Hello there everyone,
I've been perusing these forums as I've put a deposit down on a rental flat mid way down Victoria Avenue and I'm now getting a bit paranoid that there are going to be a lot of problems due to its proximity to the YMCA and housing association properties. Please could I get some honest views on living in this street as I've had a lot of problems with neighbours in my current flat in Teddington and I'm scared that I'm just moving somewhere worse!!
Any advice/reassurance well apreciated! Thank you.
Comments
I used to walk through Victoria Avenue when the park was open right thru to Long Ditton at the back, but since the gate has been shut I haven't been down there. However it seems a nice, quiet road, I am sure there are noisy neighbours everywhere but Victoria Avenue always has a nice leafy peaceful feel about it. It is so close to the shops and station, and the old Victorian houses are lovely. I am sure you will love it, although it is always such a good idea to visit the area at different times, to see what neighbours are like, noise and parking arrangements.
As a child in lived in the Avenue in the 60's and 70's and till we moved.as kids we spent most of the day in the park there was always something different to do every day, the park was always open,i also lived in one of the big house to which backed on to the railway line,happy memories,
I had a friend who lived on Victoria Avenue and she was as close to the YMCA as you can get on that road and she never had one moment of trouble. I live on a road off Victoria Road too and have never even noticed the people from the YMCA, sometimes they are sitting on the steps outside the YMCA but they are just minding their own business. I think a lot of the disruption is exaggerated. She lived there for 10 years and moved a few years ago to a bigger place (nothing to do with the neighbourhood) as she was having another child.
I agree. The YMCA seems much better lately and unless you are living right next door to it, I would not envisage any problems.
There are quite a few Housing Association properties on that street, and one member of this forum did have some problems with one of his neighbours.
Again, this is unlikely to cause you any trouble unless you live next door to one of the problem properties. Any problems down there will be quite isolated and will not affect the whole road.
I'd recommend visiting your potential flat at different times of the day/evening and watching out for tell-tale signs that the neighbours might be dodgy.
It is probably worth doing this for wherever you are planning to move to.
Thank you to both of the responders - most reassuring and I appreciate you taking the time. I've met the neighbours in the immediate building I'm going to be renting in and they're perfectly nice, like a quiet life and have lived there 5+ years. I plan on visiting around that area during the evenings and have done previously in other regions - it's a miracle I haven't been picked up for loitering yet!
Thank you again.
hi there,
i am also looking to rent in victoria avenue and just wanted to know what your experiences have been like living there. I am also getting worried about anti-social behaviour or safety...if they exist at all on that street.
your feedback would be much appreciated
many thanks
Anon, you really couldn't ask for a much nicer place to live. As with all areas of London there are affluent folk in Surbiton living alongside the less fortunate but Victoria Ave, Balaclava Road and the surrounding streets are predominantly owner occupied properties with the residents keen to look out for one another. Some of the reports you may have seen are mostly a thing of the past. We've not had any more trouble than other streets/areas and the YMCA seems to have cleaned up its act over the last few years.
I don't live there, but it really seems to have improved over the past year or so, along with the YMCA itself.
I'd try to avoid living too close to the town centre end just because it gets so busy with people stopping off at KFC, and the railway runs right at the bottom of the gardens so it won't be the quietest road to live in!
Yes the railway runs along the back of the gardens but only on one side. The park at the end is lovely. And not too much traffic as its not a cut through road any more.