Sister moving from Tokyo to London - where should they look for houses??

[AuntieJ]

Hello - my sister and her husband are moving over from Tokyo to London in August. Her husband needs an easy 20 min commute to the city for work, and she wants to be in a good family area with good schools and parks etc. Money is not a huge issue for them as he is a banker....where should they live?

Assuming the children are relatively young rather than in or approaching their teens, possibly the west side of Clapham Common, (Battersea Rise, the valley with Northcote Road running along its bottom and "Between the Commons").

Are they thinking private schools or state?

I do love fantasy house-buying where money isn't an issue... [ sighs and returns to real life ]

Or somewhere near to the Jubilee line; West Hampstead or the part of Hampstead near the Finchley Rd. Also St. John's Wood, but that's even more expensive.
Islington ? Though maybe the parts nearest the City aren't green enough.

I'll see if I can find the old thread on this (almost exactly the same question in fact!)

Parts of Greenwich are gorgeous - if money was no option, I'd definitely have that up there. Would make the commute extremely easy and there would be loads to do for the family.

Otherwise, Marylebone/St John's Wood/West Hampstead - all would fit the bill.

old thread here

her girls are 2yr 6mnths and 8mnths so still little...but private schools I reckon? I know, I am going to be offering my services as her house viewing buddy! I will pass on the info...she did start looking in Richmond and St Margarets but I told her that the commute might be a bit long...thanks for your ideas!

dh commuted from that area - to CW, it's probably about an hour, hour fifteen minutes, door to door (depending on how trains/tubes are running!).

that old thread has a lot of good suggestions on it if you read it through!

actually, not if you got the fast train from Richmond (I'm more talking about the slower St Margs train). Maybe nearer 45 mins then.

If they're Japanese they might like Ealing as it has a large Japanese community.

oo thanks, that thread and was very similar to my sisters situation ...she's back for a recky tomorrow so I will get her on mumsnet and show her all your suggestions...this is really helpful, thanks again!

Tell her to look up this site . She can enter up to 3 locations or postcodes, and choose a price range. It might give her a feel for different areas.

how lovely for you to have her back here (I assume you are in the UK)

thanks pretty candles..sister is english and hubby is an aussy..

Grane Park, Winchmore Hill, N21 on the train line to Moorgate (cit), very nice areas.

Good public and private schools too.

yes its so exciting...she's lived abroad for nearly nine years, but the kids have driven her and her husband back home...she wants help from Grandma & aunties I think!! she found the ex-pat life a bit lonely once the kids arrived and the partying stopped..

Even in Greenwich I think he'll be lucky to find a 20 minute commute. unless you live v. close to the City and cycle or walk (in which case you won't get much in the way of open space or good state schools) I don;t think anyone in London has one that short. If his office is walking distance from Bank then he could look at SW London (train to Waterloo then Waterloo and City) - you're looking at 40-45 mins, depending on how long your journey into Waterloo is. Clapham, Wimbledon, Barnes (might be a slightly slow line), Kingston. But I'm only saying that coz it's what I know - I suspect that Greenwich is a bit more vibrant. What about north? Hampstead? - not sure what the commute is like, or the state schools but everything else is nice. How much do they want to spend? (nosey, I know!) and how big a house do they want? In some of these areas you'll easily spend 7 figures on a 4-bed Victorian.

If he seriously means under 20 mins to the City, then that really only includes Islington, Highbury and Bow and surrounding areas.

I think he might be in for a bit of a shock as I think his commute in Tokyo is quite short...I think he'll be in CW so looks like Greenich and Hampstead - north london areas might be their best bet - selfishly I would NW area would be great for closeness to me and the grandparents out south west of London!

Hmm, Canary Wharf complicates things a bit (I'd been thinking more Liverpool Street/Moorgate-ish).

depending what they want he could get a 20 min commute with a flat in Canary Wharf - not sure that's so good for your sister and the children though. What sort of house/lifestyle does she want - that will guide you a bit.

St John's Wood/Hampstead could be doable in 20-30 mins. Jubilee line is very fast. As a banker, Auntie's bil could well be able to afford these areas, which are villagey and near to lots of green space, good schools and nurseries, and baby/toddler groups.