Where to live near London?

[ruthsmumkath]

We have been expats for 9 years and now need to return to the uk. We have 3 kids (4 by the time we move) aged 9, 6 and 3.

I'm from Yorkshire and don't know the south of England.

My husband needs to be near Heathrow and will also work at South Bank.

I have always lived in Towns and am not a village sort of person. Can anyone think of any nice towns within commuting distance with good schools (state &/ or private) (looking at Beaconsfield and Guildford currently). We are going house hunting in a few weeks - as I won't be able to do the 8 hour flight for much longer as almost 30 weeks pregnant.

We are probably looking at spending £1-1.5m tops so I'm sure 'London' is out!

Thanks for any help!!!!!

Kath

Not my area but maybe St Margaret's/Richmond/Twickenham area?
www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/19112992?search_identifier=1745a2e46f80051482aa8bce5d296963

It depends how much time he will spend in Heathrow/Southbank respectively. He can drive to Heathrow from this area in 20 mins and take the train to Waterloo (for Southbank) from any of these stations. Local schools are good but probably fierce competition to get into.

If you want 6 beds and an acre of lawn then you are definitely heading out to the countryside though.

Ashtead.

Ashtead is lovely. Handy for the M25 so that's Heathrow sorted, and heaps of trains to Waterloo so that's the South Bank done.

It has good schools, a common, super shops (3 butchers, 3 greengrocers, 2 bakers. Even have a fishmonger for goodness sake!)

And really nice houses in your price range.

Walton on Thames, Weybridge, Cobham, Esher

Kingston on Thames .

Beaconsfield is expensive but slightly further out around High Wycombe or Great Missenden would be a bit cheaper and still with good access to Heathrow.

You can definitely get a lovely 5 or 6 bedroom house in nice parts of London for £1-1.5 million. Obviously they will be London type houses so semi detached or terraced but if you decide you do want London then it's well achievable within your budget. If I was you, I would look at Putney, Wimbledon, Barnes, Richmond, Twickenham, Kew, Ealing, Mortlake and areas close to those locations.

In terms of areas outside of London, Guildford is very nice. There is plenty going on around there. Sunningdale, Walton on Thames, Bagshot and Camberley could also be good options. You would get a big detached house with a large garden in those areas.

How exciting to have your pick of so many lovely areas! Good luck!

If I was you, I would go for something like this:

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-42603631.html

If you lived there you could get the Piccadilly line straight down to heathrow from South Ealing station and the train to Waterloo from Brentford station. You are surrounded by parks and commons for your children to play in. It's also an area that is full of families.

bear in mind that areas like Putney and Richmond/Kew are blighted by plane noise! in some places really horrendous, even though otherwise these are nice ares, especially Richmond - ther aer some patches there that are better regarding plane noise but you have to go and see for youreslf.
IMO Surrey is boring and often very snobby (esp the nice parts around Guildford), but this may not bother you, and I suppose you wouldn't be looked down on with the 1.5mil house , but the atmosphere is still there iykwim.

Kingston - beautiful Victorian houses, gorgeous Richmond Park (about 2,500 acres of parkland to enjoy), the River Thames, loads of restaurants, all the shopping you could wish for. Excellent rail link to London, and easy reach of the M25.

Twickenham is nice, and some nice parts of Ealing are less affected by noise. Ealing extremely well connected to the centre and Heathrow, it's a very mixed sort of area, rich and poor housing and everything inbetween, older and younger population etc, Twickenham/Hampton Court more middle class and more peaceful than Ealing regarding high streets.
Twickenham or Strawberry Hill though are very good for Waterloo (south bank) unlike Ealing.

East Moseley next to Kingston is very nice - Hampton Court across the bridge and Kingston nearby for shopping but it's not as crowded or traffic-heavy as Kingston and slightly cheaper I think.

East M also is on waterloo line. And it's on the river, like Kingston. Doesn't flood!

South Ealing is good for the Southbank as well - I used to live there and would walk to Brentford or Kew Bridge where it was 28 minutes in to Waterloo :)

Yes, you could get something nice in East Sheen for that kind of money and there is the direct line into Waterloo-- excellent schools (private and state) as well as very close to the amenities of Richmond. The plane noise wasn't too bad either when we went looking around there.

In the end we decided to stick with Dulwich, which is good for the South Bank but less good for Heathrow. Still, it has excellent schools (the Village and Charter plus the great private schools), Dulwich and Sydenham woods, museums (Horniman and Dulwich Picture Gallery), Dulwich Park and the Lido all on your doorstep. Also, Lordship Lane is a really nice high street with lots of restauarants and independent shops and cafes.

However, if you are looking for a double fronted detached 6 bed house then you'll need to probably leave London to live somehwere nice. With 4 kids I can imagine having a larger than typical London house might be necessary!

Good luck!

Clapham/Wandsworth/Putney.

Not sure why you think 'London London' is impossible.

I really hope this isn't some kind of mean/smug thread.

Windsor is very leafy and easy to get to Heathrow and central London, they are currently also talking about a new direct rail line from Windsor to Heathrow (at the planning stage so who knows). Lots of "historic" bits (though careful with the flood risk).
Iver (just north of Langley) is villagey but close to Uxbridge/Chalfont St Peter for shopping and schools, and has lovely houses in your price range and both Langley and Iver are to be Crossrail stations come 2018.
You will have to look into schools though, as the berkshire/bucks border makes school cachements very complicated, and both are Grammar school areas which may influence you.

Teddington.

Harrow/Pinner or further out on met line if you want more for your money.

Well that has to be most neighbourhoods in London named now

Thanks!! Loads of areas I haven't heard of but will be looking at.

My only issue with London is money. When I have looked at the few areas I knew we needed 3-6 million (impossible) but I hardly know the area so will look at the suggestions!

Thank you very much!