To want to move my family to London

[Miralala]

I've been offered a job in Zone 1 (mix of wfh and 5 hour return commute on diff days).

I really want to take the opportunity to live in London now, as live fairly rubbish city I don't like - however we have the 'ideal' life now with great schools, 3 bed semi, leafy suburbs, nice little high street and park 5 mins away.

We can up our house budget so could we keep any of that lifestyle anywhere in London for £700k? Absolute must is a nice secondary as kids are gentle souls and getting to secondary age, and son plays music, chess, etc - would be eaten alive in typical comp. I have no idea whether / where to start looking in London.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/117188414#/?channel=RES_BUY
3 bed house about 10 mins walk from Bounds green tube, 20 mins into Holborn. However school catchment might be an issue.
This might be in catchment for APS ( best school in the area) in the right year [https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/107343131#/?channel=RES_BUY]].

@massiveblob

I think you are massively underestimating state high schools. They do cater for the quieter kids with interests in quieter activities. They are not all zoos.

Yes maybe. As I said I'm not English myself, so haven't got a good understanding of what secondary schools are like here. I just want a school that will be good for a boy with geeky and creative interests. All the posts I have seen are for outstanding / top grades schools, which isn't my focus. Hoping someone could recommend some secondary schools to consider.

I lived in London for ten years, and moved for work-reasons. Just as a single person, and sometimes a couple. I travel to London very often for personal and business reasons. If you want somewhere nice, it shall cost you more than your budget. You could do well searching on the outskirts in up and coming areas or Surrey/ Kent. Talk to estate agents. You could rent for a year to get a feel for the big city and a sense of where you like. A property investment in London is a huge decision, as it is not cheap. I am currently property hunting in the big smoke but I was there for a decade so just want a second home there. London is not for everyone and everything is crowded and expensive. The media hype London but it can be hard work, and spending time there can help with your decision making.

OP I’m in zone 1 in London and I have a 48min commute to work to zone 1.

?? Is there a typo? We’re almost in Hampshire and have a 45 minute train to zone 1.

We lived in zone 3 London for 7 years and indeed, it took around an hour door to door to get anywhere useful anyway. (Walk to train, wait for train, walk at other end etc).

There's this in catchment, but not by much, for Fortismere which is outstanding and has a chess team. Frankly I don't understand why it hadn't been snapped up. Seems cheapish for the area although it's a bit of a hike to the tube.

Every school will be different....but most will accommodate quiet quirky kids in some shape or form....in Ealing brentside is big but fantastically arty and excellent pastoral reputation Twyford for the very musical but quite hard core, Elthorne-nice, more relaxed reputation, more middle class catchment, Drayton more structured, but amazing results as a true comprehensive none are anymore/less .exam factories than schools have to be these days althoughTwyford probablymost .. most areas are similar..its hard from outside London as you will need to really pick an area and really check it out....also if ur moving mid year you may have limited choice ...

London is great - I've just moved back myself. I'm in zone 3 and live in a terraced three bed bought for just over £900k.
Find the schools first - primaries are great around here, secondary not so much.

We’ve just bought in Zone 3 and I work near Holborn. The commute is around 40 minutes (train then bus/ walk). You’d need a minimum of £850k for a 3-bed though.

Where you're working in zone 1 will make a massive difference to your commute time - what's the nearest mainline station? Makes most sense to be on a direct train to there, otherwise you're adding in much more travel time - no point living in Surrey if you're commuting to Paddington for example (been there, done that, not worth it!).

Whereabouts in zone 1? That makes a big difference in terms of which mainline station would work.

Ah, sorry, you did answer that. In that case I'd exclude Surrey - you ideally want to avoid changing. Maybe look out east along the Central line or north on the Northern/Piccadilly lines?

If you are happy to be further out look at Ewell, Epsom, Surbiton.

Beckenham - Langley Park School for Boys. Should be able to get a 3 bed for about 700,000.

Nope @WakeUpLockie Notting hill gate to Liverpool Street. And then a walk! Like 15 min. Ans about 8 min to Notting hill station.

@WakeUpLockie

OP I’m in zone 1 in London and I have a 48min commute to work to zone 1.

?? Is there a typo? We’re almost in Hampshire and have a 45 minute train to zone 1.

We lived in zone 3 London for 7 years and indeed, it took around an hour door to door to get anywhere useful anyway. (Walk to train, wait for train, walk at other end etc).

Door to door? From Hampshire to office?

My commute from Surrey was less than some of the commutes on here in zone 1 - but to Westminster (30 mins train to Victoria, then 15 min walk). But Holborn obviously isn’t that area of town.

Lots of great state schools in London.

London pupils outperform England as a whole when it comes to exam results. This is commonly measured by the proportion of pupils getting at least five good GCSEs, including English and Maths.

About 61% of London pupils achieved this, compared to 54% on average across England and higher than any other English region. There are also far fewer schools falling below the ‘floor standard’ where too few pupils get good GCSEs and progress as expected.

Pupils eligible for free school meals perform better in London than the rest of the country, and even the schools in areas where low pay is most common are above the English average.

fullfact.org/education/london-schools-outperform-rest-england/

Even in areas often considered a bit rough like Newham
www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/oxford-cambridge-oxbridge-london-eton-b949961.html

Poor children in London are twice as likely to go to university than in northern England
www.theguardian.com/society/2018/mar/26/northern-children-face-double-whammy-of-poverty-poor-schools-report-childrens-commissioner?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

You are working in Holborn. It's a very quick cycle from.Kings Cross St Pancras or Farringdon stations (either on a cycle hire or get your own folding bike. Folding bike would also cut journey time from you home to station).

If you decide to live in the burbs I would suggest areas where the train takes you there.

If the train takes you into London bridge , Waterloo or Paddington, you still have quite a long travel time onwards to Holborn.

Alexandra Palace might fit the bill - train from there into Kings Cross. Alexandra Park school is rated outstanding
Muswell Hill has the well regarded Fortismere school - you could bike from there to Alexandra park station to get onto train (maybe an ebike, it's one of the few hills in London)

You should consider a flat as well as a house. Lots of big Victorian houses split into flats - can be much cheaper to get a 3 bed flat than a house as in some areas there are relatively few "small" houses.

Try lewisham
Or
Hither green - close to lots of lovely things, 10 mins into London Bridge

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/117942533#/?channel=RES_BUY

Zone 2, right next to the tube and overground, less than half an hour to Holborn. Not the greatest house and no idea about secondaries, but you don't have to go to zone 5 to get something within your budget.

You’d have to really hate where you live to want to uproot your whole family to London with a £700k house budget. London is great if you have a lot of money to throw around to make living there more pleasant, but £700k is not a lot of money for a London house.

Try Beckenham, Bromley, Crystal Palace, Forest Hill - all nice leafy areas of SE London. Wouldn’t agree with the PP who suggested Bexley or Sidcup, not the areas you’d want to live in if you have a choice TBH!

What’s the max commute time you’d consider? Do you need to go in every day?

@Amelion

Try Beckenham, Bromley, Crystal Palace, Forest Hill - all nice leafy areas of SE London. Wouldn’t agree with the PP who suggested Bexley or Sidcup, not the areas you’d want to live in if you have a choice TBH!

Agree with this. You need to be careful with catchments for the good schools though, there are some 'dead' areas where you miss out on catchment eg between Langley and Hayes. The catchment for Bullers has contracted massively.

Beckenham and west Wickham for Langley boys and girls. Check catchment but lots of 3 beds and parks and shops and stations and kids clubs and activities. Also Hayes for Hayes school. Also near the grammars if that's of interest to you.

@massiveblob

I think you are massively underestimating state high schools. They do cater for the quieter kids with interests in quieter activities. They are not all zoos.

This in spades. London is the most diverse city I have ever experienced in the UK, and tolerant of all types of people. The schools are very far from the Grange Hill stereotype.