Cannot afford to buy anywhere in London near good school

[dw4518]

I'm looking for a 3 bedroom terraced house near a good school and within 1 hour commute from central london.

After hours searching I can't find anywhere decent for under £450k. It seems like the only options are to move further out (even commuter towns are expensive!) or live in Plaistow/Canning town/Woolwich?

I'm really stuck! Any ideas would be greatly appreciated :)

[DinosaursRoar]

oh and I get what others mean about staying in London - we have friends who did that and it's a different lifestyle, it comes down to what you want.

Mind you, our friends who did buy in London were doing so 8/9years ago so have much bigger properties than they would if they were buying now, so they needed less compromise to stay.

[DinosaursRoar]

for your budget, if you are prepared to do work, could get 3 beds in Sevenoaks, which is only 35 mins to Charing Cross/Cannon street.

eg. this one - under a mile to the station, half a mile to Riverhead Infants/Amhurts juniors and half mile in opposite direction to Sevenoaks Primary - both great primary schools.

this one is closer to Riverhead/Amherst, slightly longer to the station but is on at £415k and is 4 beds. Needs some modernisation though, I know that's a lovely quiet road.

basically, you won't get a pretty house with lots of period features for that budget, unless you can drop to 2 beds (loft conversion could be an option though), but you'll get 3 beds in the less favoured, but still nice North/Riverhead end of town. There's lots of great primary schools and a fast train link to London, to give you the country/London job compromise.

Think your money could go even further in Tonbridge, but that's a longer commute, and a bigger town so the cheaper properties near good schools often require a bus/drive to the station, which if you are having a longer commute in the first place might take total 'door to door' time too much, but definately worth a look!

[Needmoresleep]

Or worse still, he might be expected to join the golf club.

OP, London is awsome. Around Crystal Palace is fine. Stay!

[Needmoresleep]

Experience of friends who moved a bit further out for a garden was that their kids preferred parks. There is more to do, other kids to play with, etc. They decided having a garden was pretty pointless. Similarly having a car is really not essential, especially with supermarket deliveries and AdLee. And if you want to leave London take the train or rent a car.

I am being mischievous, but still don't understand why threads about finding somewhere affordable in London always attract posters who suggest the back end of beyond, confidently asserting that this guarantees a better life.

Plus my husband would hate spending his weekends cutting the grass or washing the car.

[YelloDraw]

Ah Yello, why have a garden if you have a good park? Ah i'm not sure going to the park is quite as convenient as opening you back door onto a garden ;-) But I am with you on London being totally awesome!

[Needmoresleep]

Ah Yello, why have a garden if you have a good park? Lots of free stuff to do with kids, like walk along the South Bank with loads going on, jump on a bus to the science museum, walk round Borough Market tasting stuff.

Yes, less space, and more noise, but it can be made to work. DC used to dream of living in a Janet and John house with a front garden and garage attached, but now think their London upbringing was great. The country is not all its cracked up to be, and country cousins seem less active as they seem to have been driven everywhere and never walk. Interestingly Asian, French and American (maybe the ex-New Yorkers - the others heading for Cobham) families seem to think living in flats is normal. Its just us Brits who seem to have an obsession with houses.

It was brought home to us after a trip to the North West last weekend. We stayed in a posh pub, with a well reviewed restaurant.The food was a bit meh, and conformity seemed to be a sparkly black dress, peroxide blond hair and a car with a personalised number plate. On probably about the same income we have a scruffy car, no garden, and a scruffy house, but give me London any day.

Each to their own. But London can be a great place to stay and raise kids.

[YelloDraw]

Why do MN poster regularly assert that you get a better quality of life outside London. As long as you can make things like house, schools and commute work, London has a huge amount to offer. Far beyond branches of Primark

Yeah london is awesome if you have money. When you have children you need more money to make London work, at a time when your cash flow is pressured eg with ML and childcare.

Single/couple can enjoy a nice flat in a cool area and spend their time loving london.

Have a baby or two, suddenly need to think about getting a house with garden in the catchment of a good primary school... And you realise you're looking at best part of 750k probably. Then you start to think that maybe buying a proper lush pad outside of london is a batter solution.


If you can afford the house and have money left over for eating out, socialising, paying for babysitters etc then I would never leave london.

[aforestgrewandgrew]

"Why do MN poster regularly assert that you get a better quality of life outside London"

Putting aside personal preferences such as being closer to nature / the sea / quiet places etc ...

I think what people are saying, perhaps, is that a decent quality of life is more affordable outside London. The cost of housing for example is astronomical. I'm London born and bred but - like the vast majority of my childhood friends, I moved out of the Z2 borough I grew up in because none of us can afford the best part of £1m for the kind of house we want to bring our family up in.

If I were to move back to London, the most we could afford is a 2 bed flat in an undesirable area. Where we are now, we have a 3 bed semi with garden and plenty of space.

Also, there's the extra effort it takes to live in London. It takes longer to get places, parks and pubs are busier, you're having to fight the crowds all the time - unless you can afford to to pay for other options (e.g. black cabs).

Having grown up in London it wasn't until I'd been out of London for some time that began to notice what hard work London can be. Having grown up with it I had developed the competitive streak you need if you ever want a seat on a tube / bus / to get a table in a busy cafe!

But, you know all that can be wearing after a time!

In the small town I live in, you can drive to the park, park there, walk in. Takes 5 minutes, not 20 minutes circling trying to find a space then 10 minutes walk to the park!

Simple things, but it all adds up to being less stressful outside London. More importantly, in the town we live in, we had a choice of excellent schools. We didn't have to mortgage ourselves to the hilt to get into catchment for decent schools.

If I had the money to buy a house in Highgate, and to pay for options that relieve some of the stress of London living then I'd be back in a shot. But with the resources we have, living in a small town definitely gives us a better quality of life.

[Needmoresleep]

Why do MN poster regularly assert that you get a better quality of life outside London. As long as you can make things like house, schools and commute work, London has a huge amount to offer. Far beyond branches of Primark.

[DiegeticMuch]

I have friends whose children go to the Gwyn Jones Primary School in Leytonstone. It's got a very good reputation. Housing used to be reasonably priced in Leytonstone but I'm not sure whether it is any more.

[Yokohamajojo]

Still a few of that price in High Barnet and East Barnet.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-44460216.html

[dw4518]

thanks everyone for your suggestions!

I am indeed considering moving out of london into one of the lesser known commuter towns, somewhere with green spaces good connections into liverpool street. Hertfordshire is high on my list now, since I have family in Cambridge

[oleoleoleole]

Can you rent so that DC get into your preferred school and buy eventually where you can afford? We did this although we are in North Yorkshire. It meant for us that DC went to a good school as we were in catchment and we then moved house and bought what we could afford.

[DoctorDonnaNoble]

Seriously, with that budget I'd leave London! You'd get more for your money and a better quality of life. The trains in can be quicker than you think as they don't stop at every station as you approach London. Intercity from where I am to London Liverpool St are 50 minutes (with investment currently to make it quicker). It is a short hop from Liverpool St to Bank. My dad did it everyday to Elephant and Castle. Most of the students I teach have at least one parent who works in London. The length of commute isn't just about distance! Time is more of an issue.
This why it can be silly looking at the outer zones. The trains in stop everywhere and are on slower lines. Broaden your mind and you will discover you get a LOT more house for your money further out and that we have all the amenities you'd expect (except Primark here but that's coming next year).

[PalacePalacePalace]

If you like crystal palace, then south norwood would be worth a look. Norwood junction station is excellent with fast trains to London bridge as well as overground. Lots of parks even a lake. Two new pubs opened in last few weeks and lots going on at Stanley Halls - theatre /cinema etc. Walking distance to the triangle. Should be a few things in your price range.

[skippy67]

Another vote for Hayes Kent. Great schools, 40 mins to London. Or from Bromley South, you can get to Victoria in 17 mins. Lovely green spaces, village feel.

[PettsWoodParadise]

What about this one www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-57175405.html in Crofton / Petts Wood borders. Ofsted Outstanding Crofton school and Darrick wood secondary plus near Newstead / St Olaves grammars and in distance for some Bexley grammars. Petts Wood has a great community feel - compromise with this house is it on a main road, 1960s architecture and a schlep to the station.

[LunaLovebad]

I commute into Bank every day from Surrey (Egham/Staines) and my door to door journey time is 1 hour 10 mins. For £450k where I am you can get a 3 bed house in your budget no problem. I used to rent in Chiswick and it took me the same amount of time to commute from there into Bank as it does now. I also live near several excellent primary and state schools.

[slinkysaluki]

Essex ?

[DangerElephant]

Definitely recommend looking at areas such as Sunbury or Shepperton. Good areas and schools, and a bit more open in the immediate area. A fair few 3 bedroom houses for 400k-450k, and larger than some of the ones that are more expensive closer in.

[sm40]

There are 2 outstanding secondaries within 1.2 miles of me! One mixed, one boys. And not really looked further than than so may be more. Just need to be the right distance which we are from 1 and might just about make the other if lucky. Also 2 grammars if you pass the test.

[ImNotReallyReal]

Gants Hill is ok, sure the bit around the station isn't the best at midnight. But where in London is?

You'd get something towards Barkingside or Newbury Park for £450k, and if it needed work then around £400k. It's suburbia, but it's zone 4 with the Central Line. It's sold but here's a link to a typical one http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-44269293.html] - check out the local schools. All of the primaries are good or outstanding and you are a 10 minute walk from the Central Line at Newbury Park which is a terminating station so you can often get a seat!

Redbridge schools are usually good, most secondaries are outstanding and they still have grammar schools.

[RoseValleyRambles]

If you feel positive about the prospects of southern being sorted out in the next 6 months, try caterham/whyteleafe/purley areas. Just inside the m25 (cheaper season ticket), lovely countryside, and good schools. Two train lines, depending on where you live. Definitely viable for your budget.

[LBOCS2]

state schooling in London is consistently better across the board than the majority of the rest of the country (look up the 'London Effect' if you want to find out more about it). There are some excellent state secondaries, particularly in South-East London (which is where your budget is likely to keep you). Things do change but positioning yourself for a couple of good secondaries is unlikely to do you badly.

[aforestgrewandgrew]

I'm not sure I agree with the secondary school idea. Schools can chance so quickly, especially with a change of head, you have no idea what it'll be like that far down the line.

I went to a secondary with a good reputation but the head changed and it went dramatically downhill.

My niece has recently started at a school that was consistently rated as good or outstanding for years but with a new head. The latest Ofsted inspection has rated them inadequate

Good primary is what you need now. You may well move before secondary anyway, I wouldn't compromise on my DC's primary education for something several years down the line, when it might not even be available by then anyway.