Moving back into the country

[Honin]

Hi all, I'm new here. My family and I will be moving back from Hong Kong in June (with a 6 yr old son). I'm hoping to gain more information, opinions, or any thoughts regarding where to settle. I'll working in central London, but don't expect to live there hence the prices are way out of our budget. Therefore, we are looking at areas ideally within 45 mins train journey, which has good schools, safe neighborhood, and perhaps parks nearby. Our budget is around 250K for a 2 bed flat, and currently looking at areas like Greenhithe, Eltham, Bexleyheath... but open mind to other suggestions. It'd be a really great help if you guys could provide some insight in this matter. Many thanks.

Where in central London will you need to commute to?

You could also have a look at Sutton - the commute would work, schools are top but you’d probably need a little bit over 250k - worth a stretch if possible.

There will also be some areas outside London that will work with your budget but you’ll need to factor in commuting costs which can be extortionate.

The exact locate is yet to confirm I'm afraid. I did look into Sutton, and you are absolutely right, schools there are excellent, but my budget won't have much choices atm. I can compensate travel time to reduce the transportation cost, but more importantly, my main concern will be the level of crime.

Crime rates can be found on the Met Police website. The safest boroughs in London are Richmond, Sutton, Bexley and Kingston. Out of those, you have a chance of a 2 bed in Sutton or Bexley. They also happen to have fab schools.

You'll need to know where you're commuting though. E.g. a train into central London could be 25-30 mins but if you then need to change and go across zone 1 + have longish walks at either end, you could end up with your door-to-door commute being 1h15 or something.

Thank you so much for your advice. I shall do my research during the meantime. We will most likely rent during the first year, that should give us more time to live in the area before buying.

Hi all, Merry Christmas and Happy New year!
We have now settled in Beckenham Junction and commute to Blackfriars (bare in mind, there's a chance of relocating to Guildford next year), both my wife and son are loving it! Beautiful area and friendly neighbourhood, more importantly my son is enjoying school.
As we all know, Brexit is getting closer, and we are giving more thought into purchasing our first property toward the Q1 or Q2 of 2019 (the latest). We'd love to stay where we are now, but the property price is still slightly over our budget (300K) for a 2 bed flat or maisonette, ideally with a garden. My wife would love a terraced house, but realistically it would be difficult to find something that can compare with Beckenham.
We are now looking at potential area such as Sutton, Purley, Bexleyhealth, and ideally Beckenham lol, Beside commuting into London, I also need to consider both primary and secondary school, therefore, I'm wondering what everyone think of my situation, and all opinions and suggestions are welcome.

Million thanks!

Hi I'm in Bexleyheath primaries are good but I don't know what the waiting lists are like. Bear in mind it's a grammar area so unless your son passes the 11+ the high schools are secondary moderns. You might just get a terrace for your budget, definitely a decent size flat with garden. Very suburban compared with beckenham but practical for shops, sports centre with swimming pool, danson park is lovely, options for eating out.

Thanks Newyearfelurker, I doubt my son can get into grammar school (realistically), but if he can, I'd definitely help him. Meanwhile, we can only think about areas with more decent primaries and secondaries, so he has a better chance of getting into a decent school.
Sports centre would be nice too, since he loves swimming!

JoJo are non selective non private Sutton schools also fab?