Barking London?

[happy_2008]

Anyone on this forum from Barking London.......? Im looking to possibly buy a property in Springs Places in this area in order to get myself on the housing market. A 1-2 bedroom property can be purchased around 100-120k which isnt too bad but this would work out much better for me as this would mean i am no longer throwing away dead (rent) money paying someone elses mortgage.

Any thoughts on the area? The london underground is close by so the links into london is quite convienient. This is quite appealing to me as i only have a small deposit around 15k.

[MRMX9]

Barking town centre is OK - used to work there. Like any where in London though where there is social housing it has its bad parts on the outskirts They are doing up the town square and there is a new library too - cafe society comes to Barking.

Barking has good tube and rail links to the City, West End and Canary Wharf on c2c/distrct and Hammersmith and City lines as well as the overground to north London. There is also a big Asda in the town centre and a large Tesco superstore near that development - as well as a retail park with a Halfords, Comet etc. There is also a large green open space by the Abbey.

There are worse places you could live - and its cheap for London. Just check out your planned neighbours and visit the place after dark from the station so you can see if you could cope with that every night during the winter.

[SHERWICK]

Horrendous.

You'd be Barking mad.

"There are worse places you could live". True, but not many in the civilised world.

[MRMX9]

Horrendous.

You'd be Barking mad.

"There are worse places you could live". True, but not many in the civilised world.

I would rather live in Barking than large parts of south or south east London - at least you can escape from it quickly without spending hours on a bus to get to the nearest dodgy overground station.

Perhaps you haven't been to the town centre there recently - its really transformed. I know people who live there and they like it - its cheap and accessible and has lots of amenities. Whereas in London can you get a 1 bed new flat for £100k with a parking space and balcony overlooking a canal within a few mins walk of a station and two large supermarkets.

[happy_2008]

MRMX9 i think your spot on, its hard to find another place in london that provides such cheap alternatives. The district line will be perfect for work but as mentioned before i will take a look at the area sometime this week hopefully.

[cowley]

I would rather live in Barking than large parts of south or south east London - at least you can escape from it quickly without spending hours on a bus to get to the nearest dodgy overground station.

Perhaps you haven't been to the town centre there recently - its really transformed. I know people who live there and they like it - its cheap and accessible and has lots of amenities. Whereas in London can you get a 1 bed new flat for £100k with a parking space and balcony overlooking a canal within a few mins walk of a station and two large supermarkets.

Plumstead or Thamesmead? They're both downright horrible areas too.

Edited September 10, 2009 by cowley

[SHERWICK]

MRMX9 i think your spot on, its hard to find another place in london that provides such cheap alternatives. The district line will be perfect for work but as mentioned before i will take a look at the area sometime this week hopefully.

It's cheap for a reason.

If it's perfect for you then so be it.

However, you asked what people thought, and IMHO Barking is one of the worst places I've ever been to in my life in the developed world, (and unfortunately I had to go there many times).

If you want to spend your hard earned money on living in such a place, then it's your money.

Edited September 10, 2009 by SHERWICK

[RandomBear]

It's cheap for a reason.

If it's perfect for you then so be it.

However, you asked what people thought, and IMHO Barking is one of the worst places I've ever been to in my life in the developed world, (and unfortunately I had to go there many times).

If you want to spend your hard earned money on living in such a place, then it's your money.

You're comedy stop trolling.

[Sibley's Love Child]

I reckon you could do far worse than Barking (Walworth, E&C, Camberwell, Peckham, Brixton, etc etc).

I'm looking in Dagenham although I include Barking in my watch-list; prices there are 'reasonable' given the location and proximity to the smoke. This one here; a two bed new build for 129k (it's not technically Barking but you get the idea):

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sa...y-11286723.html

Ignoring for a minute the bad press regarding new builds, where else would you get a two-bed house as cheap as that?

Unfortunately, not everyone can live in Mayfair. In my opinion, Barking & Dag is making the best of a bad hand.

[@contradevian]

I reckon you could do far worse than Barking (Walworth, E&C, Camberwell, Peckham, Brixton, etc etc).

I'm looking in Dagenham although I include Barking in my watch-list; prices there are 'reasonable' given the location and proximity to the smoke. This one here; a two bed new build for 129k (it's not technically Barking but you get the idea):

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sa...y-11286723.html

Ignoring for a minute the bad press regarding new builds, where else would you get a two-bed house as cheap as that?

Unfortunately, not everyone can live in Mayfair. In my opinion, Barking & Dag is making the best of a bad hand.

Thats not a bad price. Prices still falling in Barking and Dagenham and Havering.

I think Barking has a lot of bad press. Its not that bad.

However those flats featured recently on "homes under the hammer" and because of the low price was becoming a "BTL mecca." I would tend to avoid places with high concentrations of BTL tenants, unless I was doing BTL myself.

There is no "canal" in Barking, only Barking Creek which runs down to the Thames and is tidal, which those flats overlook. The other river is the Roding (Roding Valley) which the North Circular follows. The A13 into Docklands is nearby as is, the NCR.

Barking also benefits from superb transport links. Though the "overground" along with the District Line is often suspended at weekends.

Also plenty of new supermarkets at nearby Beckton and Galleons Reach.

[cowley]

I reckon you could do far worse than Barking (Walworth, E&C, Camberwell, Peckham, Brixton, etc etc).

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sa...y-11286723.html

Ignoring for a minute the bad press regarding new builds, where else would you get a two-bed house as cheap as that?

Unfortunately, not everyone can live in Mayfair. In my opinion, Barking & Dag is making the best of a bad hand.

Have you ever been to any of the above areas? Location wise each of those areas beat Barking hands down. Whilst Walworth, E&C & to a lesser degree Peckham may not be the nicest of Inner London areas each of them have some very interesting architecture and pockets of extreme wealth.

[Sibley's Love Child]

Have you ever been to any of the above areas? Location wise each of those areas beat Barking hands down. Whilst Walworth, E&C & to a lesser degree Peckham may not be the nicest of Inner London areas each of them have some very interesting architecture and pockets of extreme wealth.

And therein lies the rub. If I recall, Camden & Islington is the most poverty-stricken Borough within London, not that you'd realise it walking through Upper Street.

I live in SE17; Southwark & Lambeth has some of the most deprived wards in the UK. The small enclaves of predominantly White middle-class areas of Dulwich, Rotherhithe and Clapham in no way compensate for the abject deprivation and socio-economic problems prevalent within the area.

As it is, my wife and I earn a modest wage; in order to buy a house within our price range and close to London Barking & Dagenham fit the bill perfectly. It's hardly ideal but it's within my means and I won't have to live in an ethnic ghetto (to a lesser extent) any longer.

Edited September 11, 2009 by hyperinflation-a-go-go

[cowley]

And therein lies the rub. If I recall, Camden & Islington is the most poverty-stricken Borough within London, not that you'd realise it walking through Upper Street.

I live in SE17; Southwark & Lambeth has some of the most deprived wards in the UK. The small enclaves of predominantly White middle-class areas of Dulwich, Rotherhithe and Clapham in no way compensate for the abject deprivation and socio-economic problems prevalent within the area.

As it is, my wife and I earn a modest wage; in order to buy a house within our price range and close to London Barking & Dagenham fit the bill perfectly. It's hardly ideal but it's within my means and I won't have to live in an ethnic ghetto (to a lesser extent) any longer.

Sounds to me like you have a problem with living alongside Ethnic folk, I've highlighted prime examples in your post.

Wealth is present in many areas of London, not just the areas that may have a higher concentration of White middle-class folk. Obviously in some areas it's very pronounced...in others not as much.

Citing Rotherhithe as an example of a extremely wealthy area is laughable, you clearly don't know Inner London very well.

Edited September 11, 2009 by cowley

[Sibley's Love Child]

Sounds to me like you have a problem with living alongside Ethnic folk, I've highlighted prime examples in your post.

Wealth is present in many areas of London, not just the areas that may have a higher concentration of White middle-class folk. Obviously in some areas it's very pronounced...in others not as much.

Citing Rotherhithe as an example of a extremely wealthy area is laughable, you clearly don't know Inner London very well.

With all due respect, it's easy to be pious about the subject when you live in Battersea, is it not? You have spent much time in SE17 & SE15 and the like? Nevertheless, you are correct insomuch that I no longer wish to live in a slum. I'd rather not get drawn into a debate regarding demographics, however in you earlier post you mention pockets of wealth within SE London; can you name me one affluent area that isn't overwhelmingly White middle/upper class?

As it is, I don't care about wealth or living in the 'right postcode'; all I require is a reasonably priced home to raise my family where they are not at a high risk of street crime. Now, for what I could afford I could either get a two-bed terraced in Essex or a one-bed ex-Council flat in stabville - decisions, decisions.

When I say Rotherhithe, i'm referring to the area between the Thames & Salter Road, it may well be subjective but those houses are pretty expensive in my book.

[cowley]

With all due respect, it's easy to be pious about the subject when you live in Battersea, is it not? You have spent much time in SE17 & SE15 and the like? Nevertheless, you are correct insomuch that I no longer wish to live in a slum. I'd rather not get drawn into a debate regarding demographics, however in you earlier post you mention pockets of wealth within SE London; can you name me one affluent area that isn't overwhelmingly White middle/upper class?

As it is, I don't care about wealth or living in the 'right postcode'; all I require is a reasonably priced home to raise my family where they are not at a high risk of street crime. Now, for what I could afford I could either get a two-bed terraced in Essex or a one-bed ex-Council flat in stabville - decisions, decisions.

When I say Rotherhithe, i'm referring to the area between the Thames & Salter Road, it may well be subjective but those houses are pretty expensive in my book.

I don't live in Battersea I live in Streatham (an area I assume you would refer to as a Ethnic Ghetto). I've spent some time in SE15 & SE17, I've friends who live in both areas & have looked at Houses in both areas myself. SE17 isn't a particularly wealthy area I agree, but it does have some very nice pockets of Housing, a friend of mine lives in Sutherland Square off the Walworth Road, those Houses on the Square and a few of the surrounding streets are beautiful, they wouldn't look out of place in Islington. Their is wealth there...you just have to look for it! I also have friends that live in SE15, one of them right next to Peckham Rye Station, whilst I wouldn't necessarily want to live there myself, some of the Houses round there are fantastic, very nice Grade II listed Georgian architecture and many of the Houses look well looked after too. Peckham by name has a bad reputation but the area around the station and the Rye is undeniably middle class.

I'm not going to get drawn into the whole white middle/upper class debate as I don't think it's necessary.

But yeah I agree that for your money you'll get a lot more further out...but that doesn't mean that it's a better area. My argument was that the places you listed IMHO are not worse areas than Barking.

[Sibley's Love Child]

I don't live in Battersea I live in Streatham (an area I assume you would refer to as a Ethnic Ghetto). I've spent some time in SE15 & SE17, I've friends who live in both areas & have looked at Houses in both areas myself. SE17 isn't a particularly wealthy area I agree, but it does have some very nice pockets of Housing, a friend of mine lives in Sutherland Square off the Walworth Road, those Houses on the Square and a few of the surrounding streets are beautiful, they wouldn't look out of place in Islington. Their is wealth there...you just have to look for it! I also have friends that live in SE15, one of them right next to Peckham Rye Station, whilst I wouldn't necessarily want to live there myself, some of the Houses round there are fantastic, very nice Grade II listed Georgian architecture and many of the Houses look well looked after too. Peckham by name has a bad reputation but the area around the station and the Rye is undeniably middle class.

I'm not going to get drawn into the whole white middle/upper class debate as I don't think it's necessary.

But yeah I agree that for your money you'll get a lot more further out...but that doesn't mean that it's a better area. My argument was that the places you listed IMHO are not worse areas than Barking.

Ironically, I do agree with you - to a point. Amid the detritus and Chicken Cottage wrappers there is indeed beautiful architecture within the areas you mention. Take the Library on the Walworth Road, i'm no buff but an impressive Victorian building (and free to use). I'll even cede the point that Burgess Park (particularly Chumleigh Gardens within it) is a veritable oasis. However, I don't see how you can square this with the attendant blight that comes with it?

I can also understand the point regarding proximity to London, for instance it takes me just 20 minutes to walk to work. On the downside, as soon as I hit the Old Kent Road on the way back I remember where I live again.

I suppose it depends on your value system however I'll happily trade an easy 'commute' and hidden spots of beauty so I can live somewhere where I don't have to close my windows every night for fear of waking the baby due to all-night street parties, drunken revellers, police sirens and general anti-social behaviour.

Despite all this, even if I did buy into your mindset, there's no way that I could even afford to live in this hell-hole. Quick search on RM:

Cheapest 2-bed house in Barking = 129k

Cheapest 2-bed house in SE17 = 239k (http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-26552330.html)

It defies all logic.

[cowley]

Ironically, I do agree with you - to a point. Amid the detritus and Chicken Cottage wrappers there is indeed beautiful architecture within the areas you mention. Take the Library on the Walworth Road, i'm no buff but an impressive Victorian building (and free to use). I'll even cede the point that Burgess Park (particularly Chumleigh Gardens within it) is a veritable oasis. However, I don't see how you can square this with the attendant blight that comes with it?

I can also understand the point regarding proximity to London, for instance it takes me just 20 minutes to walk to work. On the downside, as soon as I hit the Old Kent Road on the way back I remember where I live again.

I suppose it depends on your value system however I'll happily trade an easy 'commute' and hidden spots of beauty so I can live somewhere where I don't have to close my windows every night for fear of waking the baby due to all-night street parties, drunken revellers, police sirens and general anti-social behaviour.

Despite all this, even if I did buy into your mindset, there's no way that I could even afford to live in this hell-hole. Quick search on RM:

Cheapest 2-bed house in Barking = 129k

Cheapest 2-bed house in SE17 = 239k (http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-26552330.html)

It defies all logic.

Barking is hardly an area of beauty, I'd imagine all the problems you describe of SE17 exist in Barking too...it's a very deprived area. The only difference being that house prices are incredibly cheaper because it's miles away from the Centre of Town and that the demographic of the area suits your taste more?

Below is something I picked off the Web...quite interesting....

Barking's Town Centre is due to be regenerated through a number of schemes. Currently, the Town Centre is one of the most deprived areas of Barking. The Abbey and Gascoigne wards, located in the Town Centre, are ranked 823rd and 554th respectively, which places them within the top 10% most deprived wards in the country.

Edited September 11, 2009 by cowley

[Sibley's Love Child]

Barking is hardly an area of beauty, I'd imagine all the problems you describe of SE17 exist in Barking too...it's a very deprived area. The only difference being that house prices are incredibly cheaper because it's miles away from the Centre of Town and that the demographic of the area suits your taste more?

Below is something I picked off the Web...quite interesting....

I can see that we won't see eye to eye on this one; suffice it to say that you're welcome to all the 'trappings of wealth' that Lambeth & Southwark can offer.

With regards to the ONS figures that you quote; that's nowt. According to the ONS' indices of deprivation; of Southwark's 25 wards, 15 are in the top 10% of deprived wards. Of those 15, 7 are in the top 5%. Finally, and with great fanfare; the Friary ward is in the top 2%.

Oh, but darling, it has areas of outstanding beauty though. Doesn't it?

Au revoir.

Edited September 11, 2009 by hyperinflation-a-go-go

[MRMX9]

Thats not a bad price. Prices still falling in Barking and Dagenham and Havering.

Barking also benefits from superb transport links. Though the "overground" along with the District Line is often suspended at weekends.

Also plenty of new supermarkets at nearby Beckton and Galleons Reach.

The c2c line is never suspended at the same time as the district/H&C line at weekends - so you can still get to West Ham/Tower Hill/Limehouse easily where you can connect to other lines.

Early next year there will also be the new east London transit 'tram' service running directly to Ilford i.e. more connections including in future to Crossrail.

As long as you pick the right place near the town centre its fine - the huge open green space by the Abbey (between the station and this development) is actually really nice.

Barking is not for everyone - but if you are on a budget and want to own a place in London with v fast transport links to the City and West end which is well served by retail and other amenities then Barking town centre is hard to beat.

[MRMX9]

And therein lies the rub. If I recall, Camden & Islington is the most poverty-stricken Borough within London, not that you'd realise it walking through Upper Street.

Exactly - so parts of Barking are in the top 10 per cent most deprived parts of the country. So are parts of Kensington (Notting Hill) and the City of Westminster (Marylebone and Westbourne Park) as is much of the Isle of Dogs (Canary Wharf), Camden and Islington - no one uses that argument there where a house would set you back £1m+ At least people in Barking are 'real'

[Sibley's Love Child]

Exactly - so parts of Barking are in the top 10 per cent most deprived parts of the country. So are parts of Kensington (Notting Hill) and the City of Westminster (Marylebone and Westbourne Park) as is much of the Isle of Dogs (Canary Wharf), Camden and Islington - no one uses that argument there where a house would set you back £1m+ At least people in Barking are 'real'

Quite, I get irritated when people mistake overvalued property to be synonymous with desirous areas. With regards to my earlier post, the Friary Ward stands at 171 (!) out of 8000 of the most deprived wards in the country. A quick check reveals that some muppet paid 375k in 2008 (117 Friary Road, Peckham) for a terraced house within this very ward. Now, I would love to locate this person and ask them the burning question: "why?"

I imagine that location and architecture would feature prominently in their plaintive justification...

[MRMX9]

Quite, I get irritated when people mistake overvalued property to be synonymous with desirous areas. With regards to my earlier post, the Friary Ward stands at 171 (!) out of 8000 of the most deprived wards in the country. A quick check reveals that some muppet paid 375k in 2008 (117 Friary Road, Peckham) for a terraced house within this very ward. Now, I would love to locate this person and ask them the burning question: "why?"

I imagine that location and architecture would feature prominently in their plaintive justification...

Well apparently Peckham is the new Hoxton. Give me Barking any day.

[cowley]

I can see that we won't see eye to eye on this one; suffice it to say that you're welcome to all the 'trappings of wealth' that Lambeth & Southwark can offer.

With regards to the ONS figures that you quote; that's nowt. According to the ONS' indices of deprivation; of Southwark's 25 wards, 15 are in the top 10% of deprived wards. Of those 15, 7 are in the top 5%. Finally, and with great fanfare; the Friary ward is in the top 2%.

Oh, but darling, it has areas of outstanding beauty though. Doesn't it?

Au revoir.

For sure Lambeth and Southwark have plenty of areas of deprivation but that wasn't my initial gripe with what you said. I'm under no illusion in regards to the deprivation in both boroughs, I was just merely pointing out that the areas you describe as "Ethnic Ghettos" are really just by in large Urban Inner City areas that have very congested/compact housing with pockets of very well maintained historical housing with wealthy residents living in them..

I just found it comical that you describe these areas as some sort of "Ghettos" with huge problems and point out that Barking is a better area because the Houses are cheaper there!

Edited September 14, 2009 by cowley

[Sibley's Love Child]

For sure Lambeth and Southwark have plenty of areas of deprivation but that wasn't my initial gripe with what you said. I'm under no illusion in regards to the deprivation in both boroughs, I was just merely pointing out that the areas you describe as "Ethnic Ghettos" are really just by in large Urban Inner City areas that have very congested/compact housing with pockets of very well maintained historical housing with wealthy residents living in them..

I just found it comical that you describe these areas as some sort of "Ghettos" with huge problems and point out that Barking is a better area because the Houses are cheaper there!

*Sigh"

Okay, i'm going to do this slowly and sequentially for your benefit as i'm not convinced you're being deliberately obtuse.

A ghetto is:

ghet⋅to  /ˈgɛtoʊ/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [get-oh] Show IPA

Use ghetto in a Sentence

See web results for ghetto

See images of ghetto

–noun, plural -tos, -toes. 1. a section of a city, esp. a thickly populated slum area, inhabited predominantly by members of an ethnic or other minority group, often as a result of social or economic restrictions, pressures, or hardships.

Right, i've established what a ghetto is.

Next, I live on the Aylesbury Estate in SE17 which - according to one of the community youth workers - is comprised of 60% Black and Asian ethnic minorities (BME).

SO, technically I live in an ethnic ghetto.

Now, i've already established that house prices in this area are woefully overvalued given the high levels of deprivation and squalor. Ironically, this whole debate is moot given that I couldn't afford to buy round here despite my personal antipathy. Nevertheless, my whole argument in favour of Barking & Dagenham (as an example) is that it is cheaper, less deprived and yet would still only take me 25 minutes on the Tube to work. What about my logic don't you understand?

[SHERWICK]

*Sigh"

Okay, i'm going to do this slowly and sequentially for your benefit as i'm not convinced you're being deliberately obtuse.

A ghetto is:

ghet⋅to  /ˈgɛtoʊ/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [get-oh] Show IPA

Use ghetto in a Sentence

See web results for ghetto

See images of ghetto

–noun, plural -tos, -toes. 1. a section of a city, esp. a thickly populated slum area, inhabited predominantly by members of an ethnic or other minority group, often as a result of social or economic restrictions, pressures, or hardships.

Right, i've established what a ghetto is.

Next, I live on the Aylesbury Estate in SE17 which - according to one of the community youth workers - is comprised of 60% Black and Asian ethnic minorities (BME).

SO, technically I live in an ethnic ghetto.

Now, i've already established that house prices in this area are woefully overvalued given the high levels of deprivation and squalor. Ironically, this whole debate is moot given that I couldn't afford to buy round here despite my personal antipathy. Nevertheless, my whole argument in favour of Barking & Dagenham (as an example) is that it is cheaper, less deprived and yet would still only take me 25 minutes on the Tube to work. What about my logic don't you understand?

Well I don't know about him but you say: "which - according to one of the community youth workers - is comprised of 60% Black and Asian ethnic minorities (BME)."

Then you go on to say "SO, technically I live in an ethnic ghetto."

However, I think it's more accurate to say "SO, according to one of the community youth workers, I live in an ethnic ghetto."