Less transient family areas in London

[Denimdenmin]

We live in a transient area of London and a new set of people move in and out constantly, so it’s hard to make a settled group of family friends.

Where is a good family area in London, that isn’t quite as transient?

@ThePlantsitter - do people stay for secondaries? We are considering moving to Forest Hill but not sure whether anyone else would be staying or leaving once they start thinking abotu secondaries

We are in Chiswick and only 1 out of 20 in my DD nursery class have moved out and they start school in sept. Seems fairly stable with families having been here for years.

[quote gngfh27]@ThePlantsitter - do people stay for secondaries? We are considering moving to Forest Hill but not sure whether anyone else would be staying or leaving once they start thinking abotu secondaries[/quote]
Some move. Some go private (often unexpectedly!) or get their kids into the Kent grammars. Many stay. There are many good schools for girls in the area and it's not too grim for boys either, with a couple of notable exceptions - but things change too.

Most of my DD's cohort has stuck around I think, though some have left. My very good friends made through the kids are all still here. Feels a bit like there's an 'old guard' staying through the covid exit though! We considered it too but decided to stay.

Open locrating - tick outstanding mixed secondary schools within M25 - and check their results to see they are actually good. Decide whether you want to live in N, S, E, or W London and pick an area within 0.5miles of one of the schools where you can still afford a three-bed house.

We moved back from abroad and I realized that essentially that's what happens. Lots of people are only in London till they have kids/hit schools - need a family home. The rest move to be close to an outstanding secondary and stay put.

As the poster below said ...

Furzedown, Tooting is very settled, pretty unfashionable, outstanding secondary, good primaries, close to tube, and houses just about (!) affordable.

This one is in catchment for the outstanding secondary.

[quote gngfh27]@ThePlantsitter - do people stay for secondaries? We are considering moving to Forest Hill but not sure whether anyone else would be staying or leaving once they start thinking abotu secondaries[/quote]
There are many thousands of people living in SE London and sending their kids to secondary school there. Your children wouldn't be rattling around empty buildings.

I think Crystal Palace should be where you look, OP.

It has a similar vibe to Lindon Fields, it's cheaper than Lindon Fields, and it has a whole load of outstanding secondaries (& I suspect the primaries are good, too).

But I think Hackney is good for secondaries now. The problem is, I think, the cost of housing + school - and if you can stay in your flat, the need to move isn't as pressing as it is for your friends, perhaps?

That said, I reckon you should visit Crystal Palace.

Walthamstow, Leytonstone, South Woodford and Wanstead are also popular East London migration areas.

We have lots of friends who moved from Hackney to Forest Gate and Leytonstone for bigger houses once they had kids. No idea about schools round there but there are loads of young families.

The thing about Furzedown is it's a bit of a trek to the tube & the closest high street is pretty crap. Plus parking is a pain.

You can always do the test to get into the school.

Can I ask where everyone goes in the exodus?? Is it to other parts of London or out altogether - is there a place where most tend to?

School families have gone to Kent & Surrey. Neighbours other cities, Edinburgh, Manchester, Oxford, Bristol, Cardiff.

I think the definition of a transient london area is relative.

We used to live in what I would call a very transient area of SE London, most people moved as soon as they could afford to as it wasn't a 'desirable' area and education and family life was not a good quality. You would get a wave of people leaving before primary school applications (or before having kids altogether), then another wave in the infant years, then a third wave in Year 4 and 5 before secondary school. The junior years were often undersubscribed, actually quite a good thing as having a class of 24 vs 30 means more time per pupil. By year 4 in my eldest's class, there were only about 10 children left from the original reception class, with new children joining every term.

Now we are in an area of SE London with great primaries and secondaries, loads of families, and generally more wealth in the area all round. But it is still quite transient. People move from London for lots of reasons, although where we are now (Bromley), they don't usually move because of schools as lots of them are very good schools. Since we've moved here I have noticed there are still quite a few families leaving the school and area every year. It's definitely more transient than I would have predicted, but not a patch on our old area of SE London.

Is Beckenham too dat out for you? Plenty of families there, who stay put due to excellent transport links, schools, facilities, high street etc.

dat = far

I'm in Penge / beckenham and this seems pretty stable. A few have moved but most seem to be staying for primary at least.

London always has a bit of coming and going, especially just before major moves in schooling, but it definitely has gone up recently. I'm hoping that now the stamp duty holiday is winding down, things might settle a bit.

I do think quite a few people will also find out that small town/village/country life is not quite what they thought it would be, and when daily commuting starts again and they have to travel two hours each way to get into work they may well have a re-think. But that won't affect anything now.

Greener areas with good schools and not too far from a tube/train station are more stable for people with families in my experience.

I do think quite a few people will also find out that small town/village/country life is not quite what they thought it would be, and when daily commuting starts again and they have to travel two hours each way to get into work they may well have a re-think. But that won't affect anything now

I don't know anyone going back to ft in the work place. Also the alternative to London isn't just small town/country life.

Used to live in Central London, then Blackheath then Chislehurst (zone 5). Blackheath was quite stable on the nice, big house streets but either elderly or bankers who sent their kids to the Private schools in Dulwich for secondary school.
I have tons of friends who live in Peckham (all mid forties) and they seem settled there. Out in Bromley borough there isn’t much movement at all - I would say more the opposite- everyone knows everyone’s business and none of my neighbours have moved in over 10 years! Yearly street parties etc so you know anyone new and there is even gossip about it.
It is down to people being able to afford a house, some greenery, good schools and choice of schools (that is good state comp, good independents and grammars too) plus generally most of the primary schools really are quite good and doctors surgeries etc too and train links as well. But precisely because so many people do stay it lacks the character of more transient places. Lots of “interesting” people do actually move a lot and seek new experiences. More of a stable middle class thing to stay put and give the children stability etc

Winchmorehill!

@ChristopherTracy

Anywhere with good secondary schools - someone has named Wimbledon up thread which I dont really agree with, as an area I think a lot of people approach 11 and then move out to Guildford etc from there.

I’m from that area and only know of one family who have moved to Guildford. That was nearly ten years ago.

We have lots of friends on our street, a very active WhatsApp group, all of our neighbours have lived here for a decade or more.

Having lived in central London close to Hackney, I would never describe my current area as transient.

This thread has made me realise that every family from our NCT group in a previously very settled part of East Dulwich / Peckham has now left London altogether. The last two were hanging on but were pushed over the edge in the Covid exodus.

Chiswick, Kew, parts of Dulwich, parts of Battersea, generally areas with more houses than flats.
But firther out, probably Beckenham, Teddington.
Anywhere crammed with small flats - young and very transient.

*Bit further out

Oh forgot Crouch End, Muswell Hill and Finchley nicer parts. More suburban than Hackney obvs, but still lively.

@CatAndHisKit we are currently looking at Crouch End/Muswell Hill but were worried that it might also be transient as we can only afford a flat.Lovely to hear people dont move around too much

@dorangme

I don't know anyone going back to ft in the work place. Also the alternative to London isn't just small town/country life.

Not many people going back at the moment, but the pandemic is still very much in flow still. I'm talking about a couple of years' time.

Also I didn't say those were the only alternatives, but listing every single alternative would be a bit over the top, and the people I know who have left have actually gone to those, not many going abroad or to other cities at the mo!

DH is WFH right now, along with most of the others from the tech company he works for, but they are planning to have everyone back when this is finished as Teams and Zoom have their drawbacks...