Neighbourhood and local area reviews for renting in United Kingdom

There is a massive council or cheaper type housing between the property and the main road. One path that connects the main road to the property is through that. At night, groups of young/teenagers smoke and drink; gave me a chilling feeling on numerous occasions when I passed by.

It’s Selly Oak, so it is quite noisy some nights with people coming back from pubs/ town etc drunk and shouting/ singing. The occasional firework is also present at 1am. But, it’s where all the students live and you do feel part of a community being here. Everyone else is here so you’re always within 5 minutes of friends - I wouldn’t want to live somewhere else on a part of some drunk shouting.

It’s really a lottery with your neighbours - you could have a family, or you could have another group of students who are really into DJing and D&B. Unfortunately it’s just a bit of a gamble you have to be prepared for. Buy some earplugs!

Neighbourhood is nice and majority of neighbours are too. They are mostly families or older couples.

However, there is a neighbour very close by who will leave a wheelie bin in the road 24:7 (it’s been there for 18 months now) which means you have to park directly next to a wheelie bin. If you touch this wheelie bin you will get physically assaulted and verbally abused. There is also visitors to this same property who will park in front of said wheelie bin blocking your car from exiting.

Not the best neighborhood. Was ok. Bike helmets stolen. Near shops and tube. Someone murdered in our flat about 40 years ago

Bonfires and smoke and drug dealing in car park.
when you hang out your washing in the summer it will stink of bonfires and the flat will too.

Not very great access to public facilities or transportation, very few shops around, and the nearest train station is around 10-min drive. As for safety, you should always check your house/car's door is locked; thieves regularly check for unlocked cars on that street.

n/a , the neighbourhood was fine and not the issue at all. Would live nearby, just not somewhere let by Rent Guru!!

Crookesmoor is a lovely area with two large and fantastic parks right on your doorstep. The local shops are diverse, useful and even features a 24hr international grocers. Good pubs and a short walk from the university/centre. Good bus links too, loved the area.

Great location, well connected, easy reach of trams, buses and East Croydon train station. Tends to very noisy during school break as children go out and play.

You will be living above an abusive alcoholic, named Ross. This man is without a doubt the worst thing about the flat and will cause you to develop pretty intense anxiety around sleep due to his unrelenting bass, domestic disputes and constant partying.

"Moving in to number 7? Sorry about the guy below, he's a real nightmare to listen to and I don't even live above him!"

This was among a few of the pieces of advice I was given by another resident of the building, who had previously had altercations with Ross.

I called the police on this man a grand total of four times during my stay. I very quickly realised that there is absolutely nothing the police are willing, or perhaps able to do, about this noise problem. I called them in the midst of several incredibly intense screaming, throwing and abuse matches between him and a female "friend" living in the apartment at the time. I haven't quite experienced anxiety and stress like being awake at 4:30am whilst my neighbours fight it out yet again.

They haven't fought aggressively since earlier this year, hooray! It seems they found a new way to get along, which is having constant parties which seem to span multiple days and nights with an assortment of friends, all singing in the most cracked, gravelly and disgusting voices I've ever heard.

As I write this paragraph with earplugs in and studio headphones on, I can hear their singing and partying that has been going on since around 10am this morning. This, of course, makes the house completely unsuitable for students as the arguments and shouting and music will prevent you from any focus. That is of course, If you are even able to focus after an endless horror of nights with no sleep slowly driving you into more and more of a sleep deprived nightmare. I'm very thankful to my girlfriend for allowing me to spend nights at her place just to get some quiet.

You may think establishing a dialogue with this man will help - it will not. I have attempted to talk to Ross about reducing his noise between 12am - 8am and every time he either refuses, threatens me for the suggestion of asking him to be quiet or apologises meekly "I'm sorry man, I didn't know I was being loud". That last response, hilariously, was at 6am.

This makes the chance of a good nights sleep essentially impossible.

In this final month before I depart, I went down during one of these forced insomniac episodes with the intention of having a real long chat with Ross. We talked on his porch for about an hour, 3am to 4am. He spun me his tale of how the world didn't treat him right and that's why he is the way he is. Stories of how he goes on these days long benders and doesn't remember anything. Sad, to be sure, but I wasn't informed that I'd be living on an episode of Nightmare Neighbours: Off The Rails edition when I moved in. He rounded this conversation off with the firm assertion that he really does not care whether or not I sleep and that he will continue to "live his life" and "have a good time with his friends" at any hour of the day he pleases. Oh and could I please not walk around my house so loud during the afternoon.

The company he most notably keeps is a Glasweigan woman with one of the most rasping, gravelly voices I've ever heard. That style of diction becomes very hard to listen to at 5am singing as loud as she can to Hotel California. That song, by the way, being one of the only 10 or 11 songs that will be played below you on a cyclical hellish playlist.

Please, for all that is holy, do not move into this flat. I've tried to warn you, I care about your sleep schedule, I want you to be happy. Don't make the mistake I did. This flat is not worth £450 a month per person, I genuinely would not stay in it again if was paid £450 a month.