london

...subsequently not sure how far out Waltham Abbey is but am thinking its upwards of 20 miles away from Walthamstow...I do know how far out Epping is roughly which is quite a distance

Crazy talk. Waltham Abbey / Waltham Cross / Epping are all about 10 or 11 miles from Walthamstow. I know because I regularly cycle from Walthamstow out through the forest to Essex. Even Harlow is less than 20 miles away.

I don't think the Normans were basing their siege plans on the tube map.

Xpost

Hush, Earl of Clerkenwell!

I think I'm now of the Thornbury Marches, although quite frankly the prestonian hordes can come right in, it's too hot to raise the drawbridge.

Avast with thee to the SheepfuX0rs, you are of our parish no more! ;-)

what do people make of plaistow? west ham?

I like going there for Green Street market, which feels like Brick Lane/Whitechapel before white hipsters happened to either. If you're looking for a home, try to find one as near Wanstead Flats as you can go, because you're used to having a decent park nearby and perhaps not used to East Ham supporters all over the place.

On a similar theme, are Hainault / Fairlop nice? Looks like a lot of open, green space but possibly not much else going on.

suzy would you say forest gate could be good too? that seems nearer wanstead flats.

there's something hilarious to me about the fact that there's a train station around there called "maryland"

Try to find somewhere near to the Piccadilly or Central Line - I've been recommending Leyton/stone because a lot of artists and writers w/kids have gone there from Hackney, and I've been recommending Turnpike Lane/Manor House/South Tottenham/Seven Sisters because it's not too far into Zone 3. There's also an area in upper Leyton called Bushwood which has a Wanstead postcode, where a lot of people seem to be trying to buy, too.

The worst thing about E6/E7/E12 is having to use the fucking District Line. If you fancy a walk around there at the weekend to check it out, give me a shout because any excuse for a trip to Green Street market...

haha re forest hill/gate further upthread i forgot there's a DLR station called "Abbey Road" that is nowhere near Fab four.

it seems ridiculous but my sister and i once went down to stratford, london and perplex as to why Shakespeare has to do with a crappy shopping centre (this was before olympics when it became a slightly bigger crappy shopping centre)

were perplexed

Am currently kind of obsessed with Pollard's Hill.

If I found that park in Wilshire or somewhere, I would say that was an iron age hillfort, with a motte and bailey constructed on top of it. But no, it is a strange park in suburban South London.

anybody have opinions on higham hill? south chingford?

am caught in frantic scrabble for someplace affordable to live

Higham Hill is Walthamstow, so good luck with that - it's all open houses and guide prices around there.

How much time have you got to find someplace?

Higham Hill is pretty unremarkable too, though nicer on the Lloyd Park/Chingford Rd side as opposed to the Blackhorse Rd end.

Lloyd Park is nice but it's got ludicrously expensive round there.

Why did all these bastards find out about Walthamstow before I could buy a place :(

rent 4 lyfe

I love Chingford. Highams Park is a really nice area. Good school too.

he local MP would be a deal-breaker, surely? ;-)

Whenever I read people talking about where to get property in London, I thank God we were in a position to buy in the mid-90s. We've got a three bedroom house in Kentish Town. If we were starting out now, I think we'd have to be looking at somewhere in the very outer suburbs to get that space.

Xp

The local MP is apparently surprisingly affable in person. He's one of the few Tory big guns who comes across like he doesn't really enjoy the destruction, even though he thinks it's necessary.

A colleague was living in the flat upstairs from the local MP and said that he and his kids were polite, but MP was a nocturnal creature who could be heard muttering into a telephone/yelling into same and loudly typing stuff well into the small hours.

East Ham supporters all over the place

Those poor guys, wandering around without a match for ages: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Ham_United_F.C.

anybody have opinions on higham hill? south chingford?

Higham Hill is the north-west corner of Walthamstow, stuck out in isolation because it's hemmed in by marshes and reservoirs. The further north-west you go, the more non-descript it becomes. If you start off in the Lloyd Park area it's all nice-ish red-brick Victorian/Edwardian terraces, but as you head north-west it gets a bit scruffier and has less character, lots of boring suburban semis. Over by Blackhorse Road it's just a big industrial estate.

Confusingly, Highams Park is a totally different place in south-eastern Chingford. This seems quite nice (I've got a colleague* who lives there), but I've always assumed it's expensive (not that I've checked).

*who does not have nice things to say about the MP, fwiw

It's pretty expensive now. Lots of nice houses going for four or five times what they were bought for in 2000 or thereabouts.

i've been visiting estate agents and getting v, v depressed about my future in london

had i started looking 4 years ago, or even 2 years ago, i'd probably be able to live in a neighbourhood i liked, or had at least visited before

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jan/28/eastenders-revamp-gentrified-east-london

do hipsters go to wine bars?

http://www.sagerandwilde.com/

i see no hipsters

Fifteen years ago, people wondered where the Asians, Turkish people and the artists were.

That is a hipster wine bar, for sure. As such, it's something of a rarity in London though.

Peckham Refreshment Rooms might be another, I think. But there aren't many as far as I know.

MY BANK IS NOW A TRENDY WINE BAR.

But now I really freaking miss The Foundry. Even the trendy wine bars have been knocked down for expensive investment flats.

i thought that was a pub

Not a pub.

The local MP is apparently surprisingly affable in person. He's one of the few Tory big guns who comes across like he doesn't really enjoy the destruction, even though he thinks it's necessary.

idgi, the local mp is Iain Duncan Smith isn't it?

Even the trendy wine bars have been knocked down for expensive investment flats.

^

can't say I miss the foundry though, fucking stank in there.

I was actually quite fond of the particular *smell* of the Foundry, especially on a wet Saturday night. It smelled like a rave afterparty that had been going on for ten years.

(But, it was my local, and so many of the "important" events of my life happened there so it's not really objective.)

Ha, yes, good description. I mean, I never liked it in there so can't say I miss it specifically, but it's still shit that it's been replaced by speculator flats.

They're ruining everything, even the crap things.

I want to know where the Worm Lady reads her poetry now. :-/

Never liked the Foundry much but I will love them forever for hosting this exhibition, the poster hangs proudly on my wall to this day.

http://www.atlaspress.co.uk/theLIP/img/dora3.jpg

Transport issues aside, how is Thamesmead these days?

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/feb/06/hackney-house-price-bubble

that fucking creperie

I was about to wonder how people in their late 20s can even be in the market for buying a house, but I realise that neither I nor most of the people (anyone?) I know have really made the best career choices for accumulating wealth.