Carshalton / Carshalton Beeches / Beckenham

[buntingandstarcharts]

Hi, we currently live in SW London, in a very buzzy, park-filled, family friendly area with a multiple nice high streets. The age old issue of - we can't afford to upsize in this area. Ive posted before about other potential areas but upon visiting, none have seemed 'right'. We have two children, 2 and 2 months. Does anyone live in carshalton or carshalton beeches? What's it like living there? Or beckenham? Really interested to hear anyone's POV.

Ver open to other suggestions too to help us find somewhere suitable, we would like good schools and a nice community vibe with green spaces. £600k for a 3 bed (a hard ask I know). Any advice much appreciated. Oh and must be South of London for family and work TIA

Sorry about spelling errors I also should mention we are open to any areas within a half an hour ish train commute of any London stations

How about west wickham? You might just get a 3 bed for 600k. You might just in Beckenham too but not in the nicest parts :)

Beckenham, West Wickham or Hayes would all be good options to look at and you would just about get what you want at £600k though I would suggest that budget is low for Beckenham.

Depends if there is any wiggle room to say £635k etc.

(I'm ex SW London and was brought up in Beckenham and my sister lived in Hayes prior to moving much further out.)

Out of interest what other areas have you ruled out in your previous search?

Thanks so much for your help @friendlycat and @Houserenoqueen thanks for your help. We ruled out Banstead, Cobham etc as they seem quite sleepy and the schools seem few and far between. Also ruled out lots of more urban areas which didn't seem to have much green space. Any ideas for us? We liked the idea of Surbiton but we can't afford it!

(Some Surrey village type places feel quite insular type thing which just won't suit us )

I live in Carshalton. Love it here. Green parks in walking distance, good schools, nice high street. Close links to travel easily to London etc. We bought a 2 bed (now a 3 bed) for £325k 3 years ago.

@RainbowMumzy that's great to know. Is there a nice end/unsafe area/areas to avoid or would you say it's all nice for families and safe? Thanks

Yes Surbiton is nice but very pricey. Good travel links, the river, ok high street, nice housing stock etc. That’s why it’s expensive.

Take a look at Hayes and West Wickham as mentioned. Far more going on than say Banstead. Not bad on the school front either.

Beckenham is great but you would not necessarily be in Beckenham proper with that budget.

Carshalton is worth a look as well but my knowledge is very dated on that area!

Need to go to bed ! But I’ve just done a quick right move look at Hayes which I know well. You would definitely get what you want within your budget. In fact the house next door to my sister’s old house is up for sale. (Must tell her)

Two parts of Hayes. Hayes old village and the newer bit. Train station, near Bromley, good transport links and easy access to countryside further out. Possible day trips to the beach obviously with a drive but easily managed. Loads of kids stuff very accessible plus adults restaurants, pubs etc. Nice roads, lots of wide roads with 1930s semi detached properties of decent proportions with good gardens. Good schools and community vibe and actually only 45 mins drive from SW London. A safe solid family area. But still with charm and not soulless.

Carshalton & Carshalton Beeches both have dead spots for good primary / secondary catchments and the local grammars are fiercely competitive to get into with relatively few local places ring fenced for local children achieving the grade. Having said that, there are lots of parks, young families and activities and trains are around 30 mins to Victoria / Blackfriars / London Bridge and you probably would get a 3 bed for £600k, I wouldn't look further south than Carshalton Beeches Station as you are a further walk from the High St and the nicest parks and then not much further north than The Wrythe as then you're encroaching the St Helier Estate which is very crowded and osp is very hard on lots of roads.

I live in Carshalton and have generally been very happy here. Carshalton village is busier, and Beeches is quieter but generally seen as having more desirable houses.
I think it is a really nice place to bring up kids your ages. There are loads of young families (generally who have been priced out of more central areas) so there are plenty of activities and lovely parks.

House hunting is quite the competitive sport though so a bit of resilience will help! A £500kish three bedroom house that a friend was looking at had more than 30 views last Saturday, and the housing market moves quickly (as I’m sure you are already used to based on where you live currently).

Happy to answer any questions.

£600k might just about get you what you want in Carshalton/Beeches, prices seem to have to rocketed around there recently and things seem to sell quickly.
I think it's the domino effect of people living more centrally moving to suburbs and the people already living in the burbs moving further out to the coast/countryside.
Why not skip the suburbs step and move a lot further from London?

Sanderstead!

I live in beckenham my dd lives in west wickham both really family friendly places, very safe with lovely parks lots of leisure facilities, plenty of coffee bars/restaurants/ big range of supermarkets excellent schools
Eden park also another good area, I don’t really know carshalton though feel free to ask if you want more info.

Thanks so much to everyone for their help. I've been reading and then looking at properties online in the places suggested. Is Carshalton similar to Banstead? Similar types of people and amenities etc?

@Kipperandarthur what I haven't said on my original post is that I work in Wimbledon but I didn't want it to sway people's opinions. From Beckenham or even Bromley I could, potentially, short term, get the train in under an hour but the surrounding areas would be trickier sadly. I can't believe how desirable beckenham has become, my Grandma lived there and it was relatively reasonable 15 years ago!

Yes Beckenham is really pricey now. Realistically it's the Elmers End of Beckenham you would get for that budget which then isn't near Beckenham Junction.

What about Raynes Park or New Malden? Then you have Richmond Park nearby, Kingston and the river and shopping etc.

Cheam Village is very nice but I am assuming out of price range?

Or take the plunge and see further out to then commute back into Wimbledon!

@friendlycat I wouldn't be opposed to commuting to Wimbledon from further out - if we knew any suitable areas with good transport. Woking for example is easy on the train but no idea what it's like and haven't yet visited x

If you need to get to Wimbledon for work, you could look for somewhere accessible to the tram, which would include Elmers End. Shirley is nice and cheaper than West Wickham and other areas with a BR postcode.

How about Morden? You have the tube, super close to Wimbledon plus lots of green space and good schools for the family. We are not far away and i notice loads of young families moving to the area. The area around the tube is admittedly not lovely but there are quite a few new independent restaurants springing up, a new vegan restaurant/ live music place etc.

E.g. this is 3 beds, £615 and is in great condition: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110187266#/?channel=RES_BUY

Actually yes the tram does stop at Elmers End.
If you are prepared to go further out no to Woking, but yes to Guildford.

You will definitely get what you want for your budget there and trains to Wimbledon circa 46 minutes.

There’s a lot going on in Guildford but it’s still got a lot of character. Good shops, restaurants, the river, countryside and still very easy access to London especially the SW. Loads of ex SW Londoners make the move. Reigate further up is lovely but more expensive. Much bigger than say Banstead.

Guildford is definitely worth a look. It's the traditional route that many take from SW London as stated above. You will get more for your money (just) without that slightly souless surburban vibe of places much further in.

Dare I say, it's also got that slight London feel - due to so many ex Londoners being there and the shops and restaurants!

@friendlycat Guildford sounds ideal! What you've described is just what we are looking for in terms of lots to do, London feel, etc. Is Reigate similar?

Meant to tag @Kipperandarthur in that post too. So Woking isn't nice? Guildford is. Dorking? Definitely going to pay a visit!

No Woking is not that nice frankly. Guildford is much much nicer.
Guildford still has cobbled streets off the high street with independent shops and restaurants plus all the usual decent shops. Anthropology being my favourite!

The Ivy brasserie, Thai Terrace and lots and lots of nice restaurants.
Pubs on the river where you can hire punting boats.

Yes I agree it’s very London in Surrey! That’s a good way of describing it.
You will literally find loads of people who have moved from Earlsfield, Wandsworth, Southfields, Clapham and Battersea etc etc. It’s really easy to drive back to those places straight up the A3.