Talk to me if you chose to raise kids in London

[RandomLondoner1]

I am looking for experiences of people who have chosen to raise their kids in London instead of moving away to get the big house and garden etc. A very privileged position I find myself in, as a new mum and having a think about where me, DH and our baby would like to live after Covid is over. We are currently in East London in an area with little green space and particularly poor air quality. However, contrary to many people we are not keen to rush off to the countryside (although we love to visit). We'd love to move somewhere with better access to some of London's green spaces. We are keen for our baby to grow up in central-ish London due to the diversity and the liberal leaning environment, mix of cultures, food, experiences, opportunities etc. I have other young people in my family who grew up in London and others who grew up in towns in England and I see a difference. It's horses for courses and I fully respect those who chose for their child to grow up outside of London, but for me I do see my young family members who grew up here being more confident and streetwise and just exposed to more diversity.

I rarely find people who share this view especially at the moment as so many are thinking of moving very far out because of Covid. I acknowledge our immense privilege in even being able to afford to stay here. In 3 years or so we should be able to afford about 8-900k for a 3-4 bed and would be looking to be as central as possible within access of green space. A lot of people I know query the schools but I'm sure that in general standards are higher in London though I'm sure a lot of care needs to be taken in finding the right secondary school.

If you chose to remain in central London, and not move to the suburbs or the countryside please can you share your wisdom? Thanks.

We live in a 2 bed flat, with no garden, in zone 1. I grew up in London and both my sisters are raising their dc here, so it doesn't feel like an unusual decision for me. I too love the cultural opportunities, ease of getting around and diversity (we're not white). There are loads of families and schools in central London boroughs (and not all wealthy, as there is more council housing here than in many areas) so it's not really a small minority.

Our dd is 2 and we will probably move before she starts school, although we're dithering on area. I'd like to stay in zone 1 but we're looking at private schools, and the ones I like the most are in zone 2/3. If private isn't an option, I'd probably choose my area based on school catchments, and plan your timing carefully (need to be moved in before application deadline).

We don't live close to any big parks (small park about 15 min walk, which is quite far for just a short trip to burn off energy). But we have loads of small gardens and parks which we explored to death during lockdown, and we never ran out of places to go.

Thanks @frankieblue fir your insights. We are white and I feel it is our responsibility that dc is surrounded by diversity rather than attending a school populated by 99% white, which is the likelihood in much of more rural England. Interesting about looking at private schools. It's not something Ive thought about personally but I'm sure as much planning and research will be needed into state secondaries in any case. The question is whether to move to the secondary area straight away. Also finding the balance between zone 1 centrality and slightly more space...

Never crossed my mind to leave. We go to visit family in the suburbs and flee back to zone 2 There are parks everywhere, museums everywhere, amazing sporting facilities, opportunities everywhere.
Why would anyone leave?!

Zone 1 here and for the first time in my adult life, lockdown made me have a think about leaving.

All that makes London so appealing was taken away and whilst I realise that isn't going to happen again, life in London has changed forever.

We picked a house based on inside space as we have PIL (with big garden) 15 mins walk away, we have a plot in a local communal garden and we are less then 2 minutes from two parks. All of this meant nothing in lockdown. We had access to none of it and were confined to a small yard and "adult" terrace (not safe for the kids unsupervised)

Out oldest has just gone into KS2 and we'll make a decision in the next few years with regards to staying or going.

We had access to parks and gardens all through lockdown. The playgrounds were shut of course, but there was plenty of space to run around in the gardens and squares and lots of improvised play equipment (logs, steps, trees).

"we should be able to afford about 8-900k for a 3-4 bed"

I would stick that into a property website and see what you could afford and where with that.

I feel it is our responsibility that dc is surrounded by diversity rather than attending a school populated by 99% white

If you are in East London research your school carefully. The school I helped out in consisted 90% of DC of a shared ethnicity. The DC were really lovely, motivated and friendly but the language in the playground was not English; it was very difficult for those DC who could not understand.

I don't really understand why you think that the London suburbs are 99% white. It's more 50% in my DD's school.

I also don't think that you are going to get more than a tiny bolt hole for your budget if you stay in central.

I grew up in London and am raising my DC here in East London but I have been extremely lucky to be able to buy a big house with a big garden, plus there’s a beautiful park a three minute walk away. My DC go to a private school but it is diverse. I can’t really imagine bringing them up anywhere else because I had such a fabulous childhood here.

We live in London in zone 3 within five min walk of two parks and a lovely school that my kids go to. Our area is really multicultural, I love the people and sense of community, not been tempted to move out of London at all. I find zone 3 central enough, you can be in parts of central London in 20min.

We lived in east London until DC went to secondary school. Looked at local schools (felt a bit meh, although beautiful facilities because of the gov funding in inner city schools, pre-austerity). Looked at private school but philosophically averse. By fluke, came across terrific school (not all white ) further out in E London. Lovely big houses and gardens, easy commute to work, and the best bit is that DC have great friends that are in walking distance and I never worry about them walking home at night, etc. I know you didn’t want this type of experience, OP, and we also loved our East London life. We might move back when the kids leave home - but as a family unit, this is perfect for now!

We are in a very green area of north London. I absolutely love it. It's exactly where I want to raise my family. But it's wild expensive. We rent a beautiful flat with 19m old, I'm 30 I hope to be able to buy by late 30s, we have good jobs and earning potential. For me I'd rather rent somewhere lovely than buy somewhere i hate. I don't have family around so friends and the area are important to me. We are an interracial family and safety and diversity are incredibly important to us, I couldnt live somewhere my son would be a rarity being non white.

@Tablefor4

"we should be able to afford about 8-900k for a 3-4 bed"

I would stick that into a property website and see what you could afford and where with that.

Not a lot I imagine

We’re in zone 4 which I find a really good compromise - it’s a bit suburban and has a slightly country-town feel, lots of green space, big gardens, better air quality etc but still has the facilities and diversity you would expect from London, easy access to central London (we can be at the museums in a little over half an hour). Moving outside of London makes me feel queasy but zone 1-2 make me feel a bit suffocated!

I am raising my son in zone one. At the moment he is primary age, and to be honest I am conscious that living here is more for my benefit than his at this age, as he would love to have a huge garden to run around in rather than a small garden and parks. BUT even in the Covid era we are still able to do so much in London, and once he is a bit older he will be able to be very independent very easily. Plus it is much better for me for work opportunities. We are lucky that we have country dwellers we can visit easily for weekends. For me, I love that his school is full of children from all over the world, and that it is the norm for his friends to have global experiences.

We moved out to zone 5. It’s much more family-oriented and not transient. Multicultural, great schools, loads to do for kids and adults etc but we go into central London frequently for theatre, concerts, museums etc.

In east London, isn’t Wanstead family orientated and pretty central? Zone 3, I think?

What are you thinking of as “central London”?

Wow @PseuDenim would love to know whereabouts you are? Would you be happy to DM me your area?

Likewise @Dontcarewhatmyusernameis

@Solasum I think you and I are aligned - this is what really matters to me as well.

@JoJoSM2 thanks, yes, thank you I think Wanstead is- worth checking out

@UpperLowercaseSymbolNumber I don't know, but probably zones 1-3 with 3 being the max - that's why I added the "ish".

Zone 3 in West London (previously zone 2 north). We are one day going to be on cross rail. I love where we love. I am surrounded by parks - nearest is 2 min walk but there are four big parks within 15 min walks. Schools are good, lots of diversity, good food and easy to get to west end / city. I wouldn't move further out as we can get out to the country in bucks/berks in 20 mins drive and I like the balance of suburbia - city - country.

£800-£900k will get you 3-4 beds and a garden in East Dulwich/Nunhead/Forest Hill/Brockley, and you’ll have big parks, good schools and good transport links.

We live in Zone 2, large flat with very large garden in an area with great schools and heaps of community stuff. There are compromises though - seeing friends slowly move out in search of houses, the obvious compromise of being in a flat. And I'm much more wedded to the area (and London!) than DH.

I rarely find people who share this view especially at the moment as so many are thinking of moving very far out because of Covid.

I think that’s because so few people have a budget that would enable them to live in central London.

We live zone 3/4 borders in SE London with a 4 and 6 to with no plans to move. I grew up very rurally and was bored to tears- I LOVE cities (I do like to go to the countryside, I just wouldn't want to live there).

We moved into a then very unfashionable area 8 years ago to get a house. It's still not that fashionable but we couldn't afford it now.

It's fab- have you heard of the 15 minute city principle? That's where we are now. Everything, including some beautiful parks and a swimming lake are within a 15 minute bike ride, we are on 2 fast lines to town (about 17 minutes) and have great neighbours. I love that anything we want is accessible and we don't have to have a car. We are never going to have a huge house and garden, but it is plenty big enough. I do worry about friends moving away though.