Wimbledon or Maidstone?

[chichimum]

We're planning on moving back to the UK and I was hoping to get some advice.

I think we could afford a very basic 2 bedroom flat in Wimbledon, or a nice 3 bedroom terraced house in Maidstone. I chose these places because they seem to have good schools and close to trains, and we wouldn't need a car to get to supermarkets etc.

My husband would either commute to London, or find work near by..

I've got a 2 year old and a 3 year old.

Any advice? What would you prefer?

I don't know Maidstone at all, but I live in Wimbledon and it's nice. We have two kids and no car. The transport links from Wimbledon are excellent, with trains every few minutes to Waterloo, plus the Northern and District lines. It's very family friendly, with lots of restaurants, cinemas, etc catering for families.

There are some outstanding schools, but the catchment areas are tiny - sometimes just 200 or 300m - so you have to be on the school's doorstep to get in. You can check with the local authority before you buy to see which school you'd be in catchment for. Beware, there are currently some areas that are in a catchment "void", i.e. even though you'd be close to 3 (good) schools, you'd actually be too far from any of them to get you in, so you'd end up at the 4th of 5th nearest (but slightly crap) school. There is a serious shortage of school places, and many schools are planned to expand in the next few years.

What part of Wimbledon would you want to move to? Prices climb steadily as you go up the hill, so you'll get more bang for your buck (and better transport links) in Wimbledon town or South Wimbledon. If you can only afford a two bed flat, I presume you'd want to be close to a park, which may drive your budget up. I just moved out of a two bed flat and into a terraced house because the lack of outside space was driving me mad - so in your situation I might go for Maidstone just so you can have a bit of garden.

Feel free to ask if you have any specific question.

No experience of living in either, but this topic comes up quite a bit on here (i.e. where to live near London where there are decent schools etc). If you search Property/DIY under 'London schools' you'll find lots of threads asking a similar question that might allow you to broaden your search.

For me, I would really prefer a house with some outdoor space if possible, but would find Maidstone too far out....I wonder if there is somewhere nearer to London that would still meet your criteria.

Bit of a random choice there.
I would recommend Wimbledon but would not advocate a 2 bed flat for a family of four - you can find nice but cheaper areas around London. Where is his commute going to be into - Wimbledon/Maidstone are on different sides of town, no?

Ideally I'd work out where he's working first. Deciding to live one side of London and then finding out the job you get offered is the other side isn't ideal...could change your commute from half an hour to 1.5-2 hours.

Agree with other posters - there are other more 'in between areas' so it doesn't have to be SW London vs. fairly far-out Kent. In London try SE London for quick commutes to the City - Denmark Hill, E Dulwich, etc. Otherwise we've just sold our place in London to move out to near Tunbridge Wells/Tonbridge (hopefully) - 42 mins to London Bridge and loads of outside space.

With a family of four I have to say my personal preference would be to move further out and get more space for my money, every time.

Thanks you so much your comments, they're really helpful.

After your feedback I think we'll definitely have to be close to a park if we're in a 2 bed flat. Plus be right next door to a good school!

DH doesn't want to get a car so we have to be able to:
a) walk to good schools
b) walk to supermarket
c) walk to train station
d) walk to park if in a flat

When I looked at some locations further away from London, they'd tick some of the boxes but not all. Agg.

Wimbledon just seems to have the right mix, and so many good schools, and lots of parks!

I'm reconsidering the Maidstone option now. Thanks everyone :)

Wimbledon.