Tell me all the good things about living in Streatham!

[LindorDoubleChoc]

I'm all ears .

Currently live a few miles away so I'm not going to be put off by it being South London, or terrible London house prices, or any of those other so-called problems.

And I know about the busy main road High Street, obvs.

But what's good?

Close to the fabulous Tooting Bec Lido.

Unremarkable.

Best to avoid… Crystal Palace or Penge are far better

Streatham itself used to be nicer when there was a John Lewis there many years ago. Properties near the common are nice but expensive.

as @notmydinner says try Crystal Palace or Penge, I actually live in Upper Norwood. Crystal Palace houses generally have tiny gardens.

There are some nicer older flats in various parts of Streatham (near Streatham hill) one even has a swimming pool. 1930s style I think. The more modern flats I wouldn’t say are nice. Friends of mine rented a house off the high street near streatham
hill and liked it.

Loads of green space. Lido in summer. Three rail stations but no tube for miles. Try and be reasonably close to at least one station. Many buses, always slow due to traffic (it's been a while for me, though; might be less congested now?) Potholes were infamous when I lived there - probably grown into sinkholes.

Fantastic range of 'ethnic' groceries; I really miss them. Still a proper London mix of residents - for better and worse!

Leafy streets and plenty of unadulterated Victorian/Edwardian houses. If you're looking at flats, Streatham still has old-style conversions, which are spacious with high ceilings and, if you're lucky, the original mouldings and a cellar.

Very easy to go both East and West south of the river. Getting to the City's a piece of cake as long as you get the train times right.

Is the ice rink still there? That's a bonus!

Streatham ought to be really nice. Fantastic green space- especially if you’re in the bit between Streatham Common and Tooting Common. Some lovely period houses, larger than in many of the nearby more expensive areas, and with big gardens. Also lovely large flats as a result. Mansion flats here and there. Redeveloped leisure centre. Lots of trains and buses.

Somehow it is always “up and coming” though. Never quite gets there. I don’t think it’s the lack of tube (see Dulwich, Blackheath, Crouch End, Stoke Newington - all very gentrified without a tube).

For OP's sake and any others reading along, I hope people carry on putting Streatham down, @minipie. Keeps it good value for her!

I suspect it's what I diplomatically called a proper London mix. Everywhere I lived in London was like this (except Fulham, briefly). Now most areas are smoother, glossier and, umm, whiter. Fewer traditional Turkish/Syrian/Greek grocers, more artisanal delis. Not so much chicken & kebab shop, more seventeen varieties of milky cha and a marinated tofu panini. Less nappy hair and dreads than blue hair and caramel highlights (not on the same head, one hopes).

Several of my favourite 'upscaled' London pubs have closed in the past year. They were nice, having solicitously retained their establishments' heritage while refitting the interiors (reclaimed furnishings, natch) as restaurants with vastly improved food at eye-watering prices geared towards the Young Professional. Those YPs seem to be feeling the pinch now, they're probably doing Gordon Ramsay impressions in their over-fitted kitchens. The pubs should've actually retained the heritage, given it a coat of paint and varied the menu a bit.

I confess that I felt very ambivalent about being part of the 'gentrification' of Clapham, Wandsworth, Brixton, Tooting and Colliers Wood. And I didn't like them as much when that process was complete - it isn't in Tooting, yet, and Brixton's still a weirdly mixed bag. Streatham's much better value than any of them, having wedged its limited-edition trainers in a pothole and refused to budge!

Last time I looked at Colliers Wood, it was still in the liminal space between upscaled and not. But Streatham's houses are bigger, and it has good schools.

It's not Slough.

You are indeed a poet, @JohnBetjeman 😂

good things: loads of green space, The Rookery (award winning gardens), Streatham paddling pool run by community coop, a film festival, Streatham Strut music festival, kite day, Waterstones, loads of cafes (including Gail’s now if that does it for you), Streatham Wine House, a cinema, excellent schools, really good nursery provision, loads of clubs/holiday stuff for kids, leisure centre including ice rink. Genuinely diverse - a proper mix.

I’m obviously biased but wouldn’t live anywhere else in SW London (and couldn’t afford this size house elsewhere in SW London).

The Common and Rookery are fabulous.

I'd avoid it and go up the hill to Upper Norwood/Crystal Palace.

Thanks for the input everyone, good and bad! I am already considering Crystal Palace, West Norwood and Penge. For family reasons I'd sooner move a bit further to the south west. But the real attraction for me is those gorgeous red brick maisonettes on the ABC roads near Streatham Hill. I just think they are beautiful! I want a roomy 3 bedroom place to move to but would prefer not to spend above £800,000, I'm not sure if I can get that in the other areas mentioned on the thread.

I also would like to move back to a less Chi Chi area. I've had it with SE22 since a long time ago. I know the High Street is more attractive but actually it's 90% coffee shops, restaurants that come and go at an alarming rate, and over priced gift shops. And swarms of people dawdling.

Are there any nice pubs in Streatham?

You'd get a roomy 3 bed in the part of Morden between Morden & Raynes Park for under £800k. I just looked and there's even one in Merton Park which has superb transport links. Morden is definitely not Chi Chi

The pubs may be a problem, we go into Wimbledon for those, not being fans of Ganleys!

Depends what part of Streatham as it’s very varied. The ABC roads aren’t bad.

For 800k I think you could get a flat in Balham which has the benefit of the tube & better/less polluted high street.

It used to be posh back in the day, had the first Waitrose & has some beautiful properties. Nice green spaces.

It’s much better imo than Colliers Wood or Upper Norwood however some bits are overpriced.

Schools can be tricky at secondary level as the best option is Catholic

Do you want a house or flat?

Streatham Hill end of Balham

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/71261711/?search_identifier=ed18cccb222d4eea21eb5494f5a32851935644f72e665007d2b588293c74f7ae

The roads/houses at the top of Bedford Hill where Sarah Beeny used to live have always been expensive tbh.

I lived there for around 15 years before relocating out of London recently. It has some great period properties and you can get more for your money than some similar areas. What I loved about Streatham is the community - lots of similar young families and the primary school offering is very very good. I made some very good friends there and miss them a lot!
there is so much to do - baby groups, ice rink, kids activities, clubs etc. and plenty of nice cafes and gyms. Transport links into central London are good and you can get a train direct to King’s Cross as well. Great green space - Streatham common is good and the Rookery is such a special place.

Obviously has it drawbacks too, the main ones for me were too much traffic on the high street, rubbish and fly tipping and crime but I expect those things are common around London generally.

Interestingly Streatham is one of the areas most impacted by falling birth rates which will impact schools. I’m not sure why that area in particular has been so impacted.

Ah the ABCD roads are indeed gorgeous. I very nearly bought a flat there long ago but ended up in one of the art deco blocks instead - and now further down the hill

They are redoing that section of the high road at the moment - so changing from a dual carriageway to a normal road with separate cycle lane. It’s chaos at the moment but once that is done then it should be really nice. There are some lovely shops at that end e.g Cornercopia.

Each to their own - Balham is objectively nicer but I personally find it a bit posh/arsey these days.

Oh I forgot pubs! Stanleys opened last year - just down from Streatham hill, and is really nice. A decent local. The Leigham Well is tiny and out of the way, Manor Arms or The Bull further down the high road.

What is your child situation? Do you need to consider school catchments? Although these are in flux at the moment due to falling birth rates (means some schools are now easier to get into but others have gone down a class or shut altogether)