Which of the two would you choose: public school or expensive neighbourhood?

[hermani]

We are a couple in our early 30s in London and hope to have a child in the next couple of years. We currently rent but would like to buy soon.

With a joint income of 200k and savings of around 80k, we are realizing we can either buy in an expensive area such as Richmond and send the kid to a nearby state school, or live someplace slightly less wealthy and use the extra money to pay for a public school of our choosing.

We expect our income to increase with time so we may find that in 10 years we can afford public school while living in Richmond. But currently this seems beyond our reach.

So based on this, which do you think would be better for the kid and for the family? What would you choose?

This is my personal opinion only... I would go for an area that is within your budget that has overall good schools and plenty of green space. You can never predict exactly what will happen in the future. If you are in an area within a good state school catchment you won't be able to predict whether the schools will decline over 5 years, but also you may find that your personal finances change significantly (good or bad) so private schooling is out.

Given Richmond is one of your options, you are looking for some green space but still inside the London area. Are you tied to London for work? If not then look further afield (buckinghamshire has good links to London but has a lot of good schools and, I believe, has grammar schools for the future). Think about whether you are looking to move again before secondary school, and whether the size of the home will fit your growing family.

HTH, good luck

I'd choose to live somewhere I was happy to send my kids to state school. I wouldn't want my kids to go to private school, it is too socially limiting and if problems arise in private schools ultimately they care more about the brand than the children.

As the child isn't conceived yet, you simply cannot know what the state schools will be like in the future, nor what admissions pressures will be like.

So I think that you should move to an area that you like, and which has several good schools, and move to the part of town that is close to them (distance is the almost universally used tie-break when there are more applicants than places at the school).

Unfortunately, most areas of London are 'expensive'. If I was in your position, I would choose an area where there are good state schools - both primary and secondary. If you are in London, there will always be a range of private secondary schools that your child could reach by bus or tube.

I would also look at areas where there is a sense of community and a range of 'useful' local shops. I live is West London and if I was looking to fulfill these two options, I'd be looking at Ealing - particularly Northfields (which has a tube station) or the. Pitshanger Lane area.

We've just faced the same dilemma.

We decided to find an area where we were incredibly happy with the state school- and spend the extra money on the house.

The house will hold its value or even appreciate in value (hopefully) whereas money you spend on school fees is just gone.

We only did it after touring about 8 schools and deciding our property search based mostly on that.

Secure your whole families future first, with a home in a good area.

Life is unpredictable.

i would 100% move to an area I was happy with and send my child to the local school as opposed to comprising on location, neighbours, community etc.

You make a good point. Returns to owning in a good neighbourhood is definitely something we are considering.

What were some of the neighourhoods/schools you liked?

I would choose an area where I was happy with the schools, and divert my money towards a bigger mortgage.

A friend did the opposite, and when their finances changed they had to move the kids, and I just think of the equity they could have built up using those ££££ instead of paying for schooling (primary aged kids, where I think it is a total waste unless you are really wealthy).

Honestly, I'd try to avoid committing yourself too definitively if possible. So, I'd move to a nice area (maybe not quite so expensive as Richmond), but not go so crazy with a mortgage that you then don't have flexibility later. We moved to a nice area but in a much more modest house than we could have afforded. Our mortgage is low enough that we could build up savings and also have enough disposable income to live how we want. We decided on state primary and private secondary, and had the slack in our income to do that without sacrificing holidays etc. It also meant we weren't in trouble when the interest rates went up. If you have the income, I would always prioritise lifestyle and flexibility over a big house and a big mortgage. Resist the temptation to join the property porn rat race, and you'll have far more freedom as a result.

Area. It’s an investment.

you don’t build equity paying for school fees

What are some areas that you recommend we look into? We are by no means wedded to living in Richmond and are keen to find other places as well.

What did you like about Richmond in the first place?

Is proximity to the river important to you?

You could do worse than Richmond. Friends of ours sent their DC to The Vineyard school for primary and then went on to independent schools for secondary, of which there are plenty of good options locally. Richmond is a lovely place with a strong sense of community, the park and the river are on the doorstep and it's relatively quick and easy to either get into or out of London. Of course it's expensive but you get what you pay for. Surrounding areas like Sheen / Mortlake / Barnes are also nice.

Where do you work OP? Have you considered commuting time? In some wealthy area, expensive neighbours would send their children to private schools. They won't consider good local state options.

The whole education system could have changed by the time your not yet existing children are old enough to attend. Schools could have closed (both state and private), new schools opened. Schools that are considered the best ones now and are oversubscribed could become the terrible school everyone avoids.
You can't really choose a place to live based on what schools may or may not exist in at least 5 years time.
Find an area you like and a house you like.

River is great. Great selection of shops and places to eat without the congestion of Central London. Was pleasantly surprised to find a Whole Foods in the area. Locals seem on the whole happy, relaxed and satisfied with the amenities in the area which adds to the general vibe. Seemed somewhat suburban, but not excessively so.

Between the the two I would go with Richmond . I love Richmond .

As a third option I would go with a less expensive area, stick with state school and put extra money into travel and activities. I live in New Malden and love the area.

River is great. Great selection of shops and places to eat without the congestion of Central London. Was pleasantly surprised to find a Whole Foods in the area. Locals seem on the whole happy, relaxed and satisfied with the amenities in the area which adds to the general vibe. Seemed somewhat suburban, but not excessively so. Proximity to the park and scenic open spaces is a huge plus.

Richmond doesn't have the best options for state secondary schooling. I would buy just over the river in St Margarets/Twickenham TW1. Where you would have the option of excellent state primary and secondary schools.

We've opted to send our dcs to private school (primary and probably secondary). Quite a few parents there wouldn't consider a state primary, even the best performing ones. I'd guess they have a higher joint income and there's a bit more of a feeling of wanting the very best, even if the difference is marginal. But we live in an expensive area of London too, probably just as expensive as Richmond, but zone 2 so it's grittier and more diverse. The state schools around here have good reputations, but do suffer from having much larger class sizes and fewer arts/sports/trips and continually reduced funding. I expect the state schools in Richmond are nicer and less urban, but they'll struggle to offer what the local private schools can offer. You just need to visit as many schools as you can, private and state, and do a bit of local research (eg FB) to see what locals say.

School open days tend to happen in the autumn term, so check their websites and note the dates. I wouldn't mention that you don't have dc yet at the state schools or that you dont live in the area - visiting would be discouraged as numbers can be limited. It seems to be more common to visit pre-dc at private schools. If you are still on the fence about choosing private school when/if you are pg, I'd just register your dc at the ones you like anyway, as waiting lists can close early and if your financial circumstances improve then you have the chance to send them (and if not you can just decline).

We wouldn't have liked living somewhere like Richmond, as it's quite suburban and would mean a long commute. We can walk into work in zone 1, and live a car-free lifestyle. It's important to consider what is important to you when deciding where to live, not simply what the schools are like. It sounds like you'd like the quieter pace of life outside the centre so it's not too much of a compromise. But we discounted various places with reputations for great state schools on the grounds that the area didn't suit our lifestyles.

Do you think you'd have more than one dc? School fees all the way through would be a large chunk of your joint salary for 2 dc, especially considering the jump in fees at secondary and the impact of possibly having VAT charged. Although at your age and pre-dc we earned a similar joint income, and now earn significantly more, so you need to consider likely salary increases carefully.

There’s no better investment than education!

Go for a good area with good commuting links to your workplaces, and with a good selection of state and private schools. You are basing your finances on both of you working and being promoted. You may feel totally differently about climbing the career ladder when you are a mother or you may need to go part time or stay in a relatively “easy” job for a few years whilst DC are young. You may need to live off 1 income for a while. There are so many unknowns yet.

I agree with this