Family areas in inner London if you could choose anywhere?

[LiverpoolFan83]

Moved to Blackheath in SE London last year. 1DC another on the way. Reason for moving there was mainly green space and primary schools. We are fortunate enough to be able to afford a 3 bed flat there, and hoping to buy a house in next few years. However, as lovely as it is, it feels a bit different to me and I can't put my finger on why.

Previously we lived in north London Tufnell Park / Kentish Town which I loved. It's really expensive up there though and even more so that SE London. I keep thinking that Blackheath feels really posh and if we could afford a house there I'd feel out of place. Definitely don't want DC to go to grammar school or private secondary which a lot round Blackheath do. I also am not interested in the suburbs or moving out as I've been a city girl my whole life and DH feels the same, so would only consider zones 1-3 and happy living in a flat rather than a house if there is still green space nearby.

I guess I'm struggling to find my tribe in London now that I'm thinking as a family and not just as a child free couple. No family ties anywhere so no real pull in that sense. Some areas I used to like feel a bit too trendy now, and some not right for families. We are very fortunate to be able to consider living centrally but a lot of places feel very posh which we are definitely not! Wondering if anywhere has the vibe we are after.

So, just a bit of dreaming, but if money was no object which area in London would you live in? Asking those who enjoy city living and not surburbia fans.

Dunno - I'm fed up of it all personally and I think all the nice family areas are very samey. Infact, the green spaces on offer are more distinct than the typical parent types, organized activities on offer and the look of the high streets.

@kirinm you're right, ED does feel very busy and a bit young family overload, but still love the area.

Herne Hill is nice and has good local schools at the north Dulwich end

Crystal palace.

ED or brockey is my actual answer but you've already ruled them out 😁

I'd second this

Trouble is if you don't like hipstery or yummy mummy then are some of those N London areas any good either? E.g. Crouch End, Muswell Hill etc. They have a similar feel to East Dulwich in my experience....

Wapping or "Victoria Park village" (as the estate agents now call it i.e. around Lauriston Road). Or in full-on Lottery win territory, one of townhouses in Spitalfields (such as on Fournier St).

If you like Tufnell Park etc, have you also looked at West Hampstead / Kilburn? Still has the leafy North London feel but is a bit more gritty than Hampstead, Highgate etc. And less hipster-esque than East London.

SW1

Barnsbury, Canonbury, Highbury Park. If money was no object! They’re are some beautiful Georgian townhouses, lovely quiet parks, great pubs and restaurants.

Ooh yes I forgot about Canonbury - lovely!

@HundredMilesAnHour yes I lived in Kilburn in a house share too! I've got around! It's nice but not sure if the secondary schools would work.

For me I personally don't find East Dulwich all yummy mummy (in fact a friend I went to private school with lives there and she's definitely not yummy mummy and has lived there her entire life, plus another friend lives further up Lordship Lane (DM of a friend of mine) and is in no way yummy mummy either!

ED however is busy.

Peckham is great.

Penge and Sydenham sorry to say are a bit crap - high street wise

Where I live is lovely - Crystal Palace but I am biased.

Victoria Park - great - but only if you can afford to live in the property you want - e.g. house/flat etc. DB and DW and child want to move to a house with garden and unaffordable for them there in Hackney.

Agree with Crystal Palace (was absolutely bowled over by it when I went there last summer) and whoever said SE1. Have a look at the streets behind Southwark - the quadrilateral between Southwark, Borough, Bricklayers Arms and Elephant, there are some absolutely beautiful neighbourhoods. No idea what the schools are like. But if you want lovely and lively but not hipster or nappy valley, it might be worth holding your nose and going south of the river!

Was going to say the same. ED has a great community feel, has the overground in nearby Peckham. Got the great Peckham common and Dulwich Park with Brockwell Park nearby. Got a nice bustling high street and lots of great places nearby - Herne Hill, Brixton, Forest Hill...

I personally have never been fond of Blackheath as the transport links are quite poor and it just seems "all style and no substance". Apart from pretty houses, a quaint high street and the large common there just isn't much there!

Herne Hill.

Brockwell Park, walking distance to Dulwich Park, walk or quick bus to Brixton, Good transport, cinema at Brixton and West Norwood, good pubs, Sunday market, loads of kids stuff.

Stockwell/Kennington - lots of families around but not so yummy mummy as most of the mothers have professional jobs or successful businesses. If you pick a bit in the right conservation area they have friendly residents associations which organise fun events - outdoor Shakespeare/street parties/open gardens/community fireworks. Properties are beautiful but pricey to reflect the quick journeys into town by tube and walking distance of the river.

And not central London . You need north of river to be central

Pimlico ?

I live in Crystal Palace and I do like it a lot, but with unlimited funds I think I’d probably be very near Wandsworth Common (roughly Balham).

Have a look at West Norwood. Still feels urban but has improved massively in the years I have lived here.

Great community, good schools both primary and secondary, a monthly community market and lots of decent cafes and restaurants. Leisure centre and an art house cinema.

Really near to great parks too.. Dulwich, Crystal Palace and Brockwell.

Ladywell? Just the other side of Lewisham but so much more going for it than Blackheath in my opinion. Hilly Fields, Ladywell Fields, thriving small high street that gets better every year, 11 mins to London Bridge. Great primaries, outstanding secondary for girls and mixed ones on the up. A real sense of community, neither too hipster or too yummy mummy overall.

Agree with Davethecat2000. Look at West Norwood. Similar properties to East Dulwich, good schools, nice community with lots going on. ED has many great qualities but some of the streets are narrow and, somehow, grey.

Since when is West Norwood inner London?!!

I miss living in Islington! Loved being able to walk everywhere.

Not liking overly posh places or hipster places rules out a lot of London, OP!

Some of these places definitely aren't central London, wouldn't central be zone one or zone two on the tube?

@HundredMilesAnHour err, what's your definition of inner London then? OP isn't looking to move into Westminster, Chelsea or Knoghtsbridge!

Are East Dulwich, Crystal Palace, Muswell Hill etc any more inner London??

..here's a handy Wikipedia guide to what 'inner London' relates to.

Notice it mentions Lambeth..?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_London