Help me find where this is

[lostlondoner]

In no particular order:-
Cafes and restaurants and cosy pubs
Buzzy high street with some independent and useful shops
Playground, Football pitch, decent Clubs for kids and things for them to do when they are teens
Large park nearby or access to pretty countryside
Parkrun and good running routes
Easy commute to Cannon Street/city - 45 mins would be good but would look at 1hr
Not too busy
Friendly community feel
Gym and pool
Nurturing primary school - middle ground between academic and chilled. Two form entry preferred
Good state mixed secondary school - walkable
Option of good private back up

Have you considered Chislehurst or Sidcup?

Beaconsfield, Gerrards Cross, Rickmansworth. Harpenden or Berkhamsted or St Albans. Check the train journey though!

SevenoAks, not sure on the commute though

Hildenborough
Tonbridge
Bexleyheath

Cheam Village. Gorgeous Nonsuch Park adjacent to a woodland trust area + cycling and close to coutryside, Park Run, fab playground on Cheam Rec, football, tennis, cricket & rugby short stroll away, leisure centre + David Lloyd on the doorstep too. Cheam High is mixed and fab, top grammars and tons independent senior schools around.

Trains go into London Bridge (or Victoria). Sutton Station is only 1 mile from the village so if you live on that side, you’ll have access to the Thameslink too.

Beckenham

Sydenham?

Crystal Palace, Blackheath, Chiselhurst, Beckenham.

"Commute to Cannon Street/City." Which city???

What is your budget?

@S0upertrooper.
Must be Landaaan, innit? No other city exists...not real ones anyways .

Crouch End

Beckenham covers most of that exactly. Or blackheath or wider greenwich area (football club lwithin a drive)

SOupertrouper, The OP means London/City of London.

Thanks for the ideas so far.
Yes London 'city'.
Budget is around 1.3-4m maybe slightly more.
Would also prefer somewhere a little creative I guess or somewhere with a bit of individual character of you see what I mean.

The list is getting longer lol

Out in the commuter belt, I find Reigate less dull than some of the other towns, e.g. has nice individual boutiques and a cool gallery cafe. It also has a lovely park and countryside, good state schools and indies about. Commuting is a tad pants but trains Redhill are better.

Sutton-way, Cheam isn't particularly creative but Carshalton Village on the other side of Sutton hosts annual Artists' Open Houses, an environmental fair etc It's also interesting architecturally and has charm to it. There is a leisure centre, parks, countryside, fab pubs but it is more down-to-earth rather than fancy. With your budget, you could get a large house in Carshalton Beeches and jog to Oaks Park and the countryside beyond. There's a public golf course and a climbing wall there too.

If you're after more of a terraced house in London than have a look around SW London, e.g. Wimbledon, Barnes, Teddington etc The green spaces that way are the largest city parks/common you'll find.

Dulwich? Earlsfield, though maybe more central than you'd like. Kingston, Hampton, Guildford, Cobham are all nice, but trains are to Waterloo rather than Cannon St. Surbiton is 15 minutes to Waterloo but feels more rural.

Happy to look in London too

Where are you now, OP? What’s missing in the location?

Another recommendation for chislehurst/bickley

Thanks everyone. I think my issue is I'm not quite sure if I want London, suburbs or completely out (which would mean a drastic lifestyle and job change)!With no kids I'd want to be in in. Zone 2 or 3. With kids, hmmm. I love the idea of proper rural but in the real world is it going to be isolating and when they are teens I end up as a taxi service?!
Will take a look round the SE commuter zone, SE London and also N London and suburbs. My family and friends tend to be SE and E past London so probably makes more sense to be there.
Am currently in London commuterville (home counties) and it's a bit too quiet for me really.

Thanks everyone. I think my issue is I'm not quite sure if I want London, suburbs or completely out (which would mean a drastic lifestyle and job change)!With no kids I'd want to be in in. Zone 2 or 3. With kids, hmmm. I love the idea of proper rural but in the real world is it going to be isolating and when they are teens I end up as a taxi service?!
Will take a look round the SE commuter zone, SE London and also N London and suburbs. My family and friends tend to be SE and E past London so probably makes more sense to be there.
Am currently in London commuterville (home counties) and it's a bit too quiet for me really.
I'm missing the London vibe for sure but don't want to lose the green space if we move further in.
Unsure if there are any other commuter towns that are a bit more upbeat that also fit the commute requirement.

Have you tried Reigate? It's over in Surrey but not too far from Kent or the M25. Makes Sevenoaks look like the dullest place on the planet (if that's where you happen to be, no offence to Sevenoaks as it is a nice place for a family). Beckenham in SE London offers that mix of family but quite buzzy and Blackheath is definitely buzzy (although I wouldn't be happy with crime either around Blackheath or Beckenham).

In N London, Crouch End seems to have the sort of vibe you're after (based on reading people's posts as I don't know the area myself).

Hayes (Bromley not Middlesex)?