[Janedoe]

 Will!, on 22 March 2012 - 03:07 PM, said:

I'd question how much of those areas are truly gentrified. Islington, Notting Hill, Battersea, Hoxton, Shoreditch, Stoke Newington, Clapham etc are all areas with oases of nice middle-classness surrounded by much larger areas that are, for want of a better word, slums.

I'm afraid that if your analysis of London property is based on Notting Hill and Islington not being gentrified, then you're far too radical a mind for me

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For someone who is sufficiently well off that £800k is a proportionate amount of their overall wealth to commit to a house that may not matter. They can probably afford private schooling and don't need to use public transport.

That's the point: there are plenty of people with the money or the ability to borrow the money. 1 in 10 of children in London (not just owner-occupier children, all children) is privately educated. Camberwell is actually well placed for private schools: bussable south to the Dulwich schools and north to the City or Westminster schools

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I would argue that wealthy people living in an particular area doesn't necessarily mean it's gentrified, it may just mean they live in gilded fortresses. Unfortunately I don't think I'll ever be that rich so I'm looking for an area I can live in, rather than shut out.

Maybe this is why you have your unique definition of gentrified. It doesn't mean homogenised wealth. That's the suburbs. Believe it or not there isn't a state of war between rich and poor. Sure for the most part different groups have their own pubs or restaurants or churches or even shops, but many many people (including some well-off ones) actually enjoy that diversity and consider it a good reason to live in central London rather than some rich ghetto in zone 5.

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My mum gets very excited about the Bellenden Road conservation area, even though there was a bus burning on the edge of it last summer!

One burning bus doth not a riot make

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No argument there! Prices have been remarkable 'sticky', even allowing for near-zero interest rates etc. I suspect that there are quite a few people who want to buy in London for some time and have been saving up big deposits while waiting for prices to fall to a level that doesn't require an amount of personal debt that looks unsustainable (looking at history in the medium-term). Personally I've given up and am now looking further afield.

Genuinely no offence meant, but I think you might well be happier further afield

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Indeed. But not just yet.

...and that's what makes a market

[the_duke_of_hazzard]

 Janedoe, on 23 March 2012 - 01:55 PM, said:

I'm afraid that if your analysis of London property is based on Notting Hill and Islington not being gentrified, then you're far too radical a mind for me

There are part of Notting Hill I would suggest even the Germans think twice about invading.

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That's the point: there are plenty of people with the money or the ability to borrow the money. 1 in 10 of children in London (not just owner-occupier children, all children) is privately educated. Camberwell is actually well placed for private schools: bussable south to the Dulwich schools and north to the City or Westminster schools

This is true, but _which_ part of Camberwell. One road in particular is very nice. It hinges on proximity to Denmark Hill train station. The plebs take the bus to Victoria.

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Maybe this is why you have your unique definition of gentrified. It doesn't mean homogenised wealth. That's the suburbs. Believe it or not there isn't a state of war between rich and poor. Sure for the most part different groups have their own pubs or restaurants or churches or even shops, but many many people (including some well-off ones) actually enjoy that diversity and consider it a good reason to live in central London rather than some rich ghetto in zone 5.

This is true, but over the last 50 years it's become less and less true. Perhaps Gordon Brown did something about this, but the real effect in real Central London was to drive out the working middle class.

[Janedoe]

 the_duke_of_hazzard, on 24 March 2012 - 03:06 PM, said:

There are part of Notting Hill I would suggest even the Germans think twice about invading.

No doubt. Having had their noses bloodied at the Volga, they would naturally think twice about crossing Westbourne Grove. However, it rather makes my point that gentrification and the fear of the working classes we see here need not be mutually exclusive. I would put up with the odd Staffie-on-a-String for the £100 grand a year tax free that Notting Hill pioneers have made over the last 20 years.

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This is true, but _which_ part of Camberwell. One road in particular is very nice. It hinges on proximity to Denmark Hill train station. The plebs take the bus to Victoria.

Of course the right road matters, we're none of us insane, but it certainly doesn't depend on the suburban commuter's fixation with railways. The OP's original mention of Addington Square is a good example. Already north of Camberwell Green and it's congestion, the great bus service along the Walworth Road opens up: The constant stream of big red things can quickly take you over London Bridge (35 or 40), Blackfriars (45), Waterloo (176, 68, 171) or Westminster (12, 148).


Call me Plebian if you like (cheers!) but I would much rather use the cheap, regular buses (most of them 24 hour) than the godawful Northern Line to Clapham and points south.

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This is true, but over the last 50 years it's become less and less true. Perhaps Gordon Brown did something about this, but the real effect in real Central London was to drive out the working middle class.

and the working working class. This current govt seems to be pushing at the non-working working class as well.

[Son of Taeper]

 Jojo76, on 07 October 2011 - 05:17 PM, said:

We have been thinking about buying a property in Addington Square in Camberwell. The Square itself is nicely located very close to Burgess Park and off the main roads. However, the properties seem quite expensive and the high crime rate in this ward from the Met website irritated us. We currently rent in Kennington, where we love it, but we are not so familiar with Camberwell. What we have seen during our visits we liked, but maybe somebody with more knowledge of the area could fill us in if the Square and surrounding is OK, or if got the wrong perception by the nice architecture.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated

Many threads end up going off topic for various reasons.
You posted in the Regional House Prices area but your subsequent questions seemed to refer to areas of interest that you are aware of.
Hard to tell if any area would suit you without knowing you, but you did a bit of research which shows willing.
I'd suggest you continue your own research, but also look at the Knowhere guide, and maybe end up spending a weekend in your chosen location..