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're in zone 3/4 London...I was born and bred here. I'd happily move out a bit further. I wouldn't want to bring up a child in zone 1. However, I also wouldn't want to move out to the countryside. Suburban London is perfect imo...you still have access to all the benefits of central London but you also have a more family friendly place to live, more open spaces...I wouldn't worry about diversity. Suburban London is very diverse...in fact you'll probably meet lots more different people than you would living in a trendy, gentrified area.

We’re in Zone 1. The DDs went to school outside London (they were in the US system). We used to have a flat full of their friends most weekends, as they liked to crash at ours after clubbing/shopping/cinema etc. I liked the fact that they could be home in ten minutes on a night bus or taxi if they were going to be late home.

@Tickly I think I know which area you are talking about and it's been on my radar for a while. It seems to be slightly better value for money than other surrounding areas in West given how leafy it is and the lovely farmers market etc, access to river etc. I wasn't sure we would be able to afford anywhere within walking distance to one of the large green spaces though.

I've never been keen on moving to Nunhead, Forest Hill, Brockley area. I've got friends there and have visited a number of times to various areas but always found it a shlep to get to and wasn't massively enamoured with the vibe of the main centres. Just my personal taste and I know they do offer value for money.

@EssentialHummus which area in zone 2 is this can I ask? It sounds great!

@Breadandroses1 sounds great. Yes the 15 min city has become even more relevant now with Covid. I too want to avoid a car and stick to occasional use of car club for weekends away.

We moved to a seaside commuter town, having previously lived in Zone 2 for eight years and Zone 3 for five.

Many of the things that you have listed that make London great are things that my autistic 6yo would find incredibly frightening, so even though you may enjoy access to those things you may find your DC feel differently.

I was tired of drugs being dealt outside my front door. The year before we left there were two acid attacks and three shootings within a quarter mile of our home. Why would I pay over a grand and a half in rent for a two bedroom house with a postage stamp garden, for all that?

We bought a large 3 bed semi with an huge garden and our mortgage is half as much as the rent we paid in London.

I live in zone 2/3 in west London . I love the access to green spaces (numerous amazing parks, Kew Gardens and Richmond park just a 20 minute cycle away) and can get to the centre in about 20 mins on the tube . We often pop to the Natural History museum for a quick wander after school. The pollution and house prices are a pain but there are so many good things. I have to say it’s refreshing to read a positive post about life in London as I love it here but everyone I know seems to be trying to sell up and move out.

London is so varied it’s difficult to make generalisations.

I think it’s often (usually?) easier to access green space on foot in central London than rurally. Certainly SW London is packed with green space, and many rural areas have drug problems.

Again, I think it’s all about money. I suspect the number of people who would like to live in Chiswick or zone 1 is far larger than the number of people who want to move out.

We are zone 1, SW London, 4DC . No issues with green space, we are a couple of minutes away from St James Park & Green Park, Hyde Park, and Battersea Park is also very accessible though a longer walk. Although it's a very busy area we are lucky to be on a quiet side street. I love that we can walk to most of the places we need to get to including our office and the tube in good days is very quick and reliable. We also hardly use a car during week days.

We are in a town house so have sufficient space, though no personal garden. We do however have access to a shared private garden. Numerous playgrounds around, libraries, museums, great shopping experience, restaurants etc. There's always something to do. We wouldn't move unless it was to a bigger house around the same area or more central. The schools around here are also very good. Not sure about diversity however almost everyone we know is from somewhere else, Spain, Russia, Brazil etc.

DH and myself are both not from London/England however we have lived here a while and love London. We are both from big cities, I guess that might be a reason we enjoy it here. I like the rush of London, and fortunately we live in a very safe area so no concerns about safety etc.

@RandomLondoner1 I will try to work out how to direct message

We are planning on raising our child in zone 3 north london. We have a 2 bed flat. I think its harder for us to move out as my parents are 8 time zones away and DH's mum lives near us (and she would never move as she needs to be in london for the religious facilities she requires). So for us, if we move out of London, we would not be near any family and that would be lonely. Plus DH's mum works from home and always has done for the past 30 years so would be in the position to help us. Also I would like to be not more than an hour from my synagogue and its harder than you might think to find a nice area within those limitations!

OP, in my area, you would get a 3 bed terraced for 800K.

We are in zone 4 so perhaps too far out for what you are thinking. I love it as we have great green spaces , access to the centre of London and good schools. Everything is on my door step . It would take us about 45 minutes to get to the museums and big London attractions which doesnr make them convenient, but we've done them all anyway and now the DCS are teens it's not something that bothers us. I wouldn't move further out.

I grew up in South London many years ago. Looking back it was ideal. Easy access to Brockwell Park and Streatham Common, and as I grew older just a bus ride and Tube to the museums and the West End and theatres.

which area in zone 2 is this can I ask? It sounds great!

It’s next to Nunhead, Forest Hill and Brockley - Telegraph Hill.

I am in this position. I lived in a flat in Zone 1 with my DC until she was school age then moved to Zone 2 to buy a house. I live 1 minute from a beautiful small park and 10 mins from a huge one. My borough is very green and my experience of schools, healthcare, community, culture, diversity extra curricular opportunities etc has been hugely positive.

However, I think about moving out obsessively and lock down has made it worse.

I grew up somewhere very rural and I wonder if I'm depriving my DC of things I benefited from - freedom, fresh air, closeness to nature.

But I was also bored and it was lonely growing up somewhere that I didn't fit in. I like to visit countryside a lot and if money allowed and it wasn't ruinous for local communities I'd love a 2nd home outside the city.

I worry that Covid will spell the end for arts and culture in London but the other reasons I stay - friends, career opportunities, restaurants etc will survive I think.

Essentially it's impossible to have it all - I think you have to weigh up what's most important to you and then live with the what ifs. Plus there's life after kids and work so you can always move in or out then...

I don't understand why you seem to think that only Central London has diversity. Believe it or not there are plenty of minority groups living in the suburbs too.

I grew up in zone 4 and if there was one thing that pissed me off, it was people from zones 1-2 implying that everything outside it wasn't "real London". There are plenty of people of different colours and religions here too, you know. Tbh you sound like you've barely visited anywhere outside of your East London bubble if that's what you really think.

I was raised in London and am raising my family here. We are zone 3 SW London. Hugely diverse community. Easy access to tube and buses. Door to eg being on Southbank itself or most of zone 1 in 25-40 mins depending on which bit.

I love the choice of services and days out. We have a car but I love that we don't need to rely on it day to day.

The more suburby 3/4 borders I do think vary in terms of distance from the centre, and overall feel depending on area.

I'd love to live closer to the centre, not further away, but can't afford it :)

@mintyfreshh I'm sorry about your experiences living in London, and it does sound nasty. But I was asking for views of people who have chosen to raise their kids in London, and with all due respect, not be criticised for choosing to stay. There are enough London bashing threads on here, I just wanted to hear from people who are making positive choices to live here.

@tectonicplates I'm sorry you felt so offended but if you read my post I said that much of "rural England" wasn't diverse. I didn't say zone 4. Also I have lived in most areas of London except for far south.

@mirandatempest yes I think that's a good point you make. It's about weighing up what's a priority versus what what I'm prepared to lose.

We are raising our kids (4 and 8) in east London too. I don't think we'll ever leave london (unless it's something out of our control)

Like others have said, there are so many things here which you just can't get elsewhere. We live 3 minutes walk form a beautiful park, we have the Olympic Park just down the road. Yesterday as the kids had a half day at school, we went to the natural history museum in the afternoon. I also wouldn't want to live anywhere which isn't multicultural.

I totally get why people don't like it here, and I see those things. The noise, the litter, the busyness. But there are so many things for me which I love so much, I just couldn't give up.

One thing that really does bother me about living her though is how people tend to leave. We've met so many lovely people who have all moved on. And I now have such a lovely bunch of friends, but there's always a chance they'll move in a few years. But not much I can we can do about that

Born in Central London and apart from a brief childhood stint in the countryside, lived in zone 1 until my children were early teens. We then moved out to zone 3.

We lived in a flat in Central London, no garden but access to parks and communal gardens in less than 5 mins walk.

Primary school was excellent. Options for what I deemed a good secondary school less so within Borough. However they were able to go to a good school in a neighbouring Borough and did well. Both children left London for university, they wanted to experience living outside of the capital. One returned and the other plans to stay in their uni city.

I loved growing up in London. Easy to get around and have many fond memories walking home from the west end after a night out. As an adult I appreciated the density of shops, the markets, the ability to get my hair done and buy a range of different foods, bars, clubs and restuarants. Being able to walk to work in the city was a huge bonus.- was fitter and trimmer when I lived in zone 1 as walked everywhere. Also appreciated being able to access the rest of the UK and further afield from all of the transport options.