East Village, E20

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

Nice but pricey bars and restaurants nearby. Walking distance to DLR and Stratford station. High crime stats in area.

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

No response or follow up to recent maintenance requests.

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

There is a concierge but they are only there sometimes, can’t accept packages and can’t deal with maintenance requests so not sure what they’re for!

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

Local shops are very good with everything you need in easy walking distance. The resistance to chains can be a blessing and a curse though.

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

Generally very fast though can need prompting but usually good once on it.

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

The high epc ratings mean flats can beg very very warm in summer.

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

East Village is a nice place to live in. It is well designed with good green space, and is extremely pet friendly. It also has a lot of children playground facilities, thus if you have kids, your kids won’t get bored. Small shops/restaurants are the mandate here so you won’t see high street brands (except for supermarket/off license) here. Transportation is great here while Stratford station is just 15 minutes walk away and you could also take one station from Stratford International station (DLR) which is just a few minutes walk. Stratford is Stratford, there’s occasional anti-social behaviours here especially phone snatchers and parcel theft. But there is a local security team here which is handy to report your concerns, and they will come help sort out pretty quickly (for some cases you have to report to police directly). One big down side of living here is that the whole area here is under a green power arrangement (or whatever they want to call it). Basically it means all hot waters (thus your heat too) are supplied centrally by a company called East London Energy who is not really regulated and could be quite expensive. You’ll find your energy bill higher than living in spaces without these arrangement.

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

Very quick. If it is a problem their local maintenance team can resolve, it will usually be visited and checked in the next working day. Should it need a specialist or engineer, it may take longer but in general, they will let you know when a specialist/engineer will come so you would have a state of mind.

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

Like many other new builds, there are a higher mix of affordable housing/social housing around this area, partly a commitment made for the break down and rebuilding of the old Stratford area. Thus you may find some issues around here with less educated kids who might give you trouble once a while.

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

Amazing shops and stores, and not to mention Westfield mall and cinema right at your doorstep. Easy tube or fast trains right into central london in 7 mins!

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

Hadn't faced any issues at the property - but had requests before moving in and they were more than accommodating (e.g. removing certain furnitures from the apartment so that we could use our own beds for e.g.)

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

To be honest, wish we had known about this place sooner as it brings the best of both worlds - the proximity and buzz of London, with open spaces and amazing recreational activities you only have at the likes of Hyde Park, Kensington etc.

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

Amazing range of shops and restaurants being in the Olympic village area with access to Hackney Wick and Stratford depending on what you prefer. Transport links to Stratford are great and the area around the Olympic village felt very safe generally.

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

They would respond on the day itself that I’d raised issues via the app usually, extremely prompt service.

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

Look at where the building is located, not a bad thing for all but some blocks back on to communal gardens which can be noisy where kids are playing. Ours was facing the main road and quite high up so not an issue personally.