Leaving London. Looking for liberal cosmopolitan areas close to London

[Reearry]

Hi ...we are thinking of moving out of London as we are planning to start a family and need a place with a bit of a garden. Our budget is about £1-1.2 million for 3/4 bed with a small garden.

1. Cosmopolitan population - we enjoy living in London because of the diverse population. We are South Asians and do not want to stick out so places which are liberal with diverse population from different countries

(something I love about London) would be ideal

1. Vibrant community - Definitely want a place with a young population (young families or students) and vibrant high Street with plenty of options to eat, shop, cultural activities etc

1. Good schools - state preferably

1. Sense of community - places with a lot of community involvement, public libraries, cultural options, book clubs, hobby clubs, meetups etc

1. Good transport access - Will need good connections to London Canary wharf

1. Picturesque if possible

We have moved across 3 countries in the past 5 years for work and will probably move after a few years ( Love UK, so planning to buy a house here to come back and settle down eventually for good) . Looking for communities which have professional mobile population. Also, I have always lived in dense cosmopolitan cities so will not be comfortable in too rural or small communities. Was thinking of perhaps Wimbledon or Surrey? But not sure if our budget will get us what we are looking for...

5 bedrooms in central Wimbledon

4 bedrooms in Wimbledon village

@Letsgethisshowontheroad I found this

[[https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-86569475.html ]] with gorgeous views and am drooling

Weybridge, quick train into Waterloo is nice.

@Reearry ❤️❤️ well in catchment for possibly the best primary around and walking distance to the delightful little Sandgate high street (quite reminiscent of my days in East Dulwich and Crouch End in the cafe culture and hostelries around there). I run along that stretch of seafront almost daily. It’s totally glorious - seals swimming and windsurfers and rowers to take your mind off the mileage 😁 . Also little yoga class runs on the beach there - have never tried it but looks lovely. Honestly, Folkestone was a huge gamble for us but has turned out to be the best move ever...

Definitely Brighton. Have a visit if you haven’t before. I don’t live there but I know it well and it’s hugely liberal and multi cultural, it has Sussex uni and Brighton uni as well as many art colleges etc. Train to London Bridge, which isn’t bad. Look near the seven dials For the best schools , quick walk to train station and loads of cafes

Wimbledon Village is lovely but boho? I think not? It's very City monied which to my mind doesn't make for a bohemian vibe. But there again I would have thought anywhere on a direct/convenient route to Canary Wharf would be the same, including Woodford and Wanstead?

I think SE London is possibly the most 'boho' part of London nowadays really but no idea if the state schools pass muster?

Is Chislehurst Boho? must have changed a bit since my Dad lived there and I went to school there, I couldn't wait to escape the place! Equally, Brockley, I wouldn't describe it as Boho!

Actually I wouldn't recommend Wimbledon village - not because it's not 'boho' - whatever that means - but because it's a pig to get to public transport from there. Whereas central Wimbledon or South Wimbledon is much better. From the latter you can get the Northern Line which would make Canary Wharf readily accessible.

What do you mean by an independent house?
For your budget you'll get somewhere decent in SE London-Blackheath/Hither Green/Lee Green would fit tick your boxes
Beckenham is nice, bit further out though
Also worth looking at Honor Oak, and Sydenham into Crystal Palace

I don't think any SW postcodes are boho - they're all just 'monied' (which is not the same thing).

inglory haha I'm not hte usual Sutton poster, I know who you mean.
OP didn't mention 'boho' - if she didn I wouldn't recemmend Sutton, but someone ssaying it's not cosmopolitan surprises me a lot - I ve been many times in HIgh St (don't live htere) and it's very diverse. Big share of Asian / Indian residents.
Folkestone of course is heck of a lot more picturesque (love that link), again I didn't think OP wanted seaside!

"Big share of Asian / Indian residents" - it's certainly more diverse than it used to be (I suspect that's because of its five super-selective grammars) but it's still mainly a white borough. In SW London/Surrey borders, if you're looking for 'diverse' head to Tooting or some parts of Merton.

You don’t need to leave London. You could easily get what you want in London for that budget

@Reearry

Hi ...we are thinking of moving out of London as we are planning to start a family and need a place with a bit of a garden. Our budget is about £1-1.2 million for 3/4 bed with a small garden.

1. Cosmopolitan population - we enjoy living in London because of the diverse population. We are South Asians and do not want to stick out so places which are liberal with diverse population from different countries

(something I love about London) would be ideal

1. Vibrant community - Definitely want a place with a young population (young families or students) and vibrant high Street with plenty of options to eat, shop, cultural activities etc

1. Good schools - state preferably

1. Sense of community - places with a lot of community involvement, public libraries, cultural options, book clubs, hobby clubs, meetups etc

1. Good transport access - Will need good connections to London Canary wharf

1. Picturesque if possible

We have moved across 3 countries in the past 5 years for work and will probably move after a few years ( Love UK, so planning to buy a house here to come back and settle down eventually for good) . Looking for communities which have professional mobile population. Also, I have always lived in dense cosmopolitan cities so will not be comfortable in too rural or small communities. Was thinking of perhaps Wimbledon or Surrey? But not sure if our budget will get us what we are looking for...

Stoneygate, Knighton or Oadby in Leicestershire. Within 5 mins to Leicester Railway Station where it’s an hour to Kings Cross. Within 30mins of the Golden Mile and some of the best South Asian restaurants and groceries and communities.

Looking for detached homes ( We call em independent in my home country 😁) Didn't think we would be able to afford detached home within 10 min walk of train station with good schools, shops etc within London so was considering moving further out. But it looks like there are options ... Will definitely prefer to stay within London if we are able to find the right property

Also not looking for boho place... Not sure what that means tbh

The place you're looking for is called... London! I agree with PP, you can have what you want within London and if you're tied to the Wharf I would look at some of the SE areas previously mentioned. We have a 5bed with garden in Z4 West London and it's worth just over a mill probably.

Agree, with your budget and wish list, would stay in London!

@Reearry

Looking for detached homes ( We call em independent in my home country 😁) Didn't think we would be able to afford detached home within 10 min walk of train station with good schools, shops etc within London so was considering moving further out. But it looks like there are options ... Will definitely prefer to stay within London if we are able to find the right property

Oh I thought you were looking to leave London. In that case I would probably pick of the large houses near Stanmore station.

Makes me laugh when people suggest Brockley. It was one of the places I looked at before settling on Forest Hill. Aside from the fact that it's in zone 2, I couldn't fin any redeeming features - there's just nothing there! Honor Oak (the other area I looked at) appeared to have a bit more life, but was still on the 'boring' side if you ask me.

I have a friend whose partner bought in Brockley, and she says the best thing about it is that you can get to East Dulwich quite easily, and that's where they head to socialise. She's not a massive fan of Brockley itself.

Brighton! Ticks all your boxes - it's pretty white but diverse in most ways and I think you'd find it very welcoming. Detached houses aplenty close to London/Preston Roads (close to Preston Park) and Hove. Loads going on.

Don't look at Sutton, it's horrible! Guildford is lovely and ticks many of your boxes.

@Letsgethisshowontheroad I found this
[[www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-86569475.html ]] with gorgeous views and am drooling

That is a lot of bang for your buck. Much bigger than anything you'll find in London, and that view is just stunning.