To be so clueless about London

[rehomeme]

I've lived in London for most of my life, mostly north of the river. Post-childhood, in variety of mostly unsatisfactory places, either very small and up loads of stairs and in a decent neighbourhood or with more space but in middle of effing nowhere. In the other cities that I've lived in, both in the UK and abroad (US, Berlin, Cape Town) everything about housing has been much easier!

We're looking to move house from a small 3 bed house in Shepherd's Bush (which we own) to anywhere in West/S Weat London or maybe even Metroland sort of suburbia, provided DH can get in to the Tottenham Court Road/ Holborn area within 45 mins, ideally in 30 mins. I need to commute twice a week to Oxford and accept that might take a couple of hours driving, but still need to be on west side of city, OR within easy reach of Paddington.

What we're looking to find is a big garden, 80 foot + (ideally more) and not very narrow. (Not the sort of 16 foot skinny but long garden you get with some Victorian terraced houses.) Three bedrooms would be OK, four would be better. Not too many stairs (DM stays with us a lot and has mobility problems). Maybe a flat in a big house?

We have a child in reception and a toddler, so also keen to find somewhere with good primary schools. (The reception child currently goes to a private school so that's an option, but would prefer state.) Most of all, a good sense of community. Where we lie now is relatively expensive but basically a triangle of four streets of small Victorian cottages bounded by a massive shopping mall and a main road, and the population is totally transient.

We would ideally spend under 2m but could spend up to 2.5, which I realise is a large budget (much larger than we have had before). That's why my cluelessness astonishes me. We inherited some money and thought we would be able to move somewhere we really liked, given that we were going to spend twice as much money on a house. But I am failing to identify anywhere! The main areas I've been looking at are the Alphabet Streets in Fulham (but gardens small), East Putney (ditto) Queen's Park (but schools seem rubbish and nice houses are getting out of our price range), and Ealing (lovely houses but area seems pretty soulless and centre is grim).

People of Mumsnet, I am truly grateful for ideas. Tell me about where you live, if you love it.

@Londonmummy66. That house is lovely!

It is isn't it - rather jealous of it myself - its in a lovely friendly area with load of nice families with primary school and younger children and a good local parents network.

OP - if you are seriously thinking of SW London PM me as I have lived in a lot of the zone 2 locations posters have mentioned so am happy to give you the low down on streets and commutes.

Chiswick? Putney? Wandsworth Common?

Also OP, don’t forget no stamp right now on first £500k, so maybe you could extend your budget a little if need be?

Richmond or Twickenham/strawberry hill. Quick commute, great schools and lovely sense of community. Teddington is also lovely.

That house is lovely but in my experience Stockwell feels very unsafe. I would not feel safe walking around at night.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71853636.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71774076.html

OP, this house is quite unusual and different, but it has river views and a balcony is literally just at the start of Hammersmith Bridge, so the Thames towpath Is the bottom of your garden (you can see the bridge in the picture). So very quick to the tube.

It’s always worth trying an offer?

How do you link from Rightmove??

OP thanks for starting this thread. Love property porn. And for those questioning why OP is asking mumsnet instead of using a property agent - why not? Mumnetters know their local areas and as shown here can help without OP having to shell out for a property agent.

People of Mumsnet, thank you so much, this has resulted in some fantastic advice. I've already phoned up about the one on Keyes Road! But the agent said they had had multiple full-price offers so I didn't go to view it (needs quite a bit of work so would really only be possible for us under than asking price). But I see it isn't marked as under offer so maybe it fell through... or agent was talking bollocks... And the one on Lytton Grove is fantastic. I'd eyed that up already and hankered after it but put off going to see it because it's a bit too expensive and I don't know the area. But I will. The house on Castelnau is odd. I saw that it was on the market a year or more ago, then was reposted. It seems very cheap for that road so I think I came to the idea that there must be some subtle thing 'wrong' with it! Maybe this is how one misses the right place.

The Stockwell house keeps coming up on my searches and is basically my perfect house. Only I've never been to Stockwell. Isn't it for hip young people? The safety issue worries me too. Was going to see this house in Perryn Road in Acton (I like Acton quite a bit and have lived there before, used to go to Park Club which I loved) but there was a recent shooting on the road and I got cold feet. www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/55197755?search_identifier=dd2cff98b64b235a01180d710d0e9f0e

On Barnes: two years ago, if we'd been lucky enough to have the money then, it would have been exactly where I was looking. Unfortunately the bridge issue is a complete dealbreaker for my DH now. We used to go to the Wetlands centre quite often but after multiple Saturdays stuck in hideous traffic going via Mortlake or Fulham he refused to go any more. Then lockdown... He would be in a grump about coming back at night too, I think, because you have to drive round so far if you're in an Uber (paid for by his work and when he's coming back at 10 or 11 he really likes the quick journey down the Westway to our little house in the shadow of Westfield). And the journey to Oxford (I also work about once a month in Reading) would be difficult, more so than from Kew, without the ability to shoot over Hammersmith bridge and on to the M4 to the M25. My other slightly mad worry about Barnes is that DH went to St Paul's and would love our sons (v small) to go there, but it's obviously very difficult to get in and the thought of how near it is / how convenient it would be etc stresses me out a bit, because I don't want to put any pressure on them! I realise this is a bit silly.

It is also possible (this has been quite therapeutic, thank you) that if I didn't live literally underneath Westfield and if I hadn't spent a lot of lockdown exercising by jogging a few laps (I kid you not) round SB Green, the SIZE of the garden wouldn't matter so much in my mind.

I think we need to venture south of the river this weekend. Does anyone have any views on this one? Garden is really amazing, but house a bit too small. How much would we be able to extend it downstairs? Have no idea of planning permissions in this area or good sense of what would be possible.
www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/55478857?search_identifier=dd2cff98b64b235a01180d710d0e9f0e

Sorry about the underlining, by the way. New to this.

Nikhed - that is a good price for that Barnes house. The price is lower because it’s a quite main road and there’s a bus lane there.

Aware of that, I think it's a good house for the money regardless of the road.

Hello, OP, wow that house has a lovely garden!

But:

• Where would your DM stay when she visits? You'd have to chuck one of the DC out of their rooms every time and risk disturbed sleep from them sharing a room...Why settle for that when you can easily afford a guest room so everyone can stay put and be comfortable (especially if she stays more than a few days).
• No potential for a loft conversion.
• Kitchen is poky. If you extend downstairs (for a large kitchen/family room), you risk leaving the second reception room with no/very little natural light.
• Is there side or back access to the garden or are you going to have to drag plants/compost through the house? Also, extending will be a nightmare if the only access is through the house.
• Very little storage. Maybe you're better than me at this whole minimalism thing, but with small children better storage is definitely high on the list for my next house. It's much easier to cope with smaller living space if you have great storage and so the space is just for living. You can afford cupboards, cupboards, cupboards, whole rooms of cupboards! Why settle for less?
• Goodness, is the third bedroom accessed through the bathroom? How will that work for you?

All best for this weekend...Remember that asking prices are just that - asking prices!

Should also add Clapham is a much more difficult commute to Oxford (either using public transport or driving).

I said it before but take a look at Richmond. Easy links to M25(15 mins car journey) and one that i do to Oxford about once a month. I can also get to reading in 50 minutes and in to town in 20 on the train and there is a tube as well.

Surely if the OP is travelling to
Oxford twice a week Wimbledon, Wandsworth etc are really suitable?

Can you go private for secondary?

Living in Hampstead, it’s a straight shot to oxford in terms of driving. Not far to get the train geographically but less direct.

What about The Barbican? Huge communal gardens. Kids welcome.
Easily commutable to Holborn (walk!!)
Good schools (state CofE primary or private). Whizz round on tube to Paddington.

With your budget you would get a 4bed tower flat. Or maybe one of the townhouses (but they don’t come up often). Flat might be better with your mother. 24/7 concierge and plentiful parking (although you do pay).

Real community feel. And there are lots of long term residents.

Frank Harris is the agent to approach if this appeals.

I OP. I really wouldn’t worry about the St Paul’s school thing. Nobody else does! It’s not as if the majority of boys in Barnes go there. Far from it! Every morning, there’s the boys coming in from the tube to SPS crossing one way over the bridge; just like hoardes of others coming in for Harrodian. But there are equally hoardes of others crossing the bridge for LU (you can walk along the north-side of the river and have access through the prep). SP boys isn’t hailed as the be-all-and-end-all anymore as girls schools such as G&L get slightly better results anyway. All the schools are super-competitive and St Paul’s no more so than others in the area. Once your kids get a place in a school that’s right for them, you don’t really think about other schools at all.
I would t be put off moving to Barnes because of SP any more than I’d be put off moving to Wimbledon because of Kings. Either they get in or they don’t and if they don’t, its irrelevant.

Also, the garden in that Clapham house you looked to looks huge OP! Like a park.

By the look of it, I think you could probably extend the kitchen there, but you’d have to check it out.

Would you manage such a huge garden though? You would need gardeners. How much would you use the garden in the winter? Just playing devil’s advocate here.

FWIW, my kids now are 11, 13, 15, 17 and they hardly go in the garden. They go out and about with friends.

Would a bit more house space not be more useful for a growing family? Don’t forget, the friends get bigger too. Open plans kitchens and a house that flows well without boxy rooms can reduce a lot if stress in the teen years!

I agree, St Paul’s wouldn’t put me off. I live on the opposite end of Castelnau but my best friend lives a few doors down from the house linked upthread and it’s not an issue.

The bridge is a major issue, and I don’t blame you for considering it a deal breaker. I’m in the process of moving because the bridge is just causing so much disruption.

@blurpityblurp can I be cheeky and ask where you're moving to?! And do you think house prices have fallen because of the bridge being closed? It seems pretty tragic to me, turning an adorable country-village in the city (with quick access to the zone 2/3 tube) into an isolated place. I know that Mortlake and East Sheen and so on are very nice places (the high street in Sheen is weirdly retro, now I'm in my 40s) but going via Waterloo every time I wanted to go into town doesn't appeal. I also have concerns about bringing DC up in a part of London that is very white. (This is my impression of parts of SW London, I might be wrong). My husband is mixed race (half black) so that's their heritage. I am very pale with blue eyes, and DC look white, have brown hair, green/hazel eyes. But they aren't. Their Jamaican grandfather died before they were born so it's an aspect of their heritage they already don't have much access to.

Thanks for everyone who commented on the Clapham house. I'm so desperate to be gardening ALL THE TIME that I can't imagine needing a gardener! I might be wrong. The lack of space is indeed a dealbreaker, I think.

I’m moving to Woolwich because it’s much, much cheaper and because I want to be somewhere a bit buzzer. It also feels more river-y, even though Barnes is almost entirely surrounded by river! I don’t know what I mean by that. It just doesn’t feel that Barnes really uses or makes the most out of being on the river, unless you boat/row. But I don’t have kids and I’m renting for now (renting out my house) so it’s a different situation.

I have other friends who left Barnes for Putney and for Kew, and both times it was due to those areas being more affordable and having better transport connections.

I’m not completely certain about house prices I’m afraid!