Where to buy in South-East London?

[shouldwemovebacktolondon]

Know I'm being daft, but I can't find the right place to post this... surely Msn full of people asking others where to live...

We think we would like to move back to London from Brighton. We need large 5 bed + house, large garden, South-East London, £800k, good schools, nice enough area.
Is this doable?
SO grateful for any advice. We feel completely out of the loop London-wise after leaving. Used to live in Marylebone, pre-children, and don't know South-East London very well - but it looks more affordable.
Our trouble is the size of house we need.
Thanx!

MomorMum (me too - I was born in Canada, grew up here but calling my mother Mom - but my children call me Mum!)

What a great garden!

MomorMum - thought I'd already replied, but it seems to have vanished - like your name as my mother is Mom but I'm Mum! WHAT a garden!

LondonGirl, Charlton looks wonderful. I think I'm decided. We're going up this weekend :-)) I shall keep you posted.

I like the look of Charlton too! And Blackheath is bliss to be close by. OP - in response to your question, West Norwood is patchy - great houses and train link to Victoria/London Bridge, but the main road is grim (although same level of grim as Balham was when we moved there 10 years ago and now that's incredibly desirable). There are signs of the grimness getting better - some nice delis and interiors shops, there's a brand new leisure centre about to open next to the station, and Picturehouse Cinemas are in discussion to open there, I think they are at the planning stage (must check as I will be dancing in the street if we get a cinema nearby ). So I have hopes for West Norwood, but it has a way to go!

West Norwood and news

Oh great. Charlton isn't Marylebone but it will feel more like London than the other areas further out people have mentioned and it has great connections into central London and Blackheath (which is very nice) around the corner. Its very green and leafy so hopefully its a good option given all the things you are trying get!

Good luck with the viewing!

Thank you!! :-))

How did the viewing go OP?

Well, so, I spent the day in Charlton on Saturday! And I'm not sure what to think. In many ways I thought it was really lovely. It seemed a great community and Charlton House is amazing. I walked along to Blackheath, which is very accessible, and very lovely. After several hours' mooching around Charlton I got the bus to North Greenwich aka the Millennium Dome, which passed the shopping area. So it really does have everything...

...EXCEPT a house with large garden. I spent quite a bit of time in the main estate agent, and it's difficult to find large 5 bedroom houses. There are quite a few 3 and 4 bedroom ones, and there are lots of flats. The only place where they really come up with 5 beds is on Little Heath, which is a main road. And I just couldn't imagine living on a main road due to noise and pollution. And I guess living in Brighton has made me soft about things like fresh air. I used to live next to a diesel train station when in Marylebone, and never thought twice about the black dust that settled on everything every day!

So, probably not Charlton, although I really did like it, it had a really nice feel, to a much greater degree than I thought it would.

I'm wondering if trying to have it all means you don't get the best of anything. Hmmm that sounds familiar in my life in general!

So if I tried Bromley, then although it would feel more suburban than Brighton, the commute into London would mean I could get my London fix whenever I wanted it AND have a large garden.

Maybe even Petts Wood, Chelsfield etc. Maybe I need a different approach. Has anyone else gone from London to these areas?

Don't know WHAT to do.

That's tough as most big houses where built and lovely wide roads which then got converted to main roads once cars came along!

Moving further out might be the best option. One alternative would be to find a large 1930s house with a big garden and convert the loft to add an additional 2 bedrooms if you don't mind doing the work.

There are some houses like that on the borders of East Dulwich and Honor Oak with circa 75 ft gardens that come up from time to time.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-42869575.html

I know this is way over budget but a similar one went under offer at 825k recently that was much larger with a garage so I reckon they are trying it on.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-42869575.html

If you could get that for even 800k and convert the loft into two bedrooms for circa 50k. Not sure that would really be enough living space for you though so the country might be your best option!

Good luck! Finding a house for a family of 7 can't be easy.

You'd find somewhere in Lea without too much difficulty I think.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-43798325.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-43757686.html?premiumA=true
Garden too small? Park a street away though. 30 mins to Waterloo and two primary schools at 100yds [Good] and 500yds [Outstanding]

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-29978460.html?premiumA=true
Not enough living space for my money but a huge garden and 100k under budget which buys a nice extension

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-42623035.html

Thank you very much all of you for those links, they look great! I need to figure out where all the areas really are, and what the schools situation is.
Does anyone live in Bromley/know anyone in Bromley? What's it like? Is the town nice, or has it gone downhill (I remember reading somewhere). What sort of people live there?

I live in Petts Wood!

I can't really comment on what Bromley is like to live in. I do go there but only occasionally, I tend to go to Bluewater instead as its easier to park. But it always seems fine to me –I normally go mid-week or on Saturday mornings. Again, I can't really say what it's like on Saturday afternoon or in the evening.

OP, I see this thread is a few months old but thought I'd reply anyway in case you're still looking! We recently moved to the Beckenham / West Wickham area from Zone 2. Similar requirements I think too many kids - big(ish) house, big garden, good schools, good transport links. Your budget would go quite far. It is indeed more suburban than some of the other areas mentioned, but for us, the garden was more important. All good so far :)