Where in London to buy for 900K for an international family of four?

[internationalfamily]

Hi everyone,

Sorry for yet another where to buy thread, but we could really use your help and insights.

We are planning to buy a house for our family of four. We have been exploring some areas and viewing houses over the past few months, but really struggling to make our mind up..

Here are the key factors...

Budget:

• Ideally somewhere between 750K-850K, but we can stretch to 900K.

Location:

• Needs to be relatively easily accessible to City (to both London Bridge & Strand)
• Excellent primary schools for our DD (who will start reception in 2023).
• Safe
• International community: both my DH and I are Europeans, we would like an open-minded and welcoming community
• Access to green space
• We currently live and like SW, but are (especially DH is) open to move other parts of London.

House:

• Three bedrooms
• Ideally a house with some outdoor space (one of the areas we disagree with DH who prioritise location over house and is fine with a flat too)

Our shortlisted areas are: Wimbledon Town (esp. Dundonald/Chase areas), Balham (Hyde Farm/Nightingale Triangle), Colliers Wood, East Dulwich.

Where would you buy from if you were in our shoes? Are we missing some other suitable areas? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts/suggestions...

How about charlton slopes in Greenwich, it’s a lovely community and great schools, you could get a great 4 bed house for £900k. Good train connections.

Thanks everyone—this is helpful. A lot of suggestions that we haven’t considered before especially in SE London. DH will take the day off to explore Blackheath, Forest Hill, Brockley, Hither Green, Ladywell today. Anywhere else around these he should see? And any specific areas within these he shouldn’t miss? It will have to be quick & dirty, but it’s a start😉

How os that the price ? Is it a post from 2014?

I was going to suggest Sutton if you want to stay SW. Your budget would get a decent sized metroland house and garden with good schools in the area and green space. Was there something specific he didn't like or was it just too suburban/not city enough?

Because it's been divided up into a lot of maisonettes - six I think? - and that listing is only for one of them.

Yes indeed, he finds it 'not city enough' & 'too far out' from London... This is also a potential question mark for other SW London areas like Worcester Park & New Malden. Another concern is whether these areas are international. I am keen to consider those though...

We actually love visiting Tooting--find the food scene superb and overall very lively. Any specific areas that families prefer? And any areas to avoid (e.g., due to being too young, shady etc.)

If you like Tooting, this property is opposite Tooting Commons, near the Lido, parking outside and easy walking distance of Tooting Bec tube station. Well within your budget too. www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/84760416?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

You may have to trade the garden/green spaces for a smaller property to get the city feel. FWIW one of my DC bought in Sutton partly because its fairly diverse as a family area and on the line for the Thameslink. I honestly despaired of them moving away from their beloved city vibe (where they couldn't afford to buy) but they seem pretty happy with the move.

That property is nicely decorated, but it's really small - 80 square meters!

This one in Ladywell is in OP's budget, right next to the park, and is more than twice the size: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/124683764#/?channel=RES_BUY

It is small, but it's in budget and in East Dulwich. There is always a trade off! Flat closer in, smaller house in zone 2 or something bigger in a different area. Guess it depends what's important

@internationalfamily I do think Tooting ticks a lot of your boxes, especially if your DH likes that inner city feel and you want multinational/multicultural - like you I really liked visiting there, nice mix of upmarket stuff and very practical stuff too , terrific markets, - very easy to get to Balham and Clapham on tube or bus but also easy for Wimbledon and has a lot of houses both large and small as well as both northern line and thameslink . The area around the house I showed below (rectory lane) always seemed perfectly ok and quiet when I visited my son - the area around Tooting Bec has the nicest houses - but you may be priced out of those as a lot of them are really big. The roads coming off the road between Colliers Wood and Tooting centre have nice smaller houses too. A lot of them very well renovated . Great hospital too on the doorstep! I think it has more going for it than some other areas mentioned bearing in mind what you have said your DH likes and definitely has that 'London' feel. I personally like kingston, Wimbledon, surbiton, Ham , Richmond and Chiswick because I like lots of green spaces and trees - but I totally get that you don't get that much for your money and it does feel 'further out' - and less 'city'

@internationalfamily forgot to add- it's got tons of families, not all young!! Where my son lived was lots of couples with primary and secondary aged kids . My favourite thing was the Caribbean bakery round the corner!

Op you absolutely need to check out Blackheath and not just as part of a whistle stop tour of SE London :) It ticks every single one of your boxes. It even has a boulangerie and a creperie!

Transport wise it is much better than other places mentioned (I work in the Strand)

Go to Blackheath Station and wander northwards around the village and surrounding streets until you get to the Heath itself. Walk around the Heath and Greenwich Park. Look at the area east of the park (Van Brugh or Blackheath Standard) as these streets are a bit cheaper.

@internationalfamily

You need to be really careful in certain areas with schools as I assume you are doing in year admissions? And do you also need to consider secondary? Moving again in a few years would mean another chunk of stamp duty.

Worcester Park has a decent high street & still feels like London imo, have a friend there & it seems diverse. What do you mean by international? Parts of Kingston has a high % of Koreans & other nationalities I have noticed. Somewhere like Balham is pretty mc english now & Tooting will likely change in a similar way to Brixton.

Tooting has an excellent foodie scene we considered moving there but I find the high street too congested. I appreciate the greener, calmer spaces like @Crikeyalmighty now.

If you were looking in Wimbledon chase I wouldn't say that's uber city city anyway if that makes sense.

We lived in Blackheath for only 10 months and was burgled twice, which is I guess why l left it out as I always had negative vibes about it - but yes that does tick a lot of what you are looking for too

The other place I would suggest is Ealing because the new Lizzy line has made it really really quick into central London and beyond and Ealing Broadway is one of the stops .

You also get some nice places for the money, and a proper town on your doorstep and very multi cultural

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/96552391

Greenwich too ticks a lot of your boxes OP- fantastic park, river, buzzy town, London 'feel' , international feel, good foodie scene - I've got no idea about schools though - this looks good for the money

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/125313194#/?channel=RES_BUY

New Malden is 20 mins to Waterloo on the train - it’s a fast line that one.

It has a Korean community with some Korean restaurants and supermarket. Otherwise it’s a normal London multicultural mix.

I'm finding your comments about areas 'being international' a bit confusing.

Do you mean they are diverse? Most of London is very diverse.

Or do you mean ex-pat style community? Different areas have different populations in that regard, e.g. as someone has mentioned a lot of Korean in New Malden, a lot of Portuguese in Stockwell, etc.

Can you clarify?

Ah great OP! Yes honestly I do recommend you visit Blackheath and take the stroll to Greenwich Park viewpoint before making your decision. It really is stunning and you could get a house for your money.

I would imagine she's looking for somewhere more cosmopolitan that feels like London - so not Bromley, Beckenham or Sutton for example.

Not read all the replies yet but have you looked at (East) Greenwich?

We used to live on this street and it is a 2-3 minute walk to Greenwich Park, a 5-8 minute walk to the river front: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/125313194#/?channel=RES_BUY

Very quick commute to London Bridge from Maze Hill station. Bit longer to the West End but still very doable.

Quite international (but I think most parts of London are).

We live slightly further out, near this property: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/125084642#/?channel=RES_BUY

Still a very easy commute to London Bridge from Charlton station, 15-20 mintue walk to Blackheath, less than half hour walk to Greenwich park and lots of other more local green spaces nearby (Charlton Park, Maryon Wilson animal park, Maryon Park). Perhaps a bit less international but still quite diverse.

@Sd352 That's a lovely house!!! I think the one I suggested below in Greenwich was Maze hill too- it does I think tick a lot if OPs boxes

I think you were quite unlucky tbh, I've lived all over London and Blackheath feels ridiculously safe to me.

I don't think you can get away from property crime anywhere in London, I have friends living in one of the nicest parts of East Dulwich, they've had their car stolen 3 times!

To me it is more about, do I feel safe walking around the streets even at night, do I feel safe letting my kid walk to school by themselves, and to me yes, Blackheath is very quiet and safe.