We both had expat childhoods, met at Uni in Brighton then lived in South Norwood for 1 year then Melbourne for 5 years then Kew for 40 in an Edwardian terrace house. Six years ago we were looking for a change and set ourselves a radius limit of 3 miles. We moved 1½, to the middle of Brentford in a conversion apartment with roof terrace. Without downsizing, we released some cash to help our 2 children and have really enjoyed Brentford. Kew is green and leafy in comparison but also a bit twee and boring as well as expensive. Brentford is a lovely mix of generally friendly people, with far more going on. There are quite a few little boxes being built but also some better flats and there is still a fair bit of conventional housing on offer. If choosing a flat do look at ones built a few years ago and I'd suggest making sure there are no nasties lurking; ground rent doubling, flammable cladding, roofs, lifts and windows needing replacing etc. I do think the place is improving now: our Bees in the Premiership, much cleaner buses, access to waterways about to improve significantly and pretty good provision of parks, libraries etc.
Eric Baker ● 887d