“Naice” yummy mummy/ Gail’s area london

[Xenaaa]

Hi

I would really appreciate any help!

I’m expecting my second child at the moment and we are having to upsize to a house. I’m really looking for a villagey london urban area that’s “naice”.

Think yummy mummies, coffee shops, Gail’s, Waitrose… bookshops, speciality shops, boutiques etc … basically I’m painting a picture of Richmond/Chiswick. But unfortunately they are out of our price range.

I came across "Askew village” in Shepherd’s Bush- it’s more within our price range- not far from Chiswick…Hammersmith is in close range for independent schools for secondary.

what do you think? Is it up and coming? Or am I being delusional and it’s actually not what I’m expecting.

any advice welcome!

Thank you.

I’m curious, do people really get offended if other people don’t like the same places as them?
Or is it because it’s anonymous internet?

I would buy the house in Askew Road OP- although the Ginger Pig would sell it to me more than the Gail's

@MaudGonneOutForAFag Herne Hill is insanely expensive now: £2m doesn’t touch the sides if you want anything more than a bog standard terrace. Even Boris gave up looking there as he could only get a semi for £3m. He upped his budget a bit and got a mansion fit for Toad of Toad Hall in Oxfordshire instead.

A coffee shop chain, and (now somewhat passé) middle-class marker because of where they tended to be sited. First one in Hampstead, next ones in Notting Hill and St John’s Wood. Now there are lots of branches, so not so much of an indicator.

I need to go back and poke around next time I’m in London! There were a couple of outposts of mild gentrification around the time we left, but it was still mostly chicken shops, laundrettes, and bookies. Our crappy flat on Rosendale Road (the Peabody Estate) did have a lovely view across the railway line to Brockwell Park, though.

Yes @MaudGonneOutForAFag we don’t live locally - can’t afford to - but my eyes pop out of my head when I see the prices. Some roads are definitely more or the same cost as Dulwich Village, particularly if they’re in zone for the North Charter school.

This Rosendale Road?
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/138536531

I'm as white and posh as they come and I bloody love a chicken shop. No way would I live more than half a mile from fried chicken.

Hi thanks for all the responses.

we currently live in a flat in Notting Hill - which I love but definitely would be a push with two little kiddies.

our budget is 1.5m . I’m quite specific about the area because I want a Notting Hill feel with good schools. Askew village seemed ideal as it’s not too far from Ravenscourt park school/ orchard house.

@SaturdayGiraffe, boggling here! One of those houses was a crack den when we lived there. 😀

Admittedly, the Dulwich end of the road was more prosperous, even then…

I'm presuming you mean in Askew Road.

When I lived near Ravenscourt Park over 20 years ago, we thought of Goldhawk Road as the moat. The streets south of that were really nice. The streets north of that were a bit rough.
Please bear in mind, this was a LONG time ago.

I would imagine that the area is in the process of gentrifying as people will have been priced out of south of Goldhawk Road. Certainly in my time, 'south of' houses prices were beginning to go stratospheric.
Bought at 2up-2down terrace for £145k in 1994.
Sold in 2002 for £450k.
Last sale 2021 for £1.1 million!

If it is gentrifying then commuting is good - Central line - Shepherds Bush
Hammersmith & City line - Goldhawk Road
District Line - Ravenscourt Park
Piccadilly line - Hammersmith
Plus close to M4, A40 & Westway into London.
Access to Ravenscourt Park which used to be lovely.
Don't know about schools as am one of the MN users without children!

Taking all the above into account, it makes sense that the area should be improving but as I've not lived there for so long, I still have the my natural prejudice of north of Goldhawk Road.

Cobham now has a Gail's. Not up & coming. Came up a long time ago. Interestingly, yes middle class, but now over populated by "new money", the horror, as I don't think wealth and class are correlated in modern day Britain. And frankly, class would be well consigned to the history books.

Anyway, isn't Ole & Steen the truly poncy bakery now?

Knowing what I know now. I would stay where you are. Children grow up very quickly and you are very close to two amazing parks and millions of activities for after school at waking distance. You probably have a communal garden or square which are priceless. Unless you move much further away for a bigger house it is not worth it. Do not underestimate what you have now. If you own it you would always sell well so do not rush just to follow what everyone else does. Also, bills are so expensive which is another reason but again you do you.

This is my theory as to why Brockley never took off as well as other nearby areas, some of which are further out (Brockley is zone 2, I think!)

Brockley is just chock-a-block with really ugly blocks of flats. Even though most of them are privately owned, and there’s been a degree of gentrification in the area, it’s still a horrible backdrop that no amount of coffee shops and bakeries can overcome, IMO.

This is my theory as to why Brockley never took off as well as other nearby areas, some of which are further out (Brockley is zone 2, I think!) Brockley is just chock-a-block with really ugly blocks of flats.

The Brockley where semis in the conservation area go for £1.5 m+?

There are some council flats among the Victorian buildings but chock a block? Where?

I’m not far from Herne Hill and I absolutely love the place, but this is somewhat of an exaggeration. See the house posted above - 4-bed terrace for £1.35m. “£2m doesn’t touch the sides” is simply not true.

Most people buying a house in London aren’t fixated on having a detached or even semi-detached house anyway.

If your budget is £1.5m, Richmond/Kew is absolutely not out of your price range.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/132652385#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/139498793#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/135208730#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/134159885#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/140176634#/?channel=RES_BUY

I'd no idea that there were so many Gail's all over the place, it's a bit like The Ivy which has branches in towns outside London now.
To get back to OP, I've a friend near St Peters Square in Hammersmith. The square itself might be beyond budget but good roads nearby. Also the Askew Road area seemed fine quite a few years ago.

Wow, what a pile on. As if we are all not aware that some areas are safer than others. OP, my DH lived in a houseshare in Shepherd Bush for 5 years and their house got burglared twice in that time. Check the crime maps on the Met police website and make your decision. If you are both working from home, perhaps best to take advice from some posters and move out to a real village or at least zone 4-5.

Forget Gail's being somewhat passé, it is sub-standard. The pastries are dry and sharp. Avoid like the plague.

The bread and pastries are dry and hard. They’ve taken over Waitrose bread, which used to be good. Why are people buying them? Just stop!

I guess you’ve considered Queen’s Park?

Exactly. The problem with Gail's isn't that it's bland (although it is) but that it's bad. Especially for the price (we have one here in Ealing, dahling).

@Xenaaa
So Notting Hill feel with amazing schools?

Do you need trains / tube?

I have a couple friends that lived in Notting Hill and needed more space / good schools - 1 moved to Wimbledon; 1 moved to Tooting

All of my other London friends that needed more space moved out to the shires.

@Usernamen , that house above is VERY average and a less desirable architectural style compared to anything in the Brockley Conservation Area. You may be thinking of the streets outside the very clearly defined conservation area which are a bit more ordinary/scruffy?l eg Crofton Park?

The main thing - apart from transport links to the City - that Brockley has going for it is architecture. The conservation area has about two or three low key council blocks where bombs landed in the second world war. The rest is early Victorian housing stock - mainly lovely town houses that would not be out of place in Islington. The reason it has never taken off is not housing style. It’s a rubbish local authority and houses that were HMOs and rehab centres until recently. There is a paucity of good state secondaries too.

This is more typical of the conservation area in Brockley:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/140289566#/?channel=RES_BUY

And at the very top end, this one owned by a celeb:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/140113466#/?channel=RES_BUY

It has never attracted the types who would aspire to have a boring chain like Gail’s. They prefer their independent sour dough baking cafes.

I am not local but have pored over most areas of London as am a property nut and have friends who live there. I would say it offers exceptional value compared to Herne Hill and Dulwich. But people would probably need deep pockets to educate privately.