Nice areas outskirts of London for young family

[mummyk2012]

I am originally from London but relocated to Canada a few years ago with my husband. We now have a son and considering a move back to be closer to family etc. He is 1yr old.

I am really not too keen on moving back to London and my husband is Canadian and does not particularly want to move there. We are looking at options. At the moment i am thinking either Hertfordshire or maybe Surrey? But need to narrow down..

Ideally somewhere within an hour of London and easy access to Central London if we decide to work there. Also a family friendly area and place where we will not feel out of place. An area with good schools would be good too. I a conscious my hubby is also not from there so dont want to move to an area where we might experience alot of racism etc.

We live in quite a multicultural area at the moment. I dont mind if it is not totally mixed but not somewhere we will feel odd as a family.

All suggestions welcome! We plan to visit a few potential places when we come to visit family in London end of the year.

[somanymiles]

We are also living in Canada and moving back to London this year. My husband is Pakistani origin and my kids are half Jamaican. The places we are thinking of: Streatham - 20 mins to London on the train, v multicultual but a bit pricey, and a biy inner London for me. Purley or Cousldon - both in Surrey. Coulsdon is not particlularly multicultural though but I love the rural feel with the Downs nearby. The area that I think is great for kids is Sutton - we were looking at Hackbridge/Carshalton area. There are great schools and good rail links into London. Don't know about the multicultural aspect. Not sure if there are many places in Lodnon where you would feel odd as a mixed race couple? (Or maybe I am living in cloud cuckoo land?)

[Middlesexmummy]

Hi , I'm Asian and my husband is white and we live on the Hillingdon Ickenham border , half hour on train to London , tube 5 min walk , good access to the A40
Lots of green space parks and school s . Definitely no racism
We love it !

[raisah]

Bromley & Blackheath are good but avoid the borough of Bexley and Woolwich now as there are loads od EDL members there now.

[raisah]

Bromley & Blackheath are good but avoid the borough of Bexley and Woolwich now as there are loads od EDL members there now.

Tooting, Balham & Croydon have a good ethnic mix and are good for families. The further out of London you go, there will be less of an ethnic mix but the schools are good.

[mummyk2012]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Middlesex mummy i totally did not think about the west. I will look into Ickenham/Hillingdon as well.

[Middlesexmummy]

We love it here , it's got a villagy feel as its quite green with lots of space but only 40 minutes by tube to London . We have some lovely parks and schools nearby . U say in your other post about Herts , I have family in Hitchen and letchworth and they are both nice
If you consider where I live try Austin Residential who are really good estate agents and would look for a good home for you x

[sillyoldfool]

Around harrow is nice- pinner/northwood/ruislip. Great schools and nice communities.

[BASHYK]

Hi all, this my first post so I'm feeling a bit awkward......

Anyhow, here I go.

I'm currently living in London but I'd like to move to the outskirts of London with an easy commute to Kings Cross/London as I work in London, (Warren Street ) to be exact

I'm looking for somewhere where the rent will be cheap and I'll be able to get a good size 1/2/3 bed house with parking garage etc in a nice leafy safe area, where I won't have too much trouble as a Black female who'll be living on her own......

I have a colleague who is thinking of moving out of London as well & she mentioned Kent....BUT I know nothing of the place and it's tolerance of Black individuals. Any tips?

I'm just looking for somewhere where'll I'll be safe, in a decent green, peaceful leafy neighbourhood and where I'll be able to rent a (cheaply ) a good 1/2/3 bed house good sized house, as I will have extended family ( & my daughter), who will come and visit from London, Canada & the USA. So I'm looking for a spacious 1 or 2 house ideally. ??

Anxiously waiting on a reply from anyone with suggestions on areas I could research !!!

[123motheroflove]

I would suggest Carshalton particularly the (wythe green area) not the most multicultural but again compared to anywhere outside of London it is very multicultural. It is mainly middle class professionals there. Schools are great and zone 4 about 20-25 mins to Central London (Victoria). Hackbridge is getting a lot of investment/redevelopment/gentrificattion. I grew up in carshalton and if lived in London would move there. My family is multiracial and it can't see any problems with a multicultural family living in sutton borough.

[Lndnmummy]

BASHYK I would be abit careful about certain areas in Kent as sadly my husband was assulted by some racist thugs just outside Bromley. Police advised us that there are def some pockets of very racisist areas in parts of Kent. I was so naive about this, we are just down the road in SE London, about a 15 min drive away so I was really surprised as to how different the areas are.
We are desperate to move further out from where we are as we need more space but having been through what we just have I am just very scared I would get the area wrong now.

Are there are non white families in Kent that can shed a more positive light?

[areyoubeingserviced]

I am white, but there are some areas of Kent which are mixed. There is Dartford, Footscray , Orpington , Bexleyheath and some parts of Sidcup.
Kent covers a large area and it is only when you get further away from London that you may find that it becomes less mixed.
My dcs attend a school in Orpington and there are children from all nationalities.