Beckenham or Sydenham or…

[Daisrose]

We’re a couple on our fifties with a dog (no kids) and wanting to move out of west London for more space / garden / greenery for dog walking. Max budget of 800 and wanting three bedrooms. Looking at a modern townhouse off Albemarle road in Beckenham for its proximity to the glorious BPP park and Venner Road, Sydenham. Kind of lost the will after extensive searching but worried about making the wrong decision! Any last minute thoughts would be gratefully received

Guess I’m feeling nervous about leaving the tube behind!

I dont know Beckenham, but Sydenham is a lovely area.

If you choose Venner Road, you will be close to Crystal Palace Park, which is similar size to Beckenham Place. Venner Road is very close to both Sydenham station for the overground and Penge East station with 20 minutes to Victoria.
Albermarle Road is close to Beckenham Junction, also going to Victoria, and there are other rail lines in Beckenham. Beckenham is greener than Sydenham. Beckenham is good for restaurants and bars. Sydenham is close to Crystal Palace and East Dulwich for restaurants and bars.
Personally I would prefer a period house like Venner Road over a modern townhouse like Albermarle Road, but that is the house, not the area.
I know both areas well but they do have different vibes, so I think it is really what you feel suits you best.

Thank you @RoastdinnerSunday i think I prefer the greenness of beckenham but I am a bit worried about the townhouse vs period house aspect. They both have pluses and minuses but I’m worrying about the resell value when we haven’t even moved in yet! Is Albermarle a good catchment area for schools?

I'm not up-to-date with the best local primary schools but, in general, schools in Bromley are good. Harris Primary, Clare House and Worsley Bridge are probably the closest. I think there's other threads here on Mumsnet about Beckenham schools. Venner Road is split between Bromley and Lewisham so that could make a difference for schools.
I imagine the resale value would generally be good in Beckenham as it is a popular area and the larger period properties are too expensive for many.
I would add that there is only 2 or 3 miles between the two properties you are considering so you could still use the same parks, shops, restaurants etc from either location.

Beckenham, Sydenham, Crystal Palace, Addiscombe, Shirley, Selsdon

@RoastdinnerSunday thank you, tour bit about the resale made me feel a lot better.

Hello I live in Catford (up the road from Beckenham) - it takes me less time to get to the office/Central than for many of my colleagues who live in West. The trains are frequent, quick and reliable (at least from where we are) or if you have a late night there are loads of night buses and cabbies/ubers will happily take you home at the end of a night (last train is like 1am or something).

What you gain in space, green (and I’d argue community) is well worth it over the marginal increased frequency of the district line.

Also actually I had a colleague move from Ablemarle Road to Clapham, and he says part of him regrets moving because his commute on the northern line is so much worse!

Greenwich/Blackheath? Beautiful Greenwich Park, the river and Blackheath shops and restaurants. SE3 and SE10, easy bus ride to the Jubilee line too at N Greenwich peninsula. Loads like this.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/158631416

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/157741859

Both of those you’ve mentioned are right next to the A2 or Shooters Hill Road - those houses don’t sell easily because they’re so noisy (I used to rent near there).

Funnily enough a friend keeps trying to get me to move near Shooter’s Hill and the name really puts me off 😂

I would personally go Beckenham but honestly either, Sydenham is lovely, Crystal Palace is lovely, BBP is lovely - it's all lovely ! I don't think you can go far wrong,
pick the house you prefer and go with your intuition on which one feels best for you, the thing with SE London is you will find yourself easily travelling all over so it's not like you will only be in Beckenham or Sydenham. There's so many green spaces for your dog to enjoy, and so much for you to do!

@Eigen thank you, that helps 🙏

What about the click house area if Beckenham. Near the Victoria station line and the Charing Cross line. Really regular services and lots of old houses.
Would be near BPP, Crystal Palace park and a short drive to Dulwich park. you are also near Keston/Hayes common, high elms so loads of walks. I've lived near Venner road and in Beckenham. I preferred Beckenham.

Lived very close to there for years, absolutely loved it.

So much greenery and good housing. And you're close to Penge East Station, which is 10 minutes to Brixton if you're really missing a tube ride that much.

I got way to used to the great overground links down there that I hated going on the tube.

You've got Beckenham in one direction, Crystal Palace in the other. So many options for eating/drinking/walking.

Oh and for dogs you also have the grounds at Bethlem and Sparrows Den (and woods) to explore all about 5/10 mins drive from Beckenham.

Albermarle road is a lovely area too!

Personally I prefer Beckenham. I grew up up there. But actually nothing wrong with either of those two locations.

Resale would be fine in either. I would think about the property. When you say townhouse is it three floors? Will the flights of stairs be an irritant in time?

As a location I would pick Beckenham, but house I would pick period.

The other thing to think about is condition. At £800k it is likely a modern house will not need work but it is quite cheap for a larger period property so probably needs work. Do you want a project?

@RoastdinnerSunday yep exactly that. We can’t afford for any nasty surprises. I’m excited about the interior renovation project but tbh neither of us have time (or budget!!!) for anything major. I know that for our budget - this (3 floor) townhouse / garden / space / near a park is the best we’re going to get. I’m just panicking about it being a townhouse and whether being off the tube is right for us ❤️

@friendlycat yep me too… but here we are with our budget

I wouldn't worry about being off the tube. There are several different train lines close to both houses and it is easy to get to any part of central London quite quickly. Victoria or London Bridge is around 20 minutes, You can get to Waterloo, Charing Cross, Blackfriars in around 30 minutes and St Pancras 45 minutes.

Both lovely. Venner road area has been a bit tricky for secondary schools in recent years BUT Forest Hill Boys just got a 'good' ofsted and is gaining a much better reputation, many more people.putting it as first choice. And the pressure for school places is likely.to ease as birth rates have dropped. So I wouldn't worry about that so much now. Personally I'd choose Venner but Beckenham is also fab.