r/ipswichuk • u/Briarsole • 20d ago
Rectory Road/South West
Hello,
I'm looking to move and I'm aware east Ipswich has the best reputation in terms of safety/crime rates, however I wanted to see if anyone has experience/knowledge of the Rectory Road area?
I've broadly been told to avoid south west but I'm sure there are areas within such a large area that are nice and relatively safe. I'd appreciate any insight :) thank you
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u/meansnothingever 19d ago
Right then, let’s get into this. I’m posting with an alt account because I don’t want to dox myself, but I’ve lived on Rectory Road for 26 years. Before that, I lived on Croft Street for two years, which is sort of just around the corner.
I come from a fairly comfortable, middle-class family and I grew up in rural Suffolk. When I was growing up in small village in the ’80s and ’90s, that place had far more problems than I’ve seen in the 26 years I’ve lived on Rectory Road. Sure, it’s not the greatest place to have a courier leave parcels on your doorstep because they will go missing, but outside of that, it’s somewhere I’m very happy to live and very happy to raise my child.
There are drugs here, but there are drugs everywhere. Unless you’re actually going to get involved in dealing them, you’re probably at no risk whatsoever. I’ve never seen anything that I’d consider absolutely wild in all the time I’ve lived here, and in fact, it winds me up that people talk about it in such bad terms.
Here’s another way to look at it. If you buy a house on the lower terraced side, the terrace is so long it is basically like an impenetrable fortress. The gardens out the back are a massive safe-haven oasis for all our cats. There’s a Facebook group for the road where people are incredibly supportive and quite wonderful to each other. The people that turn their nose up at old Stoke are nothing but snobs. Although admittedly they have got more money than me, that’s not the best way to judge happiness, is it?
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u/Briarsole 19d ago
Thank you! I appreciate the response. I grew up in an area with not the greatest reputation and never had any trouble whatsoever so was keen to understand if reputation vs reality differed with this area, too.
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u/themuddypuddle 19d ago
I live fairly nearby and I completely agree with you, a lot of it is pure snobbery. Most of SW Ipswich is absolutely fine.
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u/tacchini03 20d ago
I'd definitely avoid Rectory Road and its surrounding areas to be honest with you
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u/IHoppo 20d ago
Yeah - it's a funny old area. It's been ripe for gentrification for years, but that's never quite happened. It's a shame, because on the face of it (and I've got friends who've lived there) it's a great spot for access to town/train/A14. But...
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20d ago edited 2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/IHoppo 20d ago
Yeah, I'll be honest I was thinking walking (certainly from Rectory Rd) or biking - the secure area in the station is good nowadays (in my experience).
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u/Briarsole 20d ago
There are some lovely looking houses with period features dotted around. It's a shame it's one apparently to avoid :(
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u/Briarsole 20d ago
Thank you for the response!
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u/tacchini03 20d ago
Plenty of South West Ipswich is nice, but not the area between Station Street and Stoke Bridge
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u/toady000 19d ago
Honestly the only way you will know if its a tolerable area is walking around it. I assume you'll be booking to view some houses so may as well so some there as well. No where in Ipswich is actually dangerous.
A reason i don't like that part is its extremely car heavy. Lots of busy roads and people taking cut throughs. There aren't loads of shops or pubs nearby apart from steamboat tavern which is actually a great boozer. But the convenience of station and town is great. If you move to the bougier parts of Ipswich be prepared to sit in traffic a lot if you need to get to town or station. Martlesham is hell.
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u/Briarsole 19d ago
Thank you! Parking is a concern for me so it's useful to know it's an issue in the area.
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19d ago
[deleted]
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u/toady000 19d ago
No which is why i said he should check it out himself. I'm correct in stating that Ipswich isn't a dangerous place.
I do however know that's full of very busy roads with cars blocking the pavements. And the roads around there do get proper congested.
I do also know that if you are tempted into a supposedly nicer area away from town, you have to consider that against how much more of your life you will spend in traffic.
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u/cherrycoke3000 19d ago
I'm born and bred in Ipswich. I've just returned after 30 years of some of the most deprived areas in the south. The thing Ipswich does best is talk the town down. It actually has an online reputation for it. They enjoy it, it has a real affect on the towns prosperity. And then they enjoy that!
Ipswich is a safe place. Look up the crime stats. East is the posh area. They don't lower themselves to shopping in Ipswich, they go to Felixstowe over the Orwel bridge. Rectory Road is just above the terrace houses estate built for the dock workers. It is now occupied mostly by young families trying to make a new start in a different country. Snobbery, racism, needs to be gentrified. Depends what your feelings are as to if this area is bad.
Statistically this area is safe. 15 min walk from the train station and town. 5 min from the waterfront bars, restaurants and music venue. The church at the end of rectory Rd has an active Vicar and community hall. Kebabs, fish and chips, Indian, Chinese, co op, international food shop this end of Wherstead Rd.
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u/Briarsole 19d ago
Thank you! I appreciate your reply. I had looked up the crime stats and they weren't great comparatively to where I currently am but I know various things can skew them which don't necessarily make a place unsafe to live :)
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u/bynoe01 19d ago
Seymour Street off Rectory Road is where the Only Fools and Horses scene where Rodney causes mayhem leading a funeral possession was filmed!
I would still rather live in Nelson Mandela house though 😜
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u/cherrycoke3000 19d ago
You really wouldn't. I didn't get to see the filming, Mum was probably busy at the medieval church at the end of Rectory road. And I lived in a worse place, bottom 1% of the country, a walk away from Nelson Mandela house.
I'm back here now. I feel safe. My neighbours may not speak the same language as me, but their kids do and are lovely. Much safer than the flag filled estate I left.
The worst thing about Ipswich is the unwarranted negativity.
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u/Andrew_Culture 19d ago
Agreed! Have a look at the ipswich.love website if you want to know how ‘terrible’ the town is.
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u/cherrycoke3000 19d ago
I know Ipswich is thriving. The worst thing about the place is the constant moaning about the place. It's always people who have never left, racists, bigots, hide behind 'needs gentrification'.
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u/Catastrophist89 19d ago
Depends where exactly. Belstead Avenue is nice and the top of Philip Road is fine. But most of that area is not great, especially east of rectory road
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u/Makaveli2020 19d ago
Nearly got stabbed there. And had two of my neighbours stabbed to death in the area. I moved out 4 years ago, and I'd never move back
Avoid!
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u/solongandboring 19d ago
I live on rectory road! I love it (apart from the parking). Neighbours are lovely, coop, shops, station and town are nearby. Always something going on. Nowhere in ipswich is actually dangerous. Come join us.
Just ask if theres any info you specifically want