Loisde

Yeadonite, as I said, I contacted my daughter who e-mailed me this morning:

"Since arriving in London and telling some of the people in my classes that I'm staying in the Holloway/Tufnell Park area, I've gotten some indifferent reactions and some negative reactions; probably most memorably was a man saying "Oh,
Holloway, that's a nice area..." along with a little scoff.

Personally, I don't find the area to be that bad. I'm living in university housing right between Holloway and Tufnell Park - the residential areas have rows of big brick Victorian houses and lots of trees. Both areas have several apartment buildings and a couple of schools, but most people seem to focus on the women's prison in Holloway. I suppose that's just what people associate with the area since the name is "Holloway Women's Prison" or something to that effect.

Tufnell Park tube station is around little take-away ethnic food restaurants and other small businesses - the walk to the station is only about 10 minutes from where I'm staying, and I've never felt uncomfortable making the walk by myself in daylight or at night. It
is a little hilly in the area, but none of the inclines are steep so you don't feel like you're hiking when you're going to the tube. The tube station itself is undergoing some modernization renovations, but there is an elevator from above ground down to the platforms; however, you do have to go up or down a few stairs to reach either platform. Tufnell Park is on
the Northern Line (three stops away from Euston and Victoria Line).

Holloway Road has all sorts of things - take-away and sit-down restaurants with all different kinds of food,
little shops, a cinema, grocery stores, internet cafes, convenient stores, petrol stations, department
stores, pubs, etc. There is usually someone set up on the sidewalk selling fruit or flowers, but there are also pushy cigarette peddlers and a couple of homeless people usually on the sidewalks. There are college and
university buildings down the street, including College of Islington and London Metropolitan University where I attend.

Holloway Tube station is usually busier than Tufnell Park and also has elevators and stairs to get down to
the platform similar to Tufnell Park. Both stations are equipped with CCTV (like almost everywhere in London, it seems like) and I've never felt any level of discomfort when going through either station. Holloway Road is on the Piccadilly Line and is two stops away from Kings Cross-St. Pancras station and Circle, Hammersmith and City, Metropolitan, Northern, and Victoria lines. I've also heard that Kings Cross isn't the best section of town, but I've never been out of the Underground while I was there. Still, I've never felt uncomfortable.

Holloway isn't Oxford Street by any means, but it's not a horrible part of town. I've never felt uncomfortable, harassed, or in danger when walking
down the street. Like I said, I think people just associate it being near the women's prison so it is automatically "in the ghetto."

Although I don't think Holloway is a dangerous place, I'm sure it probably has its less-attractive parts and more dangerous areas. I would (and do) use as much common sense when in Holloway or Tufnell Park as I would in any other part of London: keep your belongings close to you, don't pull out cash, credit cards, cell phones, digital cameras, etc. when walking
down the street, and just be aware of other people around you. I've seen every kind of person every age imaginable on Holloway Road, and I personally don't see the area to be hazardous for anyone to be in.

I'd be happy to take pictures of the area or help out in any other way I can."

Janis, Kavey and others have good suggestions, but I don't think you would have to worry if you are locked into your reservation.

Good luck.

m_kingdom

Half a million for a four bed two bathroom house with garden, is an asking price. Many go for maybe five to ten per cent less. However, half a million, for a London property is not a lot of money, indeed, at The Knightsbridge, a studio flat is around half a million (exact prices as yet are unreleased).

None the less, Finchley/Tufnell Park/Holloway, are depressing, uninviting areas, best avoided at all costs. Even driving through them reminds me of the saddest of funerals.

Kavey

Anon, you're absolutely right, and thanks for the reminder!

Joanne, I'd still say that there are parts of Holloway that are perfectly regular residential suburbia but would also suggest looking for alternatives since there are many Londoners who have signed up for home exchange.

Loisde

Gee, m_kingdom, you've managed to depress the bejesus out of me.

I say this with all the sincerity I can project through fiber optic cable.

You obviously know a great deal about London since you live there and you could be wonderfully helpful to people if you would try to curb your tendency to express contempt with every response.

Or continue being your charming, fractious self and I, for one, will consider you one of the resident curmudgeons.

yeadonite

An update:
according to a coworker who lives in London, Holloway might not have been his first choice but said Holloway has some areas that are better than others. He does not think we will walk around frightened like some other areas but that we should be careful.

suzbutler

My daughter stayed in the Tufnell/North Holloway area while attending University last fall. It was not the greatest area and she tried not to walk back to her house alone at night, but she never felt unsafe - just cautious. I would be more concerned with the distance to the nearest tube stop.

flanneruk

This post is getting silly.

Defining the boundaries of any part of London is more of an art than a precise science. There are bits of Holloway that are just pretty dull (think, if you're familiar with them, of the 19th century Pooter novels, which were set in the area), and bits that practically every London doctor, lawyer and Cabinet Minister lived in when she first moved to London - and where a huge proportion of Oxbridge/LSE/Imperial graduates still set up their first shared flat.

But having spent most of my life in or near the area, I struggle to think of any bit of N7 are unsafe to life or limb. Though no part of London is immune from burglary. The area is full of real families: that is you are as likely to strike up a life-long friendship with the people next door as to fail to exchange a word in three years. That's London.

Whether it's convenient is a very different matter. Close to Holloway Road tube, Highgate and Hampstead are a shortish (though highly congested) road journey away, and a tortuous tube journey. Near Archway tube, Highgate is only a tube stop and a vicious uphill walk away. Near Holloway jail, no tube stations are handy. Parts of Holloway really are tough to get to.

I don't think yeadonite is making comparisons with Finchley, which is practically halfway to Birmingham.

Post the postcode of the location if you want better information. But, putting aside the convenience issue, you can say that Holloway is the archetype inner suburban (and absolutely NOT inner city) location. You'll certainly see the real London.

yeadonite

flanneruk,The post code is London N7 6RU. Thanks for your help.

yeadonite

This is what Holloway is actually like written by my Dad.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34492363

Danapa

Tufnell Park is definitely one of the nicest places I have lived in London, specially St.George's Avenue!! I loved it! As someone said, it is not absolutely safe anywhere in London. St.George's Avenue is very peacefull, I love the cherry-trees, it's beautiful when there is pink and white flowers in the springtime. It is true that towards Holloway it is more uneasy, I preferred sometimes to avoid going to Safeway, and did my shopping instead in Camden Sainsbury's. felt it was really easy to move around from Tufnell Park, there is about 5 different nightbusses, so no need to use a taxi if coming from central London or Camden (some busses go past the station and some go via Camden Road, the latter I don't suggest alone at night as you have to walk about a mile to get to St.Geaorge's Avenue). Underground worked very well, although it is really packed at 7.30 - 8.00 am and 8.30 - 9.00 am, but I avoided this by always using the bus. Bus no 10 is really quick to get to Holborn area, and I actually travelled for a year to Victoria by 10 as well, although it does take 1 hour in the morning and more after work.... 135 is handy for Oxford Circus. Fastest is 135 or 134 to Kentish Town (or walk), and then C2 to Oxford Circus. Then, if you have to travel across London, you can always take a bus from Holloway to east, or C31 etc. from Camden to west. Also the train from Kentish Town is really fast, as there is no many stops, 10m minutes to Kilburn for example. I have managed to travel from St.Geaorge's Avenue to Luton airpot in 40 minutes from door to door, as the train to the airport goes through Kentish Town!