Where to live near and around london?

[BacktoUK21]

Hello all, me and my family plan to return to the UK after living in Asia for the last five years, I am originally from London and I am trying to figure out where to live that is affordable, with good state primaries. We will return to the UK in June, so very late for primary applications, so I accept that we may not get our preferred choice for primary and will have to go with what is availiable. I am teacher, who works mostly online, so I am pretty flexible in terms of location, most of my family are around south and east london. Areas I have considered are Grays, Colchester, or parts of kent. My budget for rent is 1400, which I know is nothing for renting in the UK, we need two rooms. Thank you in advance.

Grays isn't so nice - I live in Romford and wouldn't personally consider Grays.
Colchester has good bits and not so good bits - there is a university and army barracks so the town centre can get a bit rowdy in the evening. The residential areas away from the centre can be very nice. The train to London is a bit expensive on that line, but ok if you aren't commuting daily.
Leigh on Sea is lovely, if you like Essex and want a direct train into London that would be my first choice.

How about SE London like Bromley or Bexley

Is the £1400 pcm just for rent or do you need it to cover council tax too? (Depends on area but we pay £160pcm CT for a small house).

@AwkwardPaws27

Is the £1400 pcm just for rent or do you need it to cover council tax too? (Depends on area but we pay £160pcm CT for a small house).

1400 is just for rent, and then I can afford an extra 200 for council tax. I wont be commuting daily, I work online, so just looking for an area which has some greenery, and good primaries. I havent heard of leigh on sea, I will have a look at it. Thank you.

@pinkprosseco

How about SE London like Bromley or Bexley

Can I get a decent place in those areas, I assumed because its london its more expensive/

Try searching on Rightmove (most UK agents list on that site, and you can filter by number of bedrooms etc) to see what your money gets you in each area.

You can get 3 bedroom house in Welling, Bexleyheath SE London/Kent for £1,200. That's zone 4 & 5

Tonbridge? It has a castle!
www.rightmove.co.uk/property/87864214

@chukwe

You can get 3 bedroom house in Welling, Bexleyheath SE London/Kent for £1,200. That's zone 4 & 5

I will do have not considered those areas before

[quote StillGoingToWork]Tonbridge? It has a castle!
www.rightmove.co.uk/property/87864214[/quote]
Place looks really decent, I need to do research about tonbridge

Can I get a decent place in those areas, I assumed because its london its more expensive/

If you go to the outskirts like Orpington : about 20 minutes to London Bridge but housing cheaper. You can rent a three bed terrace for about £1400 or less

Tonbridge is also a good suggestion from PP and has good rail links. As does Rochester

West Malling is nice

Bishop's Stortford. Good rail links and I've heard really good schools.

Rochester, Kent. Trains to Victoria, Kings Cross, London Bridge and Cannon Street. Its the best connected train station outside of London.

Cathedral, Castle, cobbled streets, great schools and grammar schools. You could probably halve your budget and get a 2 bed flat or live close to the Castle for a £1000 a month in a 2 bed.

Thank you, I will look into these, how can I find out how much the council tax will cost ? Does it differ for different councils

You will have a big problem getting into a decent school I’m afraid. You will have to accept what school has places.

Some of the areas mentioned are a bit average. You could look in mid Bucks where your money would find something and you would have access to the Chilterns and the Chiltern Line trains for London. Also consider Tring, Thame, High Wycombe (outskirts) and Wendover. Aylesbury is cheaper but not in the Chilterns. South Bucks, such as Gerrards Cross and Beaconsfield are expensive but have quick rail links to London.

I’m not sure of prices around Maidenhead but that will have very quick rail services when the Elizabeth Line is complete.

House listings should give council tax band. Then look up which Council and find the annual charges. £200 a month is adequate in most places I would think.

Yes. Council tax charged varies but is levied on the band given to each house so large detached pay more than 2 bed terrace. Some councils do charge more than others.

Thank you, I am aware I will have difficulty getting my child into s good school, but it just something I'm going to have to deal with unfortunately. Thank you

I think with one child you will find it a bit easier. Families can have children split between schools. Decent schools do have the odd spaces where I live but you have to be lucky that the space is in the year group you need. Good luck with your search.