to want to move to London next year

[GitAwfMayLend]

Hate living in Gloucestershire. It's bollocks.

I work in Swindon - loads of Londoners commute down here.

DP can work anywhere.

DD has got GCSEs and would need a college place, but she would certainly be up for it (has the wanderlust like me and DP).

Kittya we're TTCing and would fully intend to bring up children here - Hackney's great for kids. It's good for teens too but as with all London you have to be a bit wary of the whole gang biz. That being said we know lots of people who have brought their children up through secondary school in E London and they're very street-smart but not sucked into all of that, IYSWIM.

Kittya - I have two children and have lived in London zone 2 (various locations) for the past 26 years apart from 2 hateful years in Devon.

2 children - age 8 and 10 - here all their lives.

If you like North London and cant afford Hamstead, Highgate etc how about Finchley, Southgate, Witchmore Hill? Lovely areas.

(and 21 of mine)

I have 2 children and moved from zone 2 only because we were on the wrong side of the property price juggernaut. Occasionally i dream of winning the lottery and moving back like a greased ferret on speed and roller skates.

Laquitar, I suggested your areas earlier, I love Winchmore Hill but accept the tubes could be a problem. Theres some fab Italian places there. I think Finchley is great too, East Finchley especially.

northern rock - noel park, between Turnpike Lane and Wood Green tube stations (but don't let that put you off - I don't live there but the noel park area is lovely).

Many of my friends live in zone 2 - in and around Finsbury Park - with children - stroud green area and tollington park road areas are quite nice and residential and affordable. finsbury park is lovely with loads of activities for kids, great cafe. I can't praise Hornsey highly enough either.

god people are funny about london, I live in the burbs, nice and green, but close enough to civilisation, do it!

Oh sorry Kittya, i didn't read everything.
Yes, nice restaurants in both areas! (we had to move further thu-in Barnet)

Oh, I have a soft spot for Barnet and, Whetstone. Its all good.

It is nice but it took me some time to get used to it as i felt it was too 'out of london'

Agree with everything Bloofer says and will add this:

Having been brought up in Barnet (the same as Adair - do we know each other...eek!) and have lived East London for nearly 20 years now.

Woodford/Snaresbrook/Wanstead/Whipps Cross/Leytonstone....quite villagey, woodsy...loved it

Hackney - have lived in all parts from Shoreditch to Finsbury Park to Homerton to where I am now.....tis' my oasis of heaven. I love it here, fab parks, great schools, a great mix of people without causing pockets of ghettoised ethnicities, fab nightlife and restauraunts, transport links (can you tell how much i love it)

Haven't lived in west, have had no need for west london apart from carnival....noone I know has any further usage for it either!!!

come to Hackney GOML...you know you want to!!!

Theres a lovely Indian by the church and the oldie pubs are nice. I like Barnet.

Hackney (Shoreditch, some areas around Finsbury Park), even outwards to Barnet and Southgate - all great (but quite different) areas to live in. The former more buzzy, the latter more "suburban and quiet" but all with great transport links. Finsbury Park is zone 2 and 15 minutes tops into Oxford Circus, Barnet is 20-ish minutes to Kings Cross plus there's High Barnet tube.

I'll stop now. OP - North London and East London are great but if you need to commute to Swindon then stick to West London (of which I no nothing).

Oh come to Walthamstow Village Getorf! It's nearly upped and come!
It has a couple of loverly <a class="break-all" href="//www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=apps.restaurantandbardesignawards.com/system/photos/755/large/eat17_0477.jpg%3F1295715198&imgrefurl=www.restaurantandbardesignawards.com/view-entries.php%3Fid%3D193&usg=__7gU4Ph1N7TzCLYinBSBoSEVX81M=&h=467&w=700&sz=131&hl=en&start=16&sig2=gmikUPlQrf0RNPPd8WSmGQ&zoom=1&tbnid=NQya49BV_lSA7M:&tbnh=169&tbnw=228&ei=6z-3TYObFJSs8QPNzNhI&prev=/search%3Fq%3DEat%2B17%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3D8TW%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1045%26bih%3D506%26tbm%3Disch0%2C658&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=734&vpy=232&dur=168&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=200&ty=113&page=3&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:16&biw=1045&bih=506" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">restaurongs as my dear ma used to say, and our local supermarket won Grocer Magazine Convenience Retailer of the Year! Yes I KNOW! (Srsly is poshest Spar I've ever been in. artisan bread baked on premises, wood-fired pizza etc).
Close enough to Islington for dd to do college there, and shopping. Brick Lane and Shoreditch 20 mins away for Sunday fashionability, if you're that way inclined.

I too Walthamstow Village and have two friends with toddlers living there and loving it. End of the very fast Victoria Line too.

at Walthamstow Village.

We in Stokey smell of dung, we are so villagey

You smell of dung because most of you make shit tv for a living WV is vair villagey for Lunnen Town.

I was catching the bus in Dalston today and walked past The Farm Shop on Dalston Lane.....they grown thier own salad leaves to pick fresh for thier salads...I have no idea why I was so shocked and happy about that, but I was....so there you go GOML, you even have a touch of the rural farm shoppe in citywise Hackney....

Have DD aged 11 and live on zone 2/3 borders - zone 2 station 10 mins walk, zone 3 station 6 mins walk. 10 mins walk to 'outstanding' (we shall see!) secondary where DD starts in September.

Fully admit that GOML might be better served by W London while still commuting to Swondon, but the house I posted for her earlier would mean a potential Whitehall commute of 30 mins including the walk at either end.

Quint Dulwich is ££££ - I did a search on all prices initially and by cutting the ceiling to £700k I lost about 150, some of which were over £3m! East Dulwich is a bit cheaper but after 16 years there I think I can honestly say it's overrated and the secondary schools options are limited to say the least.

Just to bolster my 'ED is overrated' point, I can remember the last time this place was on the market - about 2 years ago - it's gone up about £100k in the meantime in what we are supposed to believe is a falling market and it still has the 10 foot garden that made me laugh out loud last ime.

kittya I live in zone 2 - Brixton - and have one dd (15 months) and another DC on the way. Brixton is brilliant for kids, really community orientated. Big Scream at The Ritzy, magnificent Brockwell Park, 4 children's centres within 5 mins walk of my house, a local authority recreation centre that is really baby/child focussed, a lovely library that has great singing groups etc etc. The primary schools are (mostly) good. Bus routes to everywhere!

We spent 5 years in Fulham and loved every minute of it. I am happy to be home but I miss walking everywhere and having everything so close to hand.

Loved Carluccios down on the river at Putney for Saturday brunch, loved just strolling to the Apollo etc.

I wouldn't live anywhere else in the UK.