Hi everyone! First time poster here. I’m looking for some advice on where in/around London to live with my partner and our 19 month old daughter and was hoping someone might be able to share some recommendations!
We’re currently living in a good sized 2 bed flat Islington but really ready to be in a house with a garden and a bit more space. Key things we’re looking for:
- Close to plenty of green space
- Nice town centre within reasonable walking distance (doesn’t need to be huge but keen for somewhere that feels like its own place rather than just a suburb of London!)
- Reasonable commute into central London (we both need to be in the office in London twice a week and would like to be able to manage this with nursery pickups)
- Reasonable drive to West Midlands (where my partner’s parents are based) - ie north London/Hertfordshire
- Great state primary school options (great state secondaries also a bonus although we may move again in 7/8 years so not essential)
- Diverse population (we’re a mixed white/Indian couple so this is important to us)
- Budget 800-900k & we’d like a decent sized 4 bed with a garden for this
We like St Albans (but think we’d need to compromise on house for our budget), Hitchin (love the town and proximity to countryside but not very diverse), Walthamstow/Highams park (we really like these areas but it’s a longer drive to my partner’s parents and Walthamstow in particular would stretch the budget for what we want). Beaconsfield looks nice but we hear it’s quite daily telegraph which wouldn’t suit us at all (and not keen on Bucks grammar school system). Not as keen on Pinner/Northwood (I grew up here so looking for a change).
We’re wondering if there’s anywhere in north/north of London we’ve completely overlooked & would tick our boxes?!