Safe place for fresh french family

[DocThor]

Hi,

My wife, our 3 months old baby (girl), our dog and I are moving to London soon - I will start to work on 15th January (at UCL, center London).
We are both french. My wife is not fully comfortable with english and she won't work in order to take care of our baby. So we are looking for a nice, safe place to live. We like green areas (for walks with baby + dog) and don't need to have plenty of bars and night clubs close. Just some local amenities.
As we wish to have a garden and avoid too long commute time to work (30min would be perfect, 45min cool, 1h max), but we have no expendable budget (1400£/month top max), I selected some interesting areas :

Woodford/Buckhurst Hill
Cheshunt
New Barnet
Edgware/Mill Hill/Colindale
Borehamwood

But I have never been in these place !
Would some of you have advice/experience with these areas ?

I really thank you in advance for your help !!

Hi OP,
Have you considered Wanstead/South woodford? May be a bit of a challenge with the budget but they are safe family friendly areas, easy access to the central line, and Epping Forest for walks etc. I know there are French speaking Mums locally too!

Osprey Close, London, E11
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-86490869.html

Hi @DocThor

Given how young your child is, would you consider a 1 bed apartment? This would open up a lot more areas for you in London. I know postdoc life, so I know the salaries are not great. I think living further out will be a strain on your budget due to commuting costs. If you could perhaps stretch to £1500 and get the bus to work (cheapest way to travel on public transport), you could find a 1 bed in central London near a park or common.

You are only in London for 2 years and postdocs can be draining. A long commute can often be unrealiable and tiring, and you may find you don't have much time for your wife and baby in the evening if you commute far.

@DocThor, would also be helpful to know your total budget for rent + travel

Kew. My brothers tenants are a family with three children from France and have lived there for 7 years. Love it. Kids in school now too

That’s interesting about the law in France and dogs. Very different.

@DocThor

If you do seriously consider Cheshunt or the surrounding area, I'm more than happy to offer advice on areas, places to eat, activities, etc etc if you need it

I’d say it really depends in terms of commute/time with family. DH commutes for 1h to work but he’s on a direct train and gets a seat both ways. That means he gets his laptop out and spends the time productively. He’s at home much more than he was when we were in zone 2 and his commute time was 100% wasted time on packed trains.

I am a landlord of a one bedroom flat and we cannot allow dogs or other pets because of the restrictions on the lease for the whole building. We did have a French couple interested in the flat last year - we really liked them. At the last minute they mentioned their “medium sized dog” and we had to say no to them renting the apartment.

I don’t advise not mentioning the dog as you will be found out and in breach of the contract and asked to leave.

I would suggest south East London:

Crystal Palace
Nunhead
Brockley
Penge

I'm in almost the same situation OP -- same budget, academic moving to London with small family later next year (and a French husband!)

We have previously lived in London though so are a bit more familiar.

I would also recommend looking at South London. It may seem farther away geographically but the trains are faster so the commute is not necessarily longer, and you are still in Zones 2-4 so it's much cheaper than moving to the suburbs (unless you can work from home a lot?)

Crystal Palace has lots of families and activities and a big gorgeous park. You will struggle to find a garden on your budget, but the parks in London are amazing (they are more natural and open than the kind of French parks where you can't even walk on the grass :) ) Herne Hill is even closer to town and next to Brockwell Park, it will be tough to find something for 1400 but worth keeping an eye on.

But I agree with purify, with such a young baby I would also look at one bedrooms closer to central London, you may even find one with a 'study nook' or alcove you can use as a space for the baby. This will save you a lot of money and time on travel (you might get by with a bicycle or bus pass), there are still lots of parks and child-friendly spaces in central London. I would personally enjoy more the feeling of being in London proper than out in the suburbs, you are only there for two years.

Good luck!

Have a look at Sabbatical Homes www.sabbaticalhomes.com/. It's a site where academics offer their homes to rent to other academics.
There are thousands of properties in London, most in north and north-west London with very good access to UCL, and because you liaise directly with the owner you can ask them about your dog, and also try and negotiate a reduced rent for a longer stay (many sabbaticals are for a few months, so if you are offering a couple of years tenancy that may be very attractive to an owner). I think you are likely to find somewhere to suit you on this site.

For instance, if you were prepared to have your baby in your bedroom, you could look at this www.sabbaticalhomes.com/OfferedDetails.aspx?id=107186&i=Home_Rent_House_Rental_Home_Exchange_House_Swap_London_United_Kingdom
Close to Waterlow Park and Hampstead Heath, nice area and very easy to get to UCL.
For a longer rent, the owner may well allow a dog if you offer a larger deposit.

It is ILLEGAL in England for a landlord to take more than five weeks' rent as a deposit. Law change 1st June. Hence even fewer landlords will want to risk a dog.

OP - get informed about UK rental laws and your rights:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-rent/how-to-rent-the-checklist-for-renting-in-england

and as an aside; it is UK law that you clean up after your dog when out, or risk a fine (and it is disgusting not to do so anyway). From my last visit to France it appears that things are different there. please note.

@mencken you must have noticed that plenty of people here are happy to walk out while their dogs defecate. It’s not Just in France. The law is widely ignored.

yes, filthy buggers, although I've never seen a city as filthy as Rouen. I think the French are worse for dog filth although it is a fine distinction.

I wouldn’t like to have to adjudicate that contest!