Clapham/Battersea or Putney

[MrsFudge]

Another where should I buy a house thread (sorry!), but can't seem to find any recent threads comparing these areas so here goes.

Currently renting in Clapham/Battersea and looking to buy a 4 bed house, budget c£1.5m. Search so far mainly Between the Commons and Nightengale Triangle. However I'm now second guessing myself and wondering if this is the 'best' part of London for us. Main criteria is south, good private schools and

Depending on what time you need to be at work, a Balham to Clapham Common school run and then back on the tube to carry on to Bank feels easier than having to go the wrong way from Battersea to Balham to do a school run and then get on the tube
Although it’s arguably easier to get the northern line from Balham that Clapham Common

How old are your DCs and which schools are you registered at?

You might want to have a look at East Dulwich- very naice, good schools and decent transport (though train not tube). Generally more house and garden for your money compared with between the commons.

mini

Dulwich and the surrounds doesn’t have anything close to the indie school options of Clapham/Balham/Putney, especially at prep level

We lived there for a couple of years and found it a real transport blackspot
The trains from ED and Denmark Hill were often too crowded to get on, which meant a 10 min wait til the next one, and commuting to the City meant the hell that was London Bridge station at rush hours

@minipie we actually went to Dulwich at the weekend to take a look around - great minds!

I really liked the area, however the lack of school options worries me. Obviously there are the 3 big Dulwich preps, but if DC didn't get a place at assessment, the other options seem quite limited? In Clapham quite a few preps do entry based on date of registration so we know we'd have a school place here. I'd really like to avoid stressing about assessments when DC are 3 or 4!

Richmond to Bank is easy peasy. 15 mins on the overground to Waterloo, 10 minutes on the Waterloo and City to Bank. Factor in 5-10 mins waiting to get on the tube at rush hour, but I had no wait for the tube on Thursday when I last did this journey. Richmond is a lovely place to live.
I’d probably still choose Clapham/Battersea though, London ‘proper’, such easy access to places around, really opens up school options as easy to travel. I’d echo other posters in spending time in different areas and seeing how you feel.