Baby friendly areas in north and east London?

[Bublife]

Hi everyone, I’m looking into where to move to / buy a 2-3 bed with garden and would love thoughts and recommendations for areas in north and east London that are friendly, have a sense of community/connection, access to nice open green spaces and good transport links into London. I am a solo mum to a beautiful 3 month old baby boy and a little dog so want somewhere I can get to know people in the area and have access to baby groups and fun activities for my son (and good schools for when he’s a bit older), and parks for the pup. At the moment I’m considering Enfield chase or Walthamstow, what are your thoughts?? Thanks!!

Clapton is prob more expensive but a bit closer in. Loads of parks in Hackney, great playgrounds. Couple of leisure centres for swimming, amazing bus links and overground train links. Close to the Lea river.

Clapton is extortionate now, we left last August, it’s full of minor royalty and pop stars and costs £7.20 for a pint. It’s also very loud, and dirty, drug paraphernalia and dog mess everything. But it does have lots of lovely parks for children and good schools.

I am in Walthamstow now, it’s very quiet, a bit dull, not many restaurants, but the marshes are lovely, the schools are just as good, and you can get a heck of a lot more for your money. It’s also on the Victoria line which is so useful!

Depends on budget. I would live in Hampstead area if I could but obviously need a sizeable amount of cash. Walthamstow/leyton/wood street is pretty good but it's not "nice" unless you live near Walthamstow village. Victoria Park village is lush.

Have you considered places like Brockley or Blackheath in south east London?

Wanstead is lovely; on the Central line. Cheaper is next door Leytonstone, and some areas of Walthamstow. Or Woodford.

Ooo yeah Wanstead is perfect! Not exactly London though it's quite far out! But very green and nice shops etc

30 mins to Oxford Street. Two tube lines. 15 mins to Westfield Stratford. Fantastic village feel but easy access into town. Best of both worlds.

This is really helpful, thank you! I hadn’t thought of Wanstead, will check it out. What about Enfield chase are any of you familiar with the area?

I don’t know Enfield at all, Aldersbrook is lovely.

Budget is obviously a big factor.

We're in the Bushwood area of Leytonstone which ticks a lot of your boxes: Wansted flats is great for dogs as they can run off lead, loads to do with little kids, great sense of community (residents association, most streets have WhatsApp groups etc), close to the central line. The high street isn't as good as Wansted up the road, but then house prices aren't so high (still pretty high!)

I'm not a parent but I live in Ally Pally close to Crouch End and Muswell HIllmand slightly closer to both 9f them and its like the set of Motherland round here. (In fact it is....Amanda's shop and the cafe are in the area.) It's very popular with families, with child focused shops and services nearby. There are a lot of green areas like Alexandra Park, Oliver Tambo rec, Parkland Walk, Queens Wood and Highgate Wood. The 2 closest schools Rhodes Ave Primary and Alexandra Park School (secondary) have excellent reputations. Muswell Hill also has good schools, Fortismere has long has a good reputation but it's one of the reasons why Muswell Hill us £££. Obviously not being a mum doesn't make me an expert but my neighbours speak highly of APS.

My first sentence makes no sense. It should say I live in Ally Pally close to Muswell Hill and Crouch End (and Wood Green, truth be known, but that's the other side of the tracks😉)

Oh and as for transport, its well served. Ally Pally is about 20mins to Moorgate on the train and Bounds Green tube is about the same to King's X or 30mins to West End x