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.

They are really not

They are suburban mostly- some exceptions closer to the Thames but mostly suburban

Shad Thames is a great area and massively overlooked by families.
It was my 3rd choice when buying after Westminster and Bankside

@FloweryCurtainTwitcher Parts of Lambeth are across the river (obviously) from Westminster & they are the parts of Lambeth I would call inner London. Where did I say Westminster wasn't north & Lambeth wasn't south? 😆

People always say this but I'm so lost with secondaries

They are suburban mostly- some exceptions closer to the Thames but mostly suburban

Which is the point I made. I also said I considered my area of Wandsworth very suburban & not inner London. However I think suburban is a dirty word on MNs!

@ArticHare where are you now? are you religious? would private be an option?

It's difficult, I guess I only know because I've lived in myself so to speak.

It's a sort of snobbery - like in the old days when you were 7 or 8 - where is inner London or not. As a Londoner I'd say anywhere within zone 2 is inner because there is a hell of a lot more to go before you hit the actual countryside post zone 6.

At school one of the old geography books said anyone living in inner London was akin to a ghetto (I was in z2) at this point!

Lets all agree that zone 1 is inner London (actually I dont agree as it goes beyond what I would say is inner but it seems a reasonable assumption )

That's not 'inner'. That's 'central'

I've always thought

z1 inner
z2 inner ish
z3/4 suburbs
z5/6 not London

That's not 'inner'. That's 'central'

what's the difference?

Londoner born and bred I know my London zones, Google if you don’t believe me.

I've always thought of it as like an egg with an extra thing between the yolk and the white bit although actually London transport as they were a few years ago had an inner zone and an outer zone only for the bus. The inner zone corresponded with the edge of zone two or thereabouts.

Inner London

But isnt that saying all 12 greater London boroughs are inner London? And everything around is Greater London?

There are 33 districts in London. The 12 referred to in the map are the inside ones.

Sorry I didn't phrase that correctly. All 33 are London. 12 are inner.

According to this map.

I'm a zone snob and would say it is just up to zone 2 but this map takes it out a lot further.

Here. You can argue over Newham and Greenwich - sometimes one or other isn’t included, but not the rest.

My DH grew up in z3 north London, he went to Jewish school. That's an option for us, we live in East Finchley so have a good secondary comp with tiny catchment so probably would be Jewish school. Considering moving to MH for Eden/ fortismere but Jcoss (cross communal Jewish secondary) is considered pretty good. In reply to your last post, I don't consider MH posh, it is more 'middle class' than east Finchley and has a few more more upmarket shops but there are plenty of tiny flats (converted from the large houses) there and there is a mixed population. It is a part of Haringey after all. It's not like Hampstead/belsize park at all!

I just don't see how you can compare somewhere like Streatham common/Norbury borders to the South Bank or Dulwich Village to Borough.

There are 33 districts in London. The 12 referred to in the map are the inside ones.

they might be the inner boroughs out of 32 but in my mind I don't consider them to be inner London 🤷🏻‍♀️

Surely the point is that London is not a homogeneous mass and lots of very different environments exist cheek by jowl. Where else in London is like Borough except Borough? Dulwich village shares characteristics with Highgate village or even Wimbledon village but they are not at all the same. Some though are closer to the centre than they are to the outside and for that reason they are inner.

Surely the point is that London is not a homogeneous mass and lots of very different environments exist cheek by jowl

where have I said otherwise? I guess I just see inner London & central as one and the same. Like I said I live in Balham/Wandsworth & I just don't consider it inner or central London. I see it very much as a suburb.