Family areas in London with short commute

[pyjamastoday]

DH and I are really struggling to find somewhere to move to in London. We have 1 DC and another on the way. Would be looking to move next year or so before DC 1 would need to start school. We currently live in Canning Town but we don't like it as it's really polluted, loud, lots of late night incidents, and there's very little green space. Schools aren't great either. Transport us excellent though so it was a good place to live while we were child-free and working. Not so much now we have DC or during lockdown!

Stumbling block is that DH needs to be within 45 mins max of the City as he works very late. We are prioritising green spaces and schools.

We looked at East Dulwich after seeing it recommended on here and whilst it was nice enough it felt a bit too 'trendy' for us, and also the walk to the park was about 30 minutes which is too far to just pop to the swings before lunch or something.

Every time I look at a nice area I see that secondary schools are an issue and so I go back to the drawing board. Not sure if we should forget about secondaries for now as DC is still young or will we come to regret that?

Anyway, if anyone can recommend a great family area with the short commute that would be great. Our budget might go up depending on DH's job but if we moved today we'd be looking at around 750, ideally for 3 beds.

Budget would probs be more by the time we actually move. Perhaps 8-850k.

Cheam - nice parks, good schools, z5 trains into london or very close to worcester park for z4. Also x26 direct bus to Heathrow.

A lot of it will come down to whether you want to still feel like you live ‘in London’ or prefer to feel like you’re in a suburban area which still provides an easy commute

The areas being suggested are different sides of the coin in terms of the urban/suburbs thing and that’s just down to personal preference

But only you know if you want somewhere with proper restaurants vs a few branches of Pizza Express, or schools with their own playing fields vs just a playground
Do you want everything to be walking distance or are you happy to drive lots etc

There is nowhere like ED and its a shame you dismissed it - between ED and Peckham stations, between two parks, young famlies, small playpark on corner of Adys road, quiet - a friend lives on CPR near the
Actress, says how quiet it is at night, friendly area, lots going on, bike train into the city mornings, check all out on the EDF, to get a good feel of the area, Lordship Lane has everything, and Sainsbury at Dog Kennel Hill walking distance. Good Luck

@DilliTanti

There is nowhere like ED and its a shame you dismissed it - between ED and Peckham stations, between two parks, young famlies, small playpark on corner of Adys road, quiet - a friend lives on CPR near the Actress, says how quiet it is at night, friendly area, lots going on, bike train into the city mornings, check all out on the EDF, to get a good feel of the area, Lordship Lane has everything, and Sainsbury at Dog Kennel Hill walking distance. Good Luck

I lived in ED, with a regular commute to the west end plus fortnightly trips to Heathrow, and DH commuting to the City We both hated our commutes with a passion. The area is nice as long as you stay there! It’s a total transport blackspot though

We moved to SW and it was the best decision we made

The first thing you need to do is find an area you like and the schools you like in that area. Many school catchments are tiny.

The Streatham one linked area is definitely an area that can have an issue re schools for example.

Yes we love Blackheath but we're put off by a friend who lives there saying everyone moves out or sends kids to private school for secondary.

This definitely happens in Balham & Streatham too tbh.

I was going to suggest Dulwich Village as its only 15 mins to london bridge but see your budget is around 750. I would suggest looking at Herne Hill, good transport links but also suggest looking at the herne hill end of brixton which is good too. Good local park too

At your budget maybe look at places like Carshalton or Surbiton if you want a less transient population & good schools. The trouble with further in is the ££££, many people move for secondary or even if you have the budget people want a semi or a bigger garden. I'm in Wandsworth & have lost about all my NCT friends, 4 of my dcs friends this summer alone and most of my neighbours. It's quite frustrating tbh.

With that kind of budget you might be able to find somewhere on the Harringay Ladder in north London, near Finsbury Park, which is where families priced out of Crouch End and Muswell Hill move to! Tube to Highbury & Islington and then Overground will get your DH to the City in 45 mins easily and he can hop on Piccadilly Line all the way to Heathrow. Two great primary schools on the Ladder itself and the secondaries nearby rate well too.

Blackheath , Balham , tooting , Charlton

@Sparechange interesting! Yes I felt the same about ED. Can I ask where in SW you moved to?

Yes a flat would be ok as long as there's green space close by. Budget will hopefully be more like £850k by the time we move

Wimbledon is lovely but expensive. Rented there for years and good commute to london. We now live in Sutton, but you're looking around 1-1.5 hours into the city sometimes.

Sutton also has some very good schools

Have you looked at the bits of Surrey that are within the M25? You're straight into Waterloo on mainline train in 35+ mins (depending on how many stops) then straight onto Waterloo and City line. Easy travel to Heathrow but mostly not under flight path. And 3+ beds within your budget.

[quote pyjamastoday]@Sparechange interesting! Yes I felt the same about ED. Can I ask where in SW you moved to? [/quote]
We are in the ‘between the commons’ part of Battersea, which is nicknamed ‘nappy valley’ because of all the families
Wouldn’t want to live anywhere else in London, it has absolutely everything we could ever want, including brilliant transport options

You could definitely get a flat in budget here, and we have excellent primary and secondaries, but with small catchments etc

If the area is of interest, DM me and I’m happy to give you more info on which roads for catchments etc
But look on rightmove for SW11 6?? postcodes

For 850k you could get a nice flat with garden in some areas of the mentioned

Do you want faith schools, private etc?

I agree about deciding whether you want inner London suburb or proper suburbs. Blackheath, Herne Hill, Tooting, Streatham, Balham are still London (to me anyway), i.e. good transport, don't need to drive everywhere, proper high street etc. Personally I would not go out farther than that but you may want to for more space etc.

If you are okay with a flat then even more likely you can find something in Blackheath, it is common here to have small blocks or terraces with a communal garden, and then you have the heath and Greenwich Park next door as well.

@DilliTanti

There is nowhere like ED and its a shame you dismissed it - between ED and Peckham stations, between two parks, young famlies, small playpark on corner of Adys road, quiet - a friend lives on CPR near the Actress, says how quiet it is at night, friendly area, lots going on, bike train into the city mornings, check all out on the EDF, to get a good feel of the area, Lordship Lane has everything, and Sainsbury at Dog Kennel Hill walking distance. Good Luck

Yes I did check out all those areas and spent the day there walking it. Saw all the stuff you mentioned and walked the length of lordship lane a few times plus checked out the side streets near the Actress. But just wasn't keen on the vibe, too far from the park and a bit too trendy for me. Plus commute / transport not great.

@muffinffaces no faith schools. Preferably mixed.

Another vote for Forest Gate, you'd get a 3/4 bed Victorian terrace in the nice bit near the flats for your budget. Train to Liv St in 15 mins and Crossrail on the way for easy access to Heathrow. Coming from Canning Town I don't think you'll be put off by the slightly grittier areas and will probably appreciate the London feel (compared to Wanstead for example, which definitely has an Essexy vibe). Loads of families with young kids priced out of Hackney.

@dreamingbohemian

I agree about deciding whether you want inner London suburb or proper suburbs. Blackheath, Herne Hill, Tooting, Streatham, Balham are still London (to me anyway), i.e. good transport, don't need to drive everywhere, proper high street etc. Personally I would not go out farther than that but you may want to for more space etc.

If you are okay with a flat then even more likely you can find something in Blackheath, it is common here to have small blocks or terraces with a communal garden, and then you have the heath and Greenwich Park next door as well.

Yes I agree with this I think. Happier more centrally in a flat. I guess schools and commute would be the main concerns there, as the green spaces are second to none.