Best places for diverse, professional families near London?

[Paniconthestreetsof]

DH and I currently live (very happily) in Zone 1. We’re now thinking about moving as we want more space (a house and garden), good schools, and access to green space for our kids. Budget is around £1.5m.

We’re looking for:

• A genuinely diverse area, with a visible Black community (we’d prefer our children not to be the only ones in their class)
• A mix of middle-class professionals from different backgrounds
• Green spaces and a relaxed, family-friendly feel
• Good connections into central London for work a few days a week

We’re not from the UK originally and don’t have ties outside this bit of London, so wide open to ideas.

Worth saying upfront: well-meaning replies like “well I’m not Black and it’s not very diverse around here but we don’t see colour” or “there is a large (insert non-Black ethnic minority) community here” aren’t what we’re after.

If you’re Black or mixed race and living somewhere you love outside Zones 1–2 (especially if you moved from central), I’d love to know where you are and what you like about it.

Brockley. I know it's Zone 2 but there's lots of green space and excellent transport links. Would tick many boxes, I think.

@BeRubyLurker Brava! 👏🏾

I found yesterday’s navel gazing comment particularly egregious (and not in the archaic sense).

Are you looking only within greater London?

Bristol would be my suggestion.

We lived in Reading in the 1990s early 2000s. I'm white but my husband is black. Our children were born there.
DS is a Westminster commuter. He's rented there in the last few years. He is currently buying in Caversham.
He also went to universty there.
No head nods needed.
The Warren is the place to live but you could be the only black family. Keep away from the quaint villages for the same reason.
The Elizabeth line means you can sit on a well designed train all the way from Paddington.
Our daughter is at Oxford and we now live in Wiltshire. She hated her school days as it wasn't diverse. She loves her university. Don't even think about Swindon. Swindon is diverse but it is an industrial town and can be really rough. The shops are rubbish.

They may be more affordable but they are not particularly diverse.

Hi @Paniconthestreetsof. White mum of black children here. I would look at South East London, Brockley, Nunhead, Forest Hill, Crofton Park. Excellent schools and very diverse.

PM me if you'd like to chat more about specific roads/schools and I'd love to help. 🫶🏻

Yep

Not diverse. I'd avoid Dulwich in general tbh. Yes, you'd have a few brown faces but its an extremely cliquey area. (Have lived there with black children). Brockley, forest hill, peckham, sydenham, ladywell, much much better.

100%

Be careful in Kent, parts of Beckenham and Bromley is ok, but other parts are really not. I'd stay more urban than suburban. 🫶🏻

I’m a bit baffled by this. Merton is 40% non-white, of which Black people make up over 10%. Raynes Park and Morden lower proportions, but still pretty large minority ethnic communities. That’s not diverse?

I don’t know why I never see it mentioned on here but HARROW- especially Pinner or the Hill (though you’d struggle with your budget on the latter). Oustanding state schools galore, history, green spaces, your pick of private schools if you’re that way inclined, incredibly diverse and very, very professional. You can be in London in 31 mins.

@dottypencilcase - raises hand wildly! I mentioned Harrow/Pinner upthread!

I think this might be a v good option for OP. I live in a diverse area of middle-class families, but the profile is hugely Indian heritage and also quite a few Nigerian families. But few Black British which I think is what OP is seeking.

I'd also be interested to know this @Paniconthestreetsof - not that you have to like it, but it'd be useful to guide other recommendations to know what it was that wasn't quite right for you.

Is it not quite ticking some of the boxes in your OP, or is it something else?

e.g. I'd agree with other posters that other areas of SE London e.g. Forest Hill, Sydenham, Crystal Palace are more diverse while still being leafy, but definitely more "London". Hard to put a finger on it but for better or worse I still felt more part of the mass of a city of millions in those places.

Whereas I think Beckenham has a noticeable "not London" feel, it's just more centred on Beckenham being its own community. One of the first things I noticed when I moved here, only from a mile down the road in SE20, that people talk about going "into London" - the mindset is a bit different.

She says they aren’t from the UK. From context clues, I’m guessing upper class Nigerian.

Harrow and Pinner have massive Asian communities - more than half the population, but a MUCH lower percentage of Black people than the London average. That’s not what she’s looking for, so probably why they aren’t being suggested.

I agree with your take on Beckenham

Based on the people I know who have moved there and love it, it seems to suit people who want good transport links to London but to feel like they don't live in London. See also Blackheath.

For me, those areas don't appeal because I like London and feeling like I live in London

Oh, sorry. Frankly I think anywhere would suit. I think what the OP should focus on is a “nice middle-class” area and then move onto the potential demographic. My friend’s dh is black and they live in the depths of the countryside! He is quite posh and likes a pair of red trousers as much as the next Rupert so fits well in.

No, as a Black person - and as evidenced by the responses from Black people - anywhere most certainly would not suit. And the fact that you think it would (based on your third hand knowledge via one Black person) indicates a real lack of cultural awareness. Frankly.

If its useful to say my DD hated school because she was only one of three POC in her year. At boarding school it was more diverse. Check what your DC think of they are old enough OP. My DDs sixth form had 44 nationalities.

Oh dear. Suspect that some people on this thread are just being deliberately goady for the fun of it….

So much excellent advice! Thank you so much, everyone. (Or most of you, at least). We are drafting up a list of places to go visit. I’ll pop back and update in a few months, if anyone’s still interested. 😁

Some of the responses have really been quite special. Even by MN standards. 🤣

@diterictur and @BlinkyBlank I think that was our exact issue with Beckenham, although I had difficulty articulating it at the time. It wasn’t ’London’. Which, as we think we’re ready to leave London, is annoyingly inconsistent of us. 🤦🏾‍♀️

Certainly not diverse from an economic perspective!