moving to UK for job in London - where to live, 3 kids...

I agree with pinkdelight, the schools will be difficult where ever you go, but you'll cope. It's silly not to move some place with a sensible commute when you have a completely clean slate.

I think Ingatestone because of the AngloEuropean school is a good bet for your family, but if you prefer to be on the proper tube line, here is an example that is a third of a mile from the Woodford tube station. About 20 minutes to Liverpool street.

4 bedrooms at £2,500/month. Not bad really.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-33784011.html

Essex suggestions eminently sensible. The other places are nice (south and west) and yes, you can commute into Waterloo and get the W'loo & City line, but given that the OP can pick anywhere, it makes sense to pick the simplest commute without so many changes/opportunities for stress and delays. There's plenty of nice places on the train line or central line that would take her DH direct to Liverpool St and offer a nice standard of living. Schools will be tricky everywhere given that they'll be in-year applications, but wherever they are, they will get a place. Good luck OP, and best to plan for worst case scenario in terms of travel, not optimistic timings for tubing across the city.

Look at the towns of Brentwood, Shenfield, Ingatestone - (Essex). Quick into Liverpool Street on the train (20-30 mins). Excellent primary and secondary schools including the Anglo-European Secondary School in Ingatestone which has a lot of international students.

LittleFluffyMoo you're very very lucky, we rented out our property near Wandsworth and were advised to expect 300 per bedroom per week. It entered a bidding war and went for more as there is a lot of competition for places in that area. I think 3000 for most, especially a 4 bedroom would be unrealistic in London.

OP I told you you'd get thousands of suggestions. I thought they'd be in London, but they are rapidly spreading!!

Here is a possible scenario for you:

Live in Ingatestone in Essex, in this house:
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-33447195.html

It is £2,650/month, has four bedrooms, is less than half a mile walk from the train station. Trains into Liverpool Street take less than 30 minutes. A 12 month season ticket would cost £3,320. www.abelliogreateranglia.co.uk/tickets-fares/season-tickets/season-ticket-calculator

Meanwhile your DDs can attend the AngloEuropean School. It is just around the corner from your house. The school gives priority based on distance and your children speaking a second European language and having a link to the culture. aesessex.co.uk

The nearest state primary for your son, an easy walk, would be: www.ingatestonefryerning.essex.sch.uk/home

The problem with this idea, or any idea, is that there is a lack of school places in both the state and the private sector. Compounding the problem is that none of your children will be entering school in a starting year. So you will be relying on the odd space becoming available. For children aged 10/11 who have just applied for high school, year 7, next year, only a 2/3rd in London got their first choice. And 6% got no school at all! That means there are thousands of families in greater London with no school. Madness.

So, whatever you do, I would call the schools you are considering directly. Not always easy, but worth it. Some secretaries are nicer than others, but be persistent. Having some idea what you are up against asap will help.

Good luck!

This thread is becoming like a best town competition. ha ha... But work near Liverpool St station is easily covered via waterloo (via waterloo and city line). 1 hour from esher(most southwestish within greater london) to work. Personally less expats in SW is better for me as rents in this area is inflated by so many expats!!!

If I were you, OP, I would definitely consider renting in Cambridge near the station. The commute by train into Liverpool Street is less than an hour.

Cambridge is a really good small city, very easy to get around by bike, fantastic facilities for kids, and great schools. Also, because of the university, schools are very used to having children who have been educated in other countries.

The Sunday Times yesterday named Newnham in Cambridge the best place to live in Britain. It's about a 10 minute bike ride from Newnham to Cambridge station.

You could start with this website and google the schools in areas you're interested in? It will show schools and distance from each house if you tick the appropriate box:-

www.rightmove.co.uk/

The OFSTED website is good for giving you an idea of what the schools are like:-

www.ofsted.gov.uk

You could also look at each individual school website (but take with a pinch of salt) or the good schools guide (which you have to pay for) will also give some insight but mainly deals with private schools.

If you like facts and figures, the DFES website can be useful for finding more about schools too:-

www.education.gov.uk

Good luck!

I have to disagree with tomandizzymum. We are renting a 3 bed house in a very nice area of SW London (Wandsworth) with good schools and transport links for under 2K pm. Unless you're really looking at top end, 4-5K pm is a lot to pay for rent, and 3K should be fine (although 4 bed houses are few and far between).

Just off the top of my head, we rented a 3/4bedroom farm house in a small village outside Cambridge (30 minute bike ride, 20minute bus ride/10 minute car ride) to the town centre,the rent 10years ago was under 1000 pcm. The nearest train station was a 10 minute bike ride. Looking at rightmove it looks like the general rental on that area of cambridge is 700-1500 pcm for a 3-4 bed property, might be worth looking at the annual train prices. There are village stations with trains directly into Liverpool street. It can be just over an hour but it is direct. I would also say a 4 bedroom house in Essex and an annual train ticket would be within the 3000 budget. London is out at that budget. It is probably about an average of 4-5000 for a 3 bed in most of London.

Look up journey times by using TfLs journey planner and the post code of his work place. Its not really case of North, South East, or West but the transport links from different places, and their frequency.

The further out you are the more likely it is to get a seat.

These 4 bed houses in Buckhurst Hill are in budget, near to the tube station and Epping Forest
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-48372331.html
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-33502560.html

OP if your DH is going to be working near Liverpool Street station you really don't want to move to west London (i.e. Thames Ditton, Kingston, Richmond or other places in that area). London is huge and getting across it in rush hour can take ages, particularly if you local tube line is the excruciatingly slow District line. Life in Seattle and Switzerland will not have prepared you for the time-consuming misery of commuting into/around London!

The best advice on where to live is those taking your DH's work location into account i.e. places in east or northeast London, or on direct lines into Liverpool Street station from Herts/Essex.

Remember that for a commute of around an hour you have to factor in: travel to the station from your house, waiting for the train, mainline train, any additional tube travel inc. walking through the station between lines/platforms, and walking from train to office. My DH has a 25-min commute purely based on the time he sits on the train, but it takes him an hour to get from home to work on a good day and during rush hour, with all the delays and crowds, it can take much longer than that.

ThisIsOurBlanket gives good advice to places for you to look. Please discount anywhere that is south or west of London (and FGS don't move to Brighton - its MILES from Liverpool St and its v. expensive).

In your situation I would consider living along the east of the central line tube system as that goes directly to Liverpool Street and Central London. Believe me the London public transport system is so overcrowded these days your dh does not want to spend more than 45 minutes each way commuting by tube or train lots of perfectly fine suburbs along here: wood ford green, snares brook, buck hurst Hill, Epping, loughton the further out you go the more space you will get and you will also near Epping Forest. Also lots of state and private schools in these areas, Bancroft, Chigwell, Forest and selective grammars: Woodford County High, Ilford County High. Depending on what schools have places and what you're happy with you may have to be pragmatic and use both state and private schools for your dcs.

Essex or Hertfordshire if you fancy nice countryside with a manageable commute to Liverpool street station.

Tunbridge Wells? It has some amazing schools and a direct line into London Bridge. Also a lovely town (although a bit too middle England for me!).

Liverpool street/bank is very easy from Waterloo, there's a one stop line called Waterloo & city which shuttles between Waterloo and bank station.
Lots of expats, parks, green space, bigger houses around Esher (near Thames Ditton btw) just 25 minutes to Waterloo and tends to be cheaper than much of SW London even though the train into London is faster. Lots of rentals too as a lot of expats.
Re schools for entry into yr7 (starting secondary school) the allocations were made March 2nd but there'll be movement first week of September with people who don't turn up (move away or we're selfishly holding their state place even though they were gong private "just incase" ) so if you can hold your nerve first week of term can be a good time to get a spot in a popular school.

Teddington/Kingston also nice but train is slower into Waterloo.

If moving to Bank, another option is to get the tube to Mansion House and walk. Opens up the district line. (Eg Chiswick/Richmond)
Not the fastest but if it's direct with just a walk at the end then it works!
A walk from Cannon Street also as already said.

I work near Liverpool St and commute into Cannon St station. I live in the great family area of Petts Wood and can't recommend it highly enough. There is a large but oversubscribed primary school which is popular. I had some new neighbours last year and their children got in after waiting two terms on the list, attending another local school in meantime. If going private the excellent Bromley High for girls and Eltham college for boys are convenient. My commute is an hour door to door which consists of ten minutes walk to station, get there a few mins early to get in right place to guarantee a seat, 30 mins on train 17 mins walk from Cannon St to my office. Cost for season ticket is £1,666 for the year. Good luck.

With 3000 pm you can definitely rent a good decent 4 room house in Thames Ditton, surbiton, esher, Kingston and teddington. And much better and bigger ones in Kent or SE London.

As an expat family myself who has lived in London for 7 years and having moved kids among private/state and from primary to secondary... I would say everything is very complex puzzle here. Unlike US where I believe deciding where to live automatically decides which school, here in the uk things aren't straightforward. I found state schools in nice posh areas (wimbledon, west part of more central london) aren't generally good.

Easiest option for u would be send them to private with from primary to senior yrs under one roof. But sending 3 to private would cost 30K to 45K pound ( not dollar!) a year.

Or you can temporarily send them to private and find good state options from there when u have better idea how things are actually like.

Generally Surrey and SW London (many rich locals and professional expats) have v good private schools and Kent (solid local middle class area) has v good state schools. I don't know much about northern part of london.

London, in sense of greater London, is like a network of villages and so just like a small rural towns in their own. London as u see from TV and news is usually central London. Outside the v central, it has many incredible green parks (especially west of london)

I second WhatsGoingOnEh re moving to Thames Ditton.

Lovely area. Good nearby schools . Not too much of a commute into Central London.

Definitely would agree with not going to Brighton. Too far to travel each day.

Good luck :)