Can't Decide On Where To Move Too.

[Delectable]

I'm still in this dileman!! I know Bucks and Herts are not as multicultural as London and that's fine for us. I do like to have an ethnic market nearby but really it's time to move out of London. Where should we look for a 4 bed detached house in South Bucks or South West Hertfordshire with fastish train to London and eligibility for an outstanding selective school; max value £950,000? Would consider Barnet too but somewhere on Crossrail would've been ideal but can't find anything that fits in Maidenhead or Burnham. Happy to do some work.

*dilema

How South in Bucks? I've only looked as far South in Bucks as Stoke Mandeville, but it looked nice and seems like it might meet your requirements...

(Sorry. For context I have been househunting in North Bucks recently)

@1MillionSelfiesTakenByMyKids it's odd but the fact that you're looking in North Bucks makes me feel more comfortable even though we'll probably never meet it's good to know others are nearby.
We've mostly looked at Amersham, Seer Green, Chalfonts and once in High Wycombe and Aylesbury . Where're you looking? Why did you choose it and what're your priorities? Waddesdon is supposed to be nice too. Really good schools in the area.

Oh lordy, I'm sorry. Been so property focused I didn't check the forum this thread was in when I saw it in active. I'm not black love, apologies for misleading you accidentally.

I have been looking at secondaries in aylesbury though and the schools and area seemed to be very diverse and as someone with a taste for all different nationalities of food I was looking at shops and markets, too, and there seemed to be decent representation of carribbean and Asian suppliers.

I've also heard great things about Waddesdon school but haven't looked at it. I'll head off now, but best of luck with your house hunting, I hope you find what you're looking for. Annoyingly the only way to really get a read on an area is to visit it and have a good look around, which can be a pain if you're far away. Take care.

@1MillionSelfiesTakenByMyKids oops! I also assumed. I don't think it's a space that excluded non black mumnetters. It only requires sensitivity to that fact that this is a safe space for BMs to express their realities.
Yes Aylesbury is multi ethnic. I think it and High Wycombe are the most diverse areas in Bucks. Aylesbury seems quite far out from London for me but as you say the schools are very well regarded generally. Will you commute into London? I wonder how feasible that is.

I am probably going to have to. Trains seem ok from aylesbury and Bletchley (which will probably be closer to me) but I am hoping to not have to do it more than twice a week. Tbh I was looking at more diverse areas in all senses. In a tiny rural village in the middle of bumfuck nowhere currently and there's bugger all to do. Want a bit more life, esp as the kids hit teen years, so being near aylesbury and Milton Keynes will give them more options and hopefully save me from a part time job as mum's taxi!
How old are your kids?

@1MillionSelfiesTakenByMyKids I know what you ran about needing activity around you. We live in London zone 1. We're just starting our family so we're projecting long term. We don't wish to move again so we need to consider needs for the future.

*mean not ran.

Watford sounds like what your looking for.

Quite multicultural
Good transport links to london. National rail and TfL
Good partially selective schools (Parmiters, Watford high school for boys, Watford high school for girls) Checkout the southwest consortium. You also merchant taylors nearby.

Not a lot of detached 4 beds under £1 million though

Here are some I saw:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/120390374
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/117867047
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/113744585

Rickmansworth/Chorleywood is the same as above.

Ahh I love in the borough of Barnet. Very strong west African middle class community here. Quite a few West Africa restaurants and what I would say is the nice African grocery store I’ve seen in the U.K.

Again detached houses under £1 million are hard to come by:
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/114429467

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/116008268

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/114537365

Although I think you can live anywhere and still apply for Barnet grammar schools.

Also if you willing to o private, that opens you up to a lot more options. SW herts/ North London has good independents.

Habashers
North london collegiate
St Albans school
Merchant Taylors

Northwood is another area you could have a look at. Strong Indian community.

Thanks @mumsqna some really helpful info and links. I'm familiar with Barnet as I've lived there in the past but in my single days. The few I know who've had of age children either sent them private or to DAO and don't have much info. At this point we're sticking to selective state schools. Watford has options for grammar but Felden, Boxmoor and Bovingdon have larger houses so I'm wondering which schools on can get into form there. Parmiters I think permits admissions for anywhere -I need to check.

@Delectable have you considered Saffron Walden in Essex? I once heard the County High School described as the Eton of state schools. It isn't, but has lots to offer all abilities and excellent facilities. SW is a really nice market town, not hugely diverse, but easy to get into London and Cambridge.

There are some really nice places on the coastal side of Essex / Suffolk borders (avoid Clacton & Walton), but you would have to send your DC to independent schools in Suffolk.

There are some good state schools in Barnet, even QE Girls opposite High Barnet tube is considered good now. A SE Asian friend has DC at DAO and they rate it highly and even turned down a selective school places because of the sibling policy. They were critical of the Head teacher's handling of the the racist incident last year, but said staff and other pupils stepped up and it's a good learning environment.

There is a very large middle class black community in Watford / Bushey / South Oxhey area. My (Nigerian Yuroba) friend loves it there, quite a few good school options state /private /religious /grammar :)

@Delectable Ah that sounds good. Yeah parmiters admits a percentage of its students from anywhere in herts so that give you a good options. I think the grammars are the same but a smaller percentage.

@soma Saffron Walden is a good shout, although the train station seems to be far from the houses. Also, Kemi Badenoch is the MP which is a plus or a minus depending on your views.

@Babiesandboardgames ooh that’s good to know. I knew it had a strong Asian community. It most have grown over the past 10 years the ethnicity map that I use doesn’t show too many Nigerians. Although I think KSI’s family live there.

Here’s the ethnicity map btw: datashine.org.uk/#table=QS201EW&col=QS201EW0015&ramp=YlOrRd&layers=BTTT&zoom=13&lon=-0.3500&lat=51.6260

@mumsqna thanks for that useful map.

@Babiesandboardgames Yes Watford is buzzing with my peeps!

@Soma Saffron Walden is nice and does have good schools. hmmm....Kemi went to school with a couple of my friends she keeps making it hard for them to support her. She offered to meet with them after the pandemic for robust convo but haven't heard anything yet. We're keeping to South Bucks and SW Herts for now. Yes Essex and Kent has more property for the money. In fact my SIL sent my DH a 6 bed period property in Kent last night but we're not considering K and E. My friend's son goes to DAO. He's doing super well and they're all very happy. Yes, the students staged a protest and even the parents were disappointed that the head teacher hadn't dealt with the racism issue. I think it's a big plus that the student stood up against such.

@mumsqna we just missed a house in Felden as we were wanting Bucks grammars. Should have decided earlier. Had been wondering for weeks whether to book a viewing but when we rang yday we were told they're just about to accept an offer.

@mumsqna who's KSI?

@Delectable ooh sorry about the house. They go so quickly.

KSI is a British Nigerian YouTuber: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/KSI