Hello,
we are currently living in Richmond/Kew and are thinking of moving out of London for more space but cannot figure out the best area to go.
Checklist:
- husband commutes to London (works near city of London) so ideally not longer than an hour, 1.5 max
- husband travels a lot for work so we can’t be too far from Heathrow airport
- We have two young boys (1 and 3) so need a place with good school options: private and mixed gender
- we have family in north London but we don’t necessarily need to be so close to them, but a huge plus!
- Really want a community-feel but still near a lively high street, things to do such as restaurants, cafes, pubs, library, shops, museum (plus), etc.
- In an ideal world I would love to find a location that has semi-rural feel but also has a big enough town/high street nearby as I don’t know if we are ready for very isolated/rural life but I dream of a house with a lot of green/garden space that isn’t on top of neighbors
- budget is high (range £1.75-2.85)
- area near green space/parks
- family-friendly with lots to do for kids
We love Richmond but struggling to find a place with lots of space in budget. Kew is nice but DH hates the district line as it ALWAYS has issues and he sometimes ends up commuting 1.5-2 hours having to find alternative ways. And he feels like we are living in an awkward in-between life: we are quite outside of central London, living in Kew has a village-y feel but we are not living in a large house with large garden that you can get when you live more out of London and end up having a better commute.
Would love any recommendations! Thank you!!
From my own searches I’ve thought of checking out:
Kingston/Surbiton/Thames Ditton (is this even worth the move as not too far from where we currently live?)
Esher/Claygate
Weybridge
Farnham
Guilford
Marlow
St Albans
Mill Hill (still London)
any towns near Oxford?