London:should I stay or should I go? (with kids)

[Annie456]

Hi folks,
Hoping you can give me a bit of perspective on my current dilemma...
Currently living in a terraced house in SE London. Have enjoyed living here until crime became an issue and since having a baby I want more space! So trying to find a compromise either in or just out of London. The general plan is to do state primary schools and the private secondary so need to be near a good primary.

I love being a "Londoner" but the grit and crime is starting to get me down. I don't want to feel so crammed in. If I can put up with it for a couple of years then our housing budget becomes pretty good but not sure I can hang on that long so as it stands we have around £550k.

So what are my area options on that budget for a 3 bed near a decent primary school with a nice safe community (I'm a SAHM) and good links for DH to get to the city? Ideally his door to door commute wouldnt be much more than 45 mins as he often works late.

Suggestions for areas very welcome!
Annie

If your husband works around Liverpool Street, have you considered Essex or East Anglia? Lots of nice places there and the train would get him straight to his working area without the need for messing about with tube trains as well.

Was in the same situation over a year ago. Decided to leave SE London and London for good, moved to a Kent spa town, didn't work out (long commuting for DH, long waiting lists for good primaries, missed London terribly, not just me but the children too), so moved back to London after less than 6 months. Moved to SW London, Surrey area and not regretting it one bit! Currently in the process of buying a house in a lovely part of New Malden, where you can still get 4/5 bedrooms for your sort of budget. Excellent community spirit, very good primaries and secondaries (both state and private), frequent and fast trains into Waterloo... what more could you ask for?

Actually I used to live in SW15 & still have friends who live up in Dover house - there are lots of great spots around there, it is lovely, but the transport links aren't brilliant, especially not up Dover house road area, long bus journey to get the tube or rail station - traffic is a nightmare around there - nearest rail station is in the woods & though can be better than tubes (bad line there) coming home in the winter its far from ideal, as its not well lit & as I say, in the woods & I had more than a few very dodgy incidents - it does look lovely though & a great place for walks & picnics & if its only DH that needs to commute, then the local rail links to Richmond, Clapham or waterloo, so should have good links from there

Rockinhippy, there are lots of changes around the station in question, better light, better stairs, better facilities overall, and straight bus up Roehampton lane with short cuts to the Dover house area.

thats good to know, but has the traffic & tube improved ??

When I commuted from Brighton, my journey was actually slightly less than getting to work from near to there, I was closer to the stations too - cycling was actually quicker as the traffic was so bad & I know one of my friends works mostly from home because he can't stand the commute any more, he's lucky he has a choice though - it is a lovely area, but I still wouldn't choose to go back

The traffic on Upper Richmond Road is really bad during the rush offer. There are however lots of cyclists about.

To be honest, I think the area outweights this, especially if it is possible to find other modes of transport than tube and bus, like by motorbike or cycle.

What I like is the close proximity to Richmond Park, to the boutiques and restaurants of East Sheen and Barnes, to Kew Gardens and the wetland centre, cycle trips and walks along the river. The close proximity to shopping in Putney and Wimbledon, sunday lunch in Wimbledon village, the windmill cafe and walk on the common. The near proximity of the A3, M3 and M4 to get out of London. The fact that we are south west of London proper, so the air quality is good. I like that crime rates are low, that the neighbour hood is nice and safe, that there are good primary schools (both state, independent and VA) nearby, and that you still see kids playing out on the green spaces in the neighbourhood. The close proximity to the Minor Injuries unit at Queen Marys and Kingston Hospital A&E (accident prone) and that gardens are reasonably big!
Yet, from Putney, you are 20 minutes away from Waterloo....

If you need to come into Liverpool street then you need to be looking around Essex, East Herts and surrounding areas.

What about Hertford or Ware, both very nice towns.

I used to ride a motorbike & even found that a nightmare, cycling was easiest as I could nip through hide park

& I agree the area out weighs the rush hour traffic though, I lived there a long time & loved it - but did see my commute go from 45 minutes to 1/1/2 hours over the years, hence why I ended up cycling

but comparing it to where I live now & having also commuted from here too IME Brighton wins hands down

[cheering Rockinhippy for beating the Brighton drum]

I agree with LucyManga. There are some lovely suburban places in North London such as Barnet or Enfield. They contain loads of open spaces/parks/ countryside and Hertfoedshire is only up the road. Fantastic schools too

[cheering Rockinhippy for beating the Brighton drum]

- it is great though :)

Seems I've had a post disappear - had that a few times lately on other threads too

I did also throw Worthing into the mix - that too has a lovely feel too it, great transport links to London & house prices are a lot cheaper than Brighton - we've several friends who actually prefer there to Brighton - visit us to say hello & then scoot off to Worthing for shopping & a day out

Also there is Rochford in Essex, a pretty little Castle town with rural feel to it, but very easy access to London - trains run to Liverpool St I think from memory about 40 minutes - we've friends that live there & they love it, apparently Schools are good too & I know from other friends who were looking into moving there a few years ago, house prices were cheaper than London - not sure about now though, but worth looking into :)

Rockinhippy do you know anyone who lives in/commutes from Lewes? We've found a potential house there.

I'm afraid I don't, so can't help on that, we've friends who live there, but work in Brighton, or at home & its a lovely place, DH & I actually got married there Our friends love living there & apparently the transport links are good too, but they don't commute to London - do be a bit careful though, some areas a prone to flooding, been some real bad ones in recent years in streets etc not normally included in the flood risk area, so if you do go for it, check that out thoroughly

Thanks for the tip - the house is quite near the river!

I wouldn't go as far as Brighton or even most of Surrey. I live in Reigate which in theory is 37 minutes commute (and my offic is 5 mins from station) - but that is direct trains and there are very few direct trains (I now realise) factor in changing trains and waiting plus less trains outside core working hours and it becomes a nightmare. where does your husband work? you need to work out which mainline station he is near and then look at the commuter routes from there.
Areas such as Chislehurst can be good compromises otherwise St albans, woking, sevenoaks are popular - Croydon (croydon itself is pretty foul but there are nice places around it)- or look at the essex side- cheaper.

What does your husband think? he is the one doing the commute. Also are you both likely to be working in london at any stage - that becomes a nightmare to co-ordinate as you need to be reliably get back to pick up children etc.

Missm that was a really helpful reply. I do feel utterly torn. The thing that is bothering me is the crime-I don't feel safe in my house or on the street and it's a horrible feeling. I think it's just something I have to get used to. I think while I'm undecided it obviously isn't right to leave and I will know when it is...
I'd love to move to Cornwall but Dhs job will always be in London so we'll either be IN London or in a potentially claustrophobic suburb!! %23rockandahardplace

Will look into all the new suggestions though, thanks for all the new replies x

Cambridge. They're about to put an express in to Liverpool St, and even the slow train is 1 hr 10. You could easily buy a nice 3-4 bed house for your budget within 5 mins walk of the railway station. And NONE of the Cambridge schools are bad, and I think it's meant to be the second safest city in the country or sommat.

Plus several great private day schools for secondary, and the best state sixth form college in the UK. What's not to love?

Marking place! Similar budget, and DH also works in Liverpool street. Although I am not torn at all, desperate to leave London now, so over the grime and crime....

Chelmsford, 35 mins into liverpool st. You could buy a huge place for your budget out there. Good schools, big shopping centre.

thomasbodley sorry just seen your message.
We have moved to Stockton Heath very near Lymm. It is not too quiet but I like the fact it isn't manic. Like others have mentioned I was sick of not getting parking, the simplest things like doing the shipping becoming such a chore. Our local sainsburys in London has had a terrible run of muggings and is always rammed. I love now that I can drive to the supermarket,b&q, ikea etc and I know I can be there and back in an hour or so and park in my own driveway!

on the flip side, Brockley is a really family-friendly area with some very good schools. It's only going to keep improving IMO.

...and the schools are fabulous