To ask London MNers for advice on where to move within London

[Wantstomove]

DH and I are considering moving next year as we want to expand our family and can't afford to stay in Camden.

We both love North London but can't decide where to move to. In a ideal world, we'd spend time visiting different areas to research and get a feel for them, but given the pandemic and the fact that we have a baby and no car, most of this research is being done online.

Looking for ideally a 4-bed house + garden, in an area with lots of parks and green spaces and decent schools, and reasonably good public transport links. DH also wants to be able to cycle into the city (charing cross/Liverpool street) for work... feel free to tell me this criteria is a bit limiting and we'd need £1 million +...!

I'm leaning towards Enfield or Barnet, DH has mentioned Walthamstow, but to be honest, we have no idea what these areas are really like or if there are other parts of London we are overlooking. We have a reasonably good budget for London.

Does anyone have any pearls of wisdom of where would be good to check out, where to avoid, where's affordable, where you need to be a millionaire to afford?!
Thanks in advance!

Whetstone/New Barnet/High Barnet has all the things mentioned on your list: good schools (including religious options, selective options etc), loads of parks and open spaces, good bus, train and tube links (although the cycle route into the city might be a bit of a slog). What is your budget?

Enfield and Barnet both fit your criteria. Leafy, good schools, good transport links and lots of people cycle to the city. Southgate, Winchmore Hill are both nice with plenty of cafes, shops and parks

I’d go with south London any day. Brockley, Nunhead, East Dulwich is about a 30min bike ride. Barnet etc is miles and miles away. Guess depends on if you want urban/suburban!

Barnet is a good shout but be careful of secondary school catchments.

Whats the budget?

Thanks for responses - budget is somewhere in the region of £700k at a push.
Don't know Winchmore Hill, so will look into that, thanks.
I guess I'm looking for more suburban areas (I am anyway) and somewhere that feels a bit quieter. I love where we live currently, but it's felt really busy and stressful during lock down and when trying to socially distance.

Also does anyone have knowledge of Harrow/Harrow on the Hill? I took a train through there once and thought it looked really nice, although my husband would probably have to combine his cycle with some public transport.

If you're not committed to North then crystal palace (fair cycle though for a daily) brockley, or forest hill are all great places.

No idea about schools though

Enfield Doesn’t have great transport links, so I’d avoid it. It’s also further out zone wise so makes commute more expensive. For your budget I would check out North Chingford, Highams Park and Walthamstow which all offer access to very green and you’ll be in Liverpool St in no time!

The areas near Epping Forest are good and did very well during lockdown. Lockdown was much easier when you could just walk or take a short drive to a massive forest so I’d say Walthamstow which is under 20 mins to Liverpool St or central London. Great public transport links. Easy to get to Stansted airport too. Several outstanding primary schools. Lots of good places to eat and drink around the village area.

where.rightmove.co.uk/

Try the link above, if you enter suggested areas, budget, house type etc it identifies places that will suit your budget.

Also does anyone have knowledge of Harrow/Harrow on the Hill? I took a train through there once and thought it looked really nice, although my husband would probably have to combine his cycle with some public transport.

Harrow is pretty large and think you would find a 4 bed with garden in some parts. Harrow on the hill itself is like a village but much more expensive, I doubt you would find anything within budget. (The tube station harrow on the hill isnt actually on the hill) If you got a fast tube from HOTH I think it would be about 45-50 min to liverpool street.

Much of Harrow is an absolute dump and I wouldn’t consider it London. It would also be a very long commute into London proper.

I was very much a north London girl, then I was won over by SE London, lots of green spaces, great transport links to central London and you get note for your money.

Agree with pp re Brockley, Forest Hill, Crystal Palace. I would have said Blackheath but not sure £700k will get your much there.

I have loved living in Enfield during lockdown because we have so many parks and green spaces. Hopefully we won't get locked down again but it's certainly made me appreciate the "best of both worlds" thing we have going on here: easy access to abundant nature and yet an easy commute into the city. It's quite a long way to cycle, but I know people who do it.
I'd suggest looking at Oakwood and Southgate (both on the Piccadilly Line) - as well as Palmers Green, Winchmore Hill, Grange Park, Enfield Chase and Gordon Hill which are all on an overground line out of Moorgate and Finsbury Pk - depending on the ratio of city grit vs green space you want! Gordon Hill is right on the fringes of London but has some lovely green belt countryside within walking distance and the air feels very fresh!
Bush Hill Park and Enfield Town (overground from Liverpool St and Seven Sisters) are also pleasant in parts.
Check school catchments carefully as they can be small. A fair number of the most sought-after schools locally are C of E or Catholic, so if you're not prepared to find God you will need to be even more careful about your eventual purchase location.
You don't specify your budget but happy to help advise if you want to post it here or PM.
A lot of people seem to move out here from inner London for exactly the reasons you describe.
I'm sure a lot of what I've written is applicable also to Barnet but I don't know it. You would also have the advantage of being on / near the Northern Line which would make trips back to see friends in Camden a bit easier.

Not completely committed to North London (we've both lived in SW) but feel like we need to hone in somewhere, otherwise it feels too overwhelming.
Thanks@peachypetite , some places there I hadn't considered at all.

So sorry if this offends anyone who lives in Walthamstow... but I'd heard it was a bit of a dodgy area (this was a few years ago now) - what's it like today?

@peachypetite

Enfield Doesn’t have great transport links, so I’d avoid it. It’s also further out zone wise so makes commute more expensive. For your budget I would check out North Chingford, Highams Park and Walthamstow which all offer access to very green and you’ll be in Liverpool St in no time!

Enfield has a direct train line to Liverpool St! Also another one to Moorgate. Also the tube a short bus ride away in case of emergency. That's why it's so popular with people who work in the City!

@EnfieldLady just my opinion I have lived there and experienced only being able to get the train everh half hour into liverpool st!

Walthamstow is very large. There is a mix of areas with some being very middle class (village area) and others which are still up and coming but because a tide rises all boats and not everyone can afford to live in the village, the wealth is spreading out and the surrounding areas are all on the up. There’s a huge amount of investment going on in the Blackhorse Road area.

A lot of people who work in the city live in Walthamstow. There is a big creative community who moved out from Hackney for bigger houses to have kids.

@Wantstomove walthamstow has become very gentrified particularly the wood st area and part known as upper Walthamstow. Secondary schools are better in Highams Park and North Chingford in particular.

Walthamstow and Barnet proper would be off my list

I'm sure they'll be nice places one day but they still got a way to go

IMO

Walthamstow is still very gritty for all the gentrification. You might get something in Wanstead/Highams Park area. I'd also look SE at parts of Blackheath/Charlton (SE3/SE7). Easy to cycle to the city via the Greenwich Foot Tunnel. Safer than East London in my opinion and with the lovely Greenwich Park and river nearby.

I don't think you'll get 4 bed and a garden in winchmore hill.

Enfield chase is lovely and very green, Enfield town park is nice but Enfield town centre isn't 'naice'. It's very similar to harrow- very useful to do shopping without schlepping to Brent Cross or central London but not artisan bakeries and boutiques.

Harrow has good schools and you'd get 4 beds with a garden.

I think Barnet might be more expensive than Harrow/Enfield.

As a wild card, what about south Tottenham? It's got lots of independent shops, huge parks and you can cycle to the City easily. A lot of people are put off by the reputation but it's much nicer than I expected. It's gentrified a lot in the past five years- bugaboos and Veja trainers a plenty in the playground!

@Mothermorph @blurpityblurp (love your username!) - thanks, this really helps eliminate some places too from the search,

@EnfieldLady Thanks so much, lots of suggested places there, I'll get looking! Budget around £700k (next step is to properly discuss this with bank, we're still in the 'fantasy house hunting' stage

@Tellmetruth4 @peachypetite interesting advice re Walthamstow, I will add it to list of places to research.

Thanks all! Really appreciate this input. It's boiling hot and as cute as my son is, conversation is somewhat one-sided! Good to have a project on the go as it's too hot to go out

@SimonJT Thanks, just looking at this now, very useful function

I've PM'd you OP.