Moving to London with 4 month old

[SoonToBeDad30]

Hey all,
My wife, our 4 month old dd and I are relocating to London from Gloucestershire for job purposes. I’ll be working in Mayfair and we are looking for a quite a bohemian but family focused area. We are planning another child so need at least 3 beds and local baby groups and decent state primary schools as well as good nurseries. A private garden is preferable and the budget is roughly £500,000 any suggestions or particular areas we should look at?

How long a commute are you willing to do? How key is private garden? For that price, you're probably looking at a flat or reasonably far out from Mayfair

Do you absolutely need to move? It’s hard to know where you are in Gloucestershire but I’d be inclined to use that budget to move closer to a fast train link and stay where you are. I live further out from London than that and commute in but Dh and I were looking around Gloucestershire and it was at most 1.5 hours.

For £500,000 in London you’ll get a flat with probably no outside space (I would not do this with small children!) or you’ll be so far out that you’ll be looking at an hour commute anyway. If you’re going to have a long commute, I’d stay living in a lovely part of the country where you can have a bigger house, more outdoor space, potentially better schools, etc

How long do you want your commute to be?
How much are you willing to pay for your commute?
What is more important the family focused area or the bohemian vibe?
Is there any flex on your budget?

Yep, as mindutopia says. This is why we left London actually, instead of living in London hinterlands which was all we could afford, we decided to move thoroughly out.

500k will at best get you a 2 bed ex council property with a garden in zone 2/3...

Stoke newington is very nice, very boho and lots of baby groups. Not sure about the commute to Mayfair though you should be able to cycle in

Manor Road, Stoke Newington, N16
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-104605553.html

This looks quite nice! If a bit small..

I think you need to adjust your expectations. I think you can have a 3 bed OR a nice boho area OR a short commute to Mayfair OR a garden. Only one of these will be possible for £500k.

House prices have dropped a fair bit in London but not that far.

Anyway with that budget you're almost definitely looking at zone 3. Be careful if you intend to stay for a while and have a look at the local schools.

If that was my budget I'd be in the commuter belt, the schools, lifestyle, community, and housing will be far better than you can afford in London

Look along the west end of the Elizabeth line, you can walk to Mayfair from Paddington in 10 minutes. I’d recommend Hanwell but you’ll struggle to get a 3 bed with garden on that budget (I’d rent first anyway). It’s not bohemian but it’s fun and has a great community and loads for kids.

It’s 12 minutes to Paddington and trains are every 15 minutes.

It's a little bit of a gamble but look at crossrail. When it's finally completed it would cut the commute from some outer London areas in half, but the catch is with that budget you'll have to buy before it's up an running and live with the longer commute for an indefinite period of time.

@babychange12

Manor Road, Stoke Newington, N16 www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-104605553.html

This looks quite nice! If a bit small..

That's on a horrible industrial road in Stoke Newington. Plus your commute would be a bitch.

Your budget won't stretch there. £500k is the price of a 2bed in zone2 U.K. afraid OP. You really need to be looking north west of London

You could meet your property criteria in Croydon. Areas such as Purley, Coulsdon, Sanderstead, Selsdon are quite family friendly, but I don't think they can really be described as bohemian. Zone 5/6

Transport links are OK if you can locate near a station, but parts of Selsdon and Sanderstead are quite a distance. East Croydon station serves Victoria, London Bridge and St Pancreas.

Agree with pp, your budget won't get you what you are looking for in a bohemian area. Have you thought about the outer southwest suburbs like Hampton or Shepperton, you would get to Waterloo in around 40 mins and then jubilee line to Bond Street. Or if you went a bit further out to somewhere like Walton your budget would go a lot further.

Beckenham. Not sure if it's very bohemian, but does everything else and 20 mins from
Victoria.

Regarding commuting from Gloucestershire, we are currently in the Stroud area so it would be impossible to commute to Mayfair. My wife and I have found this house: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/94465052#/ but we are not sure about the area if anyone could shed some light? It seems I could get the overground and then the Victoria line?

We also like the look of this flat in Kentish Town: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/89923864#/ where I could potentially take the picadilly line?

We used to live (10 years ago) just off Graham Road which you can see on the map, and DS went to nursery on the Pembury Estate. I actually very much liked living there, with a baby and a toddler, loads to do, Hackney Cty Farm, a museum of Childhood, loads of friendly baby groups, but the road we were on was nearer London Fields. As with most of London it’s a real mix demographically. There were plenty of baby groups etc, although more towards Victoria Park. When we were there crime was quite high, we were burgled, I was followed home and the man tried to force his way into the house, our car was set fire to and our doorknob stolen twice, I also witnessed a stabbing. Don’t know what it’s like now. We moved out of London when the kids were 3 and six months to get a garden and another bedroom.

Hmm, Dalston Lane. It depends on what your version of ‘bohemian’ is. It would be a huge change from Stroud. That looks like an ex council house on the same plan as a friend of mine, which will be nice & spacious. The area is definitely edgy & mixed but there are nice facilities around the area too. Look very carefully at schools. My SIL lived near there in Haggerston, & left the area for primary school.

That’s not a bad start. The area is trendy, vibrant, very busy. It’s not an obvious choice for a family, and no idea re the schools.

The earlier suggestion re Crossrail is a good idea - not for the “10 minute” walk from Paddington to Mayfair (which would take 30 minutes +) but for quick links into Bond Street. Forest Gate is where families priced out of Stoke Newington seem to move to, and you might just about find something in budget.

Otherwise Blackhorse Road would be great for your commute, and may be just about affordable.

Can’t help on Hackney unfortunately, but I second looking out of central London and look at the commute.

You can look at the fair ends of the central line eg Ruislip and see what you can get for your money.

I am between Uxbridge (Met and Piccadilly Line) and West Drayton (overground rail/Elizabeth Line) and you can get a 3 bed with garden here.

If you're happy to get the overground, somewhere like Crystal Palace would fit your bill as it's got a really village-y vibe. I think a house will be out of your price range but you can get a really amazing flat like this.

We would also be willing to compromise on a two bed if it meant having a garden or being in a safer, nicer area. We were looking at this flat as I would possibly be able to cycle or take the bus to work.
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/86155759#/

@HarkAVagrant To be quite honest that makes me slightly nervous re the crime. Do you know anything about primary schools in the area as ideally we would like to move and stay until dd is at least secondary age.