With this budget and these requirements, would you stay in London or find somewhere else?

[Londonorout]

Currently live in Hackney and love it for its amazing community, lots of parks, diversity, liberal-minded people, and buzz.

But our budget is £850k. For that (which we can’t have in Hackney), we want 3/4 bedrooms with a big(ish) garden (big enough for pets / a trampoline / growing veg). Don’t care if it’s a flat or house. Next to great schools and in the heart of a great community.

We’re wondering if we should leave london because we can’t afford what we want in the area we’re currently in - or stay and find a new neighbourhood in the city that works.

Friends have moved to Leyton / Walthamstow, but I’m not in love with those areas. Am I missing something?

Where else?

Or, like I said, maybe we should go and find somewhere else we’d like to live. We both have jobs that don’t tie us to the city.

What would you do?

Have you looked in Wanstead? There are 4 beds with gardens available and it’s a lot nicer than Leyton. It’s also leafier than Walthamstow and has better schools. Was in the top 10 places to live in the UK a few years ago:

www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/10312001.wanstead-one-of-best-places-to-live/

Like others, I think that moving at this point you need to think about secondary schools. There are lots of nice areas of London which I am sure you would love, but you need to be realistic about where you want your kids to go to school and whether you’ll be happy with them spending their teenagehood in London. We weren’t, for a number of reasons but particularly schooling. In our areas there were very good primary schools and a secondary school which wasn’t dreadful but still the vast majority of middle class parents went private or got their kids into out of area schools, either through exams or faith etc. There are a few good secondaries in most areas but you need to move carefully to make sure you are in catchment etc. Where we live now (bucks/ Oxfordshire borders) we have a good choice of different schools and the whole thing is just more normal (no year long waits for swimming lessons/ brownies etc) and I love the peace and lack of traffic (as well as a good sized house and big garden). Plus we’re less than an hour from central London. Your comment about busy roads and gardening etc also Make me think that perhaps over time being outside London might start to be appealing and in that case it might be better to move sooner rather than later (once your kids get older it may be more difficult to move them).

West Norwood / Crystal Palace / Streatham

I think you should stay in London, either in Hackney and compromise on your list or move to some areas mentioned.

I went through the same thought process as you and did move out of London but ended up moving back a few years later (regretted it pretty much straight away tbh). If you love London life and have friends here, no where else will match up to it. I did make lots of really good friends in my new city, but just missed London (and in fact I was commuting which wasn't at all pleasant).

my experience is that secondary schools in London are really good. My dcs have had a really good state school experience and love being teenagers in London.

Just my experience - but for me the big house in another city didn't make up for leaving London.

tavannach both of those streets are really busy / choked with traffic and the latter is crap for schools. I think bits of Brockley/NX might work for the OP but I live in the area and wouldn’t go near either of those for the money.

Forest Gate, Wanstead, Leytonstone, Highams Park or South Woodford.

Penge/Sydenham/Crystal Palace, although they're definitely getting more expensive - but you can still find some gems!

Hackney has some excellent secondary schools. Four are Ofsted outstanding and many others are rated good.

Don't assume schools will be better outside London. London actually gets very good education results overall when progress scores etc are taken into context.

How big does the garden need to be? Your budget would get you a nice 3 bed flat with a garden in Clapton - is the issue that the gardens there are not big enough?

Bath is pretty, full of tourists (the centre is absolutely jam packed in the summer) but this plus the university also supports a bigger restaurant industry and theatre/cultural activities than it would without them so punches about its weight there.

I find it a bit twee. And it's not cheap - you'd need to be on the outskirts to get a big garden as in the centre, houses have quite small outside spaces as it's just the way the Georgians built. Traffic is awful at rush hour. Really bad.

I love visiting my friend there and being a tourist. She's switched to an ebike for her commute to work now to try and cut down time spent in traffic jams

@EssentialHummus

tavannach both of those streets are really busy / choked with traffic and the latter is crap for schools. I think bits of Brockley/NX might work for the OP but I live in the area and wouldn’t go near either of those for the money.

Me too. I'd personally go for the southern part of Brockley/Honor Oak/Crofton Park. It's quieter, safer and more for your money than up towards New Cross. Also got Gordonbrock, Beecroft and Stillness for primaries

How about this
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/81585605#/

This is very reasonably priced and has a huge garden: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E85428&minBedrooms=3&maxPrice=900000&sortType=1&propertyTypes=&mustHave=garden&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=

@EssentialHummus@Onedaysomedaynowadays SE London might be great but secondaries are not so good. Honor Oak, Brockley are all lovely but will you have to move again for secondaries? Where do people go for secondaries around there? Same with Penge/Sydenham?

SE London might be great but secondaries are not so good. Honor Oak, Brockley are all lovely but will you have to move again for secondaries?

Brockley has Prendergast Hilly Fields (girls) and Prendergast Something Something (co-ed), New X has Haberdashers’ Askes. All good / well regarded locally as well as at least Ofsted Good. There’s also Kingsdale (lottery), Deptford Green (I don’t rate it but there’s a bit of a thing lately with families nearer Haberdashers choosing it), Addey & Stanhope (pretty deprived intake but a great school imo) and occasionally kids from here go to the Bromley/Bexley grammars (can’t quite remember whether they have no catchment or just a very wide one). And more down towards FH, I just don’t know them.

Agreed if you have girls so it's not too bad, we have two DS and having moved to Forest Hill, we are moving for secondaries. You wont get into Haberdashers’ Askes from most of Brockley and I am not sure where you'd want your sons to go to around Honor Oak. Even in Forest Hill - you have Forest boys but that has really bad results etc. Unless things change, there really arent decent secondary provisions for boys in the area. East Dulwich might be an option with the Charters - you could still get a small house for 850K but the garden will be tiny

@UpTheJunktion

West Norwood / Crystal Palace / Streatham

YES

@EssentialHummus

SE London might be great but secondaries are not so good. Honor Oak, Brockley are all lovely but will you have to move again for secondaries?

Brockley has Prendergast Hilly Fields (girls) and Prendergast Something Something (co-ed), New X has Haberdashers’ Askes. All good / well regarded locally as well as at least Ofsted Good. There’s also Kingsdale (lottery), Deptford Green (I don’t rate it but there’s a bit of a thing lately with families nearer Haberdashers choosing it), Addey & Stanhope (pretty deprived intake but a great school imo) and occasionally kids from here go to the Bromley/Bexley grammars (can’t quite remember whether they have no catchment or just a very wide one). And more down towards FH, I just don’t know them.

Basically this. Around by us people go to prendergast Ladywell (co-ed), Prendergast Hilly Fields (girls) or go a bit further afield to a couple of others in the Sydenham/Dulwich area. Secondaries across the board have improved a lot so I don't plan to move Some go private at St Dunstans in Forest Hill (quite a lot) or go to the Dulwich schools (less so)

I was going to suggest Clapton too.

For that budget I would stay in London. SE London in particular. A few people above have mentioned Crystal Palace/Sydenham/Penge all good family areas but still have some buzz. I would also consider Beckenham more suburban than the others though.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/90935413#/
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/89004850#/
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/101635274#/
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/91113679#/
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/106035353#/
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/105655277#/

You would easily get into the East Dulwich Charter secondary from this property (it’s a flat but has garden access at the back and a smallish park out the front):

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/77470224#/

You’d need to check the last distance admitted stats but this one might be ok for the North Dulwich Charter: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/77051340#/

@34975jfk

Agreed if you have girls so it's not too bad, we have two DS and having moved to Forest Hill, we are moving for secondaries. You wont get into Haberdashers’ Askes from most of Brockley and I am not sure where you'd want your sons to go to around Honor Oak. Even in Forest Hill - you have Forest boys but that has really bad results etc. Unless things change, there really arent decent secondary provisions for boys in the area. East Dulwich might be an option with the Charters - you could still get a small house for 850K but the garden will be tiny

Worth remembering that the outstanding and very highly regarded Prendergast Hilly Fields is co-ed in the sixth form, and students from the other Prendergast schools get priority entry. So most boys in the area will attend really great primary schools, go to a good high school for 11-16, and then have excellent sixth form provision. Not a bad overall picture really.

You could well get into Dunraven from here, and also The Norwood School www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/54464289/?search_identifier=2b75fcad7624226bed8da4d02c394589. And Elmgreen.

Surrounded by great primaries.

West Norwood is excellent - a Picturehouse cinema, the Feast every month (bands, famers market, retro market, crafts, food stalls), library, great cafes. Easy walk to Streatham Common.

This would be good for Dunraven, good primaries, Streatham Odeon, The new Streatham Theatre, high st (improving)
www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/57523577/?search_identifier=40f2469c5c134bc9c9058b702542dabf

Ditto www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/57789006/?search_identifier=40f2469c5c134bc9c9058b702542dabf

Another vote for West Norwood..great schools both primary and secondary and a real sense of community.

Some really beautiful period housing stock too.

Thanks everyone! Looks like I better check out south east london! I don’t know it at all. I have been to Greenwich Park, Blackheath and Dulwich Picture Gallery before, but that’s about it!

Need to see if I like it as much as Hackney. Although I know it’s kind of ridiculous to say, but I don’t want to be anywhere in london that I don’t really love - in that case I figure we’d rather leave London and find a new place to be. It’s a very expensive city to be in, after all! For me, I’ve got to love my neighbourhood, otherwise what’s the point in spending so much to stay.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/105147317#/

Kenilworth is a walkable town with train line to coventry - one hour 20 to London or train to leamington and train will be hour hour 30 to London

excellent schools, good road network, nearby city

great community, clubs, swimming, walks a castle and 5 minutes your in the countryside and thats walking

Seaside living? We moved from South London to Folkestone and love it even more than we imagined we would. Tonnes of ex Hackney/Dulwich/Greenwich/Hither Green people here. You could tick all of your boxes for your budget with something like this and still pop back to central London in less than hour whenever you fancy (which for us is rarely now as there is so much going on down here) www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/78646476#/