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.

@Username7521

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

That commute is bound to be massively reduced when cross rail finally opens?

@MoonWise

Come to Bromley. You’ll get a 3 bed for 700k and the best grammar schools. It’s zone 5 and Holborn would be about an hours commute.

You'll only get the best grammars if your child is in the super selective category. However if you position yourself in the Langley or Bullers Wood catchment areas you should get a decent comp if super selective doesn't work out.

@NeonMist no I don’t think so. To be honest it’s the walk to the office that makes it long which is actually really nice as it’s through spitalfields market and brick lane.

@thefatpotato

Shooters Hill. You'll be able to get a 3 bed for that budget, Grammars just down the road, 20 minutes down into Woolwich for mainline, DLR, and Crossrail.

Our budget is similar. We're already in London and I just can't consider leaving!

Which grammars are just down the road from Shooters Hill? Can you actually get into then from out of area? The ones in the area I think you're thinking of would require DC to be super selective to bypass the catchment area requirements. The Orpington (Bromley borough) boys grammar has no catchment area (boys from central London travel out to it!) and the girls grammar has I believe a 9 mile radius catchment - assuming no recent change in requirements.

Somewhere like Raynes park would be good- Wimbledon for schoolsand shopping- quick commute in to Waterloo - Maybe 40 mins door to door. This is nice I think and under 700k www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/117899504#/?channel=RES_BUY

London is a brilliant place for kids and teens and you’ll definitely find somewhere with that budget. Have a look at places along the east end of the central line. Leytonstone, Wanstead, South Woodford are all lovely places. I live in the area and my commute, including a 10 minute walk to the station, was just 40 minutes when I worked in Holborn.
There are some outstanding schools in the area, very close to forests and huge open spaces, and just brilliant when it comes to the days out and things to do.
Now mine are teens, I’ve found other advantages, being able to get work experience at really top levels companies (like The Times and BBC), having access to arts and sporting teams/events/activities that might not be so easily available elsewhere.
Basically, I don’t think you’re being unreasonable, I think it’s an amazing opportunity for an adventure. It doesn’t have to be forever.
Oh, and you’ll have equity in your property immediately, prices are crazy, but they’re still going up!

Sit down and have a good look at all the areas mentioned here and see what you can afford and where. There are some very goo schools too and your DC will love living close to the city.
We also live in Surrey and absolutely love the proximity to London and make the most of it.

I also vote for South East London. Great community and schools in the tulse Hill/ Norwood/ Palace area. If you live near trainstation on the Thames link line (eg tulse Hill or Streatham) there are 4 trains an hour to city Thameslink and then a quick walk to Holborn, no tube required.

We live in south east london (London borough of greenwich) and there are excellent schools both primary and secondary. Kent grammars are also an option. Well worth a look in bits of se7/se9. £700k would get you a fair sized house. Lots of open spaces amd communter links are good. Overground and bus.

www.bromley.gov.uk/directory/5/secondary_schools_in_bromley

South East London.
Lots of parks and open space.
Good transport links
700k budget should work.

oviraptor21

Beth's, Townley and Bexley have all been in catchment of Shooters Hill for the last few years. But yes, super selective.

Unless I'm getting super confused by the whole system and it doesn't count because it's actually Greenwich, not Bromley borough.

Crofton Park/Bellingham etc are still surprisingly affordable: a friend bought a four bed house in Crofton Park before lockdown. Decent transport links. Schools ok by SE London standards. Forest Hill/Sydenham nice, slightly more expensive but not nosebleed. Lots of green space, good transportation. Some good schools.

@thefatpotato

Unless I'm getting super confused by the whole system and it doesn't count because it's actually Greenwich, not Bromley borough.

For Bexley grammars the borough doesn't matter but the distance door to door does, unless you get a score in the top 10% (I think) of passes (ie super selective). For the remaining 90% you have to be within 2-5 miles (ish) depending on which school you're looking at.

I can see that Shooters Hill is closer than I thought to some of them so probably would get in within the 90%. Certainly worth checking out.

Beckenham
Honor Oak
Forest Hill
Bexley Heath

@oviraptor21

I can see that Shooters Hill is closer than I thought to some of them so probably would get in within the 90%. Certainly worth checking out.

We're currently Woolwich and selling to move 'up the hill' so this has been a hot topic of conversation in our household of late! Certain parts of Shooters Hill are indeed very close. Also catchment is distance in a straight line, not door to door distance which makes a big difference 😊

You have had lots of suggestions OP.
I would suggest for your budget z3-4 onwards.
Close to the tube/walking distance on central or picadilly line
Not completely reliant on trains (in my experience it's a bugger when they are cancelled and you still need to get in on time)
Check school catchment. Ensure you are not in a dead zone for good schools.
It is possible to get all that but in some areas may need a doer upper.
We live in z4 on the north side of the picadilly line and bought a house that needed work. We had it done and now enjoy living there. GL

I would look at the schools in these areas. We are abroad now, but when we lived last in London it was a suburb - St. Margarets. They had great schools but no guarantee there were places for everyone - which may mean long journeys each way to a different, less effective school. This is a problem everywhere and you definitely cannot rely on a spot at a local school just because you've bought in the area.

@feyzer

And realistically, with a £700k budget, you are looking at Zones 4,5,6 and that’s the reality.

Except that so many posters have linked to Zone 3 possibilities, close to lovely schools!

I live in streatham where the schools are supposedly good? (I don't have kids so I don't actually know but I hear primaries are good) you could certainly get something for £700k (bought my 2 bed garden flat for £420k this year) might not be able to get a 3 bed house though, depending on the part you lived in

OP: if you are considering any of the areas recommended because they have grammar schools… have a think. Just saying this as you say you are not from the UK, so might not be familiar.

Grammar schools are selective and a place depends on passing the 11+ , taken when children are in yr 6. The figure varies, but probably in a full grammar area like Kent about 25% go to grammar schools and everyone else to High Schools. So… unless you know all your D.C. are high achievers, you need to consider the high schools in the area. You could end up with one D.C. in a grammar, and the other not getting a place. Lots of high schools are excellent, but most, because they lack most of the highest achievers in the cohort, may offer restricted options for science, languages, not do further maths or whatever.

Most schools in London are comprehensive, and on average perform very well. Depending on he school and the subject most will put children in sets for each subject according to his fast they learn, or may stream them so that fast learners stay together for every subject.

Read the info about each school you like the sound of. Will the way they organise children to learn suit yours?

A ‘Good’ or ‘outstanding’ comp will be supporting children of all abilities to meet their potential.

My boys have thrived in S London comprehensives and have lovely sensitive empathetic friends, play instruments (Dunraven, as linked above, charges very low fees for individual lessons, which are free to children taking Music GCSE and has fantastic orchestras, bands and ensembles)

You could get a 3 bed ex council house in parts of Zone 2 - Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Newham. There are some fab schools in these areas but also some terrible secondaries. Catchment areas can be unbelievably tiny so you'd need to do specific research.

As a previous poster said, it would be helpful to hear more about the kind of areas that you like and then we can recommend some districts - perhaps narrow down a few areas in different boroughs and then look at schools.

Do you like culturally mixed areas? More working class or middle class vibes? Suburban streets or main streets? Big apartments or small terraces? What amenities do you want to live super close to, parks, shopping, sports etc? Do you need an airport to be accessible to visit family?

@StrifeOfBath

OP: if you are considering any of the areas recommended because they have grammar schools… have a think. Just saying this as you say you are not from the UK, so might not be familiar.

Grammar schools are selective and a place depends on passing the 11+ , taken when children are in yr 6. The figure varies, but probably in a full grammar area like Kent about 25% go to grammar schools and everyone else to High Schools. So… unless you know all your D.C. are high achievers, you need to consider the high schools in the area. You could end up with one D.C. in a grammar, and the other not getting a place. Lots of high schools are excellent, but most, because they lack most of the highest achievers in the cohort, may offer restricted options for science, languages, not do further maths or whatever.

Most schools in London are comprehensive, and on average perform very well. Depending on he school and the subject most will put children in sets for each subject according to his fast they learn, or may stream them so that fast learners stay together for every subject.

Read the info about each school you like the sound of. Will the way they organise children to learn suit yours?

A ‘Good’ or ‘outstanding’ comp will be supporting children of all abilities to meet their potential.

My boys have thrived in S London comprehensives and have lovely sensitive empathetic friends, play instruments (Dunraven, as linked above, charges very low fees for individual lessons, which are free to children taking Music GCSE and has fantastic orchestras, bands and ensembles)

That was one of the reasons we didn't move into Kent, Sevenoaks especially. Time wise the commute on a fast train would work but the non-grammar schools are not the greatest.

We are now in West Wickham/Beckenham border and while Langley Girls is a large comp the results are great, DD has a great pastoral support, fast range of GCSE subjects and we are very pleased that we stuck to a London borough.