moving to London

[sharryj]

Hi everyone, I'm currently living in the states (Virginia) we've been here for 2 years having moved previously from Ireland. We are considering moving to London but have no idea where to live. My husbands job would be around London bridge/Waterloo, but we would be interested in living in the suburbs somewhere with good public schools as we have a 7 & 5 year old.
We would want somewhere that we could afford to buy a nice 4 bed house approx 450k but within an hours commuting distance from London bridge. Am I living in a dream world with these expectations or can anyone help with some suggestions.
Thanks for your help.

Hi Sharryj,

I'd advise you go onto daft.ie and look at prices there. I'm currently living in London and probably about to move back to Ireland in the Summer. I live in Walthamstow, used to work near London Bridge and my commute was 45 mins door to door. Walthamstow is zone 3, 'up and coming' area. I got my house valued - 3 bed terrace - and was quoted £600,000 by 2 estate agents. So, I would imagine that you'd find it very difficult to find a 4 bed for your budget.

Sorry,

Meant rightmove.com - daft.ie is what I'm looking at!

You could live in a nice part of Surrey - but you would be an hour out of Waterloo absolute minimum and at the top of your budget.

example

You won't find a 4 bed house for £450k in London. I would try Rochester. Just over an hour on a direct train to London Bridge, Waterloo East or Charing Cross, but you'll definitely find a 4 bed for that price down that way. Expensive yearly train pass though.

AShford up the line to London Bridge, 1 hour 15 minutes.
You'd get a massive house in Ashford for 450k. Excellent local schools. Most housing in quite new though.
You could buy a 4 bed there and another one to rent.

I'm overseas but I have a 3 reception/3 bed semi in Woking (40 mins from Waterloo) , recently valued at 460K. (Not for sale sorry it has a tenant in)
The primary schools are generally ok, 2/3 secondary's also good

Bromley and Croydon still have a few at the 450k level. But of courses schools, crime etc. are not the best.