If you had £1.2 million to spend...

[Sengah]

On a house in London and two children 2 and under to be state schooled, where would you spend it? We've just been gazumped, and now the property market is so slow we are trying to be creative. Anyone with good advice to share?

And the heating bills @poddige!

@poddige yes, indeed! I realise I misinterpreted their message in my reply but I don't have the energy to correct.

@weeM I can't live there - I am sort of a bit scared of the dark. Imagine if there was a power cut! How beautiful are those grounds tho?!

Coldfall to me is the best of all worlds. They are academic without being pushy. I know two of the governors and they are cracking. Rhodes is too pushy for me. They push hard from year 1. MHP is going to have some upheaval as the head has just resigned and to be honest their results should be higher.

MH tends to have well, if not overeducated, parents that are very liberal and progressive. The vibe I get in Essex is decidedly different. But go see everywhere and see what feels right for you. I'd check out Surbiton. It may tick all your and your DHs boxes. The houses/gardens will be bigger than MH. The state schools are good and you're fast into london - faster in certainly than Muswell Hill which is a bit of a pig for transport.

Assuming you've tried East Finchley? Slightly less pricy with a decent high street and down the road from MH.

Make sure you check prime location and not just Rightmove. There is one local estate agent in MH who doesn't put his properties on rightmove.

I think you should go for kingston way then - more value for money than north London. Still loads to do but less hectic and super easy to go central again plus easy access out to Swindon. Fab choice of schools.

To be IN and OUT of London simultaneously with serious square footage & large garden (>2000sqft & 100ft garden) you should look in Beckenham/Bromley way

• trains to Victoria (via brixton), London bridge, charing X, Waterloo east & Kings X/St.Panc in

Herne Hill or Dulwich

My friend has an absolutely lovely 4-bed Victorian terrace with huge rooms in Stokie. Think it would be about your budget. It's a great area.

Cross the river and try Peckham!

We had the same budget and went for Ealing - great transport links and primary schools. Our place was marketed at 1.3 but they accepted 1.2 (had been on the market for almost a year). 2250 sq ft and a large garden, and my husband commutes in under 30 mins to central London. And it's lovely and friendly, we're so pleased we moved here.

Teddington, Ham or North Kingston

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-51994161.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-62379409.html

North Kingston, by the river, 15 minutes walk along river to shops and Richmond Park out back

Beaconsfield is lovely if you’d be happy to leave London. It’s a charming town, tonnes of lovely places to eat and drink and great links to London. The quickest trains are just over 20mins to Marlybone, it’s just off the M40 so driving in is easy too. 30mins drive to Westfield/Notting hill etc. Also it won’t be far from crossrail when it’s open.

There are excellent state schools in the town, if you have girls then there is one of the best girls grammar schools in the south east.

Wargrave on Thames. This one, www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71110403.html has a home office, superfast broadband in the village. Lovely area, great schools (Crazies Hill or Robert Piggott for smalls, Piggott Secondary is one of the top state schools, also in easy reach of Kendrick & Reading selective grammar schools in Reading). Absolutely stacks going on in the area for you and the children. 10 mins walk to open countryside with lots of footpaths and bridleways. On the railway line (5 mins walk) to Henley in one direction, Twyford in the other for trains to London (Crossrail coming in 2019) & Reading. Also not far from either M4 or M40, so easy to get to any other part of the country you wish pretty quickly, and not bad to Heathrow either.

Ealing

Twickenham, St Margarets and Isleworth are all lovely, with good options for primary schools. I've listed them in descending order of house prices (although some might argue I've got Twickenham and St Mags the wrong way around!)

There is lots to do with the little ones, you are very close to Richmond (which you said earlier that you like), and there are plenty of local amenities.

This is in St Margaret's, at the top end of your budget: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-61644301.html

Teddington.
Cheaper and more spacious than Richmond it Twickenham. Parks, SAHMs galore.
30 mins to Waterloo.
We did primary there and is was good. Lots of investment in Teddington secondary school.
We're now in the sticks.
But I really liked (and miss it) Teddington

Thanks so much for all the responses. I've organised two days of viewings based on some of the suggestions and will keep investigating new places as opposed to hitting refresh on the same quarter mile on Right Move! I feel excited and inspired about the search again & am grateful to everyone who shared their tuppence.

Herne Hill / Brixton are brilliant places to live but you have to be v careful over school catchment.

Dulwich and east - west is dearer. So east Dulwich, peckham Rye, honor oak, telegraph hill, forest hill, down to Crystal Palace. All have the buzz, and some nice housing stock. Watch your school catchments, lots of fantastic schools so therefore you need to live in the playground to get in.
Beckenham is too far in my mind- much less buzzy, and you've the budget to stay closer in.
Not at all crazy to think ahead to secondary school- your stamp duty alone makes moving eye watering!

I think you need to work out how much square footage AND number of bedrooms you want, then you’ll have a better idea of which area you can look at. It will focus your search much more.

I'd get this and knock the price down to under 1.2m - it's definitely on for too much due to the refurb. Bet they'd take an offer. Very nice spot close to outstanding primaries and secondaries, parks, Crystal Palace triangle etc. www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-70702112.html

If you like Richmond then look in to surrounding areas. East Sheen is 5 mins down the road, lots of houses in that budget, excellent schools and right by the park.
Also look at St Margaret’s, Twickenham, Old Isleworth, Barnes, some areas of Kew are in that budget too. All these places are on the direct to Waterloo line.
For further out but easy to reach Richmond options try Teddington or Hampton Hill, you have Bushy Park on your doorstep. Alternatively try Kingston way, Surviton or New Malden.
Lots of options in these areas, well within budget but without the demand/price tag of Richmond itself. Richmond park nearby, good transport links, very safe, excellent schools and plenty of families!

Another vote for Ealing.
Really great for families. Lots of good primary schools. Great community feel. Loads of children/family activities.
On the Central Line with Cross Rail coming soon.