Living in Teddington/ Twickenham

[LongbourneCat]

Hello!

another post asking about riverside towns - sorry for anyone finding this very repetitive!

I was hoping someone out there might live in Teddington or one of the neighbouring places and be able to tell me a bit about what it’s like to live there.

DP, two under 5s and I have to move as we are bursting at the seams of our north London flat and would quite like a house with enough bedrooms, a proper (ie not converted cupboard) kitchen and a garden. It doesn’t have to be huge (our budget is on the lower side for London) and a nice area is what matters most to us.

Is Teddington as nice as it looks? We love thae on paper it sees close to parks, the river, drivable to the countryside, bookshop on the high street, cinemas in Kingston, Richmond and Esher, but you could still do a day or an evening in central London…

Are there parent and toddler groups? What are the state schools like? As a teacher & writer would we be - not sure how to put this, but we looked round Barnes & realised we might not fit in…

Is the access to nature as brilliant as it looks? And the high street as lovely?

what is it like for noise, traffic & crime?

does anyone know about the area spanning Collis School to Hampton Wick? Properties seem more affordable, but I wondered if there were any downsides?

literally any Stories or experiences of this area including surrounding options would be hugely appreciated. We’ve lived in the same place for over a decade and moving with children feels very scary!

@AnnieHack Teddington, I mean.

In terms of diversity, it is so much more diverse than it was when we first moved here 13 years ago. For an example of diversity, 12 out of 30 of my eldest's class (including him) are from at least a partly non-white background. Although I have to say I don't think there are any teachers from a minority background at the school!

@AnnieHack thanks!

As an area, it predominantly white middle class, more so than north London but then where I was in north London was a predominantly Jewish area. But in my daughters primary school class of 28, 24 kids had at least one or both parents from different countries. Her best friends are Turkish, German and Italian. It’s perhaps lacking on ethnic diversity but that is not to say there isn’t any.

My neighbours are a French couple one side, and a gay couple the other side. People have located themselves here from all over it seems, for work as I did or wanting to get a bit more outside main London when having kids. I love being near Richmond, could never afford to live there but I love it on the river. Am super close to Bushy Park and Hampton Court.

I just met some new neighbours today from Eastern European countries, both former Olympic rowers.it’s very sporty around here!

Hi OP

I live in Teddington and my DC is at Teddington School now, having gone through locally from nursery - Hampton Wick Nursery & Infants and St John's.

All great schools.

We live very close to school and a five minute walk to Bushey Park, ten minutes to Teddington high street and fifteen to Kingston.

I have had no experience of crime but you do hear of it and the litter levels can be awful.

House prices are insane - Hampton can be cheaper, and as others have mentioned Twickenham etc. Could your children share a room initially as 2 beds are much cheaper? If you can get the first into infants the second would likely get a sibling place. IF you could hold on til the eldest is in high school you could move then......

Good luck and welcome if you do come!

I’m just catching up with these messages, and thank you again to everyone. This has all been really helpful and it sounds like a lovely area. I’ve put messages up about a few London locations over the years and this is by far the friendliest response I’ve had 🙂🙂 so thank you.
our top budget is about 800K so there is a smattering of options that are coming up on Rightmove, so we’re looking and slightly keeping our fingers crossed that interest rates drop a little as that is the main obstacle at the moment.

@LongbourneCat if you're checking out the Fulwell area you should also check out Hampton Hill. Fulwell is its nearest station. It's a lovely high street, with a theatre, some nice cafes, gastro pubs and restaurants, and its own entrance to Bushy Park just behind the lovely little library. It also has Hampton Open Air Pool, which is awesome for all things swimming related, as well as open air concerts. If you like a walk or a bike ride, you can easily access Teddington, Kingston or Hampton Court by walking across Bushy Park. We love it here.

Local primaries are Hampton Hill Juniors and Stanley. Depending on location, well regarded secondary options are Turing House, Hampton High, Waldegrave or Teddington School. (The area is also in catchment for Tiffin if you're that way inclined).

Hi there

A real response.

teddington is lovely, safe, family orientated. It’s a little bit snobby if I’m honest. It’s not very diverse at all, if you aren’t middle class or white I’m not sure you’d fit in to the social circles here…unless you have some amazing career and they can brag about you as a friend

We are a mixed race family and your comment about race doesn't ring true at all. If you are not middle class then yes perhaps you would feel like you were in the minority, but in my eldest's year 3 class I would say around a third of the kids are from a mixed or other non-white backgrounds. When we moved here in 2011 it was very homogenous, but it's a lot more diverse now. And yes there are a few snobby people around, but we haven't encountered many - and there are snobby people in all affluent towns, but they are easily spotted and avoided :)

I’m not sure what part of teddington or what school your children go to.
In a year of over 90 children, there’s one black child and around two mixed raced children, maybe three. A handful of other cultures.

Again, I am speaking from my own experiences and some others I speak to. Even some very middle class people find Teddington to be snobby as a whole. It may not ring true for you, but again, this is my truthful experience.

There have been many, let’s say ignorant to be polite comments from parents in the playground surrounding race, immigration and the building of social housing in Teddington.

The schools call it a “Teddington bubble” because they recognise it doesn’t reflect the rest of London in many ways.

it’s a beautiful area, of course there are some lovely people but I have to disagree - Teddington has a very long way before it can even be considered at all diverse.

I'm guessing the school you describe is SMSP, I always think that school has a kind of children of the corn vibe 😂 Collis and Stanley are more diverse in my experience. The Teddington bubble is real, but it's more a class thing rather than racially divided.

I agree that Teddington couldn't be described as diverse, like Tottenham or somewhere like that - I just meant it's much more diverse than it was 12 years ago when we moved here. Regarding snobby people as I said you can usually spot them a mile off and avoid accordingly :)

Hi…
My child is at Collis and it is definitely NOT diverse.

no…I do not mean diverse like Tottenham. Barnes is more diverse than Teddington. Still has that villagey posh feel Twickenham and Kingston are more diverse and still nice areas.

Teddington seems to have a lot of older, sheltered, upper middle class types who very much stick to themselves.

If you wear sweaty Betty, lululemon, you or your partner are British and have a good career, they might be nice to you. Otherwise they don’t want to know.

They are super judgemental of single parents, people with lowly careers and younger mothers. Experienced first hand. They will snub you mostly.

I’d say the class and racial issue do align somewhere.

I have found my little tribe, but this is not only my experience of Twddington.

Teddington seems to have a lot of older, sheltered, upper middle class types who very much stick to themselves.

These are the kind of people to be avoided at all cost 😂We must move in completely different circles to have such different experiences of the same place and even the same school.

(I have to confess I do have a couple of pairs of Sweaty Betty leggings but only because a friend works for them and gets a large discount - they are really comfy!)

We used to live a flat in the river roads area and that area was full of the type of people you describe for sure as no one but those types can afford the house prices; but we’ve moved a bit more towards the Fulwell end and it’s a completely different vibe.

Hi! I was wondering how you got on with your search? Did you end up moving to the area? I found your question while googling as I’m looking to do much the same! We are an artist and a designer, we used to live east London - but have been out of the capital for 10 years. Gotta move back now with DS age 8.
Idea is to be as close to London as possible but not feel like London! - we got used to nice green spaces . And like you - i wonder about finding a lefty arty crowd. So I was wondering how you’ve found it? Currently looking at stanley school, got a visit planned in a few weeks! Any advice appreciated!

For local arts maybe check out Landmark Arts Centre (Teddington) & Eel Pie Island (Twickenham) as a starting point, and go from there (art is not my specialism, but I know both of those have art fairs).

Oh, and this arts festival is an annual event too: https://artsrichmond.org.uk/art-house-open-studios