Where in London can I get 3 bedrooms for 800k?

[elementalprimary]

I am planning to move within London after my kids leave school in a couple of years. Don't want to say where I live atm, but I've never really loved it, and moved here for family and work reasons that don't apply any more, so I want to move somewhere that suits me better.

I don't want to be right on the outskirts, prefer city activities like museums and galleries to countryside, and I don't have a car. Ideally I'd live in Zone 1 but that's not realistic for what I want for my money, so am thinking Zones 2-4. I can't move outside London, no matter how much I could get for my money. Ideally I want:

Max price 800k.
3 bedrooms.
Garden/outside space (not shared).
Close to a station.
Somewhere that feels safe to go home at night.
A few local amenities like shops, library, etc, but don't care about bars, nightlife or how trendy the area is, definitely prefer safe and boring to trendy and high crime.

My plan is to spend time now exploring different areas, and working out all the pros and cons so I'm ready to move once my youngest finishes school. Any ideas for areas to put on my shortlist? Or other factors I need to think about? Suggestions I've had so far are Brentford, Crouch End, Southfields, Cricklewood.

Will your budget be the same in two year's time? Because you may find that you're priced out of many of these areas by then (just look at prices a couple of years ago).

You could get a 3 bed house in Bermondsey, Holloway Road or Kennington, which are reasonably central. Great access to amenities and would be more interesting for your young adult DCs when they come to visit.

Given that you like to go to museums and the theatre etc I'd look at somewhere further in than Kew etc. West Norwood sounds like a good bet and you should be able to find something on the streets between WN and Streatham that are in budget. The area has improved massively in the last 10 years, It has a lovely Picture House cinema in the library complex, lots of cafes and a farmers/crafts/vintage market one weekend a month. Transport isn't too bad as there is a bus station and the railway into Victoria.

Streatham is also improving and in budget - again lots of nice cafes and has good shops, 3 railway stations and Balham tube.

TBH if you want to go into town a lot then being on the Northern Line would probably suit you better - if you are prepared to put up with a courtyard rather than a garden then you might just get a house in Balham or Clapham.

If you'd settle for a garden flat then your budget would go a fair way in Clapham - something like this which is an easy walk to Clapham Common tube

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/119403035#/?channel=RES_BUY

[quote londonmummy1966]Given that you like to go to museums and the theatre etc I'd look at somewhere further in than Kew etc. West Norwood sounds like a good bet and you should be able to find something on the streets between WN and Streatham that are in budget. The area has improved massively in the last 10 years, It has a lovely Picture House cinema in the library complex, lots of cafes and a farmers/crafts/vintage market one weekend a month. Transport isn't too bad as there is a bus station and the railway into Victoria.

Streatham is also improving and in budget - again lots of nice cafes and has good shops, 3 railway stations and Balham tube.

TBH if you want to go into town a lot then being on the Northern Line would probably suit you better - if you are prepared to put up with a courtyard rather than a garden then you might just get a house in Balham or Clapham.

If you'd settle for a garden flat then your budget would go a fair way in Clapham - something like this which is an easy walk to Clapham Common tube

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/119403035#/?channel=RES_BUY[/quote]
That house needs a lot of work though- so dated.

Given that you like to go to museums and the theatre etc I'd look at somewhere further in than Kew etc.

Agree with this. I think MN recommendations often err on the side of bigger-but-further-out, probably because so many of us are at that stage of life.

@tipsqueak

Will your budget be the same in two year's time? Because you may find that you're priced out of many of these areas by then (just look at prices a couple of years ago).

You could get a 3 bed house in Bermondsey, Holloway Road or Kennington, which are reasonably central. Great access to amenities and would be more interesting for your young adult DCs when they come to visit.

I think it will be very hard to find a 3 bed house for £800k in those areas.

@TheVanguardSix

Personally, with that money, I'd be moving to a nice part of London like Kew or Chiswick, Richmond. You can get a maisonette for that price, with a garden. I lived in a beautiful maisonette in Barnes, with a small garden. It was just perfect and I much prefer it to the 4 bedroom house we moved into (where I live now) as our 'forever home' (which is now a divorce bone of contention... deep sigh). I am in your shoes. I will likely have the same amount to invest with and I am looking at maisonettes with gardens (I like living in nice parts of London with access to green space). Also, schools matter to me. My two younger ones are still in primary/secondary. So if school is on your agenda, you want to be in an area with decent secondaries. Hanwell is another option and the schools are good.

Don’t think you can get a 3 bed w a garden in Richmond for 800k?

Isleworth or St Margaret’s or Kingston’s you might though. Crystal Palace or Gypsy Hill - zone 4 also but much more London feel. Wanstead Flats - though that’s also quite quiet. forest hill - middling.

SE15 Peckham/Nunhead a good call.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/107938856

Whitton x

Upper Norwood
West Norwood
West Dulwich
Herne Hill

All SE but good options and transport links

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/119467607#/?channel=RES_BUY

Will your budget be the same in two year's time?

I'm assuming the house I'll have to sell will also increase in value - it's in a popular area for families, but too far out for what I want.

I think MN recommendations often err on the side of bigger-but-further-out, probably because so many of us are at that stage of life

Yes, I'm not bothered about size - happy with small rooms, but I want the extra bedrooms as dcs will be 18 and 20 when I'm planning to move, probably at uni but will still need a base with me for a while. I don't mind either a flat or house but would like some outside space.

It's been a long time since I was able to decide for myself how I want to live - always had ex-dh, parents, in-laws as well as dcs' needs to take into account. So now it feels like a big step to try and work out what kind of a life I'd like as a single woman in late middle age. All of the replies have been really helpful and I'm making a list of areas and notes about things people have suggested I need to consider.

Blackheath is lovely, not sure how good transport links are though.

Ladywell/Brockley/Crofton Park, good size houses, great parks and loads of different lines to get into London:

CP goes to Blackfriars / Kings Cross
Ladywell goes to Charing Cross and Cannon Street via London Bridge
Brockley goes to London Bridge or the ginger line to east London

Easy to get to Greenwich and Blackheath without the price tag

Easy journey to the Kent countryside and Eurotunnel for Europe

[quote gogohm]@HomeHomeInTheRange

Sorry had to laugh at west Norwood! Do people actually want to live there now? It was a complete dump but cheap when I lived there [/quote]
Haha at you!

West Norwood with it’s v classy Picturhouse cinema, new leisure centre and pool, a monthly ‘Feast’ which is food stalls, farmers market, craft stalls, vintage etc. A Blackbird Bakery, some trendy coffee shops, pizza etc, at least one posh Gastro pub, An outstanding primary school and in the catchment for good secondaries from the right roads…. No WN is not a dump!

This is the problem with lots of posts on this thread.

Out of date posts wrt both house prices and ‘reputation’ having gone up considerably since people lived there a while ago.

Plus mass generalisations. ALL areas have roads that feel more or less safe. London is a city of micro areas, multimillion £ conservation areas backing into run down estates.

Most boroughs have ‘village’ areas, these are not confined to N of the river or anywhere else.

London is full of millions of women working late shifts, coming home from socialising etc late at night snd living perfectly ordinary safe lives.

Wherever the OP lands, she will be amongst others who needed to find 3 beds for £800k.

These threads are so often shot through with snobbery, hearsay and comments from people who are too afraid to walk anywhere at 8pm in the dark (many many MNers on a thread a while ago).

Look at Hackney. Canals, lots of parks, great diverse interesting high streets but gentrified things like artisan bakeries etc too. Quick access to town but much of it is on buses and overground, not the tube, so the areas tend to feel more quiet and villagey.

[quote duvetdayforeveryone]www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/119467607#/?channel=RES_BUY[/quote]
Nice house, but I've renovated my last two houses and don't think I could face anything more than a lick of paint next time. Definitely want a kitchen and bathroom I can live with for at least a decade.

As you're happy with a flat I'd look at Clapham near the Northern Line tubes and then follow the line north through Stockwell (the conservation areas there are really lovely and pretty posh) and Kennington /Vauxhall -- very quick public transport into the West End. There are usually quite a few larger period conversions on the market.

Your budget might also stretch to Pimlico/Westminster although you might end up with a box room and a kitchen living room diner all in one which might feel a bit cramped.

The advantage of being this central is that a cab home is not extortionate if the worst comes to the worst.

I really like the Clapham flat linked to upthread. I hope @TheHoptimist was joking when they said it was dated!
Clapham, Chiswick & Southfields are areas I would definitely look at.

gogohm
@HomeHomeInTheRange

Sorry had to laugh at west Norwood! Do people actually want to live there now? It was a complete dump but cheap when I lived there grin.

I think it's pretty obvious that she thought WN was a dump years ago....wind your neck in a bit. I lived in some dodgy areas as a student, they may be different now. I haven't been back, so I'd be shocked if someone told me they were great now.

[quote londonmummy1966]Given that you like to go to museums and the theatre etc I'd look at somewhere further in than Kew etc. West Norwood sounds like a good bet and you should be able to find something on the streets between WN and Streatham that are in budget. The area has improved massively in the last 10 years, It has a lovely Picture House cinema in the library complex, lots of cafes and a farmers/crafts/vintage market one weekend a month. Transport isn't too bad as there is a bus station and the railway into Victoria.

Streatham is also improving and in budget - again lots of nice cafes and has good shops, 3 railway stations and Balham tube.

TBH if you want to go into town a lot then being on the Northern Line would probably suit you better - if you are prepared to put up with a courtyard rather than a garden then you might just get a house in Balham or Clapham.

If you'd settle for a garden flat then your budget would go a fair way in Clapham - something like this which is an easy walk to Clapham Common tube

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/119403035#/?channel=RES_BUY[/quote]
@londonmummy1966 - I personally don't like some parts of Streatham only because I live not far and it went downhill a long time ago!

However certain streets are very nice, it has a good range of shops, cafes, restaurants etc - and depending where you are in Streatham 3 good rail stations with links into London and lots of buses to tubes. It's had lots of new developments in the past few years.

@wearingtheT

gogohm *@HomeHomeInTheRange*

Sorry had to laugh at west Norwood! Do people actually want to live there now? It was a complete dump but cheap when I lived there grin.

I think it's pretty obvious that she thought WN was a dump years ago....wind your neck in a bit. I lived in some dodgy areas as a student, they may be different now. I haven't been back, so I'd be shocked if someone told me they were great now.

@wearingtheT - in the past 5/10 years WN has gone up a bit - the high street has some lovely shops, cafes, restaurants etc - and a few of the streets are really nice and improving. But... there are certain areas which are still bloody awful and I personally wouldn't rush to move there.

I mean the streets heading to West Dulwich are obviously nicer but come with a higher price bracket.

@Gonnagetgoing

You could also add in Kent House/Clockhouse and maybe Penge East/West - just as nice as Beckenham - the high street just down from Clockhouse has come up a lot in past few years.

Agreed with all those.

@HomeHomeInTheRange - I agree with you to a degree re West Norwood - yes it has improved but there are certain areas (going near the bus garage and up towards Gipsy Road) where I'd certainly think twice about moving to. I know the area really well, have friends there. It's much nicer off the main high street and going up towards the pool etc.

Of course there are areas with good/bad streets etc - but if you're a single woman, don't want nightmare neighbours or also (I've seen this on FB local posts re West Norwood) sometimes being accosted in the streets by someone who's unstable then I'd think twice about that area!

@BovineJuice - I'm tempted to move from where I am (CP) to near there - only because I go out a lot in Beckenham and also like the parks in Beckenham/near there.

Has definitely improved a lot around there though.

I think Rotherhithe is a good shout. Kennington too.

Tooting might be worth a look.

It sounds like you want to enjoy what central London has to offer and you have a good budget, providing as you say you don't need loads of space, so personally I would look central. Richmond, Kew etc are not amazing transport, fine but not amazing, so why not look somewhere like Highbury, Camden, Notting Hill, where you can walk or tube to all the museums etc.