To want to live in london?

[Amy700]

We've been living out in the sticks for hubby's job but have the opportunity to move to london and I want to go. We would have a combined income of about £100-120k plus £500k for a deposit (enough to buy an entire house in most other places!) we live in a nice 4-bed house here and have two children in private school. Hubby thinks moving to london would mean giving up our 'lifestyle'. I'd be ok with putting the children in state school but I do want a decent house in a nice area. Hubby thinks you can't get that in london on our finances. Is he right?

Kent could be a good compromise if you want access to London but DH wants rural. High speed train line gets into London even from areas close to the coast in around 40 mins. Lots of lovely villages with good schools (state and private) and grammars for secondary if you want that. Obviously it's not the same as being in the thick of it and the train fare is more expensive but it's a possible compromise.

You would prioritise a nice house over a proper education?

I love living in Central London, with two young DCs there's always something to do and somewhere to go. Plus we are spoilt for choice with all the good private schools within walking distance.

We have many friends who moved out once they had children to do the conventional thing and buy a big family home. We've stayed put despite pressure from our respective families to move out to the suburbs and get ourselves a big house. We are renting a teeny tiny dinky little house which we got at a great deal because it needs a bit of modernising but doesn't look shabby so we don't mind the finish.

For us it's all about location. The London suburbs just feel like they are so far out of town that you almost have to make it a day trip to come in and visit museums, parks, shopping, going out for dinners etc. At which point might as well be living in oxford and or some similar distance. At least your local area would be nicer and you would have a prettier looking home. Most of the London suburbs just feel so drab and uniform, endless rows of 1930s semis at that price point. And unless you live near the tube station you could be walking for 20 minutes to get to your nearest. Plus our friends in Zones 5/6 have long commutes to work in town in any case. DH and I can get into work, door to door in 20 minutes.

Have you considered renting a flat in London? House prices are a bit unstable at the moment so perhaps renting would give you a chance to test the waters. And by holding off from buying now you may be able get a better deal later and see what interest rates are saying then. You could also rent out your current property. But in central London I say you would have to opt for private schooling rather than state. State schools may be fine in the suburbs but central London state schools will feel very different to what your children will be used to.

Racecardriver do you mean a good state school over private school?

I hated private school as did DH

The trouble with the places on the outskirts is that you end up paying quite a hefty London premium for somewhere that doesn't feel much like London.

I would consider somewhere like Forest Hill or Honor Oak. They are in zone 3, so not so far out and the commute into Oxford Circus would only involve a change at Bank. There are some good private and state schools in the area and it's very 'nappy valley' so lots of things for children (including a museum right there!). Prices are going up a lot, but with your money at the moment, you could get a decent sized 3/4 bedroom semi or Victorian terrace.

YANBU. London is awesome but not Surbiton please God

You'll struggle to educate two privately in London on a joint income of £120k - doable but tight and remember fee increases of 5% or so each year. plus the schools are mostly selective so you'll need to factor getting them in.

Different people have different ideas about what a “proper” or “good” education, or lifestyle, is.

Doubt even with their budget OP and her DH could afford a house in a naice, centralish London area AND private education, and the bunfight for private (or the small number of “superselective” state grammar in places like sutton) school entry is reportedly horrible. Where I used to live (zone 2) people paid a huge housing price premium eg £100k on a house, or compromised on a flat and/or no garden, to live very close to popular state comprehensives.

MiddleClassProblem and Loopytiles I've given some examples of other southwest London 3 bed homes in Wandsworth btw 600K and 800K for Amy700 to see - it's a matter of searching and you will find them.

The commute from further out can be horrid and also expensive besides cutting into family time. Private schools will prob be too expensive but state ones have improved. It all depends on what compromise the OP and her DH are prepared to make to live their London dream.

Some colleagues live in and like Wandsworth.

Not mentioned in the programme is Bexley borough reserves about 80 places for the highest scoring children from outside the borough so introducing an element of the super selective.

Sorry wrong thread

Absolutely don't do it. I would say go to Home Counties. If the opportunity is job related, then you can still commute and some of the best private schools are in this area.

But you would give up your lifestyle easily. I live in London, I hate it, so moved back to suburbs. Your whole life is more expensive from food, to the pure pressure of socialising and drinks here are a rip off. I'd say 100k in London is comfortable if no children.

People OBVIOUSLY survive on less (think a high % are on below 20k or something) but they do not have your lifestyle.

I’d avoid Morden ‘proper’ but nearby is Merton Park, Raynes Park and New Malden. They’re zone 3/4, you could get something there and they’re very close to Wimbledon for restaurants and transport into town.

Are you for real Racecardriver?

You would prioritise a nice house over a proper education? hmm

Do you have any experience of good state schools, which London is packed with?

Do you realise there are loads of really second rate private schools?

We could afford private but are going state because our local state schools are bloody brilliant.

Honestly, the idea that you only get a 'proper' education by going private makes me LARF (and I went to a v posh school so am not chippy btw!)

Have you thought about East London, along Crossrail / the Elizabeth line? In the zone 6 areas you can get a 4 bed house for £500k ish. Private primary is around £9k per year per child.

Crossrail will soon take you to Tottenham Court Road/Bond Street on the one train, so no having to deal with the Central Line, bonus!

Sabulous - where would East London DC go to private secondary? Would City of London Boys/Girls be reachable? They have good reputations. I love the East End. My favourite part of London. But I've never thought of it as genteel and OP wants 'a decent house in a nice area' which makes me think of Wimbledon or Hampstead.

TBH this is quite a madcap scheme to embark on considering you’re “not that familiar with London”.

Big expensive undertaking with major upheaval and culture shock for the children and, really, you’re going in blind.

Overcrowding in London has become very visible in the past 15 years and everything has shot up exponentially in price (except bus fares and basic groceries). It’s a very big change from “the sticks”.

Some colleagues live in and like Wandsworth.

Bottom end of Lambeth is more realistic for a £800,000-900,000 budget. Southern overground straight into Victoria in 20-30 minutes then a short tube hop.

But really they need to do an Air BnB trial for a couple of weeks before they even think about it.

Battleax, yes if we were moving tomorrow and if this Mumsnet thread was the sum total of my research, then yes it would be madcap. Thankfully, I'm actually talking to DH, doing other research, and planning a trip to London before we even think about it further.

Also, re schools, im not prioritising a naice house over a good education. I was state educated and I know good state schools exist. We chose private here because we can afford it. If there was an outstanding state school that we could get into in London then I'd be willing to leave the private system. I've heard very good things about the schools on the surrey borders, which is why we were looking at state school as an option. Obviously if it isn't right for the children we won't do it.

Thank you everyone for all of your advice. I never thought I'd get so many responses! It sounds like I am not being completely unrealistic, but I do know that we have a lot more work ahead of us here. Many people have made a good point about the commute. We'll have to have a serious think (and do a test run) to see if the commute would be worth it.

I was going to suggest Kew, Richmond or Wimbledon. But they can be quite expensive.

A few pp said to avoid Morden. I'm interested to know what is wrong with Morden -it borders Wimbledon? I've passed through it and thought it looked fine?

OP wants 'a decent house in a nice area' which makes me think of Wimbledon or Hampstead.

There are many more parts of London that meet these criteria but are less cripplingly expensive than Wimbledon or Hampstead.

Look in Camden or Islington, maybe Tufnell Park. Nice schools and a bus ride to Oxford Circus or Tot Court Road. It would be a nice house, but a small one. Do it

@MollyHuaCha

I was one of those - I actually live there!

The town is not terribly ‘nice’ - lots of discount retailers, fast food places and some quite run down areas etc

It doesn’t have the restaurants and coffee shops and social life OP has said aged like and whilst primary schools are good senior is tricky.

Bordering areas like Raynes Park and Merton Park are much nicer.

Frankly, with the OPs budget then you can afford nicer. I don’t do much in Morden itself at all because there’s not much there other than the lovely Morden Hall Park.

I do suspect, however, that it will ‘gentrify’ in coming years owing to its proximity to Wimbledon.

It’s not ‘awful’ but if I had the money to have the quality of life I do here but in Raynes Park/Kingston etc then I’d move.

Amy700 I wish I was in your shoes! I moved out of London and miss it, but we'll never get back there now prices have gone up so much.

London is a massive city, as you know, with many different ways to live. What are your priorities? Tell us a bit about your family so we can help with areas.

So your top priority is education - then what?

Do you want to live somewhere on the outskirts with a bigger house, or somewhere more central with easy access to central London and all it has to offer?

Do you want to be near cafes / small quirky shops / parks / leisure centres / easy transport? How important is it to you to be near large green space (London is very green!)

How many bedrooms do you need?

Hubby thinks moving to london would mean giving up our 'lifestyle'.

What does your lifestyle include? What does your DH think you'll be missing? What do you do in your leisure time?