Areas similar to Richmond?

[Sammymommy]

Hi everyone,

I suffer from stress and anxiety and have decided to move to a quieter area, I need to slow down. I researched heavily online and just fell in love with Richmond, more exactly Ham. I also really like the area around Mount Sheen Primary School. I was absolutely sure I would love living there.

I went a few times before and don't remember being stressed by the plane noise but Holly Molly, this time, when I went to see houses in East Sheen, I ended up with a horrible migraine and so stressed it took me 3 days to recover. And the traffic.... And there are so many people. I might put my big girls pants on and go spend a day in Ham to see how it is like but I am having anxiety just thinking about it. Or any area is the South West really.

I am now back into a spiral of despair, having no idea where to move to. My children are young but I have moved about every 18 months for the past 10 years and I want to settle down and allow my children to have stability for the next 15 years while they are in shcool.

Anyway, I would love it if any of you could tell me of any area I could check?

What I am looking for :

• A quiet, slow life. Bordering on dull, really.
• Activities for children.
• Green spaces. A lot of green spaces. Parks, leafy streets, woods, fields, if there are deers, it's a plus... The more the better. But not rural.
• Walkable and with good buses services, I don't drive.
• Lots of nice playgrounds.
• Cute little shop, libraries, restaurants, cafes, community centre. A small community feel.
• Little streets with villagey feeling to it (like in Hampstead around Christchurch Hill)
• Water. A river or canal. I used to live in Angel and love to walk all the way to Victoria Park.
• We don't need to commute for work so that is not a problem. Any zone in Greater London is good. Or outside of it, actually, we are ready to consider.
• Maybe not too small. I don't want to live in a lovely area of 10 streets but having to be confined to it.
• Flat. I used to live in Crouch End and I loved it but walking is important for me and I don't want to have to climb a hilly street again. Ever.
• Maybe an area surrounded by other areas with a nice feel to it (I used to love that I could go to Muswell Hilll, Highgate, Alexandra Palace, Strout Green, Finsbury Park...)
• I am not really interested in the posh/competitive side of (some of) Richmond so something a bit more low key and diverse is perfect.
• An area with (at least some) large houses (we would be looking for a minimum of 5 bedrooms and I get claustrophobic in narrow houses but Iove Victorian houses rather than modern houses). We have a comfortable budget so not really a problem.
• Not overcrowded.

Neighbourhoods I like to have an idea : Hampstead Garden suburb, Crouch End (around Weston Park/Haringey Park), Strout Green, Swiss Cottage (Eton Avenue and around), Tufnell Park and the area between Tufnell Park Rd and Whittington Park, Ham without the planes :) .

Gosh, I realise I am an over-privileged nightmare. Believe me, I am tired of myself. Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

(If you can find me the house from Practical Magic in a flat Crouch End, I'll owe you one, no question asked ;) ).

What is your budget? Are you looking to rent or buy? Both of those will influence suggestions.

We are looking to buy.

We can go up to 3.5/4 mil 😳. I am a bit embarassed to admit it. I am lucky that we have this kind of budget and I know it, I just can't find an area that feels right.

arenyou only considering north London? If not take a look at teddington, specifically around bushy park.

have a look at barnes too - more leafy than neighbouring Wandsworth but you might consider it too central.

consider Surrey too. Oxshott and Cobham might suit?

if you’re only wanting north London what the places you’ve suggested are the ones I would suggest too. Have you discounted them? What about Primrose Hill? Hampstead village lovely

I am really sensitive to noise and I am a bit scared that the whole area around Richmond will be too much plane noise, even Barnes/Teddington?

I could consider anywhere in greater London/around, I just happened to have lived mostly in North London. I was actually quite excited to move to South London but after some research, it seems like the whole of South London is a problem for people sensitive to noise because of Heathrow's flight paths.

I mean, I managed to find the traffic on Crouch End high street overwhelming. Hampstead is nice but not what I am looking for. I think I want to get away from central London unless there is that secret quiet and leafy area I never heard about.

With that budget, go to Wimbledon village

Honestly if you’re sensitive to noise, traffic, overcrowding etc and would prefer a slower pace of life then any London borough is going to be difficult whatever your budget. Could you consider moving out if you don’t have a massive commute? There are loads of areas where you can still manage without a car (although you might have to manage without a huge garden/ stables as these tend to be more rural). What about:

• Amersham;
• St Albans;
• Berkhamsted;
• Henley;
• Guildford;
• Cobham;
• Haslemere (Surrey);
• Lewes;
• Woodbridge;
• Norwich.

They have quite different feels and may not satisfy all of your requirements but they might be worth a try, all are pretty affluent with communities, things to do and could be managed without kids, some (like Woodbridge, Lewes and Norwich), close to water and Berkhamsted is on the canal and river.

Or if you’d be worried about the lack of public transport what about somewhere on the end of a tube line like High Barnet, Whetstone, Moor Park etc. Amersham is also on the end of the met line.

Wimbledon? Lots of green spaces, large houses, good public transport, lots of ponds, nice shops ... I know you said not SW London because of the air traffic noise, but there really isn't any in the Wimbledon Village area, I promise.

I live in Maida Vale and it ticks some of your boxes, especially towards Little Venice. Like a PP says though, there's always going to be noise in London. Maida Vale is pretty quiet but you're also close to hospitals, busy roads etc so it's not silent by any means.

FWIW, I grew up in Richmond.

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/65081959/?search_identifier=e89ae8f325b4a0cf91126c6ebd5ec3430bdeb534f76c04712984132b765a64b6

I know that area really well OP and have lived there before and Ham and north kingston and Teddington are totally fine in my opinion. You see and hear it very occasionally in the distance, but it's not remotely dominant . The cut off really is the top of Richmond Hill before it starts to wind down into Petersham. Richmond, East Sheen and north Sheen and Kew on the other hand , it's very dominant, as it is in parts of Twickenham too. I've lived in Windsor so am really really aware of how it can be as it was very bad there. I love Ham by the way.

Wimbledon village

If you can go up to that budget level then Wimbledon village is brilliant too as is Hampstead /Belsize park which you say you like.

I was thinking about this sort of thing- has quite a Richmond vibe and backs on to the river, plus you could be back in London quickly if necessary and it’s in a town rather than down a lane.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/136351178?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

Have a look at Kent. I'd say Sevenoaks ticks a lot of your boxes but its not flat and there's very little water involved. You could try Tonbridge which has both flat areas and some water but is not as green.

Blackheath Village has that village vibe, is stunning and very quiet for London. Great transport links and Greenwich Park and the river on your doorstep.

Many places in Surrey in order to get a big house will mean driving as the bus services/proximity to amenities won't be great.

Esher or Surbiton?

Sorry and I meant the areas I listed could be managed without a car if you pick the right house.

Wim village is the best of my suggestions & I would move there in a heartbeat. Secondary schools you may prefer private though as I think the best state ones are single sex/faith.

If you do look at Sevenoaks this is in a lovely central location near the cricket ground, lots of green nearby. The train to Charing Cross takes about 30 minutes.

Or this in Lewes, needs some updating but could be stunning and close to parks, river and the sea.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/136443041?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

I'd recommend Amersham. Avoid Berkhamsted that a PP mentioned, it's very hilly and it gets the planes overhead that are coming into Luton airport (as does Tring which is otherwise also vair naice).

Arkley, close to Barnet.

I lived in Richmond and got used to and tuned out the plane noise very quickly. Ham and North Kingston by the river, Barnes, Teddington, Surbiton (river roads - Maple Village). Deer can be found in Home Park by Hampton Court as well as Richmond Park.

Although with a 4m budget you aren't going to get much diversity!

I'm from SW London & don't like the plane noise in some parts but loads of places don't have it.

some wim village options

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/137386112#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/134147873#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/136649747#/?channel=RES_BUY