are never far from council housing anywhere.

For public transport you would probably just walk along Wimbledon Park Road to Southfields Tube, or use the 93 bus route that goes along Wimbeldon Parkside between the transport hubs of Putney or Wimbledon, which both have tubes and also overground trains).

Those implying 'loads of' South Africans are a little bit out of date, though there are still a few around. But you also get plenty of French (as District Line to South Ken is easy and is where the French schools are) and a typically London diverse mix of people from various communities (due in part to to the Mosques in the wider area and also the Buddhapadipa Temple).

@JohnnyM and the synagogue a road or two up!

If children are the next step, unless @sonta8 you are Catholic and can get children into Our Lady Queen of Heaven, you will be out of catchment for the other outstanding primaries in the area.

Thanks a lot for your responses! I thought my post was dead 😅

@NonmagicMike Thanks - we are renting so can afford it for now. But let's see if we can when it comes to buying. We live there for a year or so and then evaluate buying.

@RosesAndHellebores Sorry - I think I made a mistake. It's Southlands Drive. You are right - its off Queensmere road. Couldn't find anything decent in Southfields centre - we have a dog and most landlords are not accepting dogs 😓

@RosesAndHellebores That's unfortunate on catchment areas 😞We are not catholic. I suppose something I will have to think about if we succeed to get pregnant. Thanks a lot for thoughts ❤

Thanks @JohnnyM @JinxMonsoon @HangingOver - Really appreciate it! Think we would take this house and try living there for about a year and then take a call if we want to continue.

It's nice well located and close to great pubs and cafes of earlsfield and less expensive than Putney

Thanks @Unexpectedlysinglemum ! Excited to explore around ❤

Hi @sonta8 did you finally make this move?
I am sailing in the same boat and contemplating a move to ‘Southfields Drive’. Would love to hear about your experience.

Heyy @Ahly, moving in a couple of weeks - will let you know how it goes.

Also, I realised it’s called “Southlands Drive”. I had made a spelling mistake earlier. Hope you are talking about the same apartments?

Omg, yes. It is in fact SouthLands drive. We might move in Nov first week as well, if all works out. Wish you all the best with your move. :)

i used to live there. it's very residential with overpriced rows and rows of terraced houses (imo) who get no private parking. there's a coffee shop, gails and tesco local right by the station, not really a shopping area. Wimbledon is a separate area and right next door (zone 3), southfields is zone 2 I believe. wimbledon and putney will be your closest shopping areas. southfields has a few council estate dotted around too and a couple of busy roads on one end, bordered by the awful Durnsford that is always busy during the day. it's quite diverse like most of London with a few Asian shops around if you like to home cook. nothing really special there tbh. just a mostly residential area with very little free parking, few independent takeaways dotted here and there.

hi @sonta8 did you eventually move here?

Heyy @Ahly , yes we did. It’s pretty nice. Very quiet and peaceful. How about you? Did you decide to move here?

Yes, we did too. Love that it is so peaceful although I also understand what other posters meant.

It’s on the site of my old university college which I miss dearly, Southlands College. They knocked down the big old Chapman House which was lovely.