Help Help! Have to move to London area in October, where should we live?

[DingALongCow]

DH just got a job in London at Queen Mary (University of London). We are currently in Switzerland and as we have been here toooooo long I am pushing to move in October (complicated flat renting rules means we can only move in Oct/April).

DH is coming over in June to buy car and look at areas. He will probably be driving in to work so public transport links are desirable but not necessary. His maximum commute must be around an hour or so.

Can anyone suggest any good estate agents in the area, or website where we can look at properties before DH goes over?

We have about 200 - 250k to spend on a house but will probably rent in the area first due to speed of move. DD is 3 so we are looking for an area with good primary schools, stuff for young children etc.

We have been recommended to look at places like Dunstable and Aylesbury but neither of us are familiar with the area around London so we could do with some help. DH is dubious about asking mumsnet but I have faith!

www.rightmove.co.uk

www.primelocation.com

QM has a few campuses, I think, so can you tell us where exactly your DH will work? It makes a fair bit of difference as getting from one side of London to the other can take well over an hour in itself.

Aylesbury and Dunstable are both quite far out and the commute could be pretty long.

Also www.findaproperty.co.uk but I prefer rightmove.co.uk. Will he be at the Mile End campus? If he is driving then it makes sense to be to the East of London so that he won't have to drive into the congestion charging zone to get to work.
There are some lovely places in Essex - what size property would you want for your £250k?

An hour's commute from anywhere in London is about 4 miles - if possible he should take public transport.

I think your budget is very low too, I'm afraid, but you might get a nice garden flat for that.

Essex sounds like a good plan.

I was thinking too that you might struggle to find a house, especially in a decent area, so close to london for that amount.

Yes, Mile End campus in East London, I think.
Not too worried about size of property etc I guess 2 bedrooms at least. We are living in a flat at the moment so in a nice area we would be happy to do the same.
We are pretty clueless about commuting times so this is all very useful. Dh has guaranteed parking pretty much and no congestion charge so hence the driving in thing, but he could be persuaded I think with enough info. Areas around train stations tend to be much more expensive though, dont they?

Thank you for all the info so far.I am trying to hold down a growing wave of panic about an overseas move, from a smallish Swiss town to London so definitely need guidance to stop me from flapping around a bit.

You're right about places around stations being expensive, so avoid them if he can drive in. Commuting by train is expensive, too.

THis site will let you play around with commuting times from stations. I think you can check out fares as well (ie a season ticket)

Have a look on a map site, like Google Earth or multimap, and find areas that you could live in. Do a search to see if any of those towns have local websites, and look for the local authority websites too. You'll want to find out about schools too. Renting first is a very good idea.

When you've found some towns that sound good, have a look on mn local site, or start a thread asking for info on those areas.

Good luck.

If he is at Mile End and seriously planning on driving, I honestly think you will be lucky to get anything to buy at that price within an hour's drive in the rush hour.

If his job conditions mean he does not work 9-5 on campus, then you might want to consider somewhere in SE London. Schools are pretty OK at primary level in Eltham, and that is a pretty nifty drive through the Blackwall Tunnel outside the rush hour. It is also comparatively cheap for inside M25 London. That is because it has a patchy reputation and not masses to recommend it on the bijou London life front (shortage of cafe society, let's say). But lots of families do fine here, us included. Lots of green space and closeness of lovely Kent also help.
On the other side of the river there is South Woodford and Woodford Green, with good schools I believe, also Walthamstow.
None of which makes any sense if it is not the main Mile End Campus he is going to - but neither does recommending Aylesbury for commuting by car to E1 in under an hour... are you sure your advisors have been to London?
If you want pretty, out of town and driveable, then surely Essex/Herts and possibly places like Brentwood or Hatfield are more suitable. But they're not cheap AFAIK.

x-posted.
Leytonstone is OK-ish I think, but my hunch would be to stay south of the river and keep prices down still further (no tube you see)

I would consider Essex, maybe Roydon. It is near Harlow which I do not like but Roydon is pretty enough and is a reasonable commute into London. I bet you could get a 2 or 3 bedroom house there.

I am not sure how the drive would be but would also check out the area around Tonbridge and Hildenbrough in Kent.

We live in North Essex and the train into Stratford is 39 minutes so v good - houses are cheap compared to London and there is relatively no crime in the fab village where we are and the school is excellent and there are lots of grammers - we moved from SE London and am so glad we did after this weekends developments!

Colliers wood - SW19 (right next door to wimbledon), is very commutable You can get a 2 bed flat with private garden for your budget . Lovely primary schools in Wimbledon and colliers wood too.

Thanks for all the extra info, he is a lecturer so has pretty flexible hours at the moment, but he is going up a few steps on the ladder so I dont know whether that will transfer to a UK institution.

Our advisors moved in different circumstances so I suspect we have been misinformed , but we dont have lots of people to ask (well we do now thanks to mumsnet)!

sigh, it was much easier to move from Scotland to Switzerland!

Another good website for researching areas is www.upmystreet (i think it's .co.uk) - it will give you average property prices in an area and also details on schools and other amenities.
We moved out of London to North Essex (although too far out to be useful for you) but I agree with Twinkie in that there is low crime rate, good schools and house prices are much more reasonable.

DingALongCow, I think your dh should ask the HoD, or soon-to-be colleagues, what their views are. You might well find there is an enclave of teaching staff quite local to Mile End. Several Mners live in Bow, for example, or Stepney, which is a radical alternative to the scenario you propose, but both are vibrant inner-city communities, with the pros and cons that go with that. Get dh to ask asap if the uni (I see they have a rinkydink new Student Village on-site) have any guest accommodation for visiting academics which will give you all a chance to do a weekend in the mean streets of E London, and get out to some of the burbs we have mentioned.
Blackheath has loads of QMUL staff but they tend to be "old money" in creaky flats now worth 10 x what they paid for them in 1970!
East Greenwich has one knockout state primary, Halstow, but is bisected by busy main roads and is not that close to the Greenwich of park and Royal College fame.
But I'd hazard a guess that the consensus is E17 and E18...Walthamstow and Woodford areas. There are grammars, a couple of independents...
I still think that your best initial solution is not to plonk yourselves too far out, personally. Even in the many desirable areas in question, you will have less choice of schools, fewer renting options etc.
But I am a convinced urbanite!

harlow is ok, old harlow is nice

Thanks Marina, thats a great idea. We only found out just recently that we are moving, hence the panic. DH will be speaking to the University on Monday or Tuesday to confirm dates etc so I will get him to ask all of these questions. I am very grateful that you have all guided us away from wasting our time looking in the wrong places, our opportunities for getting over to the UK are quite limited due to DH's work and travel.

I would rather be in the city personally I think as I grew up quite close (in Orpington) and after 3 years of rural living in Switzerland am desperate for some cultural diversity, and cuisine that doesnt revolve around cheese.

Redbridge is absolutely the most gorgeous place to live in London...

OK, well if you grew up in Orpington you will know Bexley/Bromley/Greenwich warts and all
I reckon BoJo will reinstate the tidal flow lane in the Blackwall Tunnel that Ken scrapped, and consequently, staying south of the river for cheaper property could pay off big-time, IMO.
CAT me if I can help - dh and I both work in HE in central London and we and our colleagues know where all the bodies are buried with regards to commutes and property price/good schools trade-offs

I grew in up in Orpington!
I think you'd be hard pushed to find a house for under £250k there now.

I think Ding was OK with a flat initially which might be doable in other parts of SE London wot! Agree Orpington is not cheap although did you hear the town centre M & S has closed down

Yes, although my mum (who still lives round there) is very pleased about it being Sainsburys and having parking M&S is in the Nugent retail park now instead.

Yes, I know a bit about S. london, though it has been a while since I have lived there (8-9 years or so, gulp!). My parents were both against us moving there though and virulently pointed us north of the river, hence the mad panicking as thats not an area I am at all familiar with.

Thanks for the offer of contacting you Marina, I have tried to sign up for cat before but it wouldn't accept the cards I have, but sorting out bank account and stuff is another thing on our to-do list atm! My email address is historywitch at hotmail dot com though.

wotulookingat- another Orpingtonite! I went to Crofton Junior and then Newstead. Went back for a visit a few years ago and it had changed so much, it wasnt what I remembered, seems to be in somewhat of a decline, although my memories are rosetinted with age I think!

Cross post! What the M&S has closed down! NO!! My friends and I used to buy big bags of food there and have picnics on the scrubby patch of grass by the market area. Sob.