If you had up to £1m budget, where would you buy in zone 1/2 London?

[Aiying]

Criteria: 4-bed house with garden, family-friendly area, good state schools, close to transport (ideally tube), shops/amenities, nearby parks/green space, up-and-coming area/potential for price appreciation. (not asking for much...) The depressing thing is that £1m doesn't buy all that much in zone 1/2 London and due to work circumstances it's not possible to move out much further. Anyone have experience of Clapham South, Putney or West Hampstead? Any future 'hotspots' (e.g. Crossrail) ? Would be commuting daily into East London (Docklands). Any suggestions welcome! Thank you

If I had a million I would buy in muswell hill. Near to fortismere or Alexandra park schools - both outstanding ofsted but both with v narrow catchment. Gorgeous big houses, parkland close by, stuff for toddlers good shops and restaurants. It doesn't have a tube but a bus is five minutes to highgate. Or if you go Alexandra park then bounds green isn't far away either

I like Lambeth a lot (Kennington/Lambeth North) and it is as good value as you'll get for central London. Are you talking primary or secondary? That will make a huge difference, there are loads of places with good primaries.

East Dulwich.

You might even get a big garden/5 beds for that.

Denmark Hill/Forest Hill/Sydenham are all on East London line.

Munster Village area of SW6.

You'd be better in Balham than Clapham South as you get overland train links too. Houses on the Hyde Farm are still going for under £1m and Henry Cavendish school is v.good and v.popular. Naturally the houses are fairly small 3 beds but loft conversions and side return extensions are possible - ideally buy converted as Lambeth planning are impossibly difficult (either that or copy a recently extended houses design as precedence!) Much greener than further towards the centre (eg: Kennington/Stockwell area) with several commons to choose from and loads of family friendly facilities.

Thanks everyone - really appreciate your insight and some interesting suggestions so far. I've never been to muswell hill (due to lack of tube - always thought it was quite far out!) but have heard it's lovely so will look into. Never been to Munster Village either. Dulwich is lovely but there is no tube there afaik (isn't Peckham Rye the closest tube?) Will look into Balham too but it's zone 3 so travel gets more expensive. That's good to know re Lambeth planning...sounds like a bit of a nightmare then...

It's interesting that all (bar one) of suggested areas so far are in south (mainly SW) London - probably because £1m doesn't get you far in north London? What do other people think?

PS: It would be for primary state schools for now...would it be dramatically different for secondary school? I'm not even thinking that far ahead yet I didn't grow up in UK so not super familiar with the system - lots to learn!

I live in Kennington and would recommend it. In my view it's not really any less green than places further out like Balham. I have Kennington park a couple of minutes walk from my door and there are lots of little green spaces around, eg cleaver square, the imperial war museum. You can also walk to the river in less than half an hour. The transport links are great for both going into London and outwards if you want to go to places like clapham. Given how central it is I find it a calm place to live. I don't know about schools much as ds is only 3 months so not considered then really yet, but the primary near us seems good.

Clapham South is good too. It's family-friendly and great being close to the common. You could just about get somewhere within your budget. Good state primaries; Wandsworth secondaries are very good and the Lambeth ones are improving all the time. If you're close to both you get lots of choice. Very easy to get around by tube and bus connections are good too.

Thanks Troubledjo! Yes have been looking in the Clapham South area but the house prices around there have really inflated in the past few years - is this sustainable, do you reckon? Seems to be a strong local property market but I'm not familiar with the area, so am not sure - don't want to blindly believe what the EAs say!

Brugmansia - thanks, I'll research Kennington - it's so valuable to hear what it's really like from someone who lives there.

I just looked up Muswell Hill and Munster Village on the transport map and the commute to Docklands looks like it would be pretty painful...especially as I have to get in to the office at 6ish am

Also apart from Honeywell which gets mentioned a lot on these forums (sadly the catchment area would be out of my budget), what are the other good primary (state) schools in Clapham South you'd recommend (i.e. where would I have to buy in order to get into the catchment area)? thank you so much.

House prices in Clapham South seem to be going steadily up and up so I can't see them falling unless anything dramatic happens across the whole of London. I would say it would be a good investment. Bonneville is a great school. My DC is there and I am really happy with it. Also, in the general area I know people with DC at Clapham Manor, Macaulay and Henry Cavendish who are all happy.

Vauxhall and Oval also have some good property. This is just on the market www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-26986542.html?utm_content=ealertspropertylink&utm_medium=email&utm_source=emailupdates&utm_campaign=emailupdatesjun11&utm_term=buying&sc_id=5490140&onetime_FromEmail=true
It's just off Fentiman road, which is very nice and near Vauxhall park.

I used to live in Brixton which could also fit your criteria. There's loads going on. Herne Hill is close too and has some lovely bits, particularly poet's corner, if you'd prefer somewhere a little less hectic.

We used to live in Kennington, and it was great, a bit edgy for me at times, but when we came to look at the schools we moved to SW London. I also wonder how much you would get for £1m in Munster Village.

OP, if you don't mind me saying you seem a bit focused on tube stations.from Putney for example, you would get to Canary Wharf by taking the overground to Waterloo and then the Jubilee
Line out to the Wharf. Is there any reason why you need a tube station?

I don't understand the central London near a tube thing. I work in Canary Wharf and live in Surrey. most of the people I work with live in Essex. Many live much further afield. Overland trains are way more pleasant that the tube. When I lived in clap ham common the Northern Line /Jubilee Line to Canary Wharf was one if the most hellish things I have ever had to endure and the main reason I moved out zone 6 way. My commute is the same.

Is distance to canary wharf the only reason for central London? If so I think that can be very deceptive as the overland trains into Waterloo, London bridge, and the ones that come in from the east can be the same or faster journeys.

I had not considered Vauxhall, it does look like you get a lot more for your money there, Burgmansia.

Fridayschild and flatmum - fair point about being focused on tube stations. Guess I'm in the minority of Londoners who prefer the tube to overland for the daily commute. I agree overland trains generally more pleasant, but I like being able to just walk into a tube station knowing that the next train is a few minutes away - it makes a difference in the morning as I have to be at my desk by 615am. And a cab ride home is easier on those occasions where I have to do a late one at work.

I used to work in areas outside London (Surrey, Kent, Slough) while living in zone 1 and I found that personally I didn't like being tied to specific overland train times, and having to wait 15mins for the next one if I'd missed one etc. But also, maybe am just traumatised by the number of times I got stuck due to SW Trains breaking down...!

I do love having central London on my doorstep, it's convenient, and I like busy city life. Apart from commute to work I have some evening/weekend studies in zone 1 London and my social/children activities are centred in zone 1/2 London. Almost all my friends still live centrally. So I'm trying to avoid a bigger upheaval (i.e. moving out to the suburbs) unless absolutely necessary.

Thanks very much for the suggestions so far - anyone else?

PS: would be open to overland trains (hence considering Putney - and Dulwich) but only within zone 2 (maybe up to 3!) ...and ideally with a tube option not too far away.

We used to live in Pimlico SW1 before children and when we decided to move, we chose Clapham South as it was not very far from central London where I worked and we could buy much more for our budget. Close to the tube station, there are lots of houses that have been converted into flats. The few houses that come on the market have either been extended or need lots of work done. The former ones sell around the £850k mark (we sold last year our 4-bed house, which was 5min from Clapham South tube station) or more (if you're in the Nightingale Triangle or towards Abbeville Road).

From a school point of view, the closest primaries were Alderbrook (a relatively good school, improving, my daughter was there until recently), Bonneville (heard good things, but don't know anyone with children there) and Henry Cavendish (very good reputation, small catchment area, will not get in if your house is too close to the tube station, we were on the waiting list). We have decided to move a bit closer to Northcote Road where we can have a chance for the outstanding schools (Honeywell and Belleville) as they are feeder schools into the new state secondary Bolingbroke Academy (on Bolingbroke Grove), which opened last September.

OP I totally agree re the tube thing. I moved out for a while too and was driven mad by the unreliability of trains and the cost of a late-night taxi home if you missed the last one. I guess everyone's different.

Aiying £1m is not out of budget for Honeywell catchment. I have 2 friends who have recently sold on Broomwood Road for slightly under the £1m mark and both were 4 bedrooms, lovely homes. Keep looking!

E Dulwich, Peckham, Oval/Kennington

If you're commuting to the Wharf, have a look at Brockley/Honor Oak. Mr euro's commute to the Wharf is 10 mins... £1m would buy quite a lot of house. Other options would be Greenwich, Isle of Dogs or Limehouse - don't forget you have the DLR out there.

There are some lovely houses on Blackheath/Lewisham borders in that price range - lewisham is on DLR so have a look there.

Was going to suggest either Blackheath/Lewisham borders or Greenwich - both on DLR so easy for Canary Wharf.

West hampstead is lovely. Lived there for 3.5 yrs. v family friendly and great access to town and to get out!

Have you considered islington? £1m might be tight but worth a look