Large house & independent schooling

[Yumyummyyum]

Hi,

If you are able to afford both these things comfortably could you tell me where you live? We are both high earning professionals but we currently live in cramped London housing and can’t see that we will be able to move up the properly ladder here. We would like to be able to afford a decent sized house 4/5 bed semi or detached and good (private) education for our children. Ideally somewhere that is diverse/cosmopolitan. Obviously lots of other factors to consider but I would love some pointers so I can look at whether we might have opportunities in other places that might offer these things. Thanks!

Move to Belfast! It's amazing here - but don't tell your London friends as house prices will go up 😀

Schools are excellent and there are two airports with Dublin Airport a bus ride away for transatlantic flights. I wouldn't dream of moving to England as standard of living here is so much better.

If you are of a non-white background we are more diverse than you'd think and not racist.

@Yumyummyyum my sister lives in Norfolk and sends her children to independent schools which are very good apparently. She lives in Norwich itself as she prefers to walk/cycle everywhere but often drives to the coast which is stunning

It is changing slowly and surely. The non white population has increased so much in the last ten years and many more are moving to the Home Counties. I am not white but I would feel comfortable in St Albans, Brighton, Bristol. But as I own a flat, I would not be saving much money by moving out at that price point. The real savings are when you buy bigger homes as those are much cheaper in relation to London

West Yorkshire is great for those in the legal field. You have some great schools such as QEGS, Silcoates and GSAL to name a few. House prices are reasonable compared to London and you have the benefit of the countryside a stones throw away. Manchester is also only an hour from Leeds.

There are many markers of diversity. Sure, the prep may have a veritable United Nations pupil population but they’ll all be of a similar financial background.

The well-trodden path in your situation is to move to the edge of London or a commuter town. We are a 2 lawyer household with fairly similar backgrounds (my husband went to private schools; I went through the state grammar system). We moved to the edge of London and the other parents at my child's prep school are pretty much all people like us. Well off but not super rich exiles from zone 2 (or thereabouts) London, moving from an area that worked before kids to further out for space and schools.

@eurochick Are 4 bed properties in your area between 1-1.5 million?

Yep. Edge of London and Surrey. Not prepared to narrow it down more publicly!

Have a look at places like Sevenoaks (just over the Kent border), Reigate, Warlingham, Oxted, Kenley. Purley if you want to be a bit closer to London.

Here's one random example in the general area that I pulled from a quick search:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/128338229

The nearby secondaries are Woldingham and Caterham and there are several preps. Reigate has Reigate Grammar. Purley has Whitgift, etc.

My daughter is at a prep that is more diverse than the local state schools.

The downside is the commute but there are plenty of upsides (and I say that as a real townie).

£260k will easily buy you a nice house and private school. You’re being a bit silly. Spend £1m on a 4 bed house whixh you can do easily and you’ve plenty for school fees.

@eurochick Thanks! I’ve been thinking about South Croydon as I’ve seen some decent houses for under a million but want a strong academic prep for both my boy and girl and that’s where I’m getting stuck. Will look into some of those other areas you have suggested

That’s what I was thinking somewhere like South Croydon or around there

Op I have read back your post and am going to make a possibly incorrect assumption that you are from either a south Asian or African background. If that’s the case then look at pinner / Harrow / hatch end possibly parts of Watford Stanmore and Edgware, these areas have a Huge community of successful educated professional 2nd and 3rd generation immigrant families all going down the competitive private school route and if they aren’t they are breaking their necks for QE boys etc. you’ll get a nice house in budget and a diverse, predominantly Asian community in the private schools. Many of the preps are close to 100% non white and the others have a really good mix of children from a wide range of backgrounds.

What about Kingston way?

Any part of Australia. We have a 5 bed home with a pool. 3 kids all in private school.

I’m a high earner but not as much as you op. Still couldn’t put both my boys in private school. I only could afford one but i think its not fair so state school it is.

but we own a 6 bedroom semi detached house in cambridge. Probably around 800k-900k

cambridge its really nice city and lots of good private school here.

Yes, Manchester. Some great school options here

@Yumyummyyum - this school is co-ed and academic all the way until 18. Eltham College, SE9- cheapish area around it for housing. Suburbs of London. If you are on the right side towards Elmstead Wood with access to Chislehurst it is quite nice. Quick trains too. Plus grammar schools in Bromley and Bexley an option too.
The school starts at 7 plus (year 3) so you save fees on KS1. In KS1 kids just need to learn to read properly and widely.

www.yopa.co.uk/homeowners-hub/whats-it-like-to-live-in-eltham/

There is also Colfe’s school nearby, slightly less of an academic reputation than Eltham but a nice school. Honestly if you want to do private, I suggest you avoid the 11 plus and enjoy your children’s childhood and go for a through school.

I remember writing off eltham when looking in 2019 because up to the 2017 elections, there was a BNP candidate standing. I remember thinking, I don't want to live anywhere the BNP thinks would be a good idea to field a candidate!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eltham_(UK_Parliament_constituency)

But these types of London areas change quickly don’t they?
Personally, I don’t buy into the whole private school thing anyway. I would buy in a London property hotspot and make money that way and live close to an Ofsted good primary school with a small catchment of nice Victorian housing so kids have a nice Halloween, wholesome childhood experience, very local friends and lots of play dates and local clubs and a real community feel. My family have all made at least a million on paper living in places like Clapton or Hackney at the right time although they are artist types so were never going to make that professionally speaking.
It has worked for most of my friends, kids did very well, parents made a killing on house price growth which to this date is CGT exempt. Then move out to eg Cambridge for secondary state schooling.

I’m currently in Sydney and we have a 5 bed home and two children at private school and we earn around £250k equivalent.

The only thing is, we bought our house 9 years ago and they’ve gone up so much then - but you could find a nice family home on the outskirts of Sydney for $2-3 million although you would need $4-5 million to be closer to the city.

It’s a lovely place to live though. I was also a lawyer here and it was quite easy to transfer my qualifications although that was 15 years ago so I don’t know the rules these days.

Oh and also we don’t have much of a mortgage any more so our fixed outgoings are lower, but we do fly back to the U.K. 1-2 times per year which costs about $60k per year.
Id take a look around Kent or Surrey though for bigger houses and private schools.

Newcastle- probably Jesmond or gosforth

@pocketvenuss makes some very valid points about international schools and from my experiences they really ring true. Particularly the part about teachers attitudes. You often get teachers taking the positions precisely because they get a better lifestyle. The lack of scrutiny and league tables also have a big impact. I wouldn’t move my children to Dubai ect because of the lifestyle they would be exposed to. If diversity is important to you Leeds/Bradford excellent options. What about Glasgow or Edinburgh?

The southern suburbs of Leicester are worth looking at, lots of house for your money compared to London, very diverse city, private school options both day and weekly boarding. Big advantage is if you needed to start going into London it's an hour on the train.