Quitting my job to move to glorious SE London!

[FrenchforHappy22]

Name change for this one because I’m quitting my job!

Hubby and I live in Ladbroke Grove right now. Moving as soon as we can.

Hubby needs to be in Cannon Street, I’ll be moving to a job in East London. We’ve settled on somewhere with trains into London Bridge.

We have a little one so primary schools are a consideration. We’ll probably look for 2-3bed house, around £600k.

Open to going even further out, just don’t know anywhere. Help!

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/130193369

good primary and secondary catchments

Chislehurst is lovely but pricey.

Petts Wood is slightly cheaper and nice too. There's a train station very close to all the properties (tucked away in the corner).

Bexley Village (but not Bexleyheath)

I'd be tempted to stay in Ladbroke Grove though!

Blackheath and Greenwich are nice.

Personally ... Lewisham not so much!

Go down the trainline, work out the best stations for your commute then search your budget on rightmove to see if you can afford that area or not.

West Kent is lovely, East Kent is much cheaper but higher crime/mess.

For a great commute with not crazy priced housing I’d recommend Orpington, Chistlehurst, Chelsfield, Tonbridge… Sevenoaks is lovely but prices are stupid. Maybe also Rochester or Hurst Green. Even Dartford? Not Chatham it’s rough 😬

I know it seems mad to think about schools this early but a fact you need to know is that Kent has an age 11 exam with grammar schools for the brightest kids and less good schools for the rest, but Sussex/Surrey has comprehensives. So if you’re the sort of person who will push your kids academically, Kent is good but if you don’t approve of pushing children young then other areas may be better for you.

The borough of Bromley generally has good schools. Penge is the inner part, Beckenham probably too expensive but Elmers End, West Wickham, Hayes are all nice, green suburbia with trains to London Bridge.
Train lines past East Croydon into Surrey/outer suburbia give you some nice areas which are reasonably priced.
For further into inner suburbs, Blackheath is expensive but Hither Green, Crofton Park, Forest Hill are possible, as well as Crystal Palace.
Bromley or Bexley boroughs are best for good schools.
Further into Kent, Sevenoaks has good links to London Bridge.

Chislehurst?

Do yourself a favour, OP, and knock Grove Park off your list.
It does depend what part though, and there is the lovely Chinbrook Meadows and Elmstead Woods in the area
However, there is then Downham Way (I say that as somebody who lives here).
The whole part near the Railway Station looks horrible and some is due for demolition, God alone knows when though. We are the forgotten part of Lewisham Borough and it shows.

Somewhere on the following train lines:

New Beckenham/Clock House for London Bridge, Cannon St, Charing Cross in under 30min
(Kent House station - for Victoria and Blackfriars - is also walking distance from New Beckenham & Clock House)

Beckenham Junction for London Bridge and Victoria in 40min and 25min, respectively.

Sydenham or Crystal Palace for London Bridge (National Rail), Canada Water (London Overground) in 20min or so.

Penge West for London Overground as above.

All of these stations are pretty close together- some within walking distance and other a 5min drive - which is handy if there is some sort of strike going on.

@CamilleRose Commuter guide is amazing. Have spent an hour reading.
I don't imagine they have something similar for London areas? Would really help me!

The further you go out the more you get for your money but the more limited your transport options

So much to think about! One thing I'm trying to get straight is where the line is between London but a bit far out maybe Sydenham or Crystal Palace and 'may as well go a fast commuter line to Kent'. Like at what point does a 25min commute on Overground or withini London mean it's just easier to get on a train to Kent. Hope that makes sense🤓

you’ll be paying a lot more in commuting costs. Crystal Palace, Sydenham,Penge etc. are zone 3 or 4.

Why has no one mentioned Ladywell
Walking to Lewisham DLR but village feel.
London Bridge in 9 mins
Loads of green space - Hilly fields is lovely
Primary schools are good
Greenwich and Blackheath are close and we walk there

Bromley/ Bickley area. Near enough to chiselhurst station to walk there. Gets you into canon street in 30 mins. Look at catchment for bullers boys and girls (secondary). Primaries you have St George's, Bickley and la Fontaine. Be careful with petts wood and ignore the Rightmove catchments, there is a big primary school dead spot.

Something like this?
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/131547170#/?channel=RES_BUY

Brockley and Forest Hill are both fabulous. Trains to London Bridge with an easy platform change to get to Cannon Street, as well as LO services to Shoreditch High Street.

13 minutes from Norwood Junction. Buy on the north side and you're walking distance from "best place to live in London" Crystal Palace. Lots of green space and still affordable.

Brockley and Forest Hill are nice but not sure how much you'll get with your budget.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/127733960

Have you considered SE7. Very close to Blackheath and Greenwich. Lots of trains at Charlton. Good transport links to London and the countryside. Secondaries - can apply for the grammars in neighbouring boroughs.

West wickham or Hayes? Or Crystal Palace, Sydenham, Beckenham…? All lovely and trains go into London Bridge.

West Norwood.

Good housing stock, great primary schools, strong community and 20 mins into London Bridge.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/126912911

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/128783966

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/130018118

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/123809939

Hither Green and Lee are nice pockets of Lewisham that can be affordable, have a village feel and excellent primary schools. Generally good transport links.

Greenwich and Blackheath are fantastic for young families with the park/heath and tons of toddler/pre-school groups although housing can be more pricey and school catchments can be quite tight.

Lewisham and Greenwich have the DLR too, which is handy if there are any issues with the trains.

Blackheath towards Charlton is affordable and Westcombe Park too has its own railway station.

You can also access the fabulous Elizabeth line quite quickly by hopping on a bus down Charlton Rd to Woolwich but I wouldn’t chose Woolwich itself.

Agreed Ladywell is lovely.