WHERE to live? South East London HELP me!!

[persephonesnape]

Hello all! Do hope you can advise me. I'm a single mum with three DCs DD (15) DS1 (12) & DS2 (11) I'll be moving back to London after a 20 year absence in Glasgow, starting work in Victoria at the end of the month. VERY excited! Brilliant job!

I will be renting a 3 bed property either in Bromley, Croydon, plumstead, hither green, abbey wood, forest hill or Crystal Palace. Thh type of area. South east London is a must, as is ease of public transport access to victoria. Schools are important, but i'm led to believe they can all be a bit iffy...i'm not that bothered. I don't need a stunning nightlife(!) I appreciate green spaces if possible. my budget is as cheap as possible an absolute maximum of £1000 a month.

Do you like living where you do? what are the good points and bad points? please help me make a scary decision...! I need to move fast! i start in two weeks and my boys join me 3 -to- 4 weeks after that.

Many Thanks! :)

*Thh = that. too excited to check spelling before posting! eeeee!

We live not far from Penge East Station. 17 mins to Victoria. Anerley/Penge SE20 is cheap and near fantastic Crystal Palace Park. CP itself has some interesting shops. Harris academy nearby great.

This is massive for you. I wish you huge amounts of luck.

oo, i had friends in penge as a lass... crystal palace park and it's fab creepy victorian dinosaurs! :)

thank you - i've been trying to move back home for ages, it's terrifying! exciting!

Hither Green and Forest Hill are nice. We lived in Blackheath when we lived in London but the trains to Victoria aren't that frequent from there and it's probably out of your budget. But Hither Green is very close by and a very 'family' area with lovely Victorian houses and nice parks.

My sister lives in Anerley (just down the hill from Crystal Palace proper) and pays £750 for a 1 bedroomed flat. CP is more expensive than that, so you might find yourself priced out of the area. We're down the other side of the hill in Norwood Bromley is nice in parts, as is Croydon (and the train links from West and East Croydon are pretty good) but you need to look around.

Schools - it's the same thing. I love the school my DS1 is at, but there are some others in the area that I'm not so keen on (too far for you) BF lives further into Croydon and has a mix of schools that are good (but not if you need SENCO help) schools that are good no matter what, and schools to avoid like the plague!

just marking my place

I'm in Nunhead which is a bit of a black spot for secondary schools so not much good to you- but we're thinking of moving out a bit- to CP Upper Norwood or Penge maybe...

I've actually seen a smashing flat online today in sydenham/penge east borders... going to give that a shot - certainly could never afford to buy there...

...thank you for input ladies, much appreciated! welcome any more comments...

Slow though, bus to Vic. Can't compete with 17 mins. Sydenham/Penge borders - fab. Sydenham leafy, relatively chilled and equidistant bromley/brixton. Good area. Promise. Road? I am very local!

dukesoftrip...Venner Road? google earth looks all leafy and nice houses.

Very nice part of town! I'm sending vibes too. Happy to stroll past for you and check out the neighbours.

We are planning to move to Bromley - there are some outstanding secondary schools, including grammars if your DCs are academic. Not sure about renting prices though. Orpington/Petts Wood/Chislehurst about half an hour into Victoria. Don't think the night life is brilliant but then you are near enough to central London if you want it. One of the property websites (think it's rightmove) shows properties with nearest schools and their ratings etc and links to other useful stuff.

Positive- can you say which secondary schools are nice in Brommers?

sorry to do a lazy one on you- it's just that I don't know anyone in the area and I can't just go on Ofsted!

No probs - Darrick Wood had an outstanding ofsted, and so did Ravens wood boys. From what I remember practically all the Bromley schools were good - the exception being the Priory but even then it was given 2s and 3s. For boys St Olaves seems to be a very highly regarded grammar school. For girls Newstead Wood is outstanding and Bullers Wood is also good. I'm only going on the ofsted reports and schools' websites - obviously they are just a guide and you have to visit a few to get the feel of what suits your children best.

Thanks again for all advice Ladies. suspect my dream-flat on venner road has been snapped up - but I shall keep this thread ticking over and utilise your espionage skills when i need to - if i may! :)

turfed out all of the broken/outgrown stuff from my DS's room last night - two huge black bin bags of rubbish (including past-sell-by-date crisps...) and one bin bag for the salvation army. :) Will try and tackle teh living room tonight...

persephonesnape - you would be most welcome. The dd's will enjoy helping. I can offer SE26/SE20/SE23 and BR3.

seen a few nice flats online now - hoping they will still be avilable when i start my job - unable to get down to town before then, but am earmarking first afternoon in London to go and have a look see. :) all seem to be SE20/26 - and one in SE21...

Anerley Road, Trenholme Terrace, Venner Road and Clive Road SE21... :)

Hi Perseph

Did a drive by for you!

Pretty much all of Venner Road is really, really lovely. Lots of trees and nice housing. Remember it being described by EA as 'one of Sydenham's premier roads' I snurked at the time but is true.

Trenholme Cres - Hmmm. I'll be honest, it didn't look great. Felt a bit oppressive and built up. Might have lovely residents creating a nice vibe but it's not a given in the architecture.

Anerley Road is long and busy with some basic shopping, a library.... hard to tell. Is it near Penge West or over towards Croydon Road?

It is difficult to go with wrong with secondary schools in Bromley!! In Croydon you need to be religious to get into the best schools unless you are lucky enough to get into Harris Academy Crystal Palace.