Moving from a small town 5 hours away , to London

[OneThingAfterTheOther]

It has been a dream since finishing Uni and early 20s , to work and live there

I love the vibe , the pace, everything going on , so much to do etc

I agreed to stay for DHs career and 20 years have gone by

I am 48

I want to move this summer, and DH and DS I hope will move happily too I am still trying to convince them it will work financially

Can anyone suggest a place within 30 minutes train/tube from Central London with good sixth form college/high school options for state/grammar - and apartments or a row house if possible, for a budget of 400K including duties, taxes , legal conveyancing etc. please

Please help me , thanks

Good for you op.

Hopefully someone will come along with a hack for your budget.

I'm SE direct line to London and it wouldn't go far in my area, sadly, but hope you can find something

Bromley Borough could work. You have good options for state schools and grammar schools and you should be able to get an apartment for your budget.

Have a look at Amersham/Chesham. Good grammars, speedy trains into town. Your budget won’t get you a house, but should be able to get a flat, just.

I think SE london is your best bet.
Look at Abbey Wood, 25 mins to Liverpool Street on Elizabeth line and 2 bed house c. £325-350k.

Moving further in, you could get a 2 bed flat somewhere like Charlton for the same, Southeastern to London Bridge /Cannon Street in 30 minutes. Very close to O2 arena for the buzz etc.

Where do you need to get to in Central London, as that can dictate it?

Both have good secondary options / colleges. In a Grammar area. Look at Shooter's Hill sixth form college.

I'm a senior manager in Banking and the London offices are just off Tower Bridge

Our house here is valued at 500K but was hoping to have 100K to cover uni fees in a couple of years , it will just be the two of us as well, so was hoping to get a nice 2 bed apartment for 400K .....

NW I think may have a slight edge for me as family there, Watford - but really getting a nice apartment for the budget and a good sixth form is more important.

DH is terrified London is too expensive , but he does understand my reasons and gets it too.

Few grammars in London, and to get into popular sixth forms you’d need to move before the application deadlines. Think you will need to compromise on commuting time to get a good 6th form and a property in budget. Renting could be an option worth considering.

I think I’d wait two years until DC has completed 6th form, unless DC is super keen to move for themselves. Not having to consider school will give you more options

Bexley Borough - has several grammar school options within the borough and other grammar schools nearby including super selectives. £400k will get you a small house or a nice flat. 25 minutes on the train into London Bridge from Sidcup for example. Look in postcodes, DA15 and DA14 or SE9 (Eltham - Greenwich Borough). With that budget further in it’ll probably be an ex LA property on an estate.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/173322755

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/169168427

Thanks @Dozer I have waited 20 years though and it will be something else then

DC is hesitant indeed - it will mean moving from studying for Highers and Advanced highers to A levels - he is interested in Oxbridge after though.

DH can easily work from there out of L offices too, we are both fully remote here now that's why it feels like the best time .......

He likes the idea of the free Unis here saving us money, but DS has been in private school for 4 years now and two more - which we could have / can save with Grammar/state there to offset.

You could look at Woolwich, lots of flats and the Bexley grammars are good for sixth form. Bexley itself has trains to London Bridge

This fits your budget for property but maybe not including cost. Sixth form and grammar I don’t know about.

Catford is up and coming DB and his family moved there last year from Hackney.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?minPrice=300000&index=0&sortType=2&channel=BUY&transactionType=BUY&locationIdentifier=REGION%5E85422&minBedrooms=3&maxBedrooms=3&propertyTypes=detached%2Csemi-detached%2Cterraced&displayLocationIdentifier=Catford&maxPrice=400000

SE seems more the consensus than NW then ?

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/170285000

This is on an estate and is ex Local authority but a lot of the houses on the estate have been bought. It’s a bit further from the stations but a short walk to buses that take you to stations like Blackheath or Westcombe Park or Kidbrooke. Close to nicer areas like Blackheath and Greenwich.

What do you mean ‘two of us’? You said it’s you, DH and DS.

Will just be the two of us in two years when son goes to Uni ? Finishes high school in 2028 regardless of where he is

https://www.prendergast-school.com/231/welcome-and-ethos

https://www.locrating.com/the-best-Secondary-schools-in-Catford_Lewisham_England.aspx

Sydenham High and St Dunstans are good schools but both private. Also near Dulwich for Jags, Dulwich college and Alleyns, all private.

The Tower Bridge area is much easier to reach from SE London via London Bridge station and just one train to get so a quicker commute. The commute costs will be cheaper also. Watford would be an expensive journey and not many alternatives if there’s a problem on the line plus you’d have to change onto the Northerm Line tube after the train.

I don’t know about other parts of NW London. It’s generally an expensive part of London so you’d end up in a not so nice area. There are grammar school options but not as many as in SE London.

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/property/3-bedrooms/catford/?q=Catford&results_sort=lowest_price&search_source=for-sale

Agreed re travel, SIL works in Farringdon and gets one train changing at London Bridge.

St Olaves Grammar school in Orpington has a good number of pupils receiving Oxbridge offers. Very competitive for entry however. There are very fast trains into Central London from Orpington station (about 20 minutes).

There are lots of very good independent schools in the area also. Dulwich College, Eltham College, Alleyn’s to name a few.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/174058004

I was just going to say St Olaves! Newstead Wood is girls grammar in orpington.

Orpington wasn’t on DB’s list (they looked around) when buying their house, however:-

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/property/3-bedrooms/catford/?q=Catford&results_sort=lowest_price&search_source=for-sale