Where to live- Family of 4

[OztoLdn]

Hi,
We may be moving from Sydney to London very soon, we are a family of 4, with two kids aged 10 and 7.
We would like to live in zone 2 or 3, in a family friendly area, with parks, good state schools and with a variety of shops, eateries at walking distance.
So far, I have identified the following areas, Ealing, Acton, Chiswick, Clapham South, Balham and Tooting Bec.
Are these good areas? Which one would you choose if you could?
We will be working near Moorgate/Liverpool St and St Paul Station.
I have been told that the Northern line is very busy, crowded and with no air con, is it that bad? (Commuting 2/3 days per week)
thanks!

It's still crap vs say Victoria line

I really wouldn't choose where to live based on the grubbiness of the Northern Line v other lines. They're all fairly grubby, let's face it.

I agree, way down the list of priorities

However - it's worth noting that the Northern Line is one of the lines that runs 24 hours a day, at the weekend, along with these lines

Crouch end, You'll get a 3 bed flat for that budget (here ). There are green spaces, families, shops and cafes in an east walk, schools are fine and the overground train goes into Moorgate from Hornsey or Harringay in about 20 mins (with then a 5-10 min walk to Liverpool St).

Ealing would tick your boxes. But most places in your budget are flats not houses. And often only one bath.

But this place looks amazing and is on one of the cutest little streets ever. About 10-15 mins walk to Ealing Broadway and Elizabeth line. Near local parks. Good schools.

Peckham Rye, East Dulwich, Camberwell

Good for schools, loads of green spaces and parks, thriving foodie/restaurant/pub scene/ culture etc.

Great buses, 45 mins straight into the city

and 10/15 minute trains direct into London Bridge/Thameslink Blackfriars/ Victoria etc.

If you can let go of needing to be on a tube line, embrace trains, they're are a lot more pleasant than the tube at rush hour.

Balham / Tooting Bec is very nice, used to live there pre kids, couldn't afford it now. St anselms is excellent catholic primary that my friends kids went to. For secondary, chestnut grove by Balham tube is pretty good. The cream of the crop secondary school wise is graveny but as people have said that's not Balham but tooting / Streatham borders, far from the tube. You can get in from further if kid does VERY well in Wandsworth test. The northern line isn't that bad in summer, but if I still lived there I'd cycle - the cycling infrastructure has improved massively in London over the last few years. I cycle almost everywhere these days when not with kids in tow, quickest mode of transport by far.

I'm far less familiar with the other areas you mentioned, but I would also consider some areas closer to town. It's more urban of course, less chance of garden but just as many good schools and I think you get so much more out of what London has to offer from not having such a long trip into town (plus benefit of shorter commute).

I found these websites (you have to pay to get some of the features) very useful for identifying which secondary schools were worth considering, may help to identify a location to live as well

www.locrating.com/#

apps.london.gov.uk/schools/#

Sydney is a wonderful city, are you sure you want to move? It's so much upheaval for your 10 year old having to
move schools twice. Do you have friends or family in the uk that you could base yourself near?

We would be happy with a terrace, semi detached house in zone 3.
We would consider a flat as well if it has some outdoor space. We currently live in a flat and have a small courtyard and that is fine.
I have seen quite a lot of options between £2700 and £3100 in the areas mentioned in my post so not sure why people says I won’t find anything for £3000.

Waterloo/blackfriars/elephant and castle area - zone 1 - good schools, buses from e&c to every part of London - waterloo has the south bank with lots of things to see and do and go for walks in the summer! We enjoy living here, especially during summer.

Sydney is a wonderful city, it has been our home for the last 10 + years, we love it, but we are isolated.
My parents live in Paris, the rest of my family is in Europe and America, coming to Sydney is really expensive and my parents are ageing, if we were in London we could see them 3 times a year, the kids would love that.
We go to Europe every two years and it cost us 15k-20k, living in London would allow to do more travelling and I think it would be a wonderful experience for the kids.
We would be moving with our jobs so it’s still a bit speculative as we don’t know what the salary on offer will be.
I made a budget based on the info I’ve got from different posts here, and it seems we would need £6500-7000 net per month to live comfortably no luxury just a normal life with school clubs for the kids and extra curricular activities (swimming and soccer), eating out once a week, commuting from zone 3 twice a week, petrol for the car, groceries, bills, rent, council taxes and some room for travelling.
Does that sound right?

@OztoLdn I think you will struggle at that too for those areas - we were paying £2600 8 years ago in Richmond area- and it wasn't amazing - had a quick look and even the tiny 3 bed maisonettes in Chiswick are about £3k - and the bedrooms are minute

We live in Bath and we pay around what you are looking at- but we do get a lovely 4 bed attractive semi for that

Income wise I think you need to be looking at around £7k take home yes.

Working there you'd be far better going out north east on the Central Line or Overground. You'll get a lot more for your money and a much better commute even though you may be in a higher zone. Wanstead or South Woodford doing like they would fit the bill for you. The Central Line is above ground for much of the journey which is nice.

@OztoLdn , best of luck with the move, it's good your roots are in Europe. The London secondary school situation is competitive because the years of higher birth rates in London are still moving through the system. It will all be easier for your 7 yr old. Try and get your employer to pay for as much advice as possible via a relocation agent etc.

I agree with this. Those are nice areas and without friends and family around a shorter commute will really help family life. If you don't need to be in SW London for existing ties then don't pay the premium.

I have seen quite a lot of options between £2700 and £3100 in the areas mentioned in my post so not sure why people says I won’t find anything for £3000.

Close to schools & transport? Although I didn’t look for flats.

and it seems we would need £6500-7000 net per month to live comfortably no luxury just a normal life with school clubs for the kids and extra curricular activities (swimming and soccer), eating out once a week, commuting from zone 3 twice a week, petrol for the car, groceries, bills, rent, council taxes and some room for travelling

Thats fine.

Working there you'd be far better going out north east on the Central Line or Overground.

I live in SW London as born & raised & family & friends are here - same for DH. There are lots of other places that may suit you more.

£6500-7000 net per month - think you'll be good on that. My family & I live fairly comfortably on a lot less, but we don't have a car (I'd argue you don't need one in London, we do live zone 1, near E&C which I'd recommend as per other poster - primary schools are fab, secondary's good too, I love not commuting far), have v low commuting cots (walk/cycle largely) and have (part) owned our flat for a while so housing costs must be lower than if renting.

Merton Park on outskirts of Wimbledon it is a truly lovely community great transport (northern line at South Wimbledon or Main line train and district line at Wimbledon) great green spaces nearby and lots of shops and amenities. Good schools too.

Merton Park will be closer to an hour to your work. Honestly ,whilst SW London is traditionally well thought of, it's a waste of money that will just make your day to day life more stressful in terms of commute if you don't have ties there.

In the last ten years North East has become increasingly popular with people working around Bank/St Paul's because it's so convenient, there are some hidden gems and you get way more for your money. Prices have shot up but it is still cheaper than going west.

One thing to be wary of is that the London rental market is crazy at the moment. Rents have increased by more than 20% since covid, and you have more than 10 people going for every listing, so people normally offer a lot more to secure a nice place.

Can your work help with relocation and getting a suitable place? Or at the very least pay for a serviced apartment for a couple of months? That’s what I would be pushing for from employer!

If you need to be able to get to Paris, have you considered areas near Eurostar terminal (north London)?

Or south east London where you could easily drive to Calais? The Thameslink service from Bromley to City Thameslink is nice and air conditioned, short walk to Moorgate / St Paul’s. Very suburban family friendly areas with good schools (Beckenham Hill, Ravensbourne, Shortlands, Bromley South, Bickley). Not too far away drive from Gatwick either for flights.

I live in Alexandra Park. It's in North London so not the areas you've been looking at, but otherwise meets your remit totally. Very family friendly, lots of green areas, Muswell Hill and Crouch End nearby with lots of lovely independent shops/restaurants.

Alexandra Palace Station is z3 and goes directly into Moorgate.

The local schools have excellent reputations. The primary schools are Bounds Green and Rhodes Ave. The secondary is Alexandra Park School (APS) and is known as Haringey's top performing state school.

And because its not quite Muswell Hill/Crouch End, but still seen as a decent area, its a bit cheaper.

I lived there for 10 years the commute was fine. Even walking to main line 15 mins my commute was under an hour.

It's a lovely area and affordable for SW London.

I can comment on NE London as no experience.

Agree with other comments on rents what you see vs what you can get is very different. People are offering up to 2 years rent up from accommodation, and people are out bidding for rentals, so you might see a property for say £2.5k but if someone can bid £3.5k Landlord will accept the higher offer.

Thank you all for your comments and input, I really appreciate it.
Moving to another country is stressing, so many things to consider.
It seems like renting in a “popular” area is not a smart decision, the only reason why we thought of Clapham/ Balham was because it is mentioned by Aussies quite a lot and they refer of it as a good family area.
Work will help with temp accomodation but we would like it to be near where we want to live more permanently.
I will have a look at the areas mentioned, SE seems nice and cheaper but not great links to the city centre. West seems like a good option (Ealing Broadway, Ealing Common) and also NE ( Wanstead, Leyton).
We have a few friends south of the river so tempted to stay closer to South/West
After rethinking what we would like, I would like to live in a nice safe family friendly area, with state/faith primary and secondary schools, in a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom flat or small house. The commute as lo g as it’s under 45 mins it doesn’t matter if it’s a busy/hot/old tube/train we can make it work as we will be commuting twice a week.
We might have some room for rent and go up to £3200.
You may see my name popping again in a few days/weeks, I still have many questions :)