Where to buy our first family home in London?

[househunter93]

Looking for recommendations on where might be good to buy a house in London. We are a couple in our early thirties looking to find a family house with at least 3 bedrooms and a garden.

We love areas like Hampstead, Richmond, Chiswick because they are leafy, family-friendly with good schools, and crucially, connected by tube as we work centrally. However our budget is £1.1m which probably wouldn’t stretch that far.

We’ve explored Ealing and are quite fond of Northfields / South Ealing especially around Lammas Park but it’s a bit boring - not many independent shops or nice high streets.

Any tips for where else we could look that ticks our boxes would be much appreciated!

Why do you need to be near the tube? The ginger line and normal train lines connect everywhere that doesn't have the tube.

@DappledThings what is the ginger line? I don’t love trains - they’re usually more infrequent and they often break down or there are strikes. Maybe somewhere like Clapham Junction or Denmark Hill are a bit better as they’re more frequent but generally speaking I’d prefer tube.

The Overground is the ginger line. So hybrid of tube and big train really. Puts a lot of the family friendly places in South London back into contention.

Oh, I thought it was orange! 😂 I see what you mean.

I had to visit the bit of Acton near Chiswick once for work and felt very unsafe on a few particular streets. That said, I agree some areas very close by are lovely, it's just it can suddenly transition within metres. Be very careful.

@madeinmanc that is a very good point and tbh why I always steered towards the Turnham Green side. Do you know which parts to avoid? I was looking at the houses around Acton Green…

No, I don't know exactly, sorry. It just sticks out in my memory because I was carrying something valuable as part of the errand and I suddenly felt unsafe and almost got a taxi.

Having said that, this was a few years ago, areas can change pretty quickly.

I was walking north from Chiswick Auctions if that helps, carrying said valuables. As I say, more than five years ago now. I'm not familiar with the area so it's best if someone else with up-to-date knowledge advises.

Edit: I now see that auction house has more than one location and I don't remember which one it was, so my post was not helpful at all, sorry!

Pitshanger Lane in Ealing. Ticks all your boxes really. I used to go into Victoria from there every day. I’d move back in a heartbeat.

I know Wimbledon well. Wimbledon Park is really nice - loads of families.

I'd love to see a 3 bed freehold house in Hampstead for £1.1m! Flats and tiny 1 bed mews houses (often leasehold) yes, 3 bed houses not so much in my experience. V happy to be proved wrong though.

I always found parts of Hampstead a bit creepily empty-feeling, personally, especially the most wealthy areas. Not that I would turn down living there!

@whenindoubtgotothelibrary ha, me too!!!

@whenindoubtgotothelibrary here’s a 3 bed semi-detached freehold property in Hampstead, though it is very small: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/124187606

We live in Raynes Park, and the train into Waterloo is far quicker and more reliable than the District Line! We almost moved to a smaller place in Southfields, but are very relieved we didn't, as we feel far better connected than before (and we used to live in Fulham).

Yes - I've seen that one - it's been for sale for ages and keeps dropping in price - I think it's hard up against the Finchley Road.

that Frognal house is a horror, you're almost entirely underground...

Tufnell Park is great. Or Kentish Town. Or Archway.

@mondaytosunday thanks! A couple of people have recommended the South Park grid to me because it’s equidistant from the northern line and district line. Which roads would you say are the nicest around there?

Balham?
Lots of independent shops and cafes, good parks, tube and rail, good schools.

:) Interesting point.
Usual advice on potential issues with train tracks at the bottom is of course to go round during normal train time running and listen. Often nowhere near as bad as some folks think - and far better than many roads.
More secure as well maybe?

Overground still not appreciated by many. Some bits of the overground have frequencies of every 7 mins or so all day which is better than some bits of supposed metroland at quiet times. Tends to be very reliable in my experience and easier access. I can walk out my door straight onto a train - no burrowing underground - love it. Helps if interchanges well with tube for when you have to resort to that.

Wanstead hits every single one of your boxes. Leafy, and incredibly close to the flats or forest, lovely high street, good schools, on the tube. Housing is nice (and I'm objective as I don't live there) and you can get something in your budget.

But it is east.

Ealing schools are really good, hard to find a bad one. Northfields and Hanwell are really lovely areas, great community feeling, not boring there's loads going on! Also, so many lovely parks, it's full of young families. You'll get a nice 4-bed period terrace for your budget.

Is anyone familiar with Hampstead Garden Suburb? I love how it feels like the countryside and many of the houses are within budget, but I wonder about the transport links.