Relocating to London - Location and school

[naft]

Hello, I'm not from the UK. I've been living in Leeds for a year, and I'm going to move to London due to my husband's job, and I have no idea where to start. My daughter will turn 4 in April 2024, so I need to choose a good location for primary school. I know little about London and was thinking about Bromley (further from the centre and cheaper) or paying a little more rent and living in West Ealing. Does anyone have tips on where I could start? Is there any website or service that could guide me?

Where does your husband have to get to for work?

what is your budget for rent etc?

We live in the borough of Bromley but further towards lewisham. It’s a nice area with some great primary schools.

Ealing is great. Northfield's and south ealing are a bit better areas than West but west is still good. Hanwell might also be a possibility. Lots of people move there as it's better value

If Ealing, I would go for Hanwell or Northfields. I think West Ealing can be a bit rough.

Much depends on:

1. What is the nearest train (and tube) station to your husband’s office?
2. How long a commute will your husband accept?
3. What time does he usually finish work? For example if he finishes at 5pm he might as well live in the ‘commuter belt’ of towns and villages just outside the M25 where you’ll get much more for your money. But if he works til 10pm every night he may need to live nearer work.

London is so big that transport/commuting will be a big factor in where you'd ideally want to live. Having said that, commuting in from Bromley will be straightforward, fairly quick and not too expensive, if your husband's workplace is in the City or other very central location.

He will be working near Regents Park
Our budget is £2.5k per month
Thanks :)

He will be working near Regents Park, and he will go to the office twice a week and commute maximum of 30 minutes; he works until 5 pm.
Thanks :)

Even Ealing will be a push for a 30 minute commute. Why so restrictive?

30 minutes is not a long time for a commute in London. 45 minutes to an hour is more realistic unless you have the budget to live in Primrose Hill, Camden, Marylebone, Bloomsbury or somewhere else very close to Regents Park.

Ealing is lovely- the schools are fantastic and there are some beautiful parks. As others said, Northfields, Ealing Broadway is nicer. Hanwell is also nice.

If your husband needs to go to Regents park, have a look at Kentish Town or Tufnell Park. Lots of great primary schools and a lovely area to live, commute will be 20-30 min depending where you are.

30 mins from Regents Park to Bromley is impossible, even on those very very rare days when all the lines , trains and buses have no delays....but if its only 2 days in office, does it really matter when most of the week is WFH??

I'd focus on where you'd like to live rather than commute, I work hybrid, and work 3 days at home and don't really give a toss about the commute anymore. Having a nice community and cafe's and parks is much more important to me now.

I agree with PP who suggested North London - Kentish town or Tufnell park. Not a bad drive to Regents park or could get a northern line tube to Warren street and walk from there (or change lines).

This part of London is nice and child friendly, good schools etc. Cheaper than living in Central London.

30 minutes is really restrictive and would limit your options. I’d rather pick a good location for schools and then work from there. Are you working/need the shorter commute for childcare? If not, I’d go further out and up the commute time unless you really want to be in London itself . Eg for regents part you’re not far off St Pancras as a main station which would bring in areas like St Albans.

You could try Crofton park se4 . You can get actrsin from Crofton park to Elephant and castle. Then the tube from there straight to regents park. Also you can get from Crofton park to Bromley south in 20 mins directly.

Oh just thought. You can also get the train from Bromley south directly to Elephant and castle. Then onto regents park . It's definitely do able but a little longer than you hoped

Thats quite a generous rent you could consider somewhere like muswell hill. What are your priorities do you want to be in quite an urban, mixed area? Or you want to be in a more sedate area? Are you after a garden flat, or you want to go out a bit further for a house? London has a lot of very good primary schools, but if you are planning to settle then it may be worth considering secondaries.

Get a shortlist then visit the areas to see what vibe suits you. Bromley is quite a bit further out than Ealing for example and they have quite different vibes (and that will also impact on what you can get for your money!)

Also if you are planning to settle I’d check if the houses are likely to be priced to what you can afford. It would be a shame to rent in one area but have to up sticks completely to afford to buy somewhere .

Yeah I agree, he will only be in the office twice a week. Where we live and the school my child attends is more important, but which area? It’s so hard to decide.
We both love having access to good coffee shops, restaurants and green areas.
Researching online the suggestions are: Richmond, Teddington, Chiswick, Brixton, Wembley, Fulham, Sutton and Putney.
Any thoughts?

Thank you!!!

You need to check that you can afford to rent or buy very close to an appealing school in most areas. Council guides to reception entry usually show last year's maximum distance to get into certain schools and which have extra requirements such as faith schools.

Many friends have run into this issue in our area - moving here for good state primaries, only to find that they can't get into their nearest school or even 2 or 3 schools because the distance from front gates is so small, and others have really tough faith requirements.

I found that it was actually quite helpful, because once I'd allowed for my maximum commute time plus budget, plus being accessible for friends and family, plus being able to get into good primary and secondary schools, there actually weren't that many parts of London left to suit us.

Richmond, Teddington, Chiswick, Brixton, Wembley, Fulham, Sutton and Putney.

That's a really really mixed list.
Richmond, Teddington, Chiswick, Fulham, Putney are leafy, nice for shops, not hugely diverse, and you'll be limited in what you can afford (you'll also find that families in these areas also live higher end lives also - think fancier parties, lots of extracurriculars etc)
Brixton is more recently (and somewhat uncomfortably) gentrified, and there are a real mix of schools. More vibrant, lots of diversity - though not everyone wants that - also more urban and some more dangerous aspects than Teddington etc
Sutton and Wembley are very different feeling, more suburban, less fancy, and not destinations in themselves the way the others might be. Sutton is meant to be very good for schools, it also won't really feel much like 'London' (because it isn't)

Given that your new list is more west-focussed, West Ealing from your original list might be a compromise that works. Green spaces, easy to get in and around with the Elizabeth Line, decent schools.

You you and your husband really want to live in London?
If he’s only in the office twice a week and leaves at 5pm you could definitely live further out if you wanted.

@naft I was just having a quick look. And checked national rail from Bromley south. I have included a couple of screen shots

Will you be returning to work? You could afford a three bed house with garden in Chislehurst and the commute would not be difficult, although more than 30 minutes. There are coffee shops but it is quite different from Richmond and Putney etc.