Sutton vs Woolwich

[fortounii]

My husband and I are expecting our first baby in September, so the rush to purchase our first home in time before the baby arrives is on! We have a mortgage agreement sealed, so ready to move quickly. We have looked in Sutton - which I love for the suburban feel, loads of trees and leafy streets, the proximity to Surrey, and great transport links into Wimbledon, London Bridge and Victoria. My husband will continue to work in London after I go on maternity so the closeness and convenience into central London is key. We have found great and affordable properties there and in Woolwich, but cannot decide which area is better. Any families familiar with both places that would like to share positives/negatives of those communities that we may find useful as a London-based new family? Much appreciated!

Gosh both areas I think can be pretty challenging though ini different ways.
Sutton is a pretty standard South London location, with an okays high street and few parks etc. Schools are hugely varying there. Being honest this is not an area I would consider to raise children, it sees more than it's fair share of Anti-social behaviour and can pretty ropey out and about sometimes, also close to Croydon which holds little appeal tbh....

Now Woolwich is not an area I would have considered up until two years ago but the last 18 months have seen massive and I mean massive investment, creating a stark contrast between the very run down, not really pleasant town centre (it's pretty awful by day, I would say horrid at night). I see this is going to change hugely in the next 2-5 years spectacularly...... already a wealth of new developments, new leisure centres and very close proximity to Blackheath, Greenwich, Charlton, Eltham etc which are all brilliant places bursting with historically notable places, activities for children and huge open green spaces, the 02 and some ever-expanding brilliant retail parks. So I am guessing your investment down the line at Woolwich would pay far better dividends there than Sutton longterm which I don't see improving really ?

All my humble opinion of course, I would say Woolwich is 100% more diverse than Sutton and depending where you choose your school choices wold be potentially far better in quality and chances. I think if you drive and are prepared to wait and watch the town centre be improved upon it could be a very wise buy....
I would recommend seeing wherever you are looking at in the evenings, (I was truly shocked at Sutton high street last time we went), all kids but genuinely intimidating.

Hope this helps! Best of luck

doubleshot have you actually been to or lived in Sutton?? The area has a very high quality of primary schools and the high schools have all the grammar options as well as good state ones.

OP, have you looked at the Carshalton or Wallington areas of Sutton? Carshalton village is lovely and there are some great roads. Plus brilliant parks. We are very happy raising our family here, we are in Carshalton and it’s lovely.

Worrisome Been a very regular visitor for over 15 years yes, but never lived there no. We have two friends 9both families with children) in Sutton an a single friend (no kids) in Carshalton which appears far nicer, and very different to Sutton itself.

Yes there are lots of parks, but literally every time we have been to Sutton there's been some type of incident, necessitating police attendance, maybe we have been unlucky?! One of the families we are close friends with regrets moving there bitterly and says they feel "cut off" but chose their location for their DC'S school which thankfully they got into was very good. My understanding was if they didn't get this school their school options were not great but this was 4 years ago-has it changed? They are looking to move away for senior school and our other friends with children are reasonably happy, but travel away from the area out weekends.
As I said all my humble opinion, but answered the OP's post honestly based on my own experience. Glad it works for you.

Thanks both! It sounds like there are huge contrasts between both places, I guess we just need to weigh up what works for us. I think our huge dilemma is choosing between an area we already know we like (Sutton) for a less familiar area thats still quite nice, and on the up with potential to become a cultural hub. I know both of our parents have said 'Oh I wish I bought that house in so-and-so when it was affordable'. We wouldn't want to miss out on the chance to see our investment pay off... it is an investment at the end of the day, one that has baby's future in mind.

I have looked into schools and they seem to have a good range for both, and we have definitely come to terms with the idea that there may be rougher patches to most London outliers. I'll also add this is more of a stepping stone for us. We may not fully reside in one or the other for ages, its basically the first jump we're taking onto the property ladder. So all things considered, affordable home baby is first priority, with initial happiness factor of the community for mummy + London links for daddy second, and return on our investment for the purchase third.

I live in Woolwich and love it (but I'm on the 'naice' side of the road, and if you know Woolwich you'll know what I mean). I'm not sure I would want to live in Woolwich proper, but where we are is GREAT with young kids. Lots of activities both in Woolwich and close by (Canary Wharf surprisingly good for kids stuff, Greenwich, Blackheath, Stratford). Links into Covent Garden/C London quite good if you fancy a bigger day out). Proper nature stuff up the hill in Oxley's Wood. We love it so much. We were planning on moving out of London in a year of two before DD starts school but I'm actually leaning towards staying now. The local primaries are good and quite diverse, which I think is a wonderful thing.
It has the convenience of living in London but far enough from central London to feel a little more relaxed, with lots of good green space to boot.

smellsofelderberries that's super helpful and reassuring! We just agreed an offer on a place in Woolwich (mainly due to timings etc.) and are hopefully moving towards the end of July. Great to hear about the green spaces as well, that's what was making me lean towards Sutton in the first place. Glad its worked out well for your family.

We moved to the Sutton area last year (technically Carshalton but we're closer to Mitcham in terms of transport!) and we're expecting our first baby in July. As with all places, some parts are worse than others. I would recommend getting a feel for different roads and areas. Also parking if that's an issue - quite a lot is permit and the parts that aren't at the moment will be in the future. Transport wise it's excellent- we used to live in Crystal Palace which was okay but since moving we've realised how much better it is to be that little bit out as there are so many more links to different places. We are 5mins on the bus to Morden for example and a 10min walk from the tram stop which is only a handful of stops from Wimbledon. School wise, it can be a bit hit and miss but we have 3 primary schools in walking distance, 2 of which are either good or excellent I believe. Overall I've loved Sutton so far and now with a baby on the way met more couples like us through NCT who are all on the same wavelength which has been great too.

I'm originally from Wallington. They all (Sutton, Carshalton and Wallington) have (had) when I lived there decent schools, parks, shops. But Sutton doesn't have a lot of shops but that's the same on any town high street lately. It's better than Croydon though. But it depends upon how much you're willing to spend on somewhere to live. But I haven't lived in Wallington (Roundshaw) since 2010

I saw ‘Sutton’ in the title and thought I’d comment even though it’s an old thread to include some factual info.

Sutton has top state schools and the highest GCSE pass rates in England most years with primaries not far behind so it’s as good as it gets basically. The independent school choices are also wide and really good.

Sutton has very low crime rates and if you look at the Met Police stats, it’s either the safest or one of the safest boroughs in London for several years running. I’ve also found it a very safe place to live.

Social housing tends to be concentrated near the town centre so the high street does feel a bit chavvy but on the plus side it offers a good range of useful shops, a lovely cinema, gyms, supermarkets and a range of restaurants by the station.

There are tons of family amenities, eg the sports village with a trampoline and play park, more tennis clubs than corner shops, public golf course, climbing wall, rugby, cricket etc.

South Sutton is very leafy and affluent with coutryside within walking distance. Areas around the town centre and north of the high street are a bit more of a mixed bag but more affordable and the schools are excellent too.