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.

Genuine question - how is ED trendy? I know it is busy and has a lot of families but I hadn't thought it was trendy.

@kirinm

Genuine question - how is ED trendy? I know it is busy and has a lot of families but I hadn't thought it was trendy.

I would say it's chichi rather than trendy. It's too sanitised and Nappy Valleyish to be "cool" but it's full of middle class money, organic bakeries, boutiques and eyebleedingly priced property.

I live somewhere not too far from ED. Used to be in Peckham Rye pre-kids. I saw ED then as too mummy villa but now it just seems safe in comparison to where I am. And handy to have actual decent shops within walking distance.

*mummy ville

I spent a lot of time in ED when DS was a baby as joined an ED NCT group after the one I was meant to join (Streatham) fell through due to lack of interest!

Out of the 7 of us, 4 were from the local area and were all eye-waveringly wealthy with banker/lawyer/director husbands and massive period houses worth a million or two.

The other 3 (inc me) were completely out of our depth in terms of disposable income and trying to keep up with the moneyed 4 was impossible and demoralising. I never invited the group to my pokey flat as they wouldn't physically have all been able to fit in with babies and buggies in tow, and anyway (to my embarrassment) I felt somewhat ashamed after having visited their massive houses.

ED seemed to be to be full of folks like these, and whilst on the surface nice enough, just never felt like my kind of people.

Used to live in SE inner zone 2 now live in E zone 3 - transport times are about the same as we are less than 10 minutes from the tube. I agree with @ParentofOne - I think the Thameslink is fab, but it's not the tube.

I really do recommend Leytonstone and the whole area (Walthamstow/Wanstead/Forest Gate and up to Woodford too) as it's so near such massive green space in Epping Forest which feels considerably wilder than SE London, and yet on the tube and almost on a cycle superhighway for a clear ride into town (I used to be in the Lycra-clad taliban @ParentofOne mentions from ED too...). When Crossrail opens it's a 10 minute bus/less than that Uber to Crossrail for the Heathrow trip. The baby mum scene is more two-income commuter than East Dulwich, probably because it is just more reliable.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110031674#/?channel=RES_BUY - this is near Francis Road for yoga/coffee/naice stuff, a 10 minute walk to the open spaces of Wanstead Flats, between the tube at Leyton and the overground for Zone 3 (useful for friends across N London), walkable to Stratford for the olympic park with a buggy but also if the C line is down, and very near to Ofsted-outstanding Newport primary, lots of baby activities locally and the swimming pool.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/112256129#/?channel=RES_BUY
Nice family area, still less than 10 mins from the tube at Leytonstone, Ofsted-outstanding Davies Lane school.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110599922#/?channel=RES_BUY up and coming family area, fast train directly to liverpool street or 1 overground stop to Walthamstow and the magic of the Victoria line, local school outstanding, lots of activities in Walthamstow and Wood Street, etc.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/80479692#/?channel=RES_BUY
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/109594478#/?channel=RES_BUY
Both in Woodford. Woodgrange school is a good comp for secondary and Churchfields is an outstanding primary school.

@kirinm

Genuine question - how is ED trendy? I know it is busy and has a lot of families but I hadn't thought it was trendy.

It has the sort of coffee shops that sneer at you when you order a latte because they believe their single origin hand roasted coffee should be savoured rather than desecrated (looking at you, Bon...)

But, it also has a branch of JoJo Maman Bebe, so it's hardly Nunhead

But compared to Northcote Road or Church Street, the prams-havers are outnumbered by mullets

@Sparechange Ah. I've not been to Northcote Road or Church Street.

Nunhead is definitely trendier now. Lots of clothes I don't understand. And even a skateboard shop!

Hanwell. Make sure you are in the catchment for Elthorne Oark which is an outstanding secondary. Fielding primary also outstanding and catchment area crosses with Elthorne. I think there is another outstanding primary around too. I would buy soon before prices increase with cross rail.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/111835469#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/109495682#/?channel=RES_BUY

Both of these houses are in catchments for outstanding primary and secondary school.
Also small parks close by and the lovely bunny park with a small children’s Zoo and maze not too far a walk away.

[quote pyjamastoday]@superram what are schools like in Hanwell? Also I read on here that Hanwell high road isn't all that well stocked with shops or restaurants etc?[/quote]
Schools in Hanwell are generally good including two well regarded secondaries. There are plenty of practical shops (Lidl, bakery, hardware shop etc) and some restaurants. However, its less upmarket and doesn't have as many cafes or clothes shops as places such as East Dulwich. Ealing Broadway shops and restaurants aren't far away though.

Don't be fooled into thinking it will have a quick commute soon. The opening of the central section of crossrail in the first half of 2022 will not mean direct trains, hence a door to door commute to the city would still be over 45 mins. Things will improve again with further crossrail stages but that might be late 2022/2023 and still might mean only 4 trains and hour.

@kirinm

Genuine question - how is ED trendy? I know it is busy and has a lot of families but I hadn't thought it was trendy.

It's hard to pin down but it's the people and the types of shops I think. Not trendy in a Gen Z way, more yummy mummy late millennials. A lot of organic greengrocers, craft beer and cheese shops- all lovely but a lot of them! Plus a JoJo Maman, Sweaty Bettys and Oliver Boden!

Purley easily within your budget and has loads of green spaces (parks and commons/wood very nearby), Riddlesdown school is Outstanding and Woodcote is Good (non-selective borough so both comps), lots of toddler groups for little ones/local library activities, and stuff for older ones too (although more expensive!) 5 mins up the road at Kidspace/Oxygen.
Transport links are excellent as it’s on the fast lines through East Croydon - 20 mins to London Bridge, 25 mins to Victoria or Blackfriars and trains through the night as they go on to Gatwick airport.

I don’t find ED trendy exactly - maybe the Bellenden Road bit, which is more Peckham - but very “yummy mummy”. To me it’s the presence of JoJo Maman Bebe that does it.

Stroud Green/ Crouch Hill! Super family friendly, loads of green space and good schools. On Thameslink/orange line/Piccadilly and Victoria. Good luck with the search.

@pyjamastoday

Really *@PeachScone* I haven't ever thought about Surbiton! Went through it on the train and assumed its really suburban. Sounds lovely though, will have a look.

DH and I were living in Hampstead, moved out to Walthamstow for more space (much too trendy for us!!) so started looking elsewhere - I had never considered Surbiton but once we visited I was sold. Its nicer on the side bordering Long Ditton/Thames Ditton - lovely walks that way and feels much more rural than it is.

Surbiton and Kingston are lovely, and are not subject to the same airplane noise as Richmond, Kew, Chiswick, but from Surbiton to the City it can easily be more than an hour door to door, depending on exact locations.

Oh no @ParentOfOne I thought we might have found somewhere! A hour?! 🙈

Anyone know about Kingston in terms of commute and schools?

@pyjamastoday

Oh no *@ParentOfOne* I thought we might have found somewhere! A hour?! 🙈

Well, just look it up on NationalRail: trains from Surbiton to Waterloo take from 18 to 35 minutes, depending on how many stops.

Add the time to get to the station, to then get from Waterloo's platform to the tube, to wait for the tube etc...

It is clear that the blanket is too short. Only and your partner can know on what to compromise and what to prioritise, between commuting times and space.

Kingston is lovely but you would have to make sure you we’re in north Kingston towards ham to be in the catchment for grey court for secondary. The primaries over there are lovely too.
Or twickenham has excellent outstanding primaries and an outstanding secondary but would have to be in TW1 and not TW2 to be in the best catchments.

@pyjamastoday

Oh no *@ParentOfOne* I thought we might have found somewhere! A hour?! 🙈

Totally depends where you are going! My commute to North central is 35 mins and my DH to city is 30, but we are super close to the station both ends.

Really @PeachScone which station in the City are you heading to?

Agree with some of the posters on East. Woodford, Leytonstone etc. Could look at Highams Park, train into Liverpool Street less than 30 mins and 2 very quick stops from Walthamstow to pick up the Victoria line or bus/walk to Central line at Woodford. Half of it is considered Woodford Green and half Chingford. Tonnes of families and beside Epping Forest with a great park with a lake.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/112707395#/?channel=RES_BUY

What about this one in Wimbledon?

Easy to get to either the District Line (to take you to the Waterloo & City Line) or to South Wimbledon, for the Northern Line. Very good schools locally (state) and a good family area.

Journey times to Heathrow and Gatwick are roughly the same (as he may sometimes need to use Gatwick) and public transport links to both are also good - especially Gatwick, using the tram to East Croydon.