What’s in a place name?

Anyone who has watched the new series of Amandaland will have heard of SoHa, the moniker image-conscious Amanda gives her local neighbourhood, South Harlsden, in the hope it will make it seem more desirable.

I shared my thoughts on this trend with Country Life, who asked what’s in a place name and are buyers really willing to pay more to be in a specific village, or collection of streets because of the kudos it brings?

In my experience, when locations take on an identity it can very quickly change them, and not always for the better. I’ve had several buyers coming to West Sussex in recent months who looked at the Cotswolds but were put off by the crowds, the traffic and the tourist shops that have replaced the old greengrocers and butchers.

One family in their 40s moving from Oxford who considered Wiltshire and the Cotswolds but felt it was, in their words, “too Louis Vuitton”. They preferred the relaxed, old-world charm of West Sussex and the South Downs National Park villages which are pretty much unchanged from the 1970s, other than a few more cars. I find most buyers want to avoid flashy, ‘on the map’ locations. They would rather have a decent pub, a village green and a local shop where they can buy a home-made cake and have a chat with the postman.

You can read the full Country Life article here.