Good Place to Bring Up Kids in SE

[Anna01]

I live in a shoebox in London and am expecting #2, so want to move soon. As London is so bloody expensive we are having to look outside (but not too far cos DH works in W London) although I have been shocked to find out that it isn't necessarily that much cheaper.

Can anyone recommend a good place to bring up kids (good schools/facilities/fun things to do) which is also lively for adults and has the benefits of both town/country but isn't 'suburbia' hell (oh and where the houses are reasonably priced)? I know, I'm not asking for much am I....

Also are new houses a good investment or is it true that they build them a lot smaller these days?

Any ideas would be gratefully appreciated....

How about Margate? There was a thread on it the other day...here . Only 1h15mins from London apparently!

Oh - it's the wrong side of LOndon, isn't it?

I live in Soutwest Herts and I think it lovely here. Watford has some great areas and some of the best schools in the country. It also has a huge shopping centre, theatres, parks, sports centres... I don't live in Watford but in a village 4 miles away. Between us and Watford is a leisure park with a multiplex cinema and a bowling alley. Hemel Hempstead is 10 mins drive away and has a massive multiplex cinema with a bowling alley and an ice skating rink.

There is no cinema in St Albans but there is a lot of history, a huge park, three theatres and some quaint and pretty shops and a very good street market. St Albans Grammar School is another top-ranking school.

Most pubs and restaurants here are far better tuned in to children than the London ones, and many have play equipment in the gardens. Local sports centre has flumes and inflatables in the pool at certain times. We live in a village but we enjoy long walks in the woods or along the river path with our kids, where we spot wild animals and birds. We go blackberrying, we picnic. We go to Sunday afternoon live music in our local pub garden in the summer. Our local put on a free 1 hour firework display this year, and the kids drinks were free.

I used to live in Willesden. We moved here 4 years ago and love it. Of course the houses are much cheaper than London, although S Herts isn't a cheap area nationally.

I felt when we lived in London, we were in the midst of bedsitland, and many of our neighbours were single people living in 1 room. I have nothing against that but I wanted to live where there are lots of families like mine, so that I could make friends with other mums and my kids could make friends with neighbours' kids. This has happened. There is heaps more going on here that is suitable for families and it is much safer in the street for the kids, hardly any traffic in our village and lots of old people, which I like. We have a very low crime rate and good quiet nights.

I sound like I have one foot in the grave don't I?

I'm in the Watford area too and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Everything I need is here - excellent shopping centre, cinema, swimming pool, hospital, good schools, parks, good transport links (underground and mainline stations), blah blah blah, I could go on forever. West Watford is very friendly and has a community feel to it. You are near enough to London but close to the countryside too.
Good luck with your plans.

Thanks very much for that Janstar and Maizie - I shall get in my car and drive around that area to check it out.

Glad to hear that Watford is now a lot better than its reputation or am I showing my age??

welwyn is lovely if u want to go a bit further out of london. its a 20-45mins train ride to kings x, got some lovely schools, the lakes, not much entertainment wise, loads of pubs, only one club tho, but is a short trip away to stevenage leisure complex. also has sports facilities, dry ski slope, low crime rate, lovely town centre, and is generally friendly. some areas have a real community feel to them.

Hi Anna, if your dh works in West London you should have a look at Buckinghamshire - trains on the Chiltern Line take you into Marylebone which is handy for West side stuff. Berkhamstead and Amersham are nice, Princes Risborough is a nice little town with shops, restaurants, swimming pool, that sort of thing. Good schools too in that area, we looked all round that area when moving. Tring and the villages round there are also nice with lots of older houses - depends how much your shoebox will give you to spend Wendover is another pretty village, lots of restaurants and is very pretty as it's at the foot of the Chiltern Hills. There are all the usual shops etc in nearby Aylesbury. Hope that helps a bit - we did look down further south but found the villages round Reading and Berkshire in general quite a bit more expensive.