House in london 600k budget

[NameChangeLifeChange]

Considering a move to london from the north due to a really good work opportunity. DC age 6 and 3- quite confident so I think they’d settle quiet easily somewhere new.

We used to live in SE london (penge) so I know those areas well but we are flexible on location really. Commute would be to London Bridge 3 x a week.

Any ideas where we could afford somewhere that fits the following:
600k budget
3 rooms
Ideally a house
safe family friendly area

Appreciate it’s a not a huge budget for london so we are realistic that we may not have the best transport links/much outdoor space.

If you are up for a bit of a project you could look at the 3 bed semi detached with garage in Shortlands BR2 - Ravensmead Road - on with homezone.

Chelsfield. 17 minutes at rush hour to London Bridge. Very family friendly and state grammar schools if that appeals.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/126007205#/?channel=RES_BUY

Come back to Penge. It's a great place and is changing so much for the better.

@Haus1234 I remember when those houses were about 60K!

Leyton

West Norwood is a lovely area for families, with easy access to London Bridge and Victoria via the overground, or a 15 min bus ride to Brixton for the tube.

There are a few on RM for £600k, mist under offer already but definitely worth a look.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/124140563

Local primary schools are all good and you are nearish to some excellent secondaries.

Worcester park/carshalton beeches? good schools, safe, green spaces. Some friends moved that way.

Have a really good look at schools if buying in SE19. There’s an area which has Kingsdale as its nearest secondary, and it doesn’t admit on distance, so the kids around it don’t have a closest secondary and have to apply to schools further away with less chance of getting in. It doesn’t apply to the whole postcode but that College Green one looks close potentially.

Places like Wanstead, South Woodford and Woodford Green are quite nice and safe and on the Central line for a decent journey into Central London.

Wanstead is the most expensive but Woodford has several decent houses in your price range on Rightmove.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/123423371#/?channel=RES_BUY
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/126820610#/?channel=RES_BUY

@SD25

Really? Improving? It was a dump, I grew up there. That said penge was a dump too. I lived in upper Norwood last, that was ok, close to Crystal Palace

@Davethecat2000

West Norwood nice, now I've heard it all. Was a dive when I last lived in London with a crime problem. Oh well, was quite a long time ago.

My advice, get a job anywhere but London

The house you linked to OP is close to New Eltham Station - fast trains to LB can take as little as 14 minutes. Also walkable to Eltham High St and there is a very good comprehensive nearby - St Thomas More.

You would also be on the edge of Bexley Borough so could look at the Grammar Schools in Bexley, Dartford (NE goes to Dartford in the other direction) and Orpington (Bromley). Great area in my opinion to get into central London or out to the countryside/seaside and a short drive/bus ride to Blackheath and Greenwich. Greenwich is quite a 'green' borough with the park and Oxleas Woods and Bexley has some nice spaces too and is close to Chislehurst Woods (also some nice bars and restaurants there).

It's not as trendy though as Penge, Crystal Palace, Dulwich etc but you get a lot more house for your money and i think it's a lot safer than most of the areas mentioned by previous posters. Thornton Heath is horrible by the way!

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/126974090

This is a nice road and has good primary schools nearby.

@gogohmm it's very nice.. not sure when you were last here but I've been here 23 years and seen a massive change.

West Norwood is fine, some parts are very nice, some less so.

It has improved a lot.

I would avoid Thornton Heath tbh.

What about coming back to penge/beckenham. Look along the Hayes line. Maybe towards west Wickham/Eden park for the langley senior schools. Most of the primaries are really good so that's not really a problem. Go to Hayes if you want a mixed secondary. It's just had its ofsted so seeing if it's still outstanding!

@gogohmm We get it, you're old and don't like London. Maybe don't post on London threads.

Everywhere appears to be a dump according to @gogohmm 🙄

Norwood is

Why not Penge? Great family area and the public transport is way better than Palace or West Norwood- the line is much faster, and you're also on the ELL or change at Herne Hill for Thameslink. Walk to the top end of beckenham for the charing X line. You can be in Brixton in 6 minutes.

Loads of decent primary schools too. Lots of green space.

It also has a great sense of community and brilliant street art. Good pubs and a brewery.

Oops Norwood is on the up but that bit as you go up to the clock tower always seems so depressing to drive through.

West Norwood is getting pretty chi chi as people are priced out of Clapham/Balham. There are some good primaries and Dunraven and Graveney are good state secondaries if you can get into them. Also a leisure centre. revamped library cum picturehouse cinema and a lot of community led initiatives. The clue is it has to be West Norwood the rest of the Norwoods are not so nice. The main downside will be that the gardens are small and there isn't a lot of green space bar the cemetery which is not suitable for running around.....

How long can Thornton heath stay as a no go zone, really, with the train to Victoria and reasonably priced houses. Just a matter of time.