Okay MN, help me figure out where to live in London for £750k!

[Nickname1980]

So it's not a bad problem to have... but also an actual problem - which is mad - because £750k doesn't get you much in London anymore. (It still feels like an absolute fortune to me!)

I have posted on a few boards already asking about specific neighbourhoods but... feeling totally lost!

What's a good neighbourhood to live in, with my budget? I want a 3-bed house with a garden. I don't mind a fixer-upper.

But the location is really important. I love a community, love getting involved in it, being part of it, etc.

I live in Stoke Newington now, and adore it for its village-feel, loads of restaurants, cute shops, fab park, all the things to do with little kids.

And I love London, so (after lots of considering) have decided I want to stay here rather than move to Kent or Sussex (the two places I like and contemplated!).

But where to live? I prefer East. Don't mind if it's southeast or northeast. But if you know any gems elsewhere, do tell me.

I work from home, my husband works in Shoreditch, he cycles so would prob be sad to live too far away from work (ie: far-flung southwest).

Any suggestions soooo welcome!

Pinner in Middlesex is nice. Backs onto nice countryside yet still commutable for Central London

How about Sydenham? It's on the East London Line, lots of green spaces and young families.

There are a couple of websites which help with info re commuting times to London from different places:

Commuter Guide

and

Commute from

My knowledge is SW London, so not much good to you. Shoreditch would be a pain from here. Plus your budget would be tight.

Honestly? If you are looking eastwards and commuting to Shoreditch, I would think about somewhere like Billericay. 35mins to Liverpool Street. Lovely community for families, parks, woodlands, activities. Good High Street with independent shops and lots of restaurants. Houses very comfortably inside your budget.

I don't know the area well, but always really like Lee/Hither Green when I occasionally visit. It has a little grid of streets centred around Manor House Gardens this house is less than £700k. Your husband could cycle to East London Line at Forest Hill and take the East London line to Shoreditch.

Walthamstow. Just a bit further than hackney but 750k buys a very decent house.

We moved from Stoke Newington (via London Fields) to Southgate. Just the other side of the North Circular from Muswell Hill, but much more affordable. It's a little bit suburban, but it's very easy to get into Central London - Southgate is on the Piccadilly Line and Palmers Green is on an overground line into Moorgate (Kings Cross at weekends), stopping at Old Street, so v. handy for your DH working at Shoreditch. Winchmore Hill is also on the same line. We have a 4 bedroom Edwardian terrace which is worth about £750k...(we're in Southgate, but less than 10 minutes walk from Palmers Green station).

Do you need to be close to good schools too? The area has lots of great schools, both primary and secondary, but some of them have quite small catchments, so it's worth checking with the council whether or not you'd get in to your chosen one if it's a deal-breaker for you. Happy to pass on more info if you're interested....

Thank you for your replies! Some really interesting options to look into!

TurboTheChicken, I don't know Sydenham at all - but I have heard people talk about it! I am going to check it out!

Same with Lee and Hither Green, lalalonglegs. That house is soo nice!

Dynervoran - Walthamstow is our current front-runner. I really like it, but my husband has reservations.

I'd love to hear more about Southgate, tkband3. My MIL had suggested it, but I haven;t looked into it. Which is the best bit to look at? It sounds lovely! I have a toddler, so schools are definitely important.

PerspicaciaTick, Billericay looks so nice on Google Images! I think I'd like to cling onto London, though.

Same with Pinner, Jasper15, but total food for thought!

The Spar shop in Walthamstow village is just the dogs bollocks. That would swing it for me.

Haha I keep hearing about that Spa, Awks!

Nickname - have just posted a reply to you on my old thread.

Have you looked at Leytonstone? DH was keen on a Walthamstow, but I had my reservations...which prompted me to post my original thread. I wanted us to move to Leytonstone, but DH was not a fan. To me, Leytonstone reminded me of Stoke Newington - lots of pretty Victorian houses and very leafy. BUshwood beside the Wanstead Flats was my preferred area. It also felt safer than Walthamstow...although I can't say that this based on hard facts. Lloyd park in Walthamstow is fantastic though - like Clissold but less busy. £750k will easily buy you a nice period property in Leytonstone.

Hope that helps

Denmark Hill. It's in SE London, on the overground, so easy to get to Shoreditch, lovely green spaces, loads of community garden type things, good schools, massive sainsburys, close to posh Dulwich and quite posh Herne Hill and East Dulwich; shops, cafes, farmers markets, bob's your uncle.

Nearer to Central London than Sydenham, but same general area. 3 bed houses from about 650, 000.

Also my friends live in crofton park and its got a nice feel and you'd get a nice house for 750. Good schools and parks and nice community feel. We moved from stoke Newington to Walthamstow 6 years ago now and my in-laws live in Clapton and to me hackney and Walthamstow feel quite similar in safety and General feel.

Thank you MrsN11s! I am really interested in what you say about Bushwood. I have already looked it up and seen some lovely houses and it looks like the schools are great, too! This is so helpful. Someone else had mentioned that Lloyd Park is really nice, too.

I really like East Dulwich and Herne Hill, mrsbabookaloo, so if Denmark Hill is similar now then I will check it out. I had heard Brockley was a good neighbourhood around SE?

dynevoran, do you ever miss Stoke Newington? Or are you really happy in Walthamstow? I am so worried I'll miss this neighbourhood! We've lived here for ages - and even got married here!

Might be worth you looking at this thread where someone was asking a similar question (although with a smaller budget).

[(www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/2450108-Where-to-move-in-London?noti=1#56286144)]

As I say in the thread, I moved to Honor Oak from East Dulwich and really love the area. My friends also moved a couple of years ago from Stoke Newington because they felt the Forest Hill/Honor Oak area had a similar feel. They've just bought a place here so settled for the long term now!

For 750k you'd definitely get a three bedder (and a relatively large one) or even a 4 bedder potentially if you were willing to take on a project/live further away from the station(s).

Brockley/Crofton Park are just up the road from Honor Oak and really nice areas as well although I know them less well.

So my attempt to do a clicky link completely failed! Will try again:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/2450108-Where-to-move-in-London?noti=1#56286144

You can get a nice 3 bed house with a garden in Forest Hill, for example here. Close to many green spaces, the fantastic Horniman museum, good schools, and in an area with a great sense of community.

We moved to the area several years ago, from Hackney. Good transport links too, it is cycle-able to Shoreditch (I know one cyclist who makes the journey) and plenty of coffee shops to take your work to should you want to leave your house.

TBH I prefer Honor Oak/Forest Hill to Sydenham. I moved from Honor Oak two years ago and still really miss it - if I was living in London again I'd be back in SE23.

I suggested Sydenham as house prices in Forest Hill have rocketed and you get more for your money in Sydenham!

Forest hill / Honor Oak are really very close to Sydenham in the scale of London so I'd advise booking a day with day 3 properties in the morning in one area, a nice long lunch break to wander, then 3 in the afternoon in the other followed by another wander and visit a cafe/bar to get a feel for what they're like.
I live in honor oak and I love it (though I'm currently moving out to southampton as OH has had enough of London, plus we can get a lot more for our 650 budget there than we could here- but your 750 is much comfier). The one thing I'd change if I could is I'd love a bit closer to the high street in forest hill or sydenham- honor oak's is ok for emergency shopping but not great for wandering round

Thank you matlby, BodieBroadus, TurboTheChicken and Sotonwhere! This is so helpful.

I had a good look at a map and love all the green spots that seem to be around Forest Hill. And I like that it's close to Dulwich Village, too. (Not that I know Dulwich at all... Just heard it's very pretty!)

Is there a general preference to Forest Hill over Brockley?

We're going to go and check SE out this weekend!

Brockley is great too, lots of green spaces and community stuff happening. Have a look at this Brockley blog Blog

The Brockley food market is brilliant.

If the WI is your kind of thing there's a very friendly one in Honor Oak too.

Crofton Park SE4 would be an area to consider too. The houses will be slightly cheaper than Honor Oak/Forest Hill, but you'd be in walking distance of Honor Oak Park train station where you can catch the Overground to get to Shoreditch.
You'd also have the choice of using Crofton Park station too. Admittedly trains are infrequent from here but it's still another station at your disposal.
There is a real community spirit in the Crofton Park area with many roads taking part in the Big Lunch street parties and the regular "Croftfest" festival to celebrate local businesses.
Roads in Crofton Park I would recommend include Crofton Park Road, Manwood Road, Salehurst Road, Bexhill Road, Merritt Road, Darfield Road and Stillness Road (although Stillness Road is officially SE23).

Brockley is lovely as others have said. To be honest I'd probably search on house rather than area within brockley/crofton pk/honor oak/forest hill/ sydenham. They're all relatively close, all nice, all overlap...just see what houses fate throws at you and follow your nose.
Oooh add ladywell into the mix too

We moved to Gipsy Hill/West Dulwich borders 2 years ago from Hackney - had similar anxieties to you nickname1980 - lived there 10 years and got married there! But love it here - so much green space, friendly, good schools (we have three children). We're near Herne Hill, Dulwich Village, Crystal Palace (full of lovely pubs and cafes, independent shops, very like Stoke N in feel), also West Norwood which is v up and coming - getting a Picturehouse in a couple of years fingers crossed! Good luck and any more advice for this area needed do ask!