We thought it might be interesting to get to know each other a little better, and maybe start by seeing how long we have lived in the area (or maybe just next door - welcome neighbours!).
Some of us will have been here a long time, but many will have moved here recently. One of the goals of the Forest Hill Society is to welcome new arrivals and connect them with the local community, and also give a sense of the history of this friendly neighbourhood.
This vote will be anonymous, but feel free to tell us more about your story in the comments below. It will also be very interesting to see how this distribution changes as more people join
We moved to our home here in 2005 - so we’re just about to celebrate our 21st housiversary
One of the first things we did when we bought this place was to do some research about the street and the house to see when it was built (probably around 1890) and that is also how we ended up connecting with the Forest Hill Society on one of the history walking tours.
Before that we were in West London for many years, but this area feels more diverse, more welcoming and more relaxed and we do love it here.
My apologies @PennieH - I tried to make the intervals to be just different from each other but didn’t consider a wide enough range. I can’t change it without losing the votes so far, but let’s agree that 10-25 should be “We moved here at least 10 years ago”
Similar, if not as impressive – coming up to 27 years, so more than 25, but not my whole life, and I lived elsewhere in London before finding what is hopefully my forever home here! (But thanks for explaining, @foresthillsociety.)
Nice to see some familiar faces on here, I ticked 10-25 years as moved to FH about 26/27yrs ago. I moved to Brockley a few years ago but still always around FH.
15 years, Always lived North of the river prior to that.
Moved due to affordability,Housing stock, and the Overground.
In honesty it took several years for me to actually enjoy living here as my life and work was still very much in Zones 1&2, It was only during Lockdown that I actually grew to like the area and appreciate the green spaces on our doorstep.
Yes, I still have Dartmouth Road shops at 51a, 53a, 57a, 59, 79 and 95 (the new coffee shop opposite the pools) plus the gym behind 95 and ceramics workshop round the back of 57a; and then there are a load of flats as well.
I feel very lucky to be working with lots of different lovely people; and it keeps life interesting.
I first lived here 2005-2009 when I was a student at Goldsmiths. Life then took me to Stoke Newington, to Woolwich, up to the Scottish Borders for a bit, a rerun to Woolwich, and I settled back in Forest Hill right in the middle of the 2020 lockdown.
It always felt like a nice community: a little rough around the edges and a bit in the shadow of SE22 - but somehow the better for it; though closures of things over the years have been a loss. As a runner I’m often on the River Pool route down through Cator Park and back up to Ladywell Fields.
My family moved to FH from Highbury when I was 2, moved to Croydon when I married at 24, didn’t like Croydon much so moved back to FH 3 years later and (assuming the 33 years at my current house on the technically Sydenham Thorpewood Avenue counts) have lived here ever since. I’m now 78 so in total that’s about 73 years and I still think it’s a great place to live.
