To ask where young families are moving to when leaving London?

[Yellowstickynote]

DH and I live in SW London and absolutely love it. So much access to green spaces, wonderful bars & restaurants on our doorstep and so many friends in the area. Sadly, we own a 2 bed flat without lift access. We need more space, and heart is set on 3 house w/ garden, which is out of our budget if we remain in SW London.

We have Hybrid jobs (in office 1-2 days per week), so need good commuting links in to London (any London station is fine as can work from multiple offices). Most importantly, we want to move to a vibrant area which has plenty of things to do for young couples in their 30s, both with children and without. E.g. we love being near to green spaces and going to wine bars and restaurants. Some of the areas we’ve visited are lovely but so quiet and a much older crowd. We’d love to move somewhere that’s full of other young couples/families where we can make friends in the area.

Any recommendations welcome! Our budget isn’t the highest - don’t want to spend over 750k if we can help it.

South East commuter belt - Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells, all in Kent then into the East Sussex border. Grammar schools too if that’s on your horizon for the future.

Have you tried Kingston?

Hillingdon, ne london. Or Harrow. Lots of tube stations, 30 or 40 minutes to london. You’d get a 3 or 4 bedroom house for 750k. Lots of green space and not far from the greenbelt. Some bits more lively than others.

Sounds great! I’m not at all familiar with Bromley. Would you say it’s an area with lots of other young families and plenty of restaurants etc?

Balham is admittedly much more expensive than its neighbours, but £750K should get you something with 3 beds and a garden in a decent area nearby where you don't have to start all over again with friendships. On your budget there's no way I'd give up a London lifestyle I really loved just to commute in from an almost equally expensive suburb. Remember you can always extend/upgrade a house, or work your way up the property ladder too - this doesn't have to be your forever home.

We lived in Balham pre kids, now in Guildford, we love it. These all work - under a mile from the station, easy walk into a town with theatre, bars, pubs etc and near good schools.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/149894966#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/148021568#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/149682368#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/150085061#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/150445658#/?channel=RES_BUY

West Malling (Kent)

Chelmsford is bursting with young families, green spaces etc. 35 mins to Liverpool St. £750k would get you a three maybe small 4 bed in town or something much nicer in the suburbs and you can bus into the station in ten minutes.

Brighton, it’s expensive but the schools are great and it has culture and transport links aplenty. I reckon you probably get what you pay for. Worth spending an extra 50k to not have to move again IMO.

Good in schools in borough of Harrow. Good restaurants and cafes in Hatch End and Pinner. Fast trains to central London. You'll find 3 bed houses from about £600k+.

We moved out to a village just outside Oxford. Bus to Oxford is 24 hours and train into Pads is under an hour. Love it!

You need somewhere pleasant but not fashionable - quite a few places like that in Zone 4/5 - Palmers Green, Southgate, North Finchley are examples near me

Folkestone, Kent is the one you may want to look at: beaches, 20 min to Canterbury, 40min to Stratford, London; grammar schools; 35 min to Calais
Be quick; prices on fire !!!

Leigh on sea, Billericay, Hockley and all villages in between. Easy access to London via train straight to Liverpool Street or Fenchurch.

@WonderingAboutBabies I live in Bath- to be honest the OP could get something perfectly nice for around £600k but it's a really expensive commute - especially if both need to do it- works way better if working from home or an occasional commute- my H drives in once every 9 days -

Personally in OPs situation I would go to Guildford , Oxford or possibly Brighton-

Try Streatham Hill, West Norwood, Gipsy Hill- on short direct trains from Balham and you'd get what you're after in budget. I made a similar move not too long ago!

There are also slightly further areas such as Sydenham and Beckenham which are popular and good value.

Kingston or Surbiton (great schools in both)

We bought in SW16 for £750k last year. 4 beds.

Keep looking OP. You're not trying hard enough, or looking closely at potential rather than the finished product.

Most importantly, we want to move to a vibrant area which has plenty of things to do for young couples in their 30s, both with children and without. E.g. we love being near to green spaces and going to wine bars and restaurants. Some of the areas we’ve visited are lovely but so quiet and a much older crowd. We’d love to move somewhere that’s full of other young couples/families where we can make friends in the area.

It’s quite hard to find an area that caters for established families & young people without dc. As you dc get older you tend to have less free time/money for going out a lot alone.

I’m surprised you can’t find anything in Tooting

What about further out SW eg Kingston/Surbiton/Worcester Park?

"A lot of these commuter towns just outside of London are actually not much cheaper than London."

As @Comedycook says, it's actually much cheaper to stay in London and pick a slightly grottier road/house that needs more cosmetic modernisation than it is to go into the commuter towns

We are 5 mins walk from station then 5 min train to balham

5 mins?? More like 10 & how often? why do people always reduce their journey times 😆

Reputatuion isnt greatest and Mitcham town centre isnt that great either, but we are close enough to tooting/streatham etc it doenst matter, and never felt unsafe or anything.

The trouble with Mitcham & Streatham is often secondary options.

Brighton centre is a horrible grimy dump. Seaside is heaving with people, garbage and more people.