Thinking of buying - need some advice on the area

[carolod]

Hi everyone,

I’ve just joined this forum and was hoping to get some much needed advice.

Myself and my boyfriend are thinking of moving to the area and would appreciate an honest opinion of what Sydenham is like to live in. We’re hoping to try & buy somewhere in close walking distance to the station but we’re a little unsure of what Sydenham is like. Any help/advice of which roads/areas are good and which areas are not so good would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any help/advice.

[robbieduncan]

We were in the same position 3 years ago. We'd never been to (or even heard of) Sydenham before I started looking on transport maps for somewhere that would work for both of our commutes. We came down on a Saturday and again on a week night and had a walk around, a drink, something to eat and dived right in. We've been in our house for 2 years now and it's a nice place to live and it's getting better all the time (in my opinion).

Which are the good roads and areas will depend on what you want. We wanted a short (10 min or less) walk to Sydenham Station. Lower Sydenham station was no good for us. We wanted a well lit, safe feeling walk in the dark so not too far from the high street. And we wanted to be close to the shops, pubs and restaurants. You can see our street from my profile. At the time we preferred the walk down the hill from the station rather than up and I'd still choose that now.

[carolod]

Thank you so much for your reply, I really appreciate it.

Ideally that's pretty much what we're after, a short walk from the station & close enough to transport links but to live in an area that feels safe enough if you are coming back late at night. We're planning on going for a look this week and weekend too as I think getting a feel for the area is the best bet like you say.

Is there much of a difference between Sydenham and Lower Sydenham?

[Mayowthorpe]

My wife and I have lived in Sydenham with our daughter for a year.

We used to live in East Dulwich, and knew Sydenham quite well given my wife has a flat in the area.

We were attracted to Sydenham based on the amount of parks, great transport links and better value properties.

We love living in Sydenham, and its a great place for both young people and families. We know our neighbours (this wasn't the case previously), and while the phrase is often overused, Sydenham does have a real community feel.

As robbieduncan said, the area is improving all the time and has everything you need on the high street (supermarkets, pubs, restaurants etc). I love the Cake Store and Trattoria Raffaele, and the big Sainsburys in Lower Sydenham/Bell Green is also very useful as it has everything you need. Also, we have always felt safe and never had any issues with crime to date.

In terms of areas, it depends what you are looking for. We live in the Thorpes, which is a lovely area in central Sydenham just off the high street (between Sydenham Road and Mayow Park). Upper Sydenham is also nice, with Kirkdale and the Lawrie Park triangle a sought-after area. I use Penge East station quite a bit, and find the streets between Sydenham Road and the station very nice as well.

Lower Sydenham seems to have a bad name, but I have no issue with the area. It depends which station best suits you, as well as your budget.

I hope that helps ...

[robbieduncan]

Thank you so much for your reply, I really appreciate it.

Ideally that's pretty much what we're after, a short walk from the station & close enough to transport links but to live in an area that feels safe enough if you are coming back late at night. We're planning on going for a look this week and weekend too as I think getting a feel for the area is the best bet like you say.

Is there much of a difference between Sydenham and Lower Sydenham?

Depends which bit of Lower Sydenham I suspect. Certainly the walk back from Lower Sydenham station would be less appealing to me. There are also more modern estates in Lower Sydenham...

[mosy]

Hi and welcome carolod

I live quite close to Sydenham Station. In safety terms, I don't worry but being female I do keep my eyes open if at night. Most roads in Sydenham are residential and therefore always tend to be very quiet. You might want to avoid buying somewhere that traffic tends to queue during rush hours re air quality especially if you foresee having little ones here in the future.

Sydenham Road is what everyone calls the high street. It has plenty of shops that easily cater for day to day needs. Most shops tend to close 6-7pm although there are a couple of 7am-11pm shops and one that's open 24/7 (PFC).

For some reason, Sydenham has an "I'm home" feeling. I hope you two will feel it too once you're here

[Pally]

I have lived in Sydenham for years and love the great transport links and lots of parks. It does feel pretty safe at night, I have to walk down the high street, turning off before the lights at Kent house and always feel quite comfortable. Sydenham is definitely on the up even though there is still more that could be done ....but house prices are better (lower) than some other areas so probably a good investment for the future too....

[Bunty]

Hello and welcome!
I have lived here for many years and my daughter is now 17. We once lived more towards lower Syd but as per others I didn't like the walk from lower Syd stn. I have lived upper off kirkdale too and now live between Syd and penge east stns. Lovely area, lots of parks, nice places to eat and the high street has everything. Both penge and sydenham are very much on the up and the transport links are brilliant!

[carolod]

Thank you everyone for all your help and advice I'm so grateful. It's always a bit daunting buying in a new area so I really appreciate all the honest opinions ..

[rrobs]

Hi carolod,

My boyfriend and I bought a flat in Sydenham last September and are really happy here. We are a couple of minutes from Sydenham station, which has great transport links to London bridge, Shoreditch and Clapham Junction etc and also use Penge East to get to Victoria and Brixton.

Having originally looked in surrounding areas we were attracted to Sydenham by the good range of cafes, restaurants and shops on the high street, good transport links, proximity to green space and being able to get more for our money than other areas.

As has been mentioned above, we have found there is great community spirit and know lots of our neighbours.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

[monkeyarms]

We're in a similar position. Except we've already decided we want to live in Sydenham and have offered on a place.

Infuriatingly, it is priced at "Offers in excess of..." and, having made an offer in excess of the stated figure, we've just been told they were wanting at least three times that amount over.... Is it just me or is it not just a wee bit sneaky to advertise a place for a certain amount and then reject offers until they are in a completely different level of affordability/mortgage to that figure?

Sorry, rant over, needed to get that off my chest...

[Parker1970]

I moved into Sydenham 10 months ago and regret nothing. The shops/transport links and community are really good. A far improvement from where I lived before with drug dealing in the streets and hooligans everywhere

If you are looking to use a property agent, I used Property World in Sydenham (though I rent not buy) and although I was trying to find a new home via several agents, Property World were by far the most helpful and efficient.

http://www.propertyworlduk.net

[carolod]

Thanks so much I'll check out Property World & see if they can help with the property search.

Can anyone give me advice on Highclere St & surrounds & what that area it's like? I was told that you can take a few short cuts to/from the station. It doesn't seem too much of a hike to/from the station.

Judging from the sounds of it, Sydenham really does seem a lovely area with a good community spirit to it. Going back this weekend for another look around.

Monkeyarms that sounds like a nightmare. I'd be fuming too.

Thank you so much to you all for all the help/advice, I really appreciate it.

[Bunty]

Big thumbs up for Property World here too. Great family estate agent. I have always used them to sell locally. Re Highclere, I used to live one road up, sunnydene st. I now run around that area as love the route around Mayow park. The high street does thin out down there but you are not far from the park and through the Thorpes to the station.

[Maria]

There have been quite a few posts from people who, like you, were planning to move here. You may find some of the information is out of date now, but basically there are still a lot of useful insights into our area - and I love it too, by the way: moved 5 years ago from central London and had never heard of Sydenham before my daughters almost forced me to have a look: I would never look back now...

The main possibly relevant threads are:

1. https://sydenham.org.uk/forum/viewtopic ... ion#p71978


2. https://sydenham.org.uk/forum/viewtopic ... ion#p71931

3. https://sydenham.org.uk/forum/viewtopic ... ng+#p47536

Good luck!

[GillM]

I live in what is classed as "Lower Sydenham" (which Sunnydene, Highclere etc is) and have no problem with it. Infact have lived here for over 35 years. Never been burgled, never had my car broken into and neither have any of my neighbours to my knowledge. It's a lovely area. The high street is moving all the way down now, we even have an art gallery, nice curry house, pubs and even the "sainted" Late Knights have decided to open an establishment down here.

Sydenham has the best transport links. Not only into virtually all the main London stations, but also easy access for Gatwick and buses to the West End. For commuting I can't think of a better area to live. Also we have some fantastic green spaces on our doorstep e.g. Home, Mayow, Wells parks to name but a few.

I am planning to put my house up for sale and move soon (kids have flown the nest and wish to downsize) and am having trouble on deciding on an area because our tranport links are so good I am constantly comparing them!!

Big shout out for Sydenham!!

[Eagle]

Good to have a positive post on Sydenham . I agree mostly very nice.

I appreciate you want a new residence as current one too big but no reason why you have to leave the area. Good Luck anyway.

[mosy]

T...[clip]...
Can anyone give me advice on Highclere St & surrounds & what that area it's like? I was told that you can take a few short cuts to/from the station. It doesn't seem too much of a hike to/from the station.
...[clip]...

I wouldn't describe the journey from Syd Station to Highclere as having a short cut as the "shortcut" runs parallel to the high street (Syd. Rd.). If on foot, use the footpath (alleyway) straight into Silverdale. The back route has slight doglegs, easy to see on the map. It is much quicker if driving as it avoids high street traffic, but personally I'd stick to the main road if at night on foot. It's a couple of minutes if driving, or maybe 10 mins if walking. Slightly downhill (yay if carrying shopping home), vs uphill going to the station.

@ GillM: Good luck. You gotta get the magnetic Sydenham boots off first before you can move anywhere else

[alywin]

Infuriatingly, it is priced at "Offers in excess of..." and, having made an offer in excess of the stated figure, we've just been told they were wanting at least three times that amount over.... Is it just me or is it not just a wee bit sneaky to advertise a place for a certain amount and then reject offers until they are in a completely different level of affordability/mortgage to that figure?

It's most certainly not just you - although I must admit that even seeing "OIEO" makes me want to offer £1 over the stated price! If you want, say, £15K above what you're asking, you should come out straight and say it. I wonder which agent that was: perhaps one of the ones who are constantly putting flyers through the doors bragging about how they've sold something for more than asking price?! My guess would be ******* or *******.

Anyway, getting back to practicalities, I would add that locations in the "Venner Road toastrack", as I hear it's called (area bounded roughly by the high street, Newlands Park and the railways) have the benefit of a railway station more or less at either end, with two completely different lines (the service from Victoria to Penge East is a particular boon at the moment if you need an alternative to travelling via London Bridge during the Thameslink works. That's obviously only a short-term consideration, though). The Thorpes also seem to be popular. Personally, I'd avoid anything that involved having to commute from Lower Sydenham station: I really wouldn't fancy doing that walk after dark.

[tjc]

Highclere Street is a nice street. Few cars and good neighbours. You can cut through the estate at the top of h
Highclere Street to get to Mayow Road/Sydenham Road. I've not had any problems here.