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.

[quote Gonnagetgoing]@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.[/quote]
Yep Clock House is great these days. Much better than the Beckenham High Street, which is nice by day but a bit rough at night and the pubs are all chains.

Penge has a lot going for it too with some nice restaurants and independent bars and pubs.

Balham is nice - or a bit further down towards Tooting Bec.

Vauxhall is v central and might be worth a look - quite an urban feel though.

Kennington and Denmark Hill I would avoid based on friends’ experiences of crime there (personal attack and burglary with stabbing attempt).

For 800K right now you could buy a really nice, big garden flat in East Dulwich, close to Dulwich Picture Gallery, parks, nice restaurants etc. You could buy a small house for that in Forest Hill/Honor Oak. I don't know why people are recommending going so far out - 800K will still buy you a decent place in a lot of nice zone 2/3 areas if you're not looking for a family house.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/120338423#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/119834282#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/119204666#/?channel=RES_BUY

When I read your title I thought Brentford, but it’s obviously not zone 2-4 or city living in the sense of museums and galleries. It does still have a lot to recommend it, though, so I’d have a look around if I were you.

Things I like: great walking around the Thames, close to Kew, Chiswick, etc., decent rail link to Waterloo, restaurants and other amenities getting better all the time. Finally, even if it’s not central it has character and definitely feels like London to me unlike some nondescript peripheral areas.

Do you need 3 bedrooms? In your place I would (and will be doing) getting a smaller place in a better/more central area.

[quote Doubleraspberry]For 800K right now you could buy a really nice, big garden flat in East Dulwich, close to Dulwich Picture Gallery, parks, nice restaurants etc. You could buy a small house for that in Forest Hill/Honor Oak. I don't know why people are recommending going so far out - 800K will still buy you a decent place in a lot of nice zone 2/3 areas if you're not looking for a family house.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/120338423#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/119834282#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/119204666#/?channel=RES_BUY[/quote]
Why would you spend £800k and still be living in a flat?

Some of the places you are dismissing may be zone 4 but you can get a lovely 3/4 bed Victorian house with garden and a train journey that is only 20 minutes into Victoria or 19 mins to Canary Wharf. Plenty of parks, bars and eateries too. Penge btw.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/119680001

West Norwood flat

I'm not necessarily dismissing Norwood/Penge. It's the Brentford-type responses really. Although I think being connected by transport other than the overground trains can be an advantage if you're still commuting. Buses to those places of course (176 forever).

Actually, when I retire, I'd quite like to go back to a flat, especially a decent-sized ground floor garden one. I know neighbours can be a pain, but I think single level living is quite sensible when ageing, and I probably have rose-coloured glasses, but the maintenance and utility costs are lower too.

@PiffleWiffleWoozle

Vauxhall is v central and might be worth a look - quite an urban feel though.

A 3 bedroom house with a garden in Vauxhall is basically impossible.

I live in the Vauxhall/Kennington/Stockwell area, have a similar budget and I am looking for a few years now to move to somewhere with outside space. I have concluded that unless I am happy with a 2 bed flat, then I am almost certainly going to have to move much further out.

@BovineJuice - I agree with you re Penge. Not sure it’d be my preferred place but the high street nearer CP station has got better with a refill eco store, Craft beer bar and even the other end of the high street is gradually getting better. I prefer Clock House or Kent House myself which are much the same with cafes/shops etc. Clock House just wins for me just past station (where Shotsmiths cafe is) but don’t discount streets near Cator Park.

A lot of people on this thread have no concept of current prices. If the top budget is £800k and she wants 3 bedrooms and private outside space then suggesting zone 1 locations and fashionable places like Notting hill and Camden is just pointless.

I think OP you could get what I have which is a cottage (well sort of) with 2 double bedrooms and a box room - unless you want/need 3 good size bedrooms.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/118035398#/?channel=RES_BUY

Near me in CP.

A few people have mentioned Chiswick, for £800k you can get a decent size flat or a 2 bed house (some of which look a bit grotty ). You’d get a bit more for your money in Southfields but I’m not sure what you’d get in Clapham either.

For a 3 bedroom house I would look at south London, some one said Balham and Tooting Bec, I’d second this neck of the woods.

I too am surprised at the more suburban places suggested given the brief. If space isn't a priority I'd be looking at somewhere closer in like Herne Hill. Train to Victoria for Westminster and Blackfriars for the South Bank. Even a few bungalows if you really wanted to future proof retirement plans! www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/113269802?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

Do you need 3 bedrooms? In your place I would (and will be doing) getting a smaller place in a better/more central area

Yes, I will have 2 kids at uni, or potentially wanting to live with me for a bit if they end up working in London, so need rooms for them. Doesn't matter if one is a box room.

Kennington and Denmark Hill I would avoid based on friends’ experiences of crime there (personal attack and burglary with stabbing attempt)

I definitely want somewhere I feel safe walking home. I'd rather compromise on everything else than this.

Why would you spend £800k and still be living in a flat?

Because I'm downsizing and my priority is to find the right area. I'm a single woman heading towards retirement and my kids will be 18 and 20 when I move. I don't need anywhere big.

I'm based in SW London and work in Westminster. For your budget and especially if you are happy with a flat, i second recommendations for Oval, Stockwell, Clapham, Balham and Tooting (basically follow the Northern Line south from Waterloo). I also really like Wimbledon. We live south of Colliers Wood and although you'd get lots for £800k there, if you want to be nearer to the centre then you can definitely do better. We live here by necessity rather than choice!

3 bedrooms with a garden in Notting Hill for 800k

I don’t think so!

West Hampstead was my fave place when I lived there. Best connections. Probably some ludicrous prices but maybe if you're not quite so close to the tube might work.

The definition of save in some of these areas are laughable

Southfields, Wimbledon Park areas are lovely and are very safe but not sure you will get a 3 bed for £800K

**Safe

If I were in your situation I'd look in Hampstead for a flat with communal garden.

Will 800k get you the same in two years time as now ?