Walthamstow began it. Now, from Ealing to the outskirts of Manchester, former dormitory suburbs are growing small high streets with very real personalities.
First impressions
Get off the train and you will notice the bakery first, which is a good sign, then the hardware shop, which is an even better one. A neighbourhood worth moving to generally keeps at least one business that sells individual screws, and whose owner is willing to discuss them at length.
I can see the whole sky from here, and I also have a shed.
What it costs
Prices remain well below those of the nearby city, although local estate agents report that the gap is steadily narrowing. A two-bedroom terrace with a small yard will still cost a fraction of the equivalent in town, and rents have so far climbed more modestly than in comparable places.
Who is moving in
Newcomers tend to arrive for the space and to stay for the people. Primary schools are well regarded, the parks are actually used, and there is a Saturday market that has grown from four stalls to thirty in just a few years, without yet getting too pleased with itself.
It has its downsides. Trains can be sparse in the evening, and the high street still has a few too many empty windows. But it feels like a place in the process of becoming something, and it's an unusually pleasant time to arrive, before anyone has opened a shop selling only candles.
