£500k to buy in London. Three kids

[Batteriesallgone]

Where should we go?

Don’t know london at all (went to Natural History Museum once as a child!). Need a three bed. House or flat. Good transport links to central London. Good primary schools.

Is this possible? I know London is crazy prices, and it’s huge, I have no idea where to start looking on rightmove. Love the idea of living as close to central London as possible but don’t know if that’s too idealistic / unaffordable / ridiculous.

I used to live in Bowes Park, which I loved. (Worked in Paddington so perfectly possible) but just googled the prices and OMG.

And I'd say it was a bit rough around the edges but that made it interesting.

I think Streatham is ok and I think that it has become more upmarket since we lived near there some years ago. The surrounding suburbs you wouldn't get a house for £500k sadly. I think you might be able to get a house West London in say Feltham or Sunbury You would be near Heathrow that way? Remember about renting that most landlords want minimum 12 months rent.

The Hither Green and Catford areas of Lewisham might work for you. There are beautiful parks, wanky cafes, community-ru n libraries, excellent primary schools and decent transport links. The areas are very friendly but not everyone goes to the same school/knows everyone's business. The Corbett estate in SE6 is popular for people with young families. If you live closer to Lewisham hospital, you'll find that opens up access to other train stations and a whole load of buses, including ones that go all the way to London Bridge station.

I wouldn't describe Streatham and Crystal Palace as being in the heart of things, but sadly in London your budget's not going to stretch to the heart of things. They are nice areas. The thing is to be close to good transport links. Between Forest Gate and Dollis Hill I think I'd choose Dollis Hill for a family (and the Jubilee line)). But yes you need to come and have a wander, maybe stay in each area in an Airbnb to get a feel for things.

I would try out in Ruislip, it's great for kids, lots of space/parks, using a day is possible which is helpful with kids, and it's an easy commute into central London with several tube lines to choose from.

I have been thinking about this and have come to the conclusion that you have two basic options, a rather manky area that is reasonably close to the action or a pleasant but much more suburban option. You are going to have to try a few different options to see which works best for you.

Minimum 12m rent - this is what bothers me about renting, I think we need to try our hardest to rent where we are going to buy. And move quickly so we aren’t trapped renting for too long. We could easily spend years finding the ‘right’ area (ha! And constantly bemoaning not being millionaires) or we could just plant a flag somewhere and get on with it.

Yes pumpkin but I think it is ever thus wherever you live. Property buying is all about compromise.

Plant a flag. Renting in London's expensive, and time consuming because most people can't afford to buy.
From what you've said I'm inclined to recommend Dollis Hill. It is a bit suburban but as long as you're close to the tube you're within easy reach of the heart of things. Tbh wanky coffee shops are ten a penny. You'll even find some in Kilburn now. Good cinema there as well one in Willesden.

Have a look around Kensal Green and into Harlesden. Harlesden has its rough areas but the areas close to Roundwood Park are great. Good for Paddington and soon crossrail. The flats are large - we had a ground floor 3 bed flat with huge garden in Kensal Green. Good schools and then a 10 minutes walk to Kensal Rise (or 20 to Queens Park) for more hipster cafes than you can poke a stick at....

Oh, others have mentioned around Willesden Green too. Agree with those. Close to Willesden Green tube or nearer to Gladstone Park (but be careful not too far to walk to tube) are good spots. The High Street is nice.

If your DH needs to get to Paddington and Mayfair can you look along the commuter lines to Paddington or Marylebone? For 500k you're not going to get much in the way of a family home in London to accommodate two adults and three kids. What is it about living in London that appeals to you? If you get hung up on having a London postcode you could well end up in a less good property and area overall so it might be helpful to turn the question on its head.

I really don’t want to carry on the way we are with DH commuting in. I appreciate that works for many families but it’s not something we want to continue.

You won't find a liveable three bed in Streatham for £500K - maybe Norwood? Around Sutton is more affordable too. Both have overground lines into Central London.

Mitcham's also a bit cheaper, and the area around Gorringe Park/Tooting overground station is up and coming. You might find a 3 bed for £500K.

I've been spending your money OP.

How about this?

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-65909971.html#/property-for-sale/fullscreen/image-gallery.html?propertyId=65909971&photoIndex=5

Garden needs a bit of love and affection, and it's opposite a garage but it's 2 minutes from the station and you're in Bond Street in 15 mins. Plant a tree, a hedge and a lawn in the front, straighten the path, a shed for a study in the wildlife acreage at the back and it'll be a little oasis. (It is a little bit little but there's something about it. I don't actually know that part personally - I just like a bit of Rightmove action.)

Yes I saw that one moredoll and thought it looked perfect for us.

Must be something wrong with it

Liveable? As opposed to what? Condemned?

DD needs a box room (sensory issues). I know 3 kids is more than the norm these days but we really don’t need that much space. If they could all be in together they’re be happy with that but we are bearing in mind if we end up there long term we will need to separate DD from the DS’s when older (older than 10 I think? Which actually isn’t that far away given that these things tend to creep up on you).

It’s right on the train tracks so that would put off a lot. I’ve lived near there OP. It’s good for proximity to nice areas:

• Notting hill, Queen’s Park, West Hampstead, Kensal rise

But it is really definitely not wanky cafe area. Gladstone Park is nice but a lot of Dollis Hill area is a bit run down - lots of litter, fly tipping etc.

It’s main selling point is transport links and it’s close to town.

We chose to move further out with the kids but our priorities were space and somewhere greener, cleaner and with good schools. But I gave up the proximity to wanky cafes!

If you can get there for a day, you could have a walk around Willesden, Dollis Hill (that should be enough to know if you want to live there or not) and then on to hanwell in Ealing or somewhere.

It is very close to the tube. It looks like that road might be still up and coming rather than already up. But still! A 60 ft garden! Get your DH to give it the once over next time he's down.

Yes I saw the train tracks but I should think we would be fine with that - the kids like reassuring background noise like that (we live near a busy road and a major hospital and fire station. They like hearing emergency services sirens. Everyone is very unsettled at Christmas when the road is quiet). In fact I think the train noise would be a bonus, haha.

Not being wanky cafe area is fine if it’s 10/20 mins to wanky cafe area. Currently we need to get on a bus for 10 mins for that. I just don’t want to be in a scenario where there is only two trains an hour and it takes 30 mins to be in wanky cafe area. That would be too much hassle for us. I like currently being able to walk out my door and to the bus stop without having to check a timetable as I know it’s max 10 mins to the next bus.

DH can take longer to commute / need to refer to a timetable more as he doesn’t face the same need to dash home that we often do.

20 mins to the Tricycle Theatre (now the Kiln I think) by tube including a 10 min walk
at Kilburn. You'll walk past a few cafes including at least one that is hipster and one that seems to be run by (polite) Russian gangsters and is a bit bling. The Tricycle/Kiln is good for children's classes and has a cinema as well as a comfortable cafe that I am too fond of to call wanky. Kensal Rise by bus in about 20mins for an abundance of wanky cafes. You're also then well-placed for a wander down to Portobello Road (market's closed on Sundays and Mondays).

20mins on the Jubilee into central London more than satisfies my desire to be in the thick of things btw. As far as I’m concerned that is ‘in the heart of things’ but I guess other people have different tolerances for public transport. I take the point pp raised about the Jubilee breaking but it’s not that far out, hopefully there’s a reasonable bus service too.

I say all this like we’re going to make an offer on Monday!!

Still need to visit and have a walk around. Might still go South. Someone told me once you’ve picked a side of the river in London you NEVER GO TO THE DARK SIDE (whichever the other one is!) I have no idea if that’s true, but we shall be considering north vs south quite carefully

Someone told me once you’ve picked a side of the river in London you NEVER GO TO THE DARK SIDE

Absolutely true. The only person I know who did it was my DM who moved from Notting Hill to Blackheath in the late 60s.