Which places in SW London have a village feel?

[OnlyOneBike]

We are looking to move to SW London but unsure about which place to move to.

Ideally we'd like a place that has a village feel but still has lots to do locally, especially for young kids (we have a 1 year old). We are based in a small village at the moment. The community are fantastic, e.g. we have street parties on Halloween, kids Gala every year and all sorts of mummy groups, etc. But the downside is that you have to drive quite a bit to get to anywhere even grocery stores. I wondered if we could find a place in SW London which has similar feel (community) but more convenient in terms of day to day activities.

We have been looking at Kingston (mainly KT2), Teddington, Surbiton, New Malden. Recently we discovered Raynes Park but haven't looked at it closely. We are not familiar with any of the places mentioned. Could people who know these places share some thoughts on where we should focus on please?

We are looking to buy a 3-4 bed with a good sized garden. Don't mind semi or detached but I'd rule out terraced as I'm very sensitive to noise and don't want a narrow garden. With a budget of 1m (or slightly more if property is too good), is that possible in SW London?

Both of us work in the City but we only need to go to the office once a week (or less). DS is going to an independent school. So school catchment and commute are not our priorities.

Thanks in advance.

I have lived in New Malden and in Surbiton. I preferred Surbiton as it had nicer cafe's etc. Wimbledon village (not wimbledon itself) is lovely, but probably very expensive.

Wimbledon village would be too expensive I think.

But Wimbledon or Merton Park might suit you? We have a very active WhatsApp group, and have got to 'know' a lot of our neighbours this way. A couple of streets locally have the occasional street parties, and this Christmas we had a sort-of organised decoration of the trees in the streets in our 'grid'.

Good local parks and restaurants/bars.

Rayners Park would fit the bill with lots of things for kids to do. Community feel- you really have to get involved yourself and it depends how much time you have to attend things with your child during the day and also it helps a lot t have your kids in a local school (could be a private one but local to your home). Which school is DC going to so we can recommend places closer to there?

maofteens - thanks for sharing your experience. It's quite useful to hear terraced houses can be quiet! We can't afford Wimbledon but the west part
e.g. Wimbledon Chase or even Raynes Park seem to have some nice and affordable properties. But not sure if they are as 'villagey'. Might need to compromise on one or two aspects!

NotaVegan, NewName - yes, we have looked at Ham. There aren't many properties on sale at the moment though. The property attached is a bit small for us. So that means we probably can't afford what we are looking for in that area

Kfjsjdbd - thank you for the info. Will definitely check the areas. The Goves is very close to DS school which is a big plus! If we want to be within walking distance the Groves is probably the best option.

If you look at the Fulwell end of Teddington you should be able to get something decent in your price range. We've lived in Teddington for 10 years and love it. It does have a friendly villagey feel and the state schools are excellent. Lots of community events and people really go all out for Christmas and Halloween :) It has recently been named best place to live In London! Unfortunately we were priced out of our original area where we had a flat (river roads) but we stuck there long enough to get our kids into Collis then moved a bit further north (Shacklegate Lane end) so we could afford a house, and we had a much smaller budget than you do.

Hampton Hill is also worth a look as you'd get a lot more for your money there. I have friends with kids at Hampton Hill Junior school who are very happy there, and there is a lot going on for young families, and you'd be in easy reach of Teddington and Twickenham too.

Ada, BIWI, Redcart - yes Wimbledon Village would be too expensive for us. We are looking at Raynes Park and will probably rent there for a while so that we can get a better feel of the area and surrounding areas.

In terms of school, Rokeby School would be our first choice. We've been told most pupils are from KT3, KT6, SW19 and SW20.

I missed your post about Berrylands! The works is really only in the very far northern bits of Berrylands - basically Surbiton Hill Park. The plant is on the other side of the train tracks. It used to be more of an issue but it’s really improved in recent years - I have friends on eg Pembroke Avenue and it’s stopped being an issue for them altogether. If you’re more on the Berrylands (street not suburb), Chiltern Drive, Kings Rd side of things it’s not a problem.

Other bits of Surbiton it’s not an issue at all.