Moving to London: House location for a young family

[ridinghigh]

Hi all, we will be moving to London from the Mideast in the first week of September 2012. Our kids are 4 and 7. The biggest worry right now is the house location. It should broadly be based on the following factors:

1. Not more than 20-30 mins commute from Paddington Station, which dh's office is close to (Kingdom Street).
2. There should ideally be very good state schools nearby.
3. Rental budget around GBP 1,500-2000 p.m. (we plan to rent for 6-12 months after which intend to buy).

Would greatly appreciate any inputs on the location. From some of the threads, I have gathered Ealing fits the above criteria. Any other locations you could guide us to, as the choice one sees online is just overwhelming. Thanks.

What is harder to find, school places, housing or a commute within 30 minutes?

I'd say it's the school places. I'd therefore be contacting all LEAs in areas I'm interested in, in areas I know there is housing in budget, asking theoretically where there are school places for September, never mind "good" school places. It's simply pointless concentrating on individual schools, if you will forever be no50 on the waiting list, even living less than 400m away from the gates of the school.

natation...i love your 'worst-case scenarios'...:)

designer, thanks for the nudge. Assuming other things being equal, do you think wimbledon is a better place to live than ealing?

Well, I live here. so, um... yes!

Leafier. Quieter, but great links into town ? district line tube and mainline into waterloo in 17 minutes. Certainly more house for your money. Plenty of schools of all descriptions (for last minute places try The Hall. Independent but not extortionate, and have plenty of space so can add classes to accomodate extra children. Lots of ex-pats.)

Honestly, I moved here from N London 2 years ago and have never looked back. Loads of stuff for children. Broadway has every shop you'll ever need, Village is all chi-chi boutiques and whatnot, plus restaurants etc.

If your purchase budget is £800k I think you should get at least a 4 bed with a decent garden... Look around South Park Gardens & the area around Dundonald recreation ground as a start... We're a bit further out than that but we're poorer than you and wanted a bigger house for less money... We're towards Raynes Park...

Best of luck!
PM me if you end up here ? I'll show you around!
db
xx

thanks db, pelham and garfield look like decent schools, though pelham seems very competitive.

Look at Holy Trinity, The Priory, Dundonald, Wimbledon Chase, Merton Park, Bishop Gilpin... Might help you narrow your house search. On the LEA website you can see this year's catchment distances for each of these...

PM me if you need further assistance!
db
xx

so where did you move to in the end? I am in a VERY similar situantion now :o)

What are you looking for robelima, commute time, kids, working etc, i know quite a few areas around london