Considering relocating to London - am I mad??

[Amanda1]

Message withdrawn

The hassle of the commute will depend on where you will be working in London (but I guess you know that if you lived in Blackheath before). I don't find the train service too bad and there don't seem to have been as many disruptions recently as I remember from the past.

What age are your children and what sort of schools are you looking for?

Personally I love living in London. So many people told me I'd feel differently and want to relocate to the country once I had kids, but they were wrong! I have a dd (age 2) and another on the way and have just bought a new house in SE London. We live in a wonderful community - rarely have to go to a supermarket because the local shops are so good. Virtually never get in the car because we can walk everywhere or use public transport.

There's so much going on. Admittedly we don't do as much theatre, concert, cinema and opera as we used to (let's be honest we hardly ever go these days!). But we'll pick that up again when the kids are bigger. And for us the biggest thing is that so many of our friends are here, and we have a lovely lifestyle.

I grew up in rural mid Wales, but now I wouldn't swap city life for anything.

The only thing I don't enjoy is the length of my commute, but that's because I often end up working in different locations and travelling an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half each way. When I'm working in central London and can get my commute down to 50 minutes I find it's fine. The trains will be busy in from Blackheath, but I guess you know that.

Good luck with the decision

Message withdrawn

Hi Amanda1. I have lived in London, or just outside all my life and I work in the city. My dh is from Leeds and he says that after living here he would never go back. Whereabouts in Leeds do you live, if you don't mind me asking?

I think you need to re-look at Blackheath through the eyes of someone who now has a child. Your memories of it will not include these things. Can you visit ? Do you have friends/relatives in the area ??

Message withdrawn

not mad - at least with a pre-secondary school kid! Blackheath, IMO is incredibly child-friendly good schools & nurseries, loads of open space, great shops & commuting to London's fine. only problem is when kids get older - sec schools not good & hard to get house large enough for growing family. HTH

Amanda1, I live in Barnet Herts which is at the end of the northern line on the tube but still a London Borough. I travel into the city by mainline train as it is quicker and more pleasant than the tube.

My boys are 6 and 3. The 6 year old goes to the local infant school in our road and it is a great little school. My ds2 starts nursery this week.

If you don't have many friends/family in Blackheath I would think hard about your reasons for moving there. It is so much easier, if you have the option, to be somewhere where you have family and friends when you have kids.

Meant to add that dh is from Bramley.

Message withdrawn

I've lived in the London Borough of Hackney for the last 18 years and intend to stick around for a fair while longer even though I've got three children now. When we go to visit my parents who live in a small town in Yorkshire, I'm always struck by how little there is for kids to do there, whereas in London I feel they are spoilt for choice. We have a lot of friends here and I really feel part of a community. I also like the plurality of it - I don't want my kids growing up in an area where everyone is the same colour!

I like living in London too. considered moving out for a brief period, but felt very strange looking around little villages. Lots to do for children in London - activities every day if you want them. I live in Camberwell, and think Blackheath is lovely, though I don't know about trains.

I live in Blackheath and work full time, commuting into the City. My children are at primary school.

I think children tend to be happy wherever they are - they don't really know any different but my children have a 15 minute walk to school across the heath, friends nearby that the older one can walk to independently (and the others will as well once their traffic sense etc is sufficiently well developed). There is lots to do after school/weekends - we have tennis/ballet/art club/brownies/piano as part of our week.

The commute is within an hour which for London is not bad - you have green spaces around you (Blackheath and Greenwich park) but are also close to central London for museums/theatres etc in the school holidays.

I like it here and it suits my family.

Blackheath is fantiastic with children. There are good schools at primary level, not sure at secondary level.

Lee is a lovely area with affordable houses and you have manor house gardens (lovely park) and Brindishe and St Winifred's schools there which have good reputations (but watch the catchment areas). You are a short hop away from Blackheath as well.

Blackheath also has Greenwich park of course, which is fantastic for children. Nice cafe's as well.

The commute, as you know, is good and reasonably reliable. ANd the village butcher - well I still go there for dinner party meat, even although I live 5 miles away now

The pizza express in the village is very good with children, as is cafe uno. Chapters coffee shop is a good day time alternative.

You also have all the attractions of Greenwich too on your doorstep.

soapbox, are you LOCAL? And Mrs Wobble too! I knew about ZolaPola moving . I might have seen you in Chapters Coffee House!
Amanda, as others have said, Blackheath is lovely - we lived there for 10 years but moved to another part of SE London due to a shortage of affordable housing.
Agree with soapbox that Lee is an affordable alternative with a pretty conservation area, Manor House Gardens, good state primaries and loads of families with young children (several of my NCT group live there).
It also has arguably a slightly better commute (from Lee or Hither Green) than Blackheath proper - different branch of the same lines into Cannon St/Charing X. Fewer trains off-peak, though.
But both areas have masses to do for families. We are often back there as we attend a local church (were married there actually).
Do feel that Blackheath is less well suited to families with secondary age children unless you want to bus them over to Dulwich (JAGS, Alleyn's, Dulwich College etc).
There is a serious problem with access to good state secondary education in Greenwich, with a majority of parents choosing to send their children outside the borough. Thomas Tallis is a well-regarded big comprehensive but almost impossibly over-subscribed, there is a good CTC (Haberdasher's) in New Cross, and that's it unless you go private in which case Blackheath High (girls only, 3-18) is as good as ever, Colfe's in Lee, also good and takes both sexes from 3-18.
Primaries in the village and at the Standard are all good although Brooklands and All Saints' are oversubscribed, as is John Ball. We have friends who are very happy with Invicta near the Standard.
I agree with you utterly about London (and other big cities of course) having loads to offer young families. So many museums, galleries and attractions on your doorstep, they can gradually learn to be street-smart and use public transport, and in SE London you are close to the wonderful countryside of Kent.
Good luck!

Marina - used to live in Blackheath but have since moved out to Chislehurst. Children go to Colfe's though, so still pop up to Blackheath now and again on Fridays (my day off) for a quick coffee etc!

Message withdrawn

Amanda1, I have sent you some info via Contact Another Talker. The Mumsnet team should forward the message when they get a mo!

mine are state schooled

Message withdrawn