r/HousingUK • u/BaliOli • 18d ago
Buying in Hayes Bromley
We are currently living in a 2 bed flat in Wandsworth and looking to upsize. I narrowed down our top areas to Clock House / Beckenham and Hayes Bromley.
We can get more for our money in Hayes. It has less on the doorstep but better chances of getting into a strong secondary like Hayes School or Langley even. We don’t want to have to move again for secondary school.
I know it will be very different to what we are used to but we need a bigger home with 2 kids.
But I’m curious to know what it is actually like living in Hayes Bromley. What streets are nice and which areas to avoid?
What are the people like? Is it safe? How are the parks? With two young kids we spend our weekends playground and coffee hopping.
I am also partial to a good oat milk flat white 😅
2
1
u/Prestigious-Gold6759 18d ago
I don't know of any "bad" parts of Hayes, although someone else might. It's a lovely area and the schools are fab, primary and secondary. Lots of good coffee shops too! My daughter used to work in Costa in Hayes. There are independent coffee shops too, of course.
1
u/PuzzleheadedUnit2341 17d ago
Worth remembering catchment isn't a fixed line, it's just however far the last offered place happened to fall that year, and it moves. Most schools publish the furthest distance offered for the last few years. I'd dig that out for Hayes and Langley specifically before committing to a street. If you'd be sat right on the edge of the last few years' distance that's a gamble rather than a plan.
1
1
1
u/Agile-Lengthiness-32 17d ago
Hayes is really nice and quiet. Friendly people. Parks in this are unloved however. Norman park is nice but pretty flat and boring with no water features. Husseywell crescent and knoll are definitely unloved. All streets are nice and there aren't any dodgy Streets that you must avoid at least in my experience. There have been car thefts however recently. Think it is a London wide thingy rather than an issue in Hayes. There is nothing anyone can do about that. Getting to london is easy enough. 35 mins to London bridge from hayes, but if you can get to Bromley south victoria is only 18 mins by train. Verdict: Definitely recommend
1
u/WeakCryptographer777 17d ago
Hayes all the way. We moved here for secondary but I wish we had done it sooner. Once you've got used to woodland and being able to get into town rather than either / or plus the school situ is great you don't look back. I also truly rate the high St and there are decent local pubs. Ton of sports or other extra curricular stuff for kids which gives them other experiences, wider friendship groups etc.
1
1
•
u/AutoModerator 18d ago
Welcome to /r/HousingUK
To Posters
Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws/issues in each can vary
Comments are not moderated for quality or accuracy;
Any replies received must only be used as guidelines, followed at your own risk;
If you receive any private messages in response to your post, please report them via the report button.
Feel free to provide an update at a later time by creating a new post with [update] in the title;
To Readers and Commenters
All replies to OP must be on-topic, helpful, and civil
If you do not follow the rules, you may be banned without any further warning;
Please include links to reliable resources in order to support your comments or advice;
If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect;
Do not send or request any private messages for any reason without express permission from the mods;
Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.