Voting for TSRs Ultimate Study Playlist is NOW OPEN >>

How bad is ilford?

I’m going to stay in Ilford for the first year of my uni. Idk if the area is good/bad/posh whatever. Can someone tell me more abt it? I do have the option to live in Cricklewood. But I honestly dont know which one to pick. Walthamstow is an option as well, international student btw. Please help.
(Ignore distance from uni, that wont be a problemo just lmk which area is best)
Thanks

Reply 1

Old Skool Freak

North Ilford (Barkingside, Clayhall, Redbridge parts of Gants Hill / Newbury Park) is a faily nice quiet residential place. Only problem is that you can be quite far away from a significant number of shops (I'm including local corner shops here). South Ilford (Ilford town, Seven Kings, Loxford, Chadwell Heath (West side)) is far more working class, with a very significant South Asian population. The town itself is very lively, with a mini shopping mall (Not exactly Westfield, but pretty standard for a local town centre). Not sure on the official crime stats.... but IMHO, it has it "moments", but it's by no means the worst area of London.

Ilford town has very good links to Central London with the Elizabeth line stopping and Gants Hill station on the Central line; as well as the 25 bus route, which can take you right into Central London, if you're on a budget. It's not too far from Stratford either (arguably, the most significant town in East London). Also bang-on the North Circular Road, so is easy / convenient to get around & out of London if you drive.

Walthamstow is pretty much the same, only on a slightly smaller scale. Areas towards the East of Walthamstow (e.g. Wipps Cross, Highams Park, Hale End, Chingford tend to be the nicer parts, on the cusp of Epping Forest, so lots of areas to go for a nice walk, cycle or run. As for the rest of Walthamstow, it used to be a bit on the rough side, but I believe it's now been gentrified to an extent. The links to Central London aren't as good as they are in Ilford, but you do have the Victoria line, as well as 55 and 48 bus routes (there's also 56 from Wipps Cross). Walthamstow also has a local shopping centre (smaller than the one in Ilford), as well as the longest street market in Europe.

I can't comment about Cricklewood, sorry about that.

Reply 2

ageshallnot

As above, Walthamstow is being gentrified. The student accommodation around Blackhorse Road station is pretty good. If you like craft beer there are 7 (yes, 7) taprooms on Black horse Lane as well as one winery...

🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍷

Reply 3

Rogermoores

I live in South Woodford so for me Ilford and Walthamstow are a stone throw away. But Ilford is a ****!!!! And so is Walthamstow, I avoid those places like the plague!!!! Overcrowded and smelly! Go to a better Uni if you can!

Reply 4

ageshallnot

Original post by Rogermoores

I live in South Woodford so for me Ilford and Walthamstow are a stone throw away. But Ilford is a ********!!! And so is Walthamstow, I avoid those places like the plague!!!! Overcrowded and smelly! Go to a better Uni if you can!

Walthamstow is far from being a "********".

Reply 5

Old Skool Freak

Original post by ageshallnot

Walthamstow is far from being a "*******".

That "*******" gave us the likes of East 17; Blazing squad, Lethal B ... and David Beckham (well he was Leytonstone and Chingford... but whatever) :u:

(edited 7 months ago)

Reply 6

Rogermoores

Original post by ageshallnot

Walthamstow is far from being a "*******".

Excuse me! Have you been to Hoe Street! Its a disgrace.

Reply 7

ageshallnot

Original post by Rogermoores

Excuse me! Have you been to Hoe Street! Its a disgrace.

Yes. No it's not.

Reply 8

Old Skool Freak

Original post by Rogermoores

Excuse me! Have you been to Hoe Street! Its a disgrace.

I admit it's not wonderful or anything like South Woodford / Snaresbrook, but there are far worse areas / streets than that TBF.

Spoiler

(edited 7 months ago)

Reply 9

University of Huddersfield

Official Rep

Anon,

I think it depends on where you will be studying and how much it will cost to travel on the Underground or national rail.

London is split into zones, and depending on which zones you travel through you are charged more for your Underground/national rail journey.

Zone 1 is central London, followed by Zone 2, and then Zone 3 etc...

Some places are in both zones, so you only need one of the zones for your travelcard

It might be an idea to try and get an idea of places across London using a tube map. This shows the zones and the different Underground lines. You can also find out about journey times and fares on the Transport for London website.

Ilford is okay. The mall is not great but as has been said there has been a bit of a makeover in the centre. It is not too far from Stratford, which has the Olympic Park and Westfield which is a large shopping centre, with restaurants and a cinema. Stratford is very diverse and busy. From Ilford town centre it is 30 mins by bus to get to Stratford.

Ilford station is not on the Underground. It's national rail, so it's not as convenient. Gants Hill and Newbury Park are on the Central Line (Underground) but they are far from Ilford town centre. As had been said, Ilford is diverse and has a lot of people from a South Asian background.

Walthamstow has a good market and has had a bit of a makeover in recent years. It's also on the Victoria Line so it is easy to get into central London.
The Victoria Line stops at Oxford Circus (shopping), Victoria (coaches for places outside London), Green Park (Buckingham Palace), Vauxhall (near Tate Britain art gallery) and Brixton ( known for having a large African-Caribbean community) as well as other stations.

Hope that helps.

All the best,

Oluwatosin – 2nd year student – University of Huddersfield

Reply 10

Old Skool Freak

Original post by University of Huddersfield

Ilford station is not on the Underground. It's national rail, so it's not as convenient. Gants Hill and Newbury Park are on the Central Line (Underground) but they are far from Ilford town centre.

I wanted to correct this part...

It's true Ilford station isn't on the underground per se, but it IS on the new Elizabeth line, which does form part of the TFL network, and offers a much improved service to Central London and beyond. In fact, that whole former Greater Anglia Service line that used to run from Liverpool Street to Shenfield (Brentwood) has now been superseded by the Elizabeth line. Therefore, you can still use your standard Travel cards, Oyster cards etc. at Ilford station (as long as you're not using the National Rail services)

Redbridge, Barking, Gants Hill and Newbury Park stations are all a walkable distance from Ilford town centre within in about 1/2 hour for a reasonably fit person.

I concur with the rest of the post (on the whole)