Wanstead, Walthamstow or Highams Park for family life?

[Move2EastLondon]

My husband, toddler and I are considering a move to East London to be closer to family who live in East Anglia and are looking into Wanstead, Walthamstow and Highams Park.

From what I've gathered Walthamstow has the most going on in terms of restaurants, the market, coffee shops, galleries etc followed by Wanstead. Highams Park seems to have less in the way of coffee shops/restaurants than Wanstead and Walthamstow, but you get a lot more house for your money and are on the doorstep of Epping Forest. From what I can see, all three areas seem to have excellent state primaries.

Our plan is to move somewhere and stay put through the primary and secondary school years and while all three areas have great state primaries, what are they like for secondary schools?

Also, what is your experience of the safety in these areas? I know that in London there will always be some level of crime, but I'd like to live in an area that is safe enough for a teen to have some level of independence (though I am conscious that we have a decade before that becomes relevant).

Any and all opinions on family life in these areas would be very much appreciated :)

Private school is popular here but this will be true of many relatively affluent areas of London. Friends children that went to the state secondaris had excellent outcomes. The primary schools are outstsnding. What the area has is housing stock that is remarkably affordable given good commuting distances and strong schools.it isnt perfect but pretty close to it for London if you arr not a millionaire or on high six figures. You coulf lopk further out ie bishops stortford or Berkhamsted. But sigbificankfy higher commuting costs and some other downsides.

Out of all the areas I’d choose Wanstead. I worked in the community of HP and Walthamstow, I am an East Londoner by birth. I also lived in Redbridge which was considered quite nice back then, moved away years ago when it wasn’t so nice (like now). Walthamstow Village always has been a little ‘hamlet’ and upmarket. Very middle class etc etc. Step outside of that and it’s like night and day. The only thing going for those areas is the close proximity to London, I certainly would not walk around at night and I’m very streetwise.

I live in Walthamstow - the bit between Wood St and Highams Park. We've been here 15 years and looking to move soon (to South Woodford, Woodford or N Chingford).

Walthamstow has pockets of niceness (incl the area I'm in), but overall it is congested, dirty (so much fly tipping), and there's just so much unnecessary aggro - angry drivers, angry pedestrians, everyone just seems on edge constantly. There is knife crime, burglaries and phone theft, and quite a bit of pickpocketing in the high street area - noticeably worse in recent years.

Yes it's diverse, but there is no mixing within the different communities - quite segregated in that sense. Some neighbourhoods have a lovely community spirit, and certainly our local councillors are very invested and active in making it a good place. But the day to day grind of the noise, aggro and filth is so wearing. In 15 years it's getting worse.

Just something to think about, in addition to the schools (which yes, are good at primary).

Laughing at some of the descriptions of the areas from other posters who obviously have an axe to grind🤣

Can only share personal experience.

Walthamstow
+ve good primary schools, plenty going on for families, Soho theatre, beer mile, village pubs and shops
-ve issue with crime, phone snatching etc. would be more concerned once you have teens going out on their own. I find Hoe street from Jewel Road area to the Bell really sketchy after dark. Can be tricky to get the right location for good secondaries. If you have or need a car most areas have parking permits or restrictions.

HP
+ve great primary and secondary schools(Highams Park and Heathcote), HP is being rebuilt at the moment so will be shiny and new with great facilities soon. Regal cinema being rebuilt which will be great for the area once opened. Good pubs and local restaurants and wine bars like Vinotap. Great community feel and access to the forest and HP lake. Whilst that bit further out good transport links, overground(air conditioned)and tube will get you to Holborn really easily and if driving you can be on the north circ and M11 in minutes. Easy access to Walthamstow if you are going to the theatre or beer mile. Typically larger houses/gardens than Walthamstow.
-ve some of the more popular primaries have very small catchments. The lifts in Tesco keep breaking😆

Wansted
+ve lovely high street and great restaurants. Good reputation in Wansted High. Central line and access to M11 mean pretty good transport links.
-ve reports of increased crime in the high street but this is similar to South Woodford. Shoplifting and begging can lead to a feel of crime even though it may not directly impact you. Central line a bit erratic due to tube refurbishment and so hot in the summer….

@Move2EastLondon have you considered the Bushwood area of Leytonstone? More house for your money than Wansted or Walthamstow village, right next to Bush Wood/Wansted flats, and in catchment of an outstanding (non religious) primary. The downside is that the area immediately around the tube station seems to attract a lot of druggies. But Bushwood itself is lovely, as safe as anywhere in London, and has a great community with lots of meet ups and a quarterly "Bushwood Telegraph".

Re the three options you mentioned: I find Walthamstow (outside of the village) to be a grimy and just too busy (I remember the air made me feel sick when I was pregnant). I haven't been to HP since we were house hunting but if you're commuting to Holborn then central line would make more sense. I would pick Wansted, so long as you can afford a nice house there.

NB, gone through the school application process recently, Our Lady of Lourdes in Wanstead is Ofsted outstanding and you may well get a place even if you aren't Catholic, but it is very Catholic so you have to be ok with that, and also the headteacher is quite marmite.

Thank you for sharing your experience! Admittedly, when we went to check out Walthamstow it was a sunny winter day and we saw the village, Lloyd Park and the Wetlands and it all felt lovely enough, though living somewhere is a totally different experience than whizzing around the highlights. May I ask why you would go more towards Woodford rather than Highams Park?

Yes, where we currently are in London pretty much all of my friends are planning state primary/private secondary as the primary schools in London are some of the best in the country (if I'm not mistaken).

We're open to private secondary, but equally open to using the local school if it's good! We did briefly consider areas in the home counties, but decided that for work/our social lives/nursery pick ups we'd rather not have to rely on trains

Thank you for this very comprehensive guide!! Interesting re crime in Wanstead we've been 3 times now and always felt very safe, but our current area has also had an increase of phone snatching/car theft/shoplifting so I'm guessing it's an issue across the city

Aiming for South Woodford only because I already go there quite a bit for supermarkets, gym, cinema and DD is at school (secondary) in Woodford Green, and Central line is better for my commute. I do like Highams Park (probably we'll look there too) - but S Woodford is just a bit more convenient.

Thank you for sharing about the schools! I had a mild panic when a PP mentioned we would have needed to attend church to get into the best ones. I don't mind a religious school as long as it's inclusive & the kids are happy/progressing academically.

We'd written off Leytonstone since I'd assumed (maybe wrongly) that it was more 'young professional' than 'family'.

At the moment, Wanstead is our first choice as it seems to have a good mix of amenities, good schools, green spaces & obviously v convenient for my husband's commute. Though there are some really lovely houses in HP, and the prospect of a really good state secondary is very tempting!

I lived in Wanstead for 10 years and loved it, so it would be my choice.

Got it! Thank you :)

My neighbour’s kid goes to Wanstead High: I have heard some negative reports - lots of substitute teachers filling gaps, bullying and the big refurb that was planned, with the swimming pool, has been delayed AGAIN after the main contractor went into administration.

https://www.mylondon.news/whats-on/whats-on-news/wansteads-long-promised-leisure-centre-33518072.amp

@Move2EastLondonif Wanstead Church School is your choice, you’ll need to attend church. They give you a yellow card to stamp and everything to prove attendance. Think it’s fortnightly. OLOL may have relaxed a bit on that after the parish priest changed - but I think it’s still over subscribed and attendance criteria put practising Catholics first.

We went through the Redbridge state primary admissions process relatively recently and sent our kid to an independent prep in the end. PM me if you’d like more details.

@Piglet89 yeah…I haven’t heard good things either and there’s a bit of panic in the mum chats atm. We moved here pre kids and weren’t really thinking about secondaries - stayed for the great primary, but now wishing we’d had a bit more foresight! Sounds though like OP will be able to afford to go private though which isn’t an option for us (too many kids!).

I’ve lived in Walthamstow for several years and I love it. It has a great community vibe, culture and lots of things to do. Super family-friendly. My kid’s school is fantastic. We are friends with lots of neighbours.

Re: crime – I grew up in London and Walthamstow doesn’t feel particularly dangerous to me. It’s not a sleepy village (thank god!) so of course there is some crime, but I’ve not had any real issues, other than phone-snatching. There have been a couple of break-ins on our street, but that also happens in my parents’ much nicer neighbourhood. It’s part and parcel of living in London imo. HP is probably a bit safer, but I’m just taking a guess.

@nimino I agree with your comments on break ins being part and parcel of London life across a variety of areas.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences & opinions - you’ve given us a lot to think about with the move!

We’re local to E11/E18, and yes I do think there is some panic in school chats about Wanstead high. However, that’s going to happen in a privileged area - especially when people that previously would have chosen private (or possibly the grammar) are sending to state for financial reasons (most here a big mortgages, interest rates and the increase in fees have made a large difference to affordability, though local private schools remain oversubscribed). Anyone I know with kids actually attending the school are happy with it (post strikes, which did cause angst). It’s also an area where schools are continuing to change rapidly.

Village wise we love it. It’s an amazing place to raise a family. Busy accessible high street, busy local library and park, too many coffee shops and gastro pubs to chose from. As someone not from the UK, it’s been an easy place to make friends and build a network.

Wanstead and South Woodford are close enough to walk from one to the other in 20-30 mins so function similarly (eg one of the coffee shops in SoWo is a wine bar in the evenings, it’s also where the bigger supermarkets are). Having access to both is handy.

HP is also fab. Houses are larger, again there’s a good sense of community in the village. The pub goes a grand roast. The library is lovely and has lots on for kids. I can’t speak to schooling but friends kids in primary are happy.

It really is a matter of housing availability. Homes in both are quick to sell and Wanstead is £££.

Ps. I am aware I’ve spoken of happy kids at school rather than outstanding ratings. Ofstead only tells you a picture of what’s happening at a school. Generally the feedback in E11/e18 and HO is that the primary schools are similar. All strong with a good ethos for supporting learning.

I lived in Walthamstow 25 years ago and witnessed a stabbing walking back from the tube station at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Doesn’t sound as if things have improved.
it was also quite a trek to get into the city

The transport thing I don't understand at all.

There is a direct overground train to Liverpool Street which is v efficient.

Victoria line is super fast and convenient to the centre and much more reliable than the Central Line.

I wouldn't (well, didn't) choose it over the other places with a family but honestly there are parts of Hackney that people pay £££££ to live in which are easily 'edgier' and with much worse public transport (Stokie, anyone?)

cosigned.

I mean - if DH and I could have afforded to buy a house just off of Upper Street in Islington 30 years ago - perhaps we would have done that over moving to So Woodford/Woodford/Wanstead area.

But then again, I don't know, thinking through schools.

There are significant, but different, downsides to moving further out of London as I noted upthread. We considered it when DC1 was hitting secondary. But then by the time you factor into MUCH pricier commuting costs (and that's once you get to a main train station, not the commuting and parking to get there, unless you can find a house you like in walking distance from a station), moving costs, higher childcare costs as we would have needed more hours and likely a full time nanny etc. the numbers didn't add up, relative to staying put.

But everyone is different.

It's 20mins to both Liverpool Street and Oxford Circus from Walthamstow Central (Quicker to other transport hubs such as Finsbury park, Euston and Kings x). It's convenient and not a trek at all.

North Chingford lots of eating places it used to be said you could eat out every day for a month and not go to the same place twice. At the end of the Weaver line so you always get a seat. Trains every 15 mins all day and every day.