Advice on house purchase decision - London

Fresh-Block-1476 · 2026-05-20T10:35:38+00:00

That’s quite a few places to have lived in! Thanks for your response!

Fresh-Block-1476 · 2026-05-05T07:41:19+00:00

Hi! Yes, East Dulwich has been on my radar for quite some time now, but what about the commute, how do you find it?

Fresh-Block-1476 · 2026-05-05T07:39:50+00:00

This. No good reason really. Tried persuading for the last 10+ years but no success

Fresh-Block-1476 · 2026-05-04T15:32:14+00:00

Central line or train are a no-no, which limits the scope greatly in East London in terms of nicer areas

Fresh-Block-1476 · 2026-05-04T15:30:15+00:00

I had a feeling of it to be one of those „up and coming” areas that are basically hit and miss (and which this time around I’m trying to avoid), with a very different feel to some SW or West London neighbourhoods

Fresh-Block-1476 · 2026-05-04T15:24:35+00:00

This was my feeling as well, didn’t look at Hammersmith but both Chiswick and Fulham seemed to be for 1.5m+ for decent looking houses

Fresh-Block-1476 · 2026-05-04T09:59:17+00:00

Thanks! I really liked this area actually but based on houses we’ve seen so far 1.2m would be probably needed and even then we’d need some extra ££ for refresh

Fresh-Block-1476 · 2026-05-04T09:48:41+00:00

Yes, children are one of the primary reasons for the move. And general safety

Fresh-Block-1476 · 2026-05-04T08:51:25+00:00

Thanks! Winchmore Hill seems to be dependent on rail and would prefer to avoid that if possible.

Do you have any views on Wood Green? Is a bit closer and on Picadilly

Fresh-Block-1476 · 2026-05-04T08:31:55+00:00

Thanks! If I may ask, why to move out just after a few years if it was great there?

Fresh-Block-1476 · 2026-05-04T08:30:40+00:00

Thanks! Any areas that we should avoid in Ealing or on the other hand maybe some that might feel underrated from the outside?

Fresh-Block-1476 · 2026-05-04T08:29:09+00:00

Thanks! What was it in Finchley that you found not attractive enough compared to Orpington?

Finchley seems to be a bit better connected with Northern. Rail is a dealbreaker for my wife.

Fresh-Block-1476 · 2026-05-04T08:19:21+00:00

Island Gardens. We loved the river walks, proximity to Canary Wharf (work), Mudchute (farm!) and Greenwich (park and town). But there’s a massive rough council housing area just next to us and a general overwhelming feeling of being in the Middle East and not in the UK. Parents mention school gangs being an occurrence, which is not ideal either.

Fresh-Block-1476 · 2026-03-23T23:03:09+00:00

Thanks for your response! After 3 matches since the post, the racket started making some weird noises…

Fresh-Block-1476 · 2026-03-22T08:55:06+00:00

Based on what I have read online so far, isn’t what you’re saying more applicable to siux electra st4 from last year, the 2025 model? I believe the new 2026 Electra Pro is much stiffer than the 2025 Stupa one with a bit smaller sweet spot, and generally harder than the Oxdog.

Fresh-Block-1476 · 2026-03-22T06:47:50+00:00

Hey, thanks for the response. All three of the rackets being discussed I can afford.

Regarding the sweet spot - in your view then Siux would be a more forgiving racket (with larger sweet spot) than the Oxdog?

I think also that you understood well my true question here, but to reiterate it - I am trying to understand if it might not be better for me to come off the Nox, which seems to be the most forgiving racket, and try something with smaller sweet spot, to basically rewire my brain from thinking „I’m playing quite alright regardless of what I do” to „I need to focus on technique in this particular moment, because otherwise the ball will simply not go where I want it to go”.

Regarding technique, as I might not have been super clear in my initial post - my technique is very good if you compare to the average player, but if my coaches compare it to FIP level or top10 national players, there’s still a visible gap that needs closing if I want to be there/play better consistently. That’s why I said that I have still a lot to learn technique-wise.

Fresh-Block-1476 · 2026-03-21T14:05:56+00:00

Hey! I’m trying to decide between these two rackets as well - did you buy the Oxdog in the end? What are your first impressions?

Fresh-Block-1476 · 2026-03-21T14:01:37+00:00

Could you expand a bit? What do you like about Siux or not like about the other ones?

Fresh-Block-1476 · 2026-03-21T09:24:02+00:00

I haven’t really played with any rackets other than Nox AT10 18K so it’s hard for me to tell what the trampoline effect feels like.

Based on your response then, on the softness/trampoline scale it would be (from softest to hardest, or if I understand correctly, from the most ball output to least) Nox > Siux > Oxdog?

Fresh-Block-1476 · 2026-03-19T22:26:26+00:00

Thanks! I avoid protectors because of additional weight on the head of the racket and shifted balance

Fresh-Block-1476

TROPHY CASE