SW London - where to move?

[MNSavedMyLockdown]

Inspired by another thread on SW London but not wishing to derail that one...

We currently live in East London but we are wanting to move next 2 years or so before baby becomes school aged. Our area isn't very family friendly.

We love Blackheath but are slightly priced out - we would ideally want a 3-bed or scope for 4 bed. Also the secondary schools aren't amazing so I worry if we lived there we would either want to move again or be stuck worrying about DC schooling. I know secondary schools do change but it's a consistent theme people tell me about the area, that all the kids go private or ferry out to grammars further out.

I'm interested in SW London but have only ever lived in North or East so aside from day trips I know nothing much.

We love green space and want to send DC to state school (not Catholic). We also want good transport to the City.

As in the other SW London post, we know we could move further out but feel strongly about London living, diversity, energy etc and want our DC to grow up in London.

So with all that in mind, can anyone recommend areas in London?

I know nothing about Putney vs Wandsworth, vs Twickenham / St Margaret's / Kew / Kingston and so on. I know there are a few v good secondaries in Richmond but fear that might be too pricey for us. Looking for inspiration for any areas in SW.

I know watched that with envy as it's the sort of area we'd have liked to move back to but priced ourselves out! Did look like the couple at The Apostles Raynes Park as affordable but the front rooms (where you can't extend} are tiny, I remember one where the lounge wasn't much bigger than the downstairs toilet. Found one in Guildford for a good price which really suited but vendor wouldn't move till he found and kept missing out (not offering enough?) and buyers snapping at our heels. That house not on the market now so speculative vendor...annoying as in many other threads.
For OP though I'd recommend Guildford or Farnham.

I’d go for Dulwich - good schools, family vibe, good community. Or Wanstead, but don’t know what the secondaries are like.

The thing is guildford isn’t London at all. Farnham is really far out. Commute wise it all comes down to where in London you work. Eg to get to Liverpool street, barbican type of area can take an hour from some parts of sw London. Factor in a journey from guildford too and it’s taking you over 1.5 hr each way!

Exactly - the op wants London, not sure why a pp is recommending Guildford and farnham!

Where you work in London is key. Really makes all the difference so think commute first.

@coco123456789 You are right about travel times. The train from Hampton/Kingston is really slow. Getting in to Liverpool Street from North Kingston KT2 takes atleast 1hr 15 mins one way. That is if trains don't get cancelled.
With all this WFH people tend to forget the hell of commuting, which will be back pretty soon. When you have to spend 2.5 hrs on a train everyday, you don't care much about a big garden at home.

Check out Westcombe Park, it is very close to Blackheath (walking distance) and you can buy a 3 bed for 900k

I live in Twickenham OP and know SW London v well (lived here 25+ years) - happy to answer any questions via PM

@romatheroamer thanks for your post. Farnham or Guildford are definately not what we are looking forward though! Too far out, not London at all, too mono / Tory / white / car reliant etc.

Once we are back at work - DH needs the City, I need West End and London Bridge.

Thanks @Honeylemontea I know Westcombe Park. We have the same issue there with secondary schools though. We would likely have to move towards the end of primary.

I've lived Farnham, Guildford and St Margarets. Farnham is lovely but the commute is too long. Guildford has a shorter commute, but neither are London. St Margarets I really loved, though if I could have afforded it at the time I'd have moved to Kew. I'm in Central London now but moving back to West London soon.

Here are a few really good secondary schools in SW London / Surrey:

• Waldegrave (girls) in Teddington.
• Hinchley Wood (mixed) in Hinchley Wood. 4 feeder schools: HW, Claygate, Thames Ditton and Long Ditton (so you could live in any of these villages. LD is near Surbiton (fast train to Waterloo). TD and Claygate are great: proper villages with lovely shops, by the river (TD), etc.
• Heathside school in Weybridge.
• grammar schools: in Sutton LA and Tiffin schools in Kingston.

Hinchley Wood and Weybridge are again definitely not London. They might be a good commute but they are just not London like at all, the are the very definition of suburbia. If you’re after a London vibe they aren’t suitable at all. Twice ham and Teddington are far more London-y. Re Sutton and Tiffin, just have a look at the threads about the years of tutoring to get into these schools....

Thanks for the ideas. @coco123456789 I agree about those areas. The thread seems to have become more about where to buy in the suburbs, but that's not what we are after. We would like city living still. Definitely not suburbs or commuter towns- not for us.

Teddington sounds interesting, however DC male. Looking for a really good mixed secondary school.

The problem with a lot of the areas being mentioned is that you get the downsides of being in London (having to compromise on either size v price being most obvious example, not to mention aircraft noise) with few of the benefits because the transport is so awful. Several areas only have overland trains that are on slow lines and stop at every station, they often take 25-30 mins into London and / or are infrequent in which case why bother. I’d stay close to a tube of you can. That said, Wimbledon is nice

OP i still thing your best bet is Dunraven in Streatham or Graveney in Tooting/Furzedown. Excellent mixed secondary, very London. Yes not as fancy as Teddington or SW but good transport options (not just one train to Waterloo,) good commons and green space and all the London buzz plus families. You wouldn't get a massive house/garden but you could manage a 3/4 bed.

Otherwise, I know its SE, but New Cross. If your ds gets into the hatcham temple free grove primary its a feeder school into Hatcham Askes, a sought after mixed secondary in South east. Amaizng transport and not far from Greenwich or the river if you fancy it.

That said, Wimbledon is nice

Wimbledon is full of White people and Tories. What the OP doesn't want.

Have you thought about Southfields? A great community, tube stop, a place in its own right with a high street full of useful places as well as cool places, yet located perfectly for the a3 to get in and out of London and between posh Wimbledon Village, normal Wimbledon Town, and gritty Wandsworth (which is actually coming up a bit with new developments and cool coffee places but will never be posh. Co-Ed secondary St Cecilia’s.

Would like to follow this thread

Orleans park is a mixed Comp in Twickenham. It has a really good reputation. Catchment area is small so you would have to buy in the right part of Twickenham or St Mags.
Teddington is also lovely but local comp has gone slightly downhill in the last few years and is on a slower train line.

Wow, I grew up in Feltham and couldn't leave quick enough. To be fair it has changed a lot since then but I never thought I'd see it recommended. Wow. You live and learn! If I were to move back the places people have mentioned are nice, I'd avoid the lower Feltham estate near Feltham Hill School though.

Gosh - that's a big ask for a Mumsnet post.
Schools - there are great secondary schools all over SW London so none of these areas will be a problem - I'd be wary of buying just to get close to a school. You have demanding MC parents in all these areas and the State and private and religious offerings are very good.
Obvs the guiding factor is cost.
Further out - on the whole - means less expensive.
Transport from all these places is first rate. Richmond, for example, is 15 minutes to Waterloo.
If you can afford it, Barnes is beautiful. But that comes at a price.
Family houses in Kew are of a similar price.
Putney is more expensive psf than Wandsworth, but are less green than (say) Barnes.
Kingston has better shopping than all the others but is further away - cyle commuting would be more tricky than - say from Putney.
Wimbledon proper is expensive.
St Margarets is less expensive and the houses are larger.

I suspect all of these places will be equal to - if not more expensive than - Blackheath on a psf basis. Twickenham might be a little less expensive and Hampton (a bit further out again) is more affordable.

Hop on a train, pop into an estate agent and have a chat. Say what your budget is and see what you can get.

The cheapest area is probably Isleworth.

I know nothing about Putney vs Wandsworth, vs Twickenham / St Margaret's / Kew / Kingston and so on. I know there are a few v good secondaries in Richmond but fear that might be too pricey for us. Looking for inspiration for any areas in SW.

Interested to know if you're any closer to making a decision. Tooting is a brilliant place to live but depending on where you are, you might end up in no man's land for catchment unless you're happy with single sex schools - Burntwood for girls and Ernest Bevin for boys. Both good schools if co-ed not essential.
Graveney = tiny catchment. Around 500 metres or less for distance or a very high grade on Wandsworth test.
Chestnut Grove = small catchment dependent on which band your child's Wandsworth test score matches up with. Band A has a wider catchment than band B for example.
Harris Wimbledon = Merton borough so no test needed. Currently fairly wide catchment but likely to shrink.
Southfields Academy = wide catchment.
Lambeth Academy (Clapham) = wide catchment.
Southfields and Lambeth aren't as popular or desirable than the other three but have heard very positive reports about both and the pastoral care is supposedly excellent if that's important to you.
There are no bad schools but depending on what you're after you may need to move to a tight catchment area to get the school you want...