£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 saw that one Mook, looks nice

Streatham is a good option. Very nice and you get a lot for your money (relatively)

God, where do you live now, sounds amazing?!

It sounds like the places people have mentioned are a good fit. Forest Hill (google Horniman Museum) would be perfect but is £££ now. Nearby Sydenham is cheaper and on the up. Lewisham and Catford are nearby and Streatham a bus ride away.

The thing is, "people who live in London" isn't the one group - it's a huge and really varied place. So you could speak to 2 different people who live 'in London' and get feedback as varied as if you'd spoken to one person from Cornwall and one from Newcastle.

You need to narrow it down a bit first, and then maybe people can help?

SE London! Crystal Palace, forest hill, sydenham, even in to beckenbam and Bromley. Transport links all great. I lived in the area all my life until we moved out of London last year.

I’m not a fan of Hither Green, the transport links are rubbish imo and there’s nothing there.

You won’t get much in Greenwich for that, and Deptford isn’t very nice but supposedly ‘up and coming’. Doubt you’d get much in streatham either but I don’t know the area as well.

Yeah, your description of where you live now is pretty much what Crystal Palace is like. Currently 16 3 bed properties in SE19 at up to 500k

I would rent first to get an idea of what you can live with, I have seen both Deptford and Lewisham recommended to you and having worked and studied in both of those areas I wouldn't live there if you paid me. You need to think if you really want a house or would be okay in a flat, what kind of schooling you are looking for, where meets your transport links and take it from there.
I agree that London is very varied, I worked a lot in the south but only lived in North London and Essex, I know other people who only lived in South London.

How about Walthamstow? Victoria Line so great for getting into central London, plenty of hipster cafes, William Morris etc

To be honest I don’t think 500k will buy you a 3 bed property next to a good school and good commute into Central London. You need to compromise on school, commute, size or price of the property. I think it’s virtually impossible to have all three for 500k in London. The cheap properties above are not in catchments for good primary/secondary schools.

Why are you moving?

If you are looking at Stretham I would also recommend Morden and Mitcham (nearer to Colliers Wood end). Both have access to the Northern line and good shops and schools nearby especially as you get closer to Wimbledon. I don't think it's impossible to get a house in an ok area in London for £500k!

Bromley and beckenham are in Kent, nowhere near central London and far from hip. Dull suburbia. Crystal Palace and hither green are both worth looking at. Sadly £500k doesn’t get you much in London at all, and won’t get you anything centrally.

Pick one central London area (Mayfair, Heathrow and Stratford are very far apart!) and then work outwards from there. You really really need to decide which central point you want to be closest to, first. Do not underestimate how long it takes to get from north to south London.

I have no idea if these would be any use, but you can take a look, areas close to them might be OK when you search:
Wood Green
Barnet/Herts bordering London
Addiscombe (East Croydon)
Colindale

I’d look at Ruislip. Good transport links. Not too far from Heathrow. It’s on the train to Marylebone (20 mins), has very good schools and you should get a 3 bed semi for your budget.

It does not have hipster cafes though!

To be brutally honest you aren't going to get anything central in a good location with £500k.
If I were looking I would be looking for somewhere with good transport links and good schools. A previous poster said S Croydon is good but you could push that further out to Purley and Coulsdon which would still get you into central London in 25 min (Victoria, London Bridge, Blackfriars, City) and it has decent schools. What it's lacking is trendy cafes. Public transport is very good (train runs all night from Victoria to E Croydon) and there's night buses.
Mitcham, Tooting, Catford, Lewisham, Morden etc I know very well but they have a very different vibe (more rough around the edges😁).
Wallington, Carshalton etc are fine but are on a slower train line and are middle class in the same way as Purley and Coulsdon

If you want a decent Victorian house, Leyton/Leytonstone are both good. If location is the most important and you don’t mind a flat, I’d look around Bethnal Green- flats like this which is in an amazing area, just near Columbia Road.

@bpisok that was me and I'm actually in Purley. In catchment for three outstanding schools in theory. Our search was just general south Croydon when we were looking though 😊

Yeah we thought it would be hard but it doesn’t seem impossible. Thanks everyone for help. Have just picked school child up and am entering the chaos of cooking bath bedtime so sorry if I don’t reply much in next few hours.

Given me some great pointers thanks so much.

Walthamstow might look far out on a map but has excellent fast transport links. Also a great cheap cinema and more wanky cafes than you can shake a stick at. There's lots of parent/child stuff on. It's London Borough of Culture 2019

@rosettesforjill - I was brought up in Purley :)
Moved into central London for Uni for 2 years, decided I wasn't keen on being poor and slumming it as a student so moved back home for the final year. From an evening out in the west end it took me longer to get to the elephant and castle than to get to Purley!!
Lived in this area ever since (Croydon/Sutton). I used to travel a lot for work and to get to Gatwick or London in less than half hour is a big influencing factor for me.
Not sure the OP is looking for the 'burbs kind of vibe though.

Have a look at Addiscombe, South Norwood and Penge. All very up and coming, great parks and good transport - Addiscombe and parts of South Norwood are on the tram line which is great. Agree with @rosettesforjll (I LOVED those books BTW ) that South Croydon is also great. Shirley might be worth a look but transport isn’t great and it’s more surburban than hip cafes.

Good luck OP!

Forest hill is good and you’d maybe get a 3 bed flat for 500. The transport links are great but it’s v traffic on the main road.

You’d get a flat in Leytonstone maybe not a house. Leyton or Forest Gate also potentials. But if a treck at the moment to LHR but crossrail will change that. Super easy to get to LCY and LGW not bad. STN is v easy but obviously super shit.

Walthamstow maybe but I think you’d be better on the central line.

Like PP said tho, these are the cheaper scruffier areas which have some hipster cafes but still quite divided and scruffy.

Also a great cheap cinema and more wanky cafes than you can shake a stick at.

You’ve convinced me. Must visit

Mayfair, Heathrow and Stratford are very far apart!

This is basically why we are looking to move. DH currently has to travel to all of these and Stratford in particular takes him forever. There must be somewhere in London we can live where you can get to Mayfair and Stratford in under an hour, and Heathrow in under 2.

There must be, right?....!

Yes there totally is! But not a 3 bed place for £500k!