A guide to living in Borough of Islington

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

Great range of shops, restaurants and very quick access to the tube (under 1 min). Anti social behaviour and traffic is a small problem in the area as Archway does have a lot of homelessness - but the building itself is very safe, with overnight security and right next to transport links so you don’t have to walk far in the dark. It’s also very well lit so we have never found the surrounding area an issue.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Problems are always sorted with speed and efficiency. The only small issue is when the lifts break down (this is fairly often) but there are 3 lifts and one or two of them is still working

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

There’s nothing to share here. The viewing is fairly transparent

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

I live at 9 Queensland Road as a tenant. It's the building at the end of the road which is right next to the train tracks. I'm not really bothered during the match days even though you need to check the transportation links as they don't operate in certain times. What makes this place unlivable for me is the train noise. The passenger trains operate every 5 minutes between 6am-10am and 4pm-7pm. Other times it's every 10 minutes. If they were trains just passing by, I wouldn't be bothered, but they stop at Drayton Park station and there's definitely extra noise when they stop, make a signal sound to open and close the doors, then they depart. The cherry on top is the commercial freight trains. They are so loud and they operate 24 hours, so you can wake up to their sound whether it's 3am or 4am. It's just impossible to sleep without earplugs. If there were no train tracks nearby, this would be an great place to live but the trains turn it into a nightmare location if calm and peace are important for you.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I wish I had known there were loud commercial freight trains operating during night time.

What is the best feature of your home:

I really like the location and the neighbourhood. It's safe and friendly.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

The building sits feet away from Archway Station and multiple bus stops. The overground is

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

I have previously requested maintenance for a leak in my washing machine, and I got a response from the Residents Team within a matter of hours with the date and time of an appointment with Ken. He came to my apartment within a few days (which is probably an overestimate) and fixed the leak in one visit. Despite this, he still preemptively ordered a spare part for my machine in the case that the leak returned. This part was never needed for my machine, but I appreciate how proactive he was about ordering it anyways just in case.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

Wish I had known more about the events in the building and the residents app so I didn't miss out on some workshops

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

Great links to Northen line being right next to Archway tube station. Lots of grocery shops nearby. Y

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

They have communicated well and promptly when I have enquired about issues.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I don’t have anything I wish I’d known before moving in yet.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

I've mentioned this in a previous review, but generally I have very little negative to say about the surrounding area of Vantage Point! I mean, the tube is RIGHT downstairs , along with a number of other transportation options, grocery stores, and charming little eateries and pubs. Furthermore, I feel like the area is quite social and I became close with a few folks in the neigborhood, like Ali in the coffee shop downstairs. However, with the proximity to the tube and a busy intersection I will say that sometimes I found the street to be quite noisy and had to sleep with earplugs. Also, at times, there could be some shady characters hanging around the plaza near the building.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

As mentioned, I feel that building management and staff responded promptly to any maintenance issue that I raised via our online ticketing portal! However, to this day, some features in the flat still need to be replaced because they're unusable (like the ventilation hood over the hob).

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I hinted at this in my full review, but protect your sleep from noise (on the street and sometimes from thin walls/floors of neighbors) and the sunlight! Nothing some earplugs and an eyemask/black out shades can't fix, but it's worth mentioning.