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

Thank you Londoners, lots of options to look into then , very helpful and kind !!!!

Feel free to PM me if you’d like more info on Catford and surrounding areas :)

Bear in mind that uni students have very short terms. My experience is that they are back home for about half of the year. Oxbridge terms are even shorter than normal, at 3 lots of 8 weeks.

After graduating your son might well want to/need to live at home in his first job, so I would only buy something that will accommodate all three of you comfortably.

I forgot, Langley park boys and girls schools in Beckenham are very good. My DB and his family spend lots of time in Beckenham too, 2-3 parks there, nice shops, restaurants, a Waitrose and M&S food hall. Beckenham easily reachable and nearer than eg Orpington. Approx 5-10 min drive from Catford.

If it’s only two years I would wait till your DS finishes school, that’s a big ask of a teen at a crucial time in their education.

Yes Amersham/Chesham have excellent grammar schools, with many progressing to oxbridge.

if you have time you should thoroughly check out the areas in person before you move.

they are really small-town suburban feeling and there is nothing of the London vibe there.

all you will be doing is commuting (approx 1 hour all in from Amersham/Chesham to London)

could you live in city centre Edinburgh? Then you get a city feel?

I love London and moved here straight from Uni. I think to enjoy it though you do want to be living centrally. Living out in the suburbs is soul destroying. Lots of competitive mums and no interest in the city itself.

not to put you off! As I know what you mean if you keep delaying you’ll never do it.

hopefully you’ve had some good tips from this thread then you can spend a few days exploring them all.

does your DH have any interests/ hobbies he might be able to benefit from with the move?

in any case it is great to give yourselves a new lease of life. My parents relocated later in life after we went to Uni and loved exploring new areas together.

Can I ask pls where your parents moved to, as an older couple in London, this may well be what it looks like for us quite soon (2028)

One of my friends got cancer, now stage IV, almost end of life
I guess that's what makes me feel like not waiting anymore

I recognise Orpington school suggested by PPs from this list

By A Level results 2024

1. The Henrietta Barnett School, Barnett - 81 percent
2. Wilson’s School, Sutton- 77 percent
3. St Olave’s Grammar School, Orpington - 74 percent
4. The Tiffin Girls' School, Kingston upon Thames - 72 percent
5. Tiffin School, Kingston upon Thames - 70 percent
6. The Latymer School, Edmonton - 67 percent
7. Wallington County Grammar School, Sutton - 62 percent
8. St Michael's Catholic Grammar School, Finchley - 60 percent
9. Newstead Wood School, Orpington - 57 percent
10. JFS, Harrow - 55 percent

Most of the others too expensive re catchment?

Some Grammars also don't take in many/any at Year 12 ...like QE

Look at areas within a few mins walk of an Elizabeth line station. The ones further out obviously are cheaper.

adjust your ideas of what your home should look like, and move into london proper. as central as you can. buy something smaller than you’ve ever considered before, but in zone 2!

Totally agree with this. £400k is plenty for a 2-bed flat in many parts of Zone 2 & 3.

Try: Brockley, Deptford, Forest Hill, Leytonstone, Clapton, Tooting.

There’s no point in moving to London if you’re going to be living in a suburban zone 6 neighbourhood. Move somewhere with a London vibe.

Best of luck! Although I left in 2024 to move abroad, London is still very close to my heart. I would never consider living anywhere else in the UK.

why not move to olympic park. all the new cultural buildings (v&a, saddlers wells etc) and a school that’s sends 60+ kids to oxbrigde per year. brampton manor.

This. I was moved before sixth form and was miserable and it impacted my studies, as it took a long while to settle in. If you join a grammar most stay on and know each other already, so you’re the outsider. You also leave all your own friends behind. Guess it depends how your son feels about it and how extrovert he is though.

If it’s just two years until your son finishes school can’t you wait until then? Having to consider schools as well does complicate things somewhat and don’t underestimate the impact of such a huge change on your son. I do completely understand wanting to have an adventure before you’re too old - we did it in the other direction (moved north after 20 years in London)

I feel like street benches to sleep on cost more in zone 2 lol than my budget - would love to if I could , I agree with those saying suburban life an hour outside can be not that much different

I know also that this might offend some, that is not my intention - there's all the nice cities in the UK ofc and I was in one for some years in between
But there is only ONE LONDON - OH God, my London crush still is strong :-)

Yes I suppose so..... :(

Hes an extrovert ....His answer depends on whether he has a girl he has a crush on or deems his 'girlfriend' at the time of asking or not ......

There are pretty girls everywhere?

Look at Woodhouse College for sixth form, one of best state sixth forms, in Finchley - you could live slightly further afield and your son commute there the bus or tube. Might be different now but friends of mine came from
all over NW.

Thank you, website says applications close in January :-(
As usual I dreamed for too long ....

I will call them on Monday and ask if any drop outs etc
Decisions won't be made till GCSE results are out though?

400-450 do-able......

Yes call them. My hunch is they have a lot of movement, kids in NW might choose to stay in school sixth form or go private etc.