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.

London like anyplace is great if you can afford to live in a nice area. That budget is small but may be do some proper research before you move. Depends of what lifestyle you like. Areas with outstanding schools are quite popular so prices are higher.

Kingsdale, Dunraven and Elm Green are good secondary schools in Streatham / West Norwood as someone else has said. I love living around this area. It is affordable on your budget and there is a great sense of community.

It the outer London boroughs you'll be able to find a reasonable house close to great schools quite easily. Particularly south, so Bromley, Sutton, Kingston boroughs. Richmond is nice but more expensive. If you get a fast train you can be on central London from some stations in less than 20 minutes, if you're on a train line that only has stopping trains you'd need to double that. If you're looking closer to central London, you'll find it much more difficult to get the combo of decent house and good schools that you're looking for. If you're in the outer London boroughs they may not be what you're looking for in terms of a "city" feel. They're really generic towns that have been swollowed by London as London has expanded. If you don't mind that and are happy to get the city life feel when you travel into London, ime the outer boroughs offer a good quality of life. If however you want the area that you live in to have that city feel that you desire, I don't think you'll find that easily on a 700k budget.

Living in London is certainly an experience very different to living in the rest of the country. However there is a good reason so many families move out and then find life so refreshing. London is hugely overpopulated with all the problems that go along with that, but yes the diversity, people you’ll meet, possibly being at the cutting edge in terms of work are all amazing but do expect a huge drop in your general standard of living

@lking679

South East London has grammars. Chislehirst is nice, Sidcup has nice streets too. Bexley is nice. £700k should be ok for 3-4 bed semi in some of those areas. Trains are about 25 ish minutes to London bridge.

I love London only moved here at 23 and can’t imagine moving away from south east now (though we may go Kent way)!

That is exactly the area I’d recommend too.

Tonbridge. My sister moved there for similar reasons from up north.
Good secondary schools (grammar), 35mins to London Bridge and you’ll 4 bed semi/3bed detached easily for that budget.

Tonbridge isn't in London though.

700k is fine for many areas, although they won't be city/central ones. I can't imagine some of those areas feel quite different to where you are now though.

You do know there are 500+ secondary schools in London? Another 500 in the "South East". How can a bunch of randoms on the internet recommend one for your children.

Definitely make sure your family are all keen to make the move. London is not for everyone. If your dc are even slightly countryside lovers London will make them very unhappy.

There are many fantastic outstanding secondary schools in London and not only in the areas where houses are 700k +

Morden.

Northern line (either direct/change at Kennington) to Tottenham court road, which is a short walk from Holborn. Fairly leafy. Nice family area. Don't know much about the secondary schools though.

Good bus links and rail links to/from Wimbledon.

You'd definitely get a fairly roomy 3 bed for £700,000 in Morden or South Merton, though you'd want to make sure you were a short walk from the tube.

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West Ruislip and Ickenham on the central line, 35 min to Holborn. Leafy suburbia.

Yes! Absolutely! Try Harrow. Zone 5 but fast line in to Baker Street so it’s only 25-30 mins commute.

You can get a 4 bed terrace with an 80ft garden for around £650 or a 3 bed semi for about £700k

There are three state comps rated outstanding in the area with a vast curriculum from dance to astronomy at GCSE.

Nunhead in South East London would work for your budget. 10 mins by train to London Bridge, yet leafy and quiet. Check it out!

@TwinkleToesForever

Bounds Green or Alexandra Palace area you can probably get a 3 bed semi for £700k. Good and Outstanding schools in catchment. Don’t listen to those who say you’ll be disappointed with London. I moved my whole family here 6 years ago from the market town/countryside for the reasons you describe and we’ve never looked back. Go for it!

I was going to suggest Bounds Green too. Great secondary schools there and you should get a house for that budget.

I'd also ignore the naysayers who say you'll be disappointed. London's what you make it. Some people can't stand the busyness and crowds, others (like me and my family) thrive on it. I would wilt if I ever moved back to the small town where I grew up!

@Teawithsugar40

Living in London is certainly an experience very different to living in the rest of the country. However there is a good reason so many families move out and then find life so refreshing. London is hugely overpopulated with all the problems that go along with that, but yes the diversity, people you’ll meet, possibly being at the cutting edge in terms of work are all amazing but do expect a huge drop in your general standard of living

Why would OP experience a huge drop in her standard of living moving to London?

I would recommend you go East along the central line. You could get a 4 bedroom in South Woodford for £700K and schools are fine. 6 or 7 stops to Holborn.
Someone mentioned Walthamstow. More expensive than S Woodford and not on the central line.

Actually it's 11 stops - only takes 26 minutes though!

Hi OP. If you are moving to London with children, I would strongly recommend SW London. It’s greener and less ‘edgy’ overall than other parts. It’s possibly the most wealthy area of London (apart from Zone 1 of course) and house prices match that. However, you can go a little further out and still be in an area with loads going on and easy connections into town (tube or mainline). The schools will be more reliable too than in other areas and there is a slightly calmer vibe. The Thames is beautiful in this area and it’s a good contrast if you’re up in Holborn every day.

Also, when people talk about going ‘into town,’ they don’t necessarily mean Zone 1 and the West End. People from SW London are in easy reach of the Chelsea, Kensington area and that’s what they mean. If I’m going shopping I would just drive up to Kings Rd / Brompton Rd or maybe Knightsbridge. It’s easier parking and I find the big flagship stores in Oxford St etc too much. I do go into Covent Garden sometimes though as I have teens and they love it up there. But they’re just as likely to go to Portobello at weekends. Or Spitskfields / Brick Lane way. The best thing about London is that there’s not just one ‘centre’. No kids hanging out in the same high street every weekend. You can never discover it all.

For instance, we live in Barnes, but used to live in Chelsea. We moved here for mores space and greenery and the schools. But I’m still in Chelsea several days a week. But also, from here, it’s striking distance to Richmond which is a ‘centre’ in its own right. Nothing Hill etc is easy access. My kids can walk to the Westfield. There are parks, the river and we love it here.

You wouldn’t get a 3-bed house for your budget here, but if you go out beyond Richmond, you would find a Victorian 3-bed terrace for your budget. Teddington is lovely. It’s adjacent to a gorgeous stretch of the Thames. It has a lovely laid-back feel, but also lots of charm and character. You are bordering Richmond, but also have the larger department stores and amenities of Kingston on your doorstep. Hampton is a little further out, but also has loads of character and great bars / restaurants etc. I think on your budget and with children, this area would be your best bet overall. Many good schools also. If you live in SW London you really don’t need to be going into the West End all the time. It’s very touristy. People tend not to do that. If you live in London, you will find it’s like a massive cluster of what used to be different villages really. Each one has a character of its own and its own ‘centre.’ So go for one with a good vibe. There are fantastic shops and restaurants and an interesting mix of people everywhere in London. It’s not all about Zone 1 (though you can get up there any day). Central London is just the obvious part that tourists see, but people who live here know that’s just a small part of it. Honestly, have a look at Teddingon and that area. Drive around and take in the vibe. Good luck!

I think it's a risk if you don't even know London, I wouldn't assume that because you grew up in a big city it will automatically suit you. My siblings both live in Melbourne but it's a totally different experience from living in London

Worth remembering that London kids are just as likely to be sensitive and shy as anywhere else. There does seem to be a thing where if your child isn’t in an outstanding or private school it must be Grange Hill on steroids. There are plenty of normal average schools around that 100,000s normal children go to.

Lots of places recommended in this thread are outside of London or in zone 4 or 5, where commuting on the tube would be the same amount of time as commuting from a commuter town.

Bring outside of London means you get the benefits of living somewhere quieter, but obviously, you then won’t be living in London, which is what you want.

I suspect you want a good state school, rather than one that is simply “outstanding”, as the culture of school is important as well as the academics. Look up the league tables, and then that should help you decide what school you may want to consider for your child, and then start exploring admission criteria, including geographical location, to see if it’s an area you can move to in order to get into the school.

@NoNameHere12

People romanticise London, it’s not as nice as you think normally.

Yeah, it is.

London Borough of Sutton. Though it’s also Surrey.

Great schools, forty minutes train to Zone 1, ten minutes to the South Downs.

@BookShark

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?

I happily commuted from Surrey to Holborn for a decade. Trains from here go to Victoria or London Bridge so hardly onerous.

But I think the OP has already ruled out Surrey.

I too would look at Crystal Palace as mentioned by a PP. I can't comment on schools but the transport links are great (even without the fabled Northern Line extension ).