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Original poster

“Naice” yummy mummy/ Gail’s area london

314 replies

Xenaaa · 24/09/2023 20:52

Hi

I would really appreciate any help!

I’m expecting my second child at the moment and we are having to upsize to a house. I’m really looking for a villagey london urban area that’s “naice”.

Think yummy mummies, coffee shops, Gail’s, Waitrose… bookshops, speciality shops, boutiques etc … basically I’m painting a picture of Richmond/Chiswick. But unfortunately they are out of our price range.

I came across "Askew village” in Shepherd’s Bush- it’s more within our price range- not far from Chiswick…Hammersmith is in close range for independent schools for secondary.

what do you think? Is it up and coming? Or am I being delusional and it’s actually not what I’m expecting.

any advice welcome!

Thank you.

OP posts:
Trufflethespaniel · 25/09/2023 18:08

We lived in Barnes before moving out to the shires. Now live in a beautiful Georgian rectory with huge garden in a real village for roughly what we would have paid a larger house in Barnes. Don't miss the London grime and silly snobbery often on show in that neck of the woods.

HoliHormonalTigerLillyTheSecond · 25/09/2023 20:39

Streamorwatchlive · 25/09/2023 17:16

If you go to Rightmove you can filter by ‘Gail’s Bakery’ proximity

And "pretentious twat quota" 🙄

overdalexx · 25/09/2023 21:07

PinkRoses1245 · 24/09/2023 21:34

Blackheath (or nearby), or Dulwich / Herne Hill / Crystal Palace?

Haven't read entire thread but East Dulwich has long had a reputation for being yummy mummy territory. Definitely a few jogging with their prams round Dulwich Park.

overdalexx · 25/09/2023 21:10

By the by, is there a male equivelent of "yummy mummy"? Can't say am aware of one. Are we in a property market matriarchy?

Mirabai · 25/09/2023 22:19

Trufflethespaniel · 25/09/2023 18:08

We lived in Barnes before moving out to the shires. Now live in a beautiful Georgian rectory with huge garden in a real village for roughly what we would have paid a larger house in Barnes. Don't miss the London grime and silly snobbery often on show in that neck of the woods.

And that’s fine if that’s what you’re after. Personally I have no interest in living in a village.

Mirabai · 25/09/2023 22:20

overdalexx · 25/09/2023 21:10

By the by, is there a male equivelent of "yummy mummy"? Can't say am aware of one. Are we in a property market matriarchy?

Faddy daddy? Hunky monkey?

PathOfLeastResitance · 25/09/2023 22:22

I have no idea what a Gail’s is but I know if I ever come across it, I’m swerving it.

Trufflethespaniel · 25/09/2023 22:23

@Mirabai given your discerning taste on different sourdough loaves 🙄, I am very happy to hear that.

Heronwatcher · 25/09/2023 22:26

overdalexx · 25/09/2023 21:10

By the by, is there a male equivelent of "yummy mummy"? Can't say am aware of one. Are we in a property market matriarchy?

Swedish people have “Latte papas” which I quite like- it’s not a direct read across though as it mainly refers to men enjoying their (amazingly generous and equitable) maternity leave. I do always picture them with a topknot and a baby bjorn carrier though.

BarbaraofSeville · 25/09/2023 22:55

I do always picture them with a topknot and a baby bjorn carrier though

I was in another Nordic country last week and there was indeed a lot of latte papas out with their babies strapped to them under their coats. Or running around with them in a 'if road bike manufacturers made prams'.

Namddf · 25/09/2023 22:58

bopbey · 24/09/2023 23:26

What does ‘naice yummy mummy’ actually mean? This is an honest question. FWIW naice autocorrected to naive.

white, posh, private schools, thin is my interpretation of naice yummy mummy.

Amanda from Motherland. 😂

Namddf · 25/09/2023 23:02

Heronwatcher · 25/09/2023 14:03

Personally I preferred SW London with little kids. Liked Wimbledon and Southfields. You’d get a good house in Southfields for your money.

Some tips for living in these areas. If you’re going state schools research catchment areas down to the nearest street. Do not believe estate agents when they say there are good local schools. You need to know whether you’ll get into one of them. There’s information on council websites. Despite having good schools my ex local area had several dead zones where you wouldn’t get into them.

Start thinking about secondary school quickly. If you want private secondary better to move the kids early (yr 4 or 5) into the private system if you can afford it. Otherwise definitely tutor from about year 4 and aim for a range of options and tutor specifically for those schools.

Be prepared to fight and be a mistress of admin for everything! If you live in an area like that everything is oversubscribed. Private schools have kids registered at birth, nurseries have kids registered before the woman is pregnant (not a joke). 2 yr waiting list for swimming lessons. Waiting list for brownies closed. After school clubs/ nannies pretty impossible.

Also be prepared for crime- even very naice areas have regular car thefts, road rage, muggings of kids on their phones, burglaries, bike thefts and stabbings. If you stay in London you can’t really escape it or buy your way out of it. Get your kids streetwise. If they ponce about in the street on a phone with a private school uniform on they are a target.

And then be prepared to hanker after a move to the Home Counties when all of the above becomes too much!

I’m so glad this isn’t my life.

Venturini · 26/09/2023 05:58

Nailed it 😂

Lastchancechica · 26/09/2023 06:04

Namddf · 25/09/2023 23:02

I’m so glad this isn’t my life.

Show quote history

That sounds horrendous. Exhausting in the extreme.

bopbey · 26/09/2023 06:49

@Namddf As someone who was born, raised & educated in SW London (when parts of it were actually proper rough) the above isn't the experience of many. And a lot of the "extreme ness" eg daft waiting list/dozens of extra curriculars is a result of people who move into London & think they are raising in kids in a highly competitive jungle with danger on every corner! Luckily a lot do in fact leave for the home counties by secondary stage.

Original poster
Xenaaa · 26/09/2023 07:05

This is so accurate of london life as a parent! With my first child I struggled to find a good nursery because everyone else had already applied whilst pregnant! It really is a rat race.

OP posts:
Original poster
Xenaaa · 26/09/2023 07:08

(That’s a response to @Heronwatcher )

also we put an offer down on the house. A few people did mention that an up and coming area wouldn’t have all those “markers of a naice area” because it hasn’t reached there. I would rather a decent house size than a small
one in Chiswick. The area is very close to a park
and good schools. Though…perhaps I should be applying now whilst pregnant!! So fingers crossed.

OP posts:
GreenestValley · 26/09/2023 07:18

Hope you survive the ghetto, OP!

Namddf · 26/09/2023 10:41

Lastchancechica · 26/09/2023 06:04

That sounds horrendous. Exhausting in the extreme.

Show quote history

And all so you can live in a ‘naice’ area with a Gail’s!

Mirabai · 26/09/2023 10:45

Trufflethespaniel · 25/09/2023 22:23

@Mirabai given your discerning taste on different sourdough loaves 🙄, I am very happy to hear that.

What? Someone doesn’t like Gail’s sourdough? - shoot them!

Lastchancechica · 26/09/2023 10:46

Namddf · 26/09/2023 10:41

And all so you can live in a ‘naice’ area with a Gail’s!

Show quote history

What? I live rurally. I couldn’t tell you where put nearest Gails is 😂 but we do have Hobbs!

bootsyjam · 26/09/2023 11:34

Interesting that supposedly non racist people posting here have automatically assumed race was being talked about when referring to chicken shops. I eat at chicken shops. So do other middle class people. And working class people. And white people.
What are they implying? Bit of a Kelly Osborne moment r.e. Latin cleaners methinks...

bopbey · 26/09/2023 12:04

This is so accurate of london life as a parent! With my first child I struggled to find a good nursery because everyone else had already applied whilst pregnant! It really is a rat race

As I said it's only accurate for a certain sector of Londoners, the ones who want "naice" areas 😆

Bear2014 · 26/09/2023 12:24

This thread is hilarious - do people actually search for property based on proximity to Gail's?!

Spectacularly missing the point here, but Blackbird sourdough (and everything) beats Gail's hands down.

Dulwich is what you're looking for IMO. I have never seen the appeal of Shepherd's Bush. There's a motorway running through it and it's just some posh roads penned in by big estates and a shopping centre.

iheartlurchers · 26/09/2023 13:24

Haven't read the whole thread but I used to live in the 'askew village' part of Shepherd's Bush. In the time I was there Askew Road gentrified a little bit - there are now some decent cafes and a posh butcher etc that cater for the 'naice' middle class families who live on the surrounding streets.

The terraced houses are lovely, and you will find the like-minded demographic you want - HOWEVER, the area is much rougher than lots of other London areas that offer what you are looking for. There are some huge estates with quite a lot of deprivation - and despite Westfield, the area around the Green remains really grotty and quite edgy at night. Pretty much everyone I know who's ever lived round there has been mugged and/or burgled at some point. Yes, you are close to Chiswick and close(ish) to Notting Hill, but you have to run the gauntlet of some fairly rough parts and busy roads to get there!

I don't want to do it down because there's lots to love about areas like this - they have their own kind of energy - but I moved to Crouch End when I had kids, and it's a lot calmer and safer. Hope that helps.