Moving to London from Barcelona, what neighborhood is good?

[Estefmx]

Hello all-

I currently live with my husband and two year old girl in Barcelona. I've lived most of my life in sunny hot Arizona...we will be moving to London end of November because my husband got a professorship in Kings College. We are looking for new housing and the places that we found within our budget is Croydon and Stratford. Are these areas ok? Which one do you prefer? We are looking for new properties since I have a horrible asthma. We looked into, very briefly East Dulwich but there's no new construction there...please please help me!! I need guidance on where in London we can look for new or semi new properties for leasing that are family friendly and not super far from the city center. Thank yo so very much for your input.

Depends on where abouts in Croydon. I would definitely avoid central Croydon. Areas of south Croydon are nice and family friendly - Sanderstead, Purley, Coulsdon etc.

Thank you so much!!! This gives me a huge help as next week I'll be going to see some listings around there!!! Thanks for taking the time!!

The traffic in Stratford can be bad, which I guess will be bad for your asthma?

South Croydon is probably a better bet.

Will you be working, ie will you need to commute to a specific area?
Where in Kings College will your husband be based? It’s got many campuses, from central London to Dulwich/Camberwell.
I’d strongly, strongly, strongly (did I mention strongly?) avoid any area (like East, North and West Dulwich) served by Southern Rail. Just google “London Southern rail misery” to get a feel for what I mean. Both last summer and this summer there was one train per hour on the Dulwich to London Bridge line, instead of the usual one every 10 minutes.

West Dulwich is served by South Eastern and if you are near North Dulwich station you can also use Herne Hill for South Eastern or Thameslink

Definitely south Croydon, or around there. Dulwich, Herne Hill, Purley. The transport isn't so great but it's a good area for families. You could also consider out towards Twickenham/Richmond, which is very commutable into Waterloo