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

House we live in is valued at 525K to be exact, equity in it is about 400K

Factoring in that there will be 4 years Uni fees there, but paying for private school here for 4+2 more years here

If that made sense, sorry if comms are muddled

About once a year for work, and try to fit in seeing family same time

sometimes twice

Are you moving from Scotland? Would it not be better to let your son finish school and then do this?

i didn’t write it cluelessly. you totally could move to zone 2 if you were open minded and not wedded to the idea of a house. i’m not talking dives, just compact life.

Also just want to say I admire you doing this! I want to move back and secretly hope i will convince my family at the same point (sixth form!)

Lets do it !! I dont mind if its waiting two more years, maybe I can go ahead and get things set up

I still dont want DS 6 hours away though at uni stage.....which is why I was thinking NOW or NEVER

Do you mean flatshare in zone 2

I'd suggest the borough of Sutton for great schools - grammar and comprehensive. Depending on the station, trains go into Victoria or London Bridge or you can get a bus to morden for the northern line. You could live in Sutton/Wallington/Croydon/Mitcham. No doubt someone will be along soon to deride one or more of these places but this a very green part of South London with a mix of cultures, good schools and transport connections plus you have lovely countryside on your doorstep to the south so don't discount it! Yes there are some rougher areas but that's true throughout London.

Thank you , checking these out now

Safe schools and Crime though ? Are they mostly horror stories circulating in the suburbs

He and I are completely remote working but his London offices are likewise nearish mine

Yes the usual range of health issues you would expect at almost 50....

I think you'd be absolutely crazy to move from Scotland to London at 48 but whatever, that's your choice. But to force your child to move to a totally different education system when you could just wait a couple of years is really unfair.

If you move from Scotland to London when your DS leaves school, then he'll no longer qualify for free university tuition in Scotland as not resident in Scotland

And the standard student loan that any student can get, regardless of household income, is higher in Scotland (approx £8,400 pa in Scotland v approx £5,500 pa in England)

I think you'd be absolutely crazy to move from Scotland to London at 48 but whatever, that's your choice.

why ?

Although Bucks has brilliant grammar schools as pp have suggested, I would discount it entirely as they are in naice market towns not at all like a London vibe.

Personally, I would let your DC finish his school education in Scotland - just too many variables that could go wrong in pivotal education years - and then move as centrally as possible in London.

At the moment you are having to consider good school areas which are invariably more expensive, particularly after the private school tax. If you wait 2 years, this is no longer a criteria for you.

Genuinely, how similar are A levels to highers?

Surely that's the most important question if you are uprooting your DS to a completely different education system?
You are asking a hell of a lot from your DS plus potentially buggering up his grades for further education - why?

You could easily do this move in 18 months / 2 years time

Off the top of my head St Olaves is boys and Newstead is girls. You have a DS only right?

Henrietta Barnett girls, Wilson’s boys.

latymer and Wallington both mixed, latter from sixth form.

JFS is Jewish, they do accept non Jews sometimes from primary schools.

St Michael’s mixed

Finally no idea but the others but St olave’s is apparently incredibly hard to get into.

Highers? Does this mean you are in Scotland? Doesn’t that mean that if he does his Highers and remains there he can go to a Scottish university for free, and that you’d lose that ability of you move to England/London, so you [or rather your DS] will incur debt unnecessarily?

Forgive me if I think moving now and not waiting 2 years until he is in uni is bonkers?

I am nearly 10 years older than you and my DH are making a staged move back to London right now… we’ve waited until our youngest started uni [later this year, though we have a flat and are using PT, DH for work, and with DD living in it for uni]. 50 is really not any more problematic for you to ‘start again’ than 48, but it feels like you are potentially throwing a hand grenade in your DS’s life unnecessarily, taking him away from his social network and an educational system that he knows and which favours him for uni applications.

And what if you get there and it is not what you hoped for? Wouldn’t it be better for DH/DS to remain in Scotland and you make the move now and see if you like it? Then DH join you after DS’s starts uni?

But surely he doesnt want to be 6 hours away from all his friends now? I honestly think this could end up being a complete catastrophe for your DS at a critical time in his life when he should be focusing on A levels and getting into uni. Why rock the boat? Wait 2 more years, let him access free uni in Scotland if thats still a thing, then you can move to London and get a small 2 bed ex council flat like me - which is realistically what you can afford for 400K all in. And you'll have an amazing fresh start!

This. Are you clear about whether there is more of a jump to A levels from your son’s qualifications than would be the case with GCSEs (there’s a big jump there too, but I don’t know how the equivalent Scottish quals work)? It seems quite a risk in terms of his education.

I say this as a Londoner - it’s a bloody great city but it will still be there in two years…

On Woodhouse - I think you’ll struggle to get an offer this late on. The whole moving sixth form thing is a big deal in London and the deadlines seem pretty set in stone.

Edited to add, I also agree with other comments about what your money will buy in London. I regularly think about moving the other way (ie back to Scotland) and property prices are a big part of that. A £400k property even in Edinburgh is likely to be much nicer than its equivalent in London.