Considering moving to Harringay Ladder - Cold feet!!

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Permalink Reply by Cml on June 23, 2012 at 20:19

Best to bear in mind that a lot of people who respond are a little over-eager to justify their own life choices by talking up the glittering cultural life Harringay or acting like moving here is terribly edgy. The truth, as ever, is infinitely more boring.

Is Haringay safe at night? Well, pretty much. In practice, it is a very residential area so provided you don't decide to wander down Harringay Passage at 2AM, or take too many short cuts across the park next to Turnpike Lane station, there should be nothing scary. Personally, I would feel less safe on Newington Green or in Farringdon, largely cause no one really lives there. There was a time when ladies were prone to get 'clicked' at by some of our more neanderthal residents (a cultural thing, apparently). No, its probably not as safe as Crouch End, but if you could afford to buy a house there, you would hardly be thinking of moving to Harringay.

Is there a problem with burglaries and street crime? I have lived here for ten years and have never been burgled (touch wood) but then again, I probably have nothing that burglars want that badly. Fit locks on your windows and doors (which insurers will demand anyway) and I cannot see there being many problems. Again, I would probably feel more nervy about this sort of stuff in Stoke Newington/London Fields where the contrast between the haves and have-nots is that much more dramatic.

In terms of street crime, we used to have problems with occasional gangland dimwits from the Turkish and Kurdish communities, but in the grand Krays tradition, they never showed much interest in people who were not their own. Worth noting that most street crime involve the 18-25 group (as perps and victims) and since you are old enough to be buying a house, I cannot imagine they will be that interested in you. Fundamentally, there are not enough genuinely wealthy people in Harringay to interest your average Victorian cutpurse, when there are much easier pickings to be had from tourists in Camden High Street. The market for stolen organic veg and yoga mats is not great.

Infestation? Well, we've had plenty of mice and a few cockroaches, but that is an issue that is as much about your neighbours as yourself. There are a lot of houses which are in multiple occupation, which - if you have a bad one next to you - can entice our mousey pals in. The good thing about mice is that they can be killed. The annoying thing is that, when it gets towards winter time, they can get very persistent. Cockroaches are nasty, but I haven't seen that many in recent years. The slow process of gentrification may be wiping them out, and maybe the same thing will go for mice eventually.

In conclusion - it is what it is. Getting a house this close to central London is expensive, and to be honest there are plenty of more dangerous places where you can spend much more money buying a house (Hackney, Camden, Holloway, et al). Harringay does not have the "buzzy urban vibe" that estate agents would tell you, and while it is fairly multicultural on Green Lanes, the side streets on the ladder are becoming more straight and suburban every year. It is not that exciting but it is not that dangerous either.

It's got two tube stations (nearly), two railway stations, and is a pretty decent place to have small children. On your budget, I don't imagine you will do much better anywhere else, and if you hesitate too long it tends to cost you. Move out of London or get over it.

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