Advice on buying family home in Beckenham: best areas, schools and commute

[Phoenix2022]

Hi everyone! I’m looking for some advice from those living in Beckenham, Hayes, West Wickham, Chislehurst, or nearby areas in Bromley, London.

We’re hoping to find a 3-bedroom (possibly 4) family home with a garden, with a budget of £600k.

We want to be in a “nice” area that’s safe and close to good schools.

Could you recommend the best areas or specific roads to focus on? Also, what’s the train service like, as we noticed some stations have slower connections into London? And how are the local community and high street?

Thanks in advance!

Hey !
how did you get on with your research? Im
also thinking about moving to Beckenham
and was wondering about areas and schools. Currently living in Crystal Palace and have 2 little ones.

We’ve recently seen houses in West Wickham, Hayes, and Beckenham. We’re currently living centrally and wanted somewhere more suburban and leafy, though I personally love London and would miss its vibe. While we like all three areas, it’s been tough to find houses we like near the stations in West Wickham and Hayes. Beckenham is our top choice, but we’re still open to the other two. In Beckenham, we’re focusing on Clock House, Kent House, and Beckenham Junction for convenience to central London, plus there seem to be good schools nearby. I’ve also visited a few nurseries, but getting a place for in a few months time seems à to be an absolute nightmare, so keep that in mind! Overall, we like Beckenham because it’s not too rural, but still has a nice community feel, though I can’t say what it’s like to live there long-term since we’re still exploring. Hope this helps!

I don’t think you can really go wrong in those areas. Budget and schools will probably be the main deciding factor. You might also want to consider Birkbeck or Elmer’s end area. Stewart Fleming and Churchfileds are both great schools. The train from Birkbeck is only half an hour but Elmer’s End has a great service.

Sorry but I have to laugh kindly at the suggestion that you don’t think Beckenham is too rural. It’s a suburb of London! There’s absolutely nothing rural about it at all.

Whilst I don’t live there, I grew up in Beckenham and still have family there.

All those areas are nice, but I do think you'll struggle for 4 beds in your budget , unless your willing to do a lot of updating? Or happy with a terrace?

Beckenham, West Wickham, and Chislehurst all have good high streets.

Hayes is more villagey, it has a little high street, but it doesn't have a proper shop (like Chislehurst has a small Sainsbury's).

Petts Wood is great and has an excellent range of shops and a bizarrely well connected train station.

If you're willing to branch out a bit, Orpington has a bigger range of house prices, the high street is rubbish but you can be strategic about where you buy and be closer to petts wood or Locksbottom. There's a very fast train to London Bridge.

Beckenham is definitely more 'happening' than the rest of the places on your list - I love it there. Budget wise you may struggle though.

I too think that you may struggle to get a 4 bedroom in those areas for your budget. There definitely will need to be compromises.

Does anyone have any advice on ‘The Avenue’ area of Beckenham ? Just north of the trainline / south of Beckenham Place Park

It’s a nice road and extremely handy for the railway station. Well placed for the other amenities of Beckenham.

Very nice, very expensive 😄

Don't know if you'd consider Elmers End / Eden Park area but this house looks quite nice if you would? Says it's in catchment for Langley primary and secondaries https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/151340738

But the above house Upper Elmers End is £100k over budget.

The 600K budget for 4 bedroom house is going to be the limiting factor in terms of area.

@friendlycat you're right! For some reason I thought the budget was £750k not sure why. I think maybe there was another thread about the same area and I got confused

There’s a few 60s style townhouses up that way eg

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/149893646

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/151712591

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/87044763

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/148603478

any thoughts on the areas? We’ve had real issues with ASB within our area and nightmare neighbours (we currently live in a 70s townhouse but have lots of flats/maisonettes near by + period properties so it’s a real mix but lots of people on top of eachother), so we don’t want to risk that again.

The first two links look best.

The heights (third link) is probably the most crowded/ close quarters. And the last one backs on to the train tracks.

I don't think you will have issues with ASB, but I've never lived right there.

You might need an SUV though, some of the roads round there are unpaved and there's potholes galore! 🙃

Do you live close enough to have a look around the area?

Sorry I meant suburban and not rural, I'm not a native speaker. Indeed it's a very nice area

Beckenham is generally more expensive than West Wickham and Hayes. Eden Park and Elmers End are probably the cheapest part of the area and Eden Park would ensure you can get into Langley schools. Langley secondary schools are very sought after.

And can I ask what is the general opinion between Clare house primary school, Harris academy (beckenham) and st Mary's primary catholic school?

I think it’s a great area to live in, especially with the nearby park, which is really convenient. The only downside for me is that there aren’t many playgrounds within walking distance, though that may depend on the age of your children.