Should I move north (alexandra park) or south (near crystal palace)

[Melcl1987]

Currently looking at 3+ bed houses and have a budget of 800k ish as looking to upsize from our flat in forest hill.

We have narrowed our options down to a couple of different areas - beckenham/penge/Sydenham or bowes park/alexandra Park.

Both are equally good for our commutes and seem to have decent links as well as being similar prices for properties.

We would ideally live in somewhere like crystal palace or alexandra Park which are somewhat buzzy and have nice green spaces nearby as well as decent schools but realistically our budget will only enable us to live in areas that are nearby those two.

Just wondering if anyone can provide feedback on those areas?

i lived in palace for years and love it, however, secondary options are awful! On that alone I’d say ally pally

I'd go for beckenham, green spaces, short bus ride to Crystal Palace,good schools, slightly cleaner air.

Thanks, hadn't really considered secondary yet given our daughter won't start primary to next year but would certainly be nice not to have to move again

Lots of outstanding and excellent primaries in Penge and brilliant transport links. Secondaries are difficult for boys but the girls secondary school the current Chancellor of Exchequer went to is local and rated outstanding. There are also grammars for boys and girls in the borough that are a train or long bus ride away.

Look around Auckland Road near CP. If you're going to need a primary school soon, then centre on Cypress Infants and Juniors