Moving with small children - Walthamstow, Leytonstone, Finchley or Barnet

[Rklplusthree]

Hi all,

I currently live in Finsbury park - my son is aged 2 and we have another along the way. We are in a flat and it is getting too small. I want to move in time to apply to primary school but am at a bit of a loss. A lot of my friends have moved to the Walthamstow/Leytonstone area but house prices are now incredibly high and I feel like the primaries may be very hard to get into. My family is in Finchley and I know their preference is for us to move to Finchley/ Barnet - but again, I think the schools may be hard to get into and I'm worried it may be a bit boring!! We don't really know anyone around there at all, but moving into a slightly less busy area does appeal... any thoughts or recommendations welcome!

I agree with you, I find Finchley and Barnet dull. Might as well move out of London properly and make use of cheaper house prices! We are in a similar position. We can’t decide where to move to, we are thinking of Crouch End, but again I also fine that quite dull and transport links aren’t great.

A few of our friends have moved to Leytonstone/Wanstead, it looks fine, quite suburban still and not sure I could cope with having to use the central line!!

Not sure whether to pick an area for schools, or focus on an area we feel happy living in.

I wouldn't worry too much about the primaries as most primaries in London are above national average in terms of results, people will focus on the outstanding ones but that is not necessary. Its well worth considering secondaries though as you don't want to relocate again!

Not sure why Finchley or Barnet are considered dull. There are good schools, an arts centre and lots going on for children and adults. Lots of green space too and good transport links into the centre of London. It’s also easy to escape to the north. Some of the secondary schools are excellent and it’s easy for teenagers to travel around on their own.

We lived in Walthamstow and it's great for small children. We still have friends there (although a lot were priced out and moved to Higham's Park) and now that their children are school aged they're happy with the primary schools. We thought about moving to Leyton but I couldn't face the central line even just from the brief experience of going to house viewings! We lived very close to Walthamstow Central, but if we'd stayed in the area we were looking more around Blackhorse Road to get more house for the money. Then job stuff happened and we moved out of London.

Can wholeheartedly recommend Walthamstow/Leytonstone borders. I've lived here for 10 years - great selection of schools (including some private), close to the forest, nice community feel (the village, Francis Road etc). Victoria line not dreadful, plus almost guaranteed a seat as it's the end of the line.

Another Walthamstowian (is that a word?) and I heartily concur. If Walthamstow itself is too pricy, would Highams Park or Chingford work. They're a bit cheaper nowadays.

Another Walthamstow resident here- near Blackhorse Rd. Agree house prices have really gone up around here in recent years. The area has changed hugely since we moved here nearly 10 years ago. It’s a great area for families. I also have a friend in Barnet & it’s really easy to get there if you can drive. To me Barnet feels more suburban but I like the area.

I also love in Walthamstow (near Blackhorse Rd) - we love it here and there are lots of great primaries, no problem getting a place. However the secondary options are poor, especially for boys - I know that seems so far off it's hardly worth thinking about but you can save yourself a lot of future heartache by considering it now. And Finchley and Barnet are definitely still London 😊

I lived in Leytonstone for over 10 years, and decided to move to East Finchley after having DC. I love Leytonstone but the school options are limited, specially secondary school. We also didn't know anyone in EF, but reckon we'll meet people when DC starts school, and it'll be easier to keep those friendships if we don't have to move again for secondary.

At first, I missed the vibrancy of Leytonstone. East Finchley isn't as young or 'hip' but actually, a year in, and I am enjoying it so much now. I feel like I can breathe and fully relax. Instead of finding a human shit on my doorstep, I now encounter fox poo!

I would never move out of London completely. I love the balance we have now of somewhere quiet, but with easy access to more happening areas - just hop on the tube. There are also really easy connections to Highgate, and Hampstead Heath, which are beautiful (ahhh the ladies ponds!). London zoo is super easy to get to, as well as Kings Cross - great places to exercise DC.
Also, I actually love that the high street isn't totally gentrified.

Am I the only one who prefers the central line to the Victoria? I’m sure the Victoria line has overtaken it for heat in recent years!

The only other thing I’d say about Walthamstow is that although we’ve made good friends here from around the time my daughter turned two onwards a lot of people seem to have moved away. Some of that is Covid related & some to do with the fact that London is so international & people return to their home countries. But also a few families have moved out to the Kent/ Sussex coast.

This is true - people move after having children, or move before starting school, then another lot go when their oldest child is getting close to secondary school age. It is part of what keeps the area vibrant but it sucks for children when their friends move on. I imagine other areas have less of a turnover.

Yes I think my friend in Barnet has had a different experience, she said some of her NCT group were actually born there. But like you say it’s what makes areas like Walthamstow interesting.

The process for getting into primary schools is fairly straightforward - most community primaries take siblings and a few other priority groups, then its based on distance. What we did was choose the school we really wanted to target, check the last distance offered for the past 5 years, then we only considered properties that were within a slightly smaller distance than the shortest distance offered. For us that meant choosing a small flat, and we didn't want to commit to living in a flat long term, so we opted to rent for 18 months. We had sold out old house (important as they consider an owned property to be your home even if you are renting elsewhere). Once DC1 was settled in the school, we started to look at a property to buy (and the one we could afford was a 15 min walk away, too far to be in catchment but still close enough to have as a regular school run, have playbdates etc.)

If you do your research carefully it shouldn't be a surprise or hard in any way to get into any primary school, unless you are priced out of renting any property in the area at all. The criteria for places is pretty transparent (unless it has religious criteria or something other than simply distance).

The Victoria Line is very hot...which is lovely at the moment, but a big advantage for me is that WC is at the end of the line so you always get a seat on the tube.

I was born and grew up in Barnet, it's lovely! Well connected for travel, close to the A1, loads of green space. Good schools. I now live in North Herts so a bit further out but much cheaper and semi rural which suits me well. Also excellent transport links.

We live in Walthamstow, also near Blackhorse Road. We're not at that stage yet but anecdotally from friends there is no issue getting primary school places because there are so many - something like ten schools within a 1 mile radius rated good or outstanding around us. My partner actually grew up in Barnet and didn't want to move there, partly because he felt the price you pay in Barnet vs. the area amenities and distance from central London is quite high.

On Leytonstone vs. Walthamstow, I'd take Victoria line over Central any day of the week, despite the heat and weird noises between Walthamstow and Finsbury Park - my friend lives Leyton-way on the Central line and is always late for work, we rarely have major delays on the Victoria line and it is SO quick into town. It is expensive, though, so depends on your budget - we bought a smaller house that needed work, but I don't regret it as we've got lots of close friends nearby (including two I went to secondary school with originally in a completely different part of the country!). I'm sure you could be happy wherever you choose, but for us it was the right mix of being near friends and having green spaces/good commute/just about affordable etc.

I definitely prefer the Victoria line to the Central line (and all other lines). It runs every 2 minutes, is very reliable, and apart from being hotter than the surface of the sun in a heat wave and sometimes louder than a plane taking off, it is pretty much perfect.

It depends what you want. Walthamstow and Leyton are very urban still, but if you like gastro pubs and fancy cafes they’re great.

in Barnet you’re surrounded by green spaces so if you want to get a dog and go for long walks it’s perfect. But the restaurants and pubs are nowhere near as nice.

Both areas great for families

Walthamstow is surrounded by green spaces also. Epping Forest is right there.

In the same boat now @Rklplusthree . What did you end up doing?

Haha I didn't pick any of these and moved to Bounds Green! Absolutely love it and haven't looked back

Ha ha that's exactly where are debating between and Leytonsyone! Bounds Green is nearer family but in Leytonsyone you seem to get more for your money and lots more restaurants/ shops and green spaces. Plus didn't seem to be as many young families in bounds green. What do you love about it if you don't mind me asking?

All are equally suburban. Given the state of secondaries, there is no point living in London if outside zone 1 & 2 (ie: inner London).

Interesting. @Papricat why do you say that? Is it because they aren't good out of zone 2? My PIL live in London and take DS a few days a week so we want to be close to them.