Where in west/south west London

[Meshy12]

Currently live in SE London but want to buy a bigger property and in West/SW London due to my family being there.

We have DC1 8mo and looking to TTC again next year.

Any suggestions appreciated!

• budget max £950k (ideally less)
• min 4 bedroom - ideally detached or semi detached with good sized garden
• close to good state schools and/or independents for girls
• fast commute to Waterloo (eg under 30 minutes train ride If possible)
• good suburban feel - parks, cafes, mum groups for second pregnancy

Does this place exist?

Teddington or Kingston are worth considering - great schools. SWR which isn’t great but unavoidable in SW London.

Around New Malden you’d get more for your money. Excellent schools. The high street is less fancy than Teddington, though.

You could also try Ewell or Stonleigh. They’re technically in Surrey but zone 5-6 on the Waterloo line. Ewell has a pretty, historic village centre but otherwise the two locations are quintessential burbs.

Or going slightly further east, there’s Cheam Village, South Sutton or Carshalton Beeches. The trains are to LB and Victoria (plus city Thameslink from Sutton). It’s very leafy, plenty of detached houses, great schools, amenities and the coutryside on the doorstep despite being in zone 5.

Where in SW is your family? If you want to be at waterloo within 30 minutes, you may actually want to look a bit further out. Areas in zone 4-5 tend to be on stopping train services so can take 30-45 minutes, while areas further out (Woking, for example) only take 25 minutes.

I'd look at Surbiton. It's very close to Kingston which has lots of shopping and restaurants, but you'll get more for your money. And it's on a quick train line, so only 16 minutes to Waterloo.

Norbiton is also a good option, or Hampton. Teddington is lovely but quite pricey.

I recently moved from SW London so feel free to PM me with questions.

Thanks everyone - so helpful! My parents actually live nearer Richmond - so more west rather than south west but we can’t afford around there (or it’s neighbouring areas) and I know the schools around Kingston etc are good and it’s only a fairly short drive away from them.

With surbiton, new Malden and Kingston - are the trains jam packed when you get on in the morning?

I’ve never considered Ewell, Cheam or Woking - they seem very far out but I’ll look into these options.

Are there any no go areas - eg I’ve heard Tolworth isn’t that great? And do you know about Mitchum, epsom and Morden?

Thanks so much

At Kingston, Norbiton you’ll get a seat about 60% of the time in proper rush hour.

I don’t know about surbiton, sorry.

The trains only get jam packed at Clapham really.

Earlsfield, between earlsfield and wandsworth common. close to station, 3 stops to waterloo

I used to live near Clapham Junction and usually couldn’t even get on the first train. Friends in Earlsfield found it just as rammed.

OP, if you’re more into the Victorian inner suburbs, then Raynes Park on SWT or South Wimbledon or maybe Tooting Bec on the Northern line might suit. They’re pricey but not as extortionate as some other areas.
Merton Park has a lovely, leafy conservation area but it isn’t the best for public transport.

Morden has some ok roads north of the station, the south side is (often ex) social housing and generally not an aspirational area. Mitcham is on the somewhat deprived and dodgy side of things.

Actually, you could try Worcester Park too - I didn’t mention it originally as there aren’t that many detached properties but it’s zone 4. If you bought on the borough of Sutton side, you’d be in the catchment for the Sutton grammar schools.

Cheam would be further from your parents but it’s zone 5 and only 10-15min by car/bus from the tube so it’s easy to get in and out of London 24/7). It’d be great for a detached house and has fab amenities within walking distance (a David Lloyd, Nuffield Health, tennis, rugby, cricket, fab park and playground etc).

Working is outside the M25, way out in Surrey but has quick trains. Epsom is another commuter town but the trains take longer. Neither is better value for money than the outer suburbs and season tickets are a lot more costly,

the train from earlsfield is fine 99% of the time, but does get rammed at clapham junction.

I’ve just been browsing Rightmove and found a couple of houses that are detached with large gardens and excellent catchments in zone 4:

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-67180302.html

This one is between Norbiton and New Malden stations. It’s in the catchment for Coombe Hill followed by Coombe Girls and Boys, you could try for the Tiffin grammars.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-75517273.html

This one is in Worcester Park. Catchment for Cheam Common, followed by Cheam High and you could apply for the Sutton grammars. It’s also close to shops, cafes, Waitrose, lovely park, leisure centre and library.

The first house in the link above would be ok - Coomb Hill is a good Primary and Coomb girls consider good too. The Dicky Birds Nursery is close by too. The Beverly Park area of New Malden (Burlington Catchment) would be my choice though as it feels a bit more LONDON and a bit less suburban.

If you wanted to be a bit more west London, and still handy for Richmond, you could have a look at West Ealing or Hanwell - both on Crossrail (whenever it actually starts) and on the tube etc. Lots of Victorian-Edwardian terraced houses, a bit bigger in West Ealing / Northfields, a tad cheaper in Hanwell.

Epsom has the advantage of three train lines Waterloo, Victoria and London Bridge ( rush hour only) which is useful during the inevitable train disruptions but the the journey is about 40 mins for all of them. I get a seat about 90% of the time. For Waterloo there are about 4 an hour. It’s very safe and has very good schools but is not very exciting. Housing stock is Victorian in and around the college area ( near public school Epsom College) and then a lot of 30’s houses which would be in budget. Surbiton is obviously more urban and has that faster train service. Wimbledon / Raynes Park/ Putney/ are great but maybe out of your price range. I’d definitely look at Ewell but I’m not very familiar with places like Worcester park ( which seem to have lots of flats). I’m not very keen on Morden or Woking but that’s personal preference.

Worcester Park has flats (just like other places), a little bit of period housing and the Hamptons (quite a unique development). However, the character of the area is interwar single family houses with professional families.

As someone mentioned above, the Beverly Park area of New Malden is lovely. Close to the station, high street and park. It’s just over 20 mins to Waterloo and there’s also a direct train to Richmond. There are loads of young families so lots of potential Mum friends. It’s just a short drive to Wimbledon or Kingston, both have great shopping, bars and cinemas.

Also direct trains from New Malden to Richmond, and a quick drive to Richmond park. Raynes Park also worth considering though a little less house for the money.

Down side of New Malden is that if the trains are down, it’s a ten min walk (along with everyone else on the platform!) to catch a bus on Burlington road to get into Wimbledon- but then you have other Trainlines and the tube - or bus to Morden and the Northern line

You might find tools like SearchSmartly helpful! I've dropped in your budget, waterloo commute, and access to schools and a busy high street into the search and these are the results it came up with.

www.searchsmartly.co/properties/5936203
www.searchsmartly.co/properties/5942200
www.searchsmartly.co/properties/5777118

@househunter19 wow thank you, thank you! You might have just found the one! I hadn’t heard of that site before

Good luck with your house hunting too!

Lol Mid-terraced houses with small gardens and a maisonette. Sounds like the brief has evolved. Have you decided on Tooting, OP?

@JoJoSM2 hi yes I spoke too soon I think as I only realised later one was a maisonette.

No I’d still like a semi at least so it’s still at the research stage.

Never considered Tooting - I know Tooting Bec is up and coming but maybe too far from my family

If you ok with that sort of house and garden size, isn’t there anything near Richmond? Or maybe a 3-bed end of terrace fixer upper for less where you could add a bedroom in the loft?

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-72860683.html

That’s 4 bed already and close to Richmond. Very nice area.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-86318060.html

Or sth similar to this as it’s under offer.

Here's a couple in Surbiton. As pp have stated, fast trains to Waterloo, close to the river, plenty of good schools, close to the amenities of Kingston without being as grotty.

4 Bed Semi

4 bed end of terrace