Nice areas on the outskirts of London?

[FrogFly]

We moved from London (Camden) to the Midlands a few years ago to be close to my husband’s work. It was quite the change of pace and we really missed our London life (friends, restaurants, theatre, bustle). Fast forward to 2020 and our circumstances have changed in that we can work from home and aren’t tied to our current city anymore. So we want to move back!

We have a 5yo son so we don’t want to move right into the city (plus we’d only be able to afford a shoebox in zones 1-3) but are looking for something on the outskirts of London but with good transport links into London. We’re on the hunt for a house with a garden and off-street parking, with proximity to good schools. I’m not fussed about ‘Outstanding’ rated schools, but more keen on schools with a focus on inclusiveness and pastoral care. Our budget is approx £750K. Is my wish list reasonable, or am I asking for the moon on a stick? I'd be grateful for your suggestions. A friend suggested Ruislip, what’s it like?

£750k would still get you a 3 bed townhouse with a garden in parts of zone 2 east London

Also Ruislip lido is about the most unpleasant place I have ever had the misfortune to be. It’s pretty well closed up now because people crowded onto the beach in the summer despite covid. But it’s pretty rank actually. It’s okay for a winter walk and if you have young kids they’ll like the train. Avoid avoid avoid in the summer. And don’t live near it, or you’ll never be able to park or get near your house between May - September!

If you’re looking in Eastcote, look at the HA5 postcodes only. HA4 is the wrong side of the tracks (literally, the met line).

Right, I’ll shut up now.

Thank you all for your suggestions, I really appreciate it. I shared them with my husband and he thinks we should focus on NW, West, and SW (should he need to work in the Midlands in the future).

I’ve been reading other threads and saw Furzedown mentioned. I haven’t heard of it before, what is it like?

@recreationalcalpol, that is extremely useful info, thank you!

Welling/ Bexley area is nice. Affordable, easy to commute and good social/ council care services. Easy to commute to London (10-15 mins train)

Warlingham/ Woldingham/ Sanderstead is lovely but falls under Croydon council which have just announced they are bankrupt. Also not the best social / council services. Easy to commute to Central London (15-20 min journey in train). Lots of green space however a lot of the green belt spaces are being built on to make flats and new build properties.

East Mosley/ Richmond/ Kew is again lovely. Fantastic social and council services. Nice community and perfect for young/ growing families. Easy commute to London (10-15 mins)

St Albans/ Borehamwood/ Potters Bar - lovely area. Great social and council services. Easy commuting into London with a lot more public transport options to get into zones 1-3. Nice area for families as lots of green space.

Good luck

@FrogFly

Furzedown is ok but I don’t really thing there’s much to it.

I’m giving my personal opinion though as I grew up not far from there.

Beckenham is nice!

Beckenham and Bromley is nice. Keston too if you like Kent area

OP, Isleworth is lovely, has direct trains to Waterloo and is close to the M4 for access out of town. Good schools and very leafy.

£750k would get you 3/4 beds, plus parking and garden. Some examples:
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/86802325#/
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/86851543#/
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/74635578#/

@CtrlU, thank you for such a detailed response esp the information about council services. SE won’t suit us as we’d need access to the West. I’ll do some googling re East Mosely. St Albans is too expensive unless you’re a fair distance from the station, it is a lovely town though. I’ll add Potters Bar and Borehamwood to the list.

@QuantumWeatherButterfly thanks! Do you know if the secondary schools are any good? I find that primary schools are quite good in the main but there’s more difference when it gets to secondary.

I don't want to be rude if anyone lives there but I really don't think Borehamwood is what you're looking for, it's not somewhere I'd particularly want to live to be honest.
Potters Bar has nice parts but the schooling situation isn't ideal, it's got one good school (Dame Alice Owens) that's extremely difficult to get into, you need to practically live on the same road, and the other school isn't anywhere near as good.
If you're open to Hertfordshire then try Hertford or Ware, they aren't particularly fancy towns but they have independent shops and cafes and generally good schools with good train links into London.
In North London I'd agree Winchmore Hill is lovely, you might struggle for £750k but if you go more towards Palmers Green you should be ok.

Hi, OP - yes, they’re decent. Faith schools and single sex dominate, but there are mixed and non-denominational options too and all the secondary schools close to Isleworth are either good or outstanding. That isn’t the case everywhere in Hounslow as a borough, but we’re weirdly well located for secondaries! There are 5 within a very walking distance or easy public transport journey that I’d be happy for my child to attend.

@CtrlU

Welling/ Bexley area is nice. Affordable, easy to commute and good social/ council care services. Easy to commute to London (10-15 mins train)

Warlingham/ Woldingham/ Sanderstead is lovely but falls under Croydon council which have just announced they are bankrupt. Also not the best social / council services. Easy to commute to Central London (15-20 min journey in train). Lots of green space however a lot of the green belt spaces are being built on to make flats and new build properties.

East Mosley/ Richmond/ Kew is again lovely. Fantastic social and council services. Nice community and perfect for young/ growing families. Easy commute to London (10-15 mins)

St Albans/ Borehamwood/ Potters Bar - lovely area. Great social and council services. Easy commuting into London with a lot more public transport options to get into zones 1-3. Nice area for families as lots of green space.

Good luck

Sanderstead is Croydon but Warlingham and Woldingham are Tandridge, Surrey (despite the CR postcodes). Although, lovely as they are, they are probably a bit villagey and lacking in buzz for the OP.

@CtrlU

Welling/ Bexley area is nice. Affordable, easy to commute and good social/ council care services. Easy to commute to London (10-15 mins train)

Warlingham/ Woldingham/ Sanderstead is lovely but falls under Croydon council which have just announced they are bankrupt. Also not the best social / council services. Easy to commute to Central London (15-20 min journey in train). Lots of green space however a lot of the green belt spaces are being built on to make flats and new build properties.

East Mosley/ Richmond/ Kew is again lovely. Fantastic social and council services. Nice community and perfect for young/ growing families. Easy commute to London (10-15 mins)

St Albans/ Borehamwood/ Potters Bar - lovely area. Great social and council services. Easy commuting into London with a lot more public transport options to get into zones 1-3. Nice area for families as lots of green space.

Good luck

Those commuting time look very optimistic - the train journeys themselves are generally about twice what you've suggested!

Yes, I’m proper LOLing at the idea you can get into central London from East Moseley in 10-15 mins. You probably couldn’t even get into Kingston in that time, other than by car late at night!

If you want to be more on the west side of London, we looked at Leighton Buzzard, trains into Euston, Bedfordshire so not sure about schools and CSA (I believe some parts of Beds have a middle school system) but seemed like a nice town and would be easy access to the Midlands.

Why do people feel the need to jump on posts to not reply to the original OP - but to contradict others replies like this is a debate

I’m giving MY opinion as asked. And being born and bred in London and having lived or worked in these areas - I’m giving MY opinion and the travelling times are travelling times that are average or according to MY average variable travelling times to & from from those areas.

High Wycombe, Maidenhead, Windsor all nice areas with brilliant schools and 30 mins into central London on the train.

Enfield council is pretty favourable on csa and parts of it are lovely with some great transport links into London. Close to m25 for quick escapes to the midlands.

[quote FrogFly]@CtrlU, thank you for such a detailed response esp the information about council services. SE won’t suit us as we’d need access to the West. I’ll do some googling re East Mosely. St Albans is too expensive unless you’re a fair distance from the station, it is a lovely town though. I’ll add Potters Bar and Borehamwood to the list.[/quote]
You'll need to google East Molesey ( or West Molesey) The natives get very upset about that sort of thing
But it has its charms, is close to a lovely stretch of the Thames, Hampton Court and Kingston all very close and some great coffee shops.

Welwyn Garden City isn't far from St Albans but less pricey, good links into London and also to the A1. Another poster mentioned Ware and Hertford which are good options as is Broxbourne with easy road and rail links.

@CtrlU

Why do people feel the need to jump on posts to not reply to the original OP - but to contradict others replies like this is a debate

I’m giving MY opinion as asked. And being born and bred in London and having lived or worked in these areas - I’m giving MY opinion and the travelling times are travelling times that are average or according to MY average variable travelling times to & from from those areas.

I don't know if you were referring to me but what you stated wasn't an opinion but factually incorrect and as you were stating being under Croydon Coundip as a negative I felt it relevant to point out that two of those locations weren't in fact under Croydon Council. But I'll butt out of people don't want hear the actual facts.

Apologies OP.

Sorry, I feeling snarky, think I'm in a bad mood. Apologies to all, including @CtrlU I'll avoid posting until I'm in better spirits.