Moving for a garden...?

[matsie]

Hello

We are, along with the rest of the world, trying to find a place commutable to London but with a garden. We currently live in a 3 bedreoom flat in Southfields, Wandsworth with a balcony, and have a 3 yead old son. We'd love to stay near where we are, but the prices of anything with a garden here are far out of reach. I'd love to hear anyone's experiences of doing something similar. One thing that is on our mind is that there is so much on our doorstep here - Wimbledon Common, good parks with playgrounds, central London in easy reach, and do we want to trade it all in for a garden? Perhaps having a garden is one of those grass is greener things and actually, a single child would prefer to be nearer more activities, parks and people. Although the thought of having a dog for companionship is also appealing, somethign we don't want to do in a flat.

The other thing we are concerned about is diversity. We like the diversity we have where we are, and are concerned about the potential for racism elsewhere.

Is the trade in worth it? A longer commute (we both work in South Kensington) and a bigger mortgage, for a quieter slice of life with a garden? We like the look of Epsom, but with prices going the way they are, we might be priced out already. We don't have big city jobs paying large salaries, so we're not going to be buying a detached house with a large garden anywhere - more like a modest terraced house.

Any thoughts anyone has would be greatly appreciated. Obviously schools are a big consideration too!

Thank you!

Have you considered going north of London to somewhere like Bedford? It's expecting to see a massive rise in house prices in the next decade (because of redevelopment, new transport links etc) so would make sense to jump ship now. Many of the houses have large gardens and they're an absolute fraction of the price of somewhere like Surrey. Lots of large parks and things like that too. Diversity obviously wouldn't be an issue there either. Plenty of people commute to London and the trains are regular and quick (and getting faster over the next few years).

We did this - switched out a small flat in a bougie location to somewhere further out with a bigger garden and it has been the best choice. We step out in to the garden and really appreciate what we have. Much nicer to not have so much neighbour noise too.

Living in a flat in central was brilliant but being in a nice house further out is even better

@ShirleyPhallus

We did this - switched out a small flat in a bougie location to somewhere further out with a bigger garden and it has been the best choice. We step out in to the garden and really appreciate what we have. Much nicer to not have so much neighbour noise too.

Living in a flat in central was brilliant but being in a nice house further out is even better

I could have written that! We're so happy we made the move too.

OP, one thing that I'd consider is what type of people are you: always out and about and on the move or really enjoy spending time at home?

We're homebodies and, although it's nice having local parks for our toddler, we get much more use out of our garden because we love being at home.

Where do you spend most of your free time? Home or out and about? Where to friends and family live? Could you rent elsewhere for a while - with a garden - to try it out?

We moved out to the country (deep country) from just outside London. We have acres of garden and love it but we are gardening fanatics and homebodies. Once the kids are grown in 20 years I think we will probably go closer to ‘stuff’ again though. I’ve lived in London and I do miss it, but you just have to pick your priorities.

Watching with interest. We are in a similar boat, 2 bed flat in outer London, 2 kids, thinking of moving to get a garden and more space but hesitating for all the reasons you are.

How much would you get for your current place? That will help people advise on where may work for you?

I live in London with a garden, and would swap the garden in a heartbeat for having Wimbledon Common on my doorstep instead.

I love the garden when it's well-kept and peaceful, but it's very time-consuming hard work. After the rainy spring this year, it's a total jungle: it's overgrown with weeds and I haven't got the energy.

When you have a garden, so do your neighbours, and they may also have trampolines, hot tubs, smoking habits, barbecues, firepits, outdoor speakers, power tools, barking dogs, bonfires, and parties. (Mine have smoking habits, barking dogs, and parties.) On warm sunny days I have to keep the windows closed at all times or my house smells like an ashtray, and on warm nights I keep them closed because of garden-party noise, so I would happily live on a street with no gardens now.

Give my love to Wimbledon Common! I haven't been there for ages, and I miss it.

Thank you so much for all your replies! Without having a garden, we really have enjoyed having the variety of open spaces nearby. @DeathBy1000PipeCleaners we have said hello to the common for you this weekend! The Common misses you too! It is interesting what you say about the garden and having to close your windows etc. I guess a lot of it comes down to what neighbours are lucky / unlucky to get. It seems noisy in our flat at times, and I forget that house neighbours are just as close.

@NurseryFlirt thanks for the Bedford suggestion. We had a quick look and some of the houses you can get look great. Unfortunately it puts us further away from our families than we'd like, who live south either side of London. But I was surprised by how quick the commute is!

Totally worth it. Lived in a flat for a decade with 3 kids. Now have the garden, and I can’t believe I went a decade without one.

@Shamoo we have a budget of 600k tops. Assuming we manage to see our flat... Anyone buying flats these days...? All tips or ideas would be gratefully received! Thank you!

[quote matsie]@Shamoo we have a budget of 600k tops. Assuming we manage to see our flat... Anyone buying flats these days...? All tips or ideas would be gratefully received! Thank you![/quote]
*sell our flat

@Chillychangchoo - thanks for the first-hand experience. I'll think we'll give it a try if we can sell and find somewhere we like.