Help! Expat from NY moving to London with 2 kids. Where should I live?!!

[nicoolie]

Hi! I currently live in Brooklyn, NY and will be moving to London in July. I'll be working in Canary Wharf. I'm lost and looking for help on where is a good place to live! I'll be here for 2 years. I have 2 boys age 8 & 11. The reason for the move is to be able to travel around Europe with my kids. Not sure if what I'm looking for is reasonable but here goes: Budget $2,500 (could go up a bit if needed), great schools, close to a park, close to shopping, not crazy far from airport, not a terribly long ride to central London, 30 min commute max, close to train/bus. I've found some areas that reviews have said are good but I have no idea on schools even though I checked on right move. Greenwich, Hither Green, Lewisham, Maida Vale, St john's Wood. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!

Will the boys share a bedroom or do you want a 3 bed?

Wigan kind of schools? State or private (fee paying)?

No where in London is crazy far from an airport but there are quite a few of them! Absolutely being close to LHR means you’re not very handy for LCY etc

Hackney, Islington, Haringey (all school rated good or outstanding), enfield (north London)
leyton, higham park, walthamstow, loughton (east London/Essex borders)

These will get you to Stansted and city airport easily, Heathrow by tube and Gatwick on the train from kings cross.

My brother lives in Canary Wharf but feels private schools are better in that area
It depends whether your budget can stretch to rent and school fees.

Good schools is one thing, getting a place another.

Move within metres of a good secondary tnat admits by distance.

The Rightmove schools checker is totally rubbish and inaccurate, but also irrelevant to your situation as it refers to on-time applications at the primary and secondary entry dates. Concentrate on a good secondary and then find what you can for your younger child.

It will seem like a juggle getting the house and schools in place but what a great thing to do!

For quick trips to Europe at good prices you are more likely to fly from Gatwick or Stansted than LHR.

West Hampstead is nice, and you can get to canary wharf on the jubilee line

West Hampstead train to both luton and Gatwick on thameslink and nearby bus to Stansted.
Good state primary schools
But you will be looking at a 2 bed flat . 3 if you lucky. Get a garden flat.

I would go for Greenwich.

East Greenwich/Maze Hill, near the park will have lots of small houses on your budget. (I have one on the market at the moment - too early!) Greenwich recently introduced the country's most demanding landlord licensing regime which means that few landlords are willing to let to sharers, only families.

There are lots of transport options that will get you to most airports, more when Crossrail finally opens (two stops by train to Woolwich) and a very easy journey to Canary Whalf - even the foot tunnel if you wanted to cycle. The park and river are great and its easy to get to central London.

I know less about schools, though there are plenty of families around so assume they are OK.

Leytonstone ticks all those boxes.

That’s about £1900 pcm

Not a lot for a 3 bed in London really - you’ll need to go further out to get a three bed house and possibly not near a tube station (but buses go everywhere ). Greenwich is just about doable at that budget and is a lovely area, but it does take a while to travel into central London. Lewisham is cheaper but a lot rougher, wouldn’t recommend it. The other places mentioned- West Hampstead, Hackney etc are well out of your price range. Schools in London are actually the best in the country in terms of outcomes for students- teaching is very good- however your kids will probably mix with quite a lot of kids from deprived backgrounds- nothing wrong with that but there is knife crime, gangs, social problems etc. However I see you’re from Brooklyn so you’re probably used to a mixed cohort in schools there (unless you go private).

Don’t forget you will need to pay agent some quite hefty fees and 1 or 2 months upfront as a deposit.

A good place to look is rightmove rental section

Lots of reductions in London right now due to housing bubble bursting

Op may be happy with a flat for a more urban location. Depends. Open at do you want?
Flat (fewer square metres small putside space...tho sone garden flats are awesome) central location easy access to tube and train for travelling out?
Or suburban house ? Likely more time to get to places.

Do you mean £2500 or $2500?
Per week or per month?
I’m confused as your mention of SJW and Maida Vale suggests per week, but Hither Green and Lewisham suggest per month!

If you are moving to London for an experience and as a base for travel, a centrally located flat will be more relevant than a suburban house.

I'm really sorry OP but your monthly budget won't stretch very far in zones 1/2/3. You will definitely need to be further out; others will advise.

It depends though. Will the dc share or not? Depends what op wants . Three large bedrooms...not in zones 1 2 3 or west hampstead. Small bedrooms or 2 beds or ex council flat... maybe.

Hi thanks everyone for all of your responses!!! The boys can share a bedroom if needed. They share one now. The USD budget is $3,200 soooo about 2,500 pounds pcm. I can take that up a little bit if needed. Sorry my American keyboard only has $! The boys are are in public school now so if I can get them into a really good public school in London I'd prefer that so we have money left for travel. Private is an option if it's a reasonable price. My company will pay 50% tuition which is great, but 50% of a lot is still a lot . After reading the comments on crimes in public schools I'm starting to worry that it has to be private school. There are some great public schools in NY with no crimes and excellent ratings so I didn't even think about this. I assumed if we lived in a good neighborhood the schools would be good as well. What do you think? It's difficult because I have no idea if a neighborhood is good. I've been using google maps and taking a tour with my mouse and checking out the people and stores and surrounding blocks. Not very efficient or accurate .

OP do you mean state schools? Public is still apart of the fee paying thing.

What of your criteria is most important and what would you compromise on? Short commute to Canary Wharf puts you in southeast London or fairly central (so pricey).

Yes, I forgot about the naming difference! In the US, public school is free and private is paid. I prefer state school if it's very good but if the only good schools are paying then I guess I'll have to pay.

Most important of my criteria is great schools and good neighborhood. I'd hate to have to commute further but this will be a big change for the kids and I want them in the best possible environment for them.

Also, I defo should have mentioned this before but my older son (11) gets services here in school and are free. i.e. speech therapy, occupational therapy and has a laptop as writing is difficult for him and a small classroom. He's really bright but has a hard time with fine motor skills. I was told that state schools provide more services in London than paying schools but i don't really know much other than talking to one person. So, as you can see, school is the most important to me and we'll figure out the rest.

Purple, I am not sure what you are basing your information on. I disagree about getting into Central London from Greenwich. Trains from Maze Hill are every 10 minutes and go to a variety of stations. Not many stops. Plus you have DLR, the tube in North Greenwich with Crossrail from Woolwich likely to open not too long after OP arrives.

The Victorian 4 bed I am trying to let 5 minutes walk from the station and close to the park is £2200. The market is very slow at the moment.

Landlords pay hefty fees, not tenants, and fairly soon agents won’t be able to charge for references of contracts.

Equally I am surprised to hear SE London described as ‘pricey’. SW London maybe, but generally SE London tends to be cheaper. Plus normally good access to Canary Wharf.

I'm totally good with a flat, or more central

It would really help if people could reccomend schools in areas well
Located for Canary Wharf because you really will have to find a flat as close as possible to one or more good secondary schools.

There are many many excellent state schools in London. There are also a few that can be confronting.

When you apply I am not sure whether your Ds will be going into year 7 or 8 , can you give us his month and year of birth?

But either way the good schools will be full. You will need to go on a waiting list. Waiting lists are held on order of how you meet the criteria, hence needing to find somewhere very very close to a good school. And a school with a good SEN / Inclusion Department.

The population of London is highly mobile and school places come up, but you need to be well placed to get one. Otherwise you will end up in the under-subscribed school that no one else wanted.

Sorry, my school knowledge isn’t on good Canary Wharf routes.

@needmoresleep yep it’s only 25 minutes to say Bank (st Paul’s cathedral) or London Bridge- but to get to a train station which will take you further afield, it feels much further than other places in zone 2/3. Also I think the stations are a bit more spread out in Grenwich so walking from pubs/ my friends house just takes a bit longer, so it feels like a trek to me (my train station is Kings Cross). Yes South East London is definitely cheaper- due mainly to transport links I think.

The OP actually has a very decent budget (2.5k) and can take her pick- especially if she only wants 2 bedrooms.

OP- we might be a bit different in London in that rich and poor live alongside each other. I’ve visited a lot of schools in London for my job (I’m a researcher) I don’t think I’ve come across a single middle class posh state school. The cohort is mixed. Now in lots of schools this doesn’t bring crime with it - simply that your kids will be rubbing shoulders with kids from a different world to you. I think this is a very good thing. And like I said the schools in London are very good overall compared to the rest of the country due to investment and quality teaching staff. Outcomes are excellent and the rest of the country is looking to London to emulate success. All across London you will find much higher rates of Free School Meals (deprivation indicator) and high BAME populations. High levels of immigration has also contributed to better outcomes because of high parental aspirations amongst certain immigrant groups. What people are saying about catchment is key- don’t bother applying anywhere outside of catchment and aim for good or outstanding with the ofsted rating.

There are good schools all across London and some of the poshest areas are where parents will send kids private- so this can affect the local school as the cohort won’t be mixed.

I would continue to do your research on the local London mumsnet board as that will be focused on schools and applications.