Where to live in London???

[Mumof3darlings]

Hi I am posting this in this section although it is not entirely primary education related, although that does play a major factor.

Need advice from anyone who knows London and the surrounding area well.

My DH and I are planning to move back to the UK in Jan after a long period of living abroad.. pre. living abroad we lived in Oxford and had no children and enjoyed life there a lot, it was city with vibe & culture yet very pretty and not overly congested.

We are now moving back with 2 young children who need to start primary education (ages 5 & 3) and we are considering giving living in London a go since it's a place we both love but do wonder if we should have moved there in our 20's early 30's (not late 30's pushing 40! with kids!) Friends who have/do live there give me mixed reports of "it's a great place to bring up kids" - "I wanted to move out once kids arrived".. I am also wondering if we would end up wanting to leave but feel it's something we possibly need to try/get out of our system and really feel like it's now or never. I would probably look to rent somewhere rather than buying for a year or two.

My husband's new job would be within reasonable travelling distance from north/west London or surrounding area - ideally he needs to be close to M4 and currently I don't work. This is for the day to day side of his job and then he will also use Heathrow airport regularly to travel away with work and so close proximity of this would be handy.

We want to send our kids to a state school, possibly catholic (as we are) but the catholic part of education is not so important.

We like the fact there is so much to do in London also with kids - museums/parks etc and also we like the idea that we can eat any cuisine we want and enjoy theatre/music concerts & occasional nights out as a couple.

This seems like such a mindfield and a as we REALLY don't know the areas at all and know if this is a crazy or good idea!!! It would be different and an easier decision if DH's job was in central london as our choice would seem a more obvious one but the fact we have the choice to live in the home counties makes this all seem like we are maybe making a unlikely choice.

Would really appreciate thoughts & ideas on this !

Many thanks for reading!!

x x

I can only talk about the area im in. Some schools around muswell hill/crouch end are great. Look at the ofsted reports and the numbers of children on free school meals. many of the catchment areas are tiny,literally the street a school is on.

Rents/house prices are higher too near to good schools. How much rent can you afford? you will be looking at a minimum of £900,000 for a decent house near a decent school and at least £900 a week for a 2-3 bed house to rent.

www.staidansprimaryschool.org.uk/
One of the good catholic schools.

www.haringey.gov.uk/index/children-families/education/primaryschools/prim_list_of_schools/primary_st_peter-in-chains_rc.htm

www.haringey.gov.uk/index/children-families/education/primaryschools/prim_list_of_schools.htm
a list of all primarys

Catholic schools will require your children to be baptised within 6 months of being born and may require church attendance evidence / reference from your current place of worship. (We are non practicing Catholics and part of me regrets not 'keeping it up' for the sake of possible future school choices.)

To get into a good state school, you will as poster above says, need to be very close to the school.

The roads in the M4 corridor area are very congested. This will make me sound ancient but I moved out to get away from school catchment pressure, hectic commuting and high house prices 5 years ago. In that time, house prices have continued to rise so I can only imagine that pressure on school places and congestion have done the same.

In the 7 years prior to that, my husbands commute (in theory against the flow of traffic,) doubled from 40 minutes to 1hour and 20.

But we have many friends we have stayed! and while I wouldn't swap my life for theirs, I long for and envy their proximity to London, to life and to culture!

We now live near beaconsfield which is a 25 minute train ride into London, we previously lived in nw6.
Much prefer beng outside London, but we go in loads.
We're near legoland, good school, nice countryside. Housing isn't chep, but you get more for your money than London.

If the budget allows I would look at Chiswick. Fantastic for M4...going out of town against the traffic in the rush hours, and easy to go the other way into the central London. Really sort after place to live.Great shops,parks,pubs,restaurants and near the river. Excellent state catholic primary school : St Marys, but all schools are good/excellent.

I know it sounds a long way away, but I'd look at secondary schools first. That is where the issue seems to be in London.

I'd look outside London in your position - catchments can be very small, you would be doing an in year admission for your five year old and then might not get your three year old in the same school and if you stop renting and buy between children then you might lose any sibling preference anyway.

Beaconsfield area sounds like a possible, or Windsor area.

Look in Ealing. It's in west London and has loads of good catholic schools. It's got fantastic parks and open spaces and lots of train and tube connections to central London. It's also very close to Kew, Richmond and Chiswick.

Barnet or Hertfordshire if you are looking for North London / just outside North London .. great schools but only 25 mins into central London.

Second Chiswick - the A4 cuts through Chiswick, fantastic state schools, loads of green spaces, and a very family friendly area. Transport links are very good (easy access not only to A4/M4, but also A40), well serviced by buses, including the fantastic 94, and multiple underground stops as well as a couple overground. 10 minutes into Notting Hill, 10-15 into South Kensington. Heathrow is an easy commute. Ticks all the boxes.

Another vote for Ealing. Very family friendly, lots of nice period properties, parks, easy access out.