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You reckon real people are actually doing it?
I can't get my head around who has access to £1m either through cash or loan only to spend it on a small terrace in somewhere that's...sorry guys who live there...a bit...neither here nor there? I guess I'm old enough to remember times when £1m was a fuck-tonne of money that really set people apart.
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Certainly, I know a few people who've bought houses in Harringay by selling the flat they bought 10-15 years ago in Archway, Highgate, Crouch End or similar. That seems a pretty common route.
If you want to buy a good sized (for London) house in an area where you can get into central London or the City in under 30 minutes but still has a local organic store and coffeeshops then the options are limited if you've "only" got a million.
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Places like Crouch End and Harringay are now well beyond the budget of anyone with less than £1m.
We couldn't afford to upsize in Forest Gate after doing the now-typical Walthamstow -> Leyton/stone -> Forest Gate progression looking for affordable places.
I did look south despite not knowing it that well and it looked like the same kind of story. £650k and up for a three bed that was within a 15 minute walk of a mainline station if you were lucky.
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only to spend it on a small terrace in somewhere that's...sorry guys who live there...a bit...neither here nor there?
I get what you mean about Crouch End. But it’s just a really nice area to live if you have kids and don’t have to work. The day care and schools are great. There are loads of GPs (the Queenswood Medical Practice for eg is brilliant - especially if you have children). Lots of parks. Nice shops.
You shouldn’t’ stereotype, but fuck it I will anyway… you get the feeling that the yummy mummies lobby their husbands to accept the slightly shit commute based on the upsides, and given they probably work shit hours anyway, what difference does getting back a bit later make anyway?
It sort of reminds me of Vicky Park, where I imagine it works best if you WFH most of the time or occasionally make the short cycle to a studio in Hackney or at worst Shoreditch. Otherwise why would you want to pay a fortune to live somewhere miles from a tube?
Speaking of mediocre houses in Crouch End. £1m for under 850 sq ft
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-63861981.html
So the people buying them in Harringay are often those who couldn't afford Crouch End.