Where to buy a house? SW London Zone 1-2, maybe 3 with good public transport.

[SW1XMother]

We moved back from NYC to London a few months ago and live in our flat in SW1 at the moment with our nanny and two children. Flat is large enough but we all dream of a house and a garden, so that we can possibly have a dog. Eldest daughter is just over two now and we need to think about pre-schools but also if we want to stay in the area. We would like to buy a house but buying a house that we like in SW1 is despite our high income nearly impossible.

Can anybody recommend a lovely part in SW London Zone 1-2, possibly 3 if there are good transport links to the City that has an excellent school?

It's all a bit mad if you ask me.

Personally, I think you are a bit nuts trying to do that long commute from the W or SW postcodes. How about something to the north?

Islington
Barnsbury
Primrose Hill
Canonbury

"for example:
[Thurleigh road] guide price is £5m, no nanny annexe but you could afford to do a basement dig out to your own spec. close to the tube, northern line to city.

minipie - you don't want the OP to move to Thurleigh Road, it's SW12 not SW11 shock. "

@ Lalalonglegs - What is wrong with Thurleigh Road SW12? I thought it's one of the best roads in Between the Commons - quiet, relatively close to the amenities of Clapham Common and the Northern Line tube (which I cannot say for some BTC streets with the SW11 postcode).

Clapham, Islington, Canonbury, Barnsbury ..... really dull choices for that budget I'm afraid. I would choose Richmond over all of those or look elsewhere

Seriously, there is a lovely 5 bed house for sale on Canonbury park north. You could cycle to the City in 15 mins, go via the Overground to Moorgate or even walk in 40 mins if you felt like it, and buy a lovely holiday home with the change.

Upper street on your doorstep and a park 5 minutes walk from your door.

i do love mumsnet- 132 messages trying to sort out someone that has, apparently £6m but not the wit to instruct an agent, property finder or some such and hasnt the wit to consult a map. and is willing to consider state schools. haven't enjoyed a thread so much in ages.

greenfolder so true! but that's MN for you a mix of all walks of life, this thread possibly of the more affluent...

mission that is the joy of it i suppose. i live in a nice market town, 30mins from euston, you could buy the nicest house in town and still have £5mill to live on for the rest of your life! it takes all sorts no doubt- never been a fan of the phrase "first world problem" but i think this might just be it.

lol, judging by this thread it is a bit like that!! reminds me a little of "Houswives of Beverly Hills, New York etc hard to watch.." oh the drama of the "West is Besties".. Kirsty Allsop would be able to help you OP although I'm not sure they'd ever air an episode of Location with a £6m budget!!
anyway greenfolder think we just might have killed this thread... was fun to read nevertheless!

Greenfolder, we are not rich by all means. Flat was inherited and has been in the family for a long time. It increased a lot in value over the last decades. We don't even own a car at the moment.

I don't see why people should consider going private when there are excellent state schools in the area. I am not English and don't understand the crazy competition for school spaces at all. In my country your child goes to the local primary school and is then placed in one of three schools depending on his academic

Performance.

sw1xmother - you don't have to justify your financial position to anyone - you are certainly not the only mum in London (or on MN) owning property of that value with children at state school

Thanks redandblacks. At least somebody understands. All I asked for was locations.

Greenfolder, it is easy to look on a map. But I asked for personal experiences of certain areas etc. we can't buy anything anyway until our flat is sold.

For some reason any thread where the OP is well off seems to attract snide comments. I have no idea why, it's one of the more unpleasant aspects of MN.

OP ignore the digs and good luck with your search.

regarding schools - be aware that most good state primary schools in London either have catchment areas the size of a postage stamp (eg, in Wandsworth, you have to live

I grew up in SW London suburbs and with your budget, I think you could do better. Mainly because you work long hours and being stuck on South West Trains late at night is depressing. That would have me ruling out Hampton, Teddington etc - you'd be looking at an hour and a half to get to the city from the stations that don't have a "fast" service. I now live very centrally and that's because I grew up doing that commute and hating it (school in town)

The schools are good out there but I'd be looking at somewhere more central (Highgate, Hampstead, Belsize Park, Dartmouth Park) or even W1 (Marylebone, Fitzrovia etc). Not sure how you feel about a garden - I have a tiny, tiny one but I don't care because I never get on the tube so it evens out.

PS agree a good property finder would really help. I have no experience at all so cannot recommend from personal experience but will happily point you towards the people I know at one London property finder who are in your price range - pm me if you want the info.

A good property finder should also be able to tell you / show you the communal gardens, which can be life changing in central London where no one really has a big garden. Most of these gardens are locked, so you need a key to access them. The ones I know of / have been to are in W11, W8, W2 and also in Marylebone, near Regents Park.

i am sorry but we are not rich by all means when you have six million pounds worth of flat that you inherited. just for a giggle, what is rich to you? and i have no issue with people having wealth in the slightest bit. just find your thread really entertaining.

Greenfolder

I don't have to justify my financial situation to you at all. I didn't inherit it but my husband.

I'm glad that it entertains you so much. Your life must be pretty boring IMO.

Second the point about communal gardens - with very young children, it is really lovely for them to have acres of green space to themselves but after about the age of five, no amount of it would compare to a communal garden where they can explore and play safely with other children from the same road. Being with siblings in their own space or having the odd playdate does simply not compare. I would put communal gardens at the top of my list for your budget

Yes but loads of communal gardens are heavily landscaped and have rules like no ball games and don' like their gravel being scuffed.

Friends of mine who live in Maida Vale seem to have the perfect solution - they have their own bit of garden which is gated and the back gate opens onto really lovely communal gardens.

have rules like no ball games and don' like their gravel being scuffed

True, but I have very fond memories of pushing the boundries with those!!!