SW London Areas

[ZaraBlue]

Hi all,
Looking for any thoughts/experiences on living in the following areas as a young family:
-Putney
-Clapham
-Chiswick
-Barnes

We are currently house hunting. We have spent a fair bit of time on the weekend in all areas looking at homes and the surrounding areas/high streets/parks etc.
We have also done our research on schools. To be honest all look fab and of course each have their own pluses and minuses.

Just putting this out there, curious to see what others have to say! Thanks!

We've just bought in Chiswick (currently living in Hackney). We also considered Putney and Wandsworth (closer to Balham than Clapham) but we decided Chiswick met our requirements. I work in the City so although it will take me longer than say Balham (45 minutes door to door is however not terrible) we preferred Chiswick for a number of reasons:

• In general we very much preferred the vibe;
• Close to LHR (20 - 25 min by taxi);
• Love the high street and walking around Bedford Park;
• Great for transports (we are a couple of minutes from the tube (district line to Victoria station, Kensington museums etc.), 8 minutes from Overground (same line to Richmond, Hampstead, Hackney etc.) and 12 minutes from Turnham Green tube (for any late night / early morning Piccadilly line), easy to get to the Elizabeth line, 30 minutes by train / car to lovely countryside).

Can't say much about schools or children activities as we don't have children but I know schools should be good.

Watching with interest as we have very similar requirements! Chiswick ticks everything on paper for us but for some reason we didn't love it in person, although open to visiting again...

Can you afford private secondary? Are you religious? Look at the London school atlas provided by the mayor of London for state education.

Clapham is quite a big area with distinct vibes. THe area around Northcote Road/CLapham Junction is very family oriented (its Nappy Valley). THe area around CLapham High Street has a younger feel although there are lots of families too. Schools are variable if you want state. Lots of green space with the two commons and lots of activities going on. State secondary schools are not great though. Public transport is pretty good.

Balham is probably better schools wise and is again a very family area with lots of green space. Heaver Estate is lovely.

Stockwell/Oval is probably also worth a look - sounds odd but there are a number of really lovely conservation areas behind the main roads which are full of family houses and very active residents associations - ones to look at would be Lansdowne Gardens, Stockwell Park COnservation area around Stockwell Park Road, Durand Gardens conservation area and Albert Square conservation area. SOme surprisingly very famous people live there. Primary state schools are again variable but one or two are good. Like CLapham there are no good secondaries but those wanting state often look across the river to Pimlico and Eaton Square primary is popular.

What about East Sheen, way more bang for your buck than all those mentioned. Also excellent schools