Teddington as a location

[planforeverything]

Hi everyone,

If you’ve read my recent posts you’ll know my husband and I are trying to move later this year/early next year.

I’m set on Barnes but nothing is coming up in our price range. I’ve started to look at East Sheen and Teddington too and whilst I know East Sheen, I know nothing about Teddington...

Can anyone shed any light on Teddington to live as a location vs. Barnes or Putney. We live in Putney at the moment - things I like about it - walking distance to shops and high street, access to London (though not needed everyday) and Wandsworth Park/River Walks.

I LOVE Barnes due to the more villagey feel and prefer Barnes to Putney. Access is still fine for London (we usually only go in on weekends to C. London). If I could live anywhere, it would absolutely be here. No questions asked.

We don’t have children (and may not ever - not out of choice) so schools are really not a factor. Honestly I’ve read amazing things about schools in Barnes and Teddington but I really don’t want any input on schools...

So what is Teddington like as an area to live, shop mix, access to London, overall feel (does it feel like a London ‘village’), traffic.

One of my annoyances with Putney (we’re in East Putney) is it’s becoming bit grotty, I have people shouting on my streets on Friday/Saturday nights, vomit on pavements following the weekend, party 2 weeks ago on our street resulted in police being called and people arrested. I’m a bit fed up of paying £2500 a month on a mortgage on a place that’s driving me up the wall!

So - Teddington?!

Teddington is lovely, close to the River, Richmond park, Bushy Park. Loads of independent shops and much cleaner than Putney. Train links are good too.
I used to live in Putney and think Teddington has a different mix of people, slightly older demographic and more families.
Close to Kingston for decent shops, but it feels like a place in its own right rather than a suburb of London if that makes sense.

I could happily live in Teddington. I'm not too far away, but love to visit for the boutique shops and lovely restaurants.

Thanks SheRaTheAllPowerful. Is there anything you ‘miss’ about Putney, what are the cons vs Putney. The main one I can think of is transport as we do venture to South Ken, Notting Hill, Sloane Square for dinner 1-2 times per month and I would miss that. Does it feel like you’re out of London? For example I went to Ascot to visit family and knew it felt too quiet for me.

Have you thought about Kew or St Margaret's if Barnes doesn't have much choice at the moment? Or the nicer bits of Twickenham around the farmers market? Could you move to a quieter bit of Putney? Wimbledon?

We did consider Teddington but when we went round it felt - this might sound daft - full to bursting. It was as if every young family had squashed in there to take advantage of the schools and it was heaving with strollers, nannies and enormous SUVs.

I think if you don't need the schools and don't have DCs it might drive you mad.

We live in Barnes at the moment and are in the process of buying in teddington.

We've lived in Barnes for 7 years and love it, but we're looking for more space now. As much as I love Barnes, I love teddington just as much-the high street and residential roads are gorgeous and have such a lovely feel to them. There also seems a bit more going on there while maintaining a close knit community feel. It's still expensive but you do get a bit more for your money than in Barnes.

The journey into London's doesn't seem that different to Barnes really, just about 15 mins extra to Waterloo, and you can always change at Richmond for the district line.

One thing I would say about Barnes and sheen is that crime has gone up a lot lately-very noticeably so; there's lots of chatter about it in the local area. That said, it could be affecting other surrounding areas too.

I would echo what the PP said about strollers, nannies and SUVs-that's true of Barnes too!

We lived in Teddington for 5 years and loved it. We had kids though so it was ideal for us. Thriving high street and it definitely has a nice London village feel with a fair bit going on right in the area (open air concerts at Hampton Court in the summer, Twickenham riverside, good shopping in Kingston and Richmond, etc. If you’ve got the budget, I’d say East Twickenham by the river or St Margarets or Richmond would be worth considering as prices have come down a bit recently. Richmond station is super handy for the district line straight to South Ken.

Fishseddy - this is really useful, given you already live in Barnes. Interesting to what you’ve said about crime also.

I visited a friend in Teddington with a gorgeous house, huge garden and she paid about the same for it as we did our 3 bed Flat but it did take me about 20 mins to get down to the High Street and station.

Can you recommend any nice streets/roads that you looked at closer to the High Street? I seen a house on Fairfax Road we were going to view but I think now google mapping it it’s about 20 minutes walk to the High Street.

Funny you mention safety, we have car break ins in East Putney quite often now. Are you referring to crime like this in Barnes or worse?

The other thing that’s making us move is my Mum, who’s late 50s but not very mobile is quite nervous going out on her own and has commented Putney is too ‘hustle and bustle’ for her (she’s from a tiny town in Scotland). If we do end up with kids I want her to have the confidence to take the buggy out and go a wander for a coffee and mooch around the shops on her own and feel safe, which she’s recently commented on that she doesn’t where we currently live.

Thanks for all the comments!

Should have said - budget is max. £1.3m for ideally 3/4 bed with garden within 10 minute walk to High Street. I would compromise property size to be in a really lovely location

Sounds like we are in a similar situation:-) that was our budget too, and have bought a 4/5 bed near the station and high street for a bit less than that.

If you look on a map, I'd say any of the roads around the high st are good. I wouldn't go to Fairfax rd (I know the house you are talking about 😊) as you're paying a massive premium for being near Collis school...the square footage is low for the price. Also like you say, you're further from the station and high st

Crime wise, there's been a spate of horrid muggings, burglaries and car crime in Barnes/Mortlake...I am starting to feel a bit unsafe coming home in the evenings, which I never used to

Almost nothing's 20 minutes walk from the High St in Teddington! It's a very long High St and quite a small town. Maybe the Hampton Wick end of Fairfax Road, at a slow walk? Or down by the river - the river roads are lovely but yes, they are a bit further from the High St (but then closer to the river so you pays your money and you takes your choice).

I grew up there so knew it when it was a nice but quite boring suburban town. Ordinary shops on the High St. Two restaurants! Now it's much much glossier. Posh shops. Loads of places to eat.

It's also definitely less gritty than Putney (which is hardly gritty but I do know what you mean). It's less trafficy too. The river and Bushy Park are lovely. Access to Kingston is great.

Reason I don't live there? Takes for bloody ever to get anywhere (unless you want to go to Kingston). That train line really got me down in the end. Yes it's only 35 mins into W'loo but if you're a 15 minute walk from the station and then an onward commute on the tube, plus the vagaries of SW Trains delays, you are basically commuting for an hour and 15 mins (well, I was). And for that you could live somewhere properly out and get much more for your money.

Agree that prices on Fairfax Road are about access to Collis. Twas my alma mater - and a perfectly nice, ordinary junior school back in the day. Now getting your kid in there is the equivalent of winning the golden ticket for life . So I think it's true that it's a very family town - if I didn't have schooling to consider I'd be looking for somewhere a bit more convenient transport-wise.

Until recently, DH and I had a home in Kew. Its a lovely area, with a tube station, the river, small selection of shops and restaurants, but near to Richmond and of course Kew Gardens. All lovely.

How about this one? Right by the high st and station :-)

Christchurch Avenue, Teddington
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-69696436.html

There's a 3-bed house on for 1.3m in Ellison road in Barnes which is a great place to live. Cul de sac and very quiet. Equidistant between Barnes and Barnes bridge station. Also one in
Cleveland gardens for 1.375m. Have you been round either of those? Again very nice road and quiet. Some of the houses have the train line at the bottom of the garden but they don't come
Past all that often. I guess eight an hour.

Ellison road one is v small but the Cleveland gdns one has planning permission in place to extend. Do kitchen side return and maybe go into loft in time.

Friskybivalves - thanks. I’ve looked at both - issues with each to be honest. The one in Cleveland gardens IMO is overpriced. Yes 150sq ft larger than the Flat we are in but is £650k more expensive and I know a lot of it is down to location. The one in Ellison road has no space to extend as the garden is small but great location. It’s a lovely street!

Pretty in Kew?

Teddington feels very much like suburbia - it's just not connected to London in the way Kew, Barnes or Putney is.

It is very insular and feels exclusively for families. Hard to walk through the high street without bumping into someone you know, so it depends on whether you like that or not. Can be cliquey.

It is a nice area, but for a very certain stage of life.

Teddington is very nice but it feels isolated. It's a great place to live in my opinion if the local schools and Kingston are your focus, otherwise it can be a pain to travel into London on a daily basis. On a Sunday morning the High Street is swarming with young families, so it does feel like that kind of place.

Personally I'd look around East Sheen/Mortlake. Here you go lovely road and v. close to both Mortlake and North Sheen stations

What about this place OP? Gorgeous area, .4 miles to the station, close to the high street and Richmond Park, the river is right there and the Vineyard school is amazing. www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-61818442.html

Or just the opposite side of the river there’s this one. Super well connected to both Richmond and Twickenham for good trains and right by the river and high street. www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/map.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E61415&numberOfPropertiesPerPage=299&viewType=MAP&viewport=-0.313723%2C-0.309281%2C51.4527%2C51.4558

Oops it didn’t post the right link. It needs a little tarting up maybe but nice and big. Here: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-78780566.html

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I need to go and spend some more time in Teddington and also visit St Margaret’s, Twickenham and Kew.

I bought in an area I was unfamiliar with (e.g had visited once) a few years ago and ended up hated living there. I’ve spent lots of weekend in Barnes and know we both like it, our life is easily transferable there and I need to feel the same about the next location (if it’s not Barnes). These houses are all gorgeous but I don’t want to view in areas we haven’t spent lots of time in, fall in love with a house then ending up living somewhere I wouldn’t have chosen if I’d visited 4/5 times.

Also are there any parks in Teddington that don’t have deer?! Or where the deer are at least enclosed? I can’t walk my dog in Parks with free roaming deer/sheep and I love my local Wandsworth Park or Barnes common.

Bushy park does have deer and if your dog has trouble then you might struggle. There are some really lovely walks along the riverside though which might do the trick? Strawberry Hill House also has some nice grounds as you go through Strawberry Hill towards Twickenham.

Teddington is really lovely, but personally if I was buying right now, I'd buy closer to Richmond/St Margarets/East Twickenham. It's got more going on, the shopping is better, and both Richmond and Twickenham stations have quicker/more frequent London connections. Having lived in the area, I'd totally go for that house on Alexandra Road. Marble Hill Park is right there as well with loads of green space for your dog to run without deer. And again, excellent schools if you should happen to fall pregnant one day.

But that's just my opinion!

St Margaret's is good if you want parks without deer. We live in Teddington and work in St Margaret's, and walk the DDog at lunchtimes in either Marble Hill Park or Moor Mead Park, both in St Margaret's.

Teddington is great for families, but if that's not a factor, I'd say Richmond / St M. Quicker to get into town, and more frequent trains.