Hello,
My partner and I (and our 5 year old daughter) currently rent a flat in Ealing. I work in South Kensington, where I need to be 2 to 3 times a week. My partner works from home. We are planning to buy a property this summer. Our max budget is tiny, 375-385k.
We like Ealing and our daughter is in reception and she loves the school. So, our plan A is to find a decent 2 bedroom flat in Ealing so that we don't have to move. But with our budget is going to be quite a challenge, as we have seen some 30 flats and the decent ones are mostly >420k.
Alternatively, the plan B is to move outside London and find a good commuting town and try to buy a 2 or 3 bed house, or a large garden flat.
The town would need to be within 1:15 min (door to door) from my office (South Kensington). 1:30 min could be acceptable if everything else checks in. It would need to have very good state schools and have things to do both for kids and adults (i.e nice restaurants, some shopping options, a nice high street, green areas etc...). And of course it will need to be safe.
Crucially, my partner does not drive, so the property will need to be within 20 mins walk from the station and from our daughter's school.
A major concern is the in-year transfer we would have to do for my daughter primary school.
After a lot of research we have come up with the following towns:
- Hitchin
- Tunbridge Wells
- Guildford/Godalming (these are likely not in our budget)
- Potentially Reading area but I have been reading contrasting opinions on Reading and I am not sure Caversham would be suitable for my partner who does not drive.
Thank you in advance!