Please help: First house in Finchley Central or Kingston?

[newbie111]

Hello all,

Although I've recently signed up to post this thread, my DH and I tend to do a quick mumsnet search when we have any questions regarding house hunting :)

We are first time home buyers with a budget of £850k and are struggling to decide between Kingston and Finchley Church End/West Finchley. We work in Central London (near Bank tube station and Canary Wharf) and feel like Finchley offers the best commute times but Kingston seems like a much nicer area.

We currently live in a rented flat in Camden and aren't really familiar with either Kingston or Finchley areas except for a day or so spent walking about their high streets and extensive Zoopla and Locrating searches!

I'm hoping forum members who live in these areas could share their insights on what it's like to live there (safety, schools, shopping, entertainment etc.). We have a 2 year old son and have a daughter on the way so we'd ideally require a 3 bed house.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

I can't speak for Kingston as not familiar with that area, but know Finchley reasonably well. It is very very suburban and not particularly fancy or 'naice' in MN parlance, possibly would be categorised as quite dull but a perfectly nice safe family area. Your budget should certainly get you a reasonable if not particularly spectacular 3 bed terrace house and garden (ridiculously!) - you might make some savings or get something a big bigger if you extend the search area to include North Finchley/the area around Woodside Park tube which is only 5 mins/2 stops further on from F.Central tube - this is certainly the scruffier end of Finchley but really not much different to Finchley Central, both have good amenities, plenty of supermarkets, pubs, restaurants etc. There is the finchley lido leisure complex for entertainment and the Arts Depot in North Finchley is a good local theatre/arts complex.

However I would not recommend going out to Mill Hill East unless you can find a real bargain, as this is on a spur of the northern line meaning less frequent trains and whilst there are some very nice new developments a lot of them are quite a long walk from the tube...

Schools wise, Barnet is known for excellent secondary schools, Henrietta Barnett, QE, St Michaels, woodside college etc., although of course you have the competitive/oversubscribed thing and I think some of the comps then suffer a bit from the 'cream' being filtered off to the selectives... primary schools are a bit more variable and like most of London you do need to live very close to get into the best ones which adds £££ to house prices on those streets, and over subscription is a problem in general (so I hear, not been an issue for me personally for many years ) so I'd look carefully at the exact postcode of any property you go for, historical admissions info and the situation re the local schools as you wouldn't want to be too borderline and end up with a place somewhere at the other end of the borough. But again I think you'll get that anywhere in London so not particularly a Finchley thing!

Happy to answer any questions you or DH have?

Thank you so much for the detailed response maxelly !

Personally I'd go for Kingston simply because it's a much nicer area. Finchley really isn't very nice.

Kingston is lovely - excellent shopping, schools, Richmond Park and the Thames. One hour commute from Kingston to Canary Wharf via mainline (to Waterloo) then Jubilee.
Detached 3 bed here £850K
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-67186011.html
Surbiton is a cheaper area very near Kingston which might b worth you looking at to get more for your money.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-65030895.html

@Rootd, @sunshinesupermum - Thank you!

Do you think the additional 15-20 minutes to the commute from Kingston each way (compared to Finchley) is worth it? There also seem to be more non faith based Outstanding primary schools (Manorside, Brooklands, Martin Primary etc.) in Finchley compared to Kingston (only Fern Hill?). Am I wrong?

Meh. We've had experience of both CofE primaries and non affiliated. All schools in the UK are Christian and teach RE. There really wasn't much difference between the two in our experience and I would discount a CofE school simply for that reason. It's so light touch and it's not absent in other schools. I would go for the longer commute.

I live in Kingston/surbiton and have young children and it's well worth commuting for. Lived here 14 years and it's an amazing place to live with plenty of green spaces and lots to do.

I’d go with Kingston. Much nicer area, I think.

I’d recommend Kingston. Really lovely being close to the river and The palace etc. I’d also recommend it for variety of good school choices, housing types, and for neighbouring areas even lovelier if ever you move etc. It’s also better than Finchley for teenage kids close enough to get into town and plenty going on anyway.
Traffic can get snarled up badly in k so bear that in mind when looking at particular streets /areas.
I think Finchley would be a bigger shock to your system (more suburban and Kingston is anyway) as you’re coming from Camden. Good luck op.

Hi,
I cannot explain how much your post made me smile. My wife and I live in Camden in a 2 bed flat we have a 10 month old and one on the way.

We are debating between Finchley and Kingston so when I read your message it made me smile.

At this moment we are leaning towards Finchley and I will explain why but I am happy have my mind changed.

Commute - 10-15 minutes longer and more expensive to Finchley
Surrounding area - I prefer Hampstead to Richmond and both are within a 10 minute drive of both destinations.
Parks - Dollis hill Valley over Bushey park and Richmond park. (No deer and no cars going through it).
Schools - we want to go private for primary and state for secondary. As was commented on the thread the schools in Barnet cannot be compared to (Tiffin is fantastic but it isn't HB or QE).
London feel - I like that Finchley high street is a bit grubby it gives it a great sense of character and diversity.

Would love to know what criteria are most important to you and which you eventually chose.

Regards,

Wrightla

I think Kingston is more suburban than Finchley, it's more its own separate town. I went to university in Kingston and lived in Finchley for my 20s so I know both reasonably well.

I lived in Kingston for 3 years and would highly recommend it. I'd also say look at surbiton as we preferred the area, you got more for your money and the commute was quicker than from Kingston!

I would go for finchley central. A London home will lower commute times and prices so improve your day to day. Also, buying a house in London will have a bigger pay off in the long term

Definitely Kingston imho!

But then, having lived in South West London most of my life (as well as 2 years in North London for uni) I will always prefer to live South of the river!

Other cheaper alternatives to Kingston (but still part of the RBK) are New Malden, Chessington and Tolworth. Personally, for your budget, I would look at the Coombe/Norbiton area where you would be in catchment for Coobe Hill Infant and Junior Schools.

Although having just written all that out, if you are commuting to Bank everyday, that would be one hell of a journey from Kingston. Living close to a Northern Line tube would be far better in your case. I personally hate taking the tube anywhere though, and thankfully don't have to commute into Central London anymore 😉

I would go for Finchley - very green due to tons of parks, housing is good value for money, great schools, etc.
If you want a slightly nicer area, head to Whetstone or Winchmore Hill. Both are more suburban with more delis, restaurants and cafes.

I lived in Kingston at uni and loved it, defo recommend. I go back often to see uni friends and spend the weekend there.

@newbie111 As someone who lives in East Finchley, I thought east finchley is better school wise. I think in London, its always better to live as close as possible to your favoured primary school. I live 0.4 miles from martin, and 0.2 miles from archer, would probably opt for akiva if we go state though (but that is faith based). My impression of finchley central was that its better for Jews as their schools have a wide catchment. I mean, its true that there is manorside for primary but there is no non faith based secondary in N3, though N3 children are eligible for archer.

I think this is good for a family of 4 children- www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-79591951.html

0.2 miles from archer and martin

*meant to write i live 0.3 miles from archer.

*oh dear the typos! I meant that house is a good fit for a family of 4 with 2 children.

@newbie111 - I would prioritise access to transport links, so it would depend on the property's distance in relation to the nearest station etc. That's for both practical reasons and because properties near public transport hold/increase their value a bit better.

If you don't know either of those areas particularly well, then can I ask what criteria has narrowed it down to Kingston or Finchley Church End/West Finchley?

From your other posts you've suggested you'll be waiting 12 months to buy due to the housing market's prices potentially dropping - this could well mean that your £850k would stretch a bit further and open you up to other areas. Maybe worth keeping your area options a bit more open...

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Good luck!