Where to live in London?

[ThisJollyTaupeBiscuit]

We recently got married and are looking to buy in a family friendly area of London. Our budget is £1.5m. These are some of our non-negotiables:

• Near exceptional state schools
• Safe for raising children
• Cosmopolitan and liberal community with an international feel (eg St John’s Wood or Richmond)
• Three bedrooms minimum
• 0.5 or less to convenient transport links (ideally tube, but buses and ginger line doable)
• Leafy, green spaces (either private garden or near a park)

These are some nice-to-have bonuses:

• A house (but happy with a big maisonette or flat)
• Good secondary schools (can go private for sec school)
• Off street parking

Our work is accessible via Northern and District line, but we work remotely fairly often so commute isn’t too much of a consideration.

Putney/Wimbledon/Southfields
Parts of Ealing?

On that budget somewhere like Southfields or Raynes Park (which have great state options) would work well and if you later choose private (you sound like you might) you’re well positioned.

Do you have any preference for N, E, S or W?

North - parts of Hampstead will be doable, but will be a flat rather than house.

East - perhaps Wanstead, South Woodford, they will tick all your essentials and bonuses but it doesnt have the international cosmopolitan feel as strongly as other areas in London

West - parts of Chiswick and Ealing will tick all your essential boxes and most of the bonuses.

South - parts of Wimbledon, Putney and Richmond. Dulwich also good but will struggle with transport and feels more English than international. Greenwich/Blackheath also good, but state schooling is not the best.

Tufnell Park/Dartmouth Park

Very family friendly and close to Hampstead Heath & Waterlow park which is lovely. Good schools.

@Femmefatality This is amazing, thank you! Hampstead or Richmond would be perfect but could we really get a 3 bed apartment for £1.5m?

We’re open to all parts, as each have tradeoffs. Our family live in the north so we like the idea of being closer to them, but my work and all our friends are in the south so I’m open to south London too. Probably the least keen on East/Southeast London but that’s more because I’m not familiar with it.

Our shortlist has Chiswick and Wimbledon on it but I’m worried they both feel more English and less cosmopolitan. Do you have any insight? I was raised in expat circles so it’s really important that our children grow up in a community with a global and progressive outlook!

@Twiglets1 thank you! We did actually explore Tufnell Park as a neighbourhood but for some reason it didn’t feel as safe, especially around the high street… Are there particular areas of Tufnell Park you’d recommend? Just Dartmouth Park?

Location wise it’s perfect as it’s super near our family. Do you know anything about East Finchley and Highgate?

I don't know about Chiswick but Wimbledon certainly isn't 'more English' - I'm guessing by that you mean white and middle class?

Wimbledon is also a big area; the village may be more aligned with your perception, but not the rest of the town, or South Wimbledon.

Chiswick is not English at all. It has a huge French community and no area in London is particularly English. Or you do mean you are looking for somewhere multicultural and 'diverse'? Try Ealing on that budget.

@LakelandDreams that’s really helpful, thanks. I really love Chiswick as an area so I’ve been trying to gauge the demographics a bit more. There are some areas of London that I’d avoid eg Fulham/Parsons Green as it feels a little Sloane-y for example, but areas like Richmond that just feel a bit more progressive and aligned with my own personal politics, with a large expat community. I’m sorry if I’m making broad sweeping statements, I know this doesn’t apply to everyone in an area - I definitely don’t want to generalise but struggling to articulate what I mean! Just a vibe I get when visiting each area.

@BIWI I don’t mean white and middle class, it’s not about race tbh, but about social views and general outlook. Eg I’m personally more likely to vote Lib Dem, am economically conservative but socially progressive having grown up around the world as an expat.

Eg somewhere like Parsons Green/Fulham is probably a bit too Sloane-y for me. But even though Richmond has plenty of middle class white people, it somehow feels more international (eg lots of American and other types of expats).

I appreciate these are really sweeping generalisations though, so to be honest I’m very keen to get any insiders thoughts and very happy to be corrected on my general perceptions of these areas!

Well Wimbledon voted in a Lib Dem MP!

Have a look at Ham. Lots of green spaces, great schools. Very safe. Bus or walk/cycle along towpath to Richmond. Cycling takes 12 mins. Walking 30mins. Bus 371 or 65. Here's a renovation property. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/151017326#/?channel=RES_BUY

Just to let you know, people from all sorts of cultures live in ALL parts of London. All areas are diverse. There’s no enclave for “Sloans”. That’s outdated and somewhat rude. Different people do like different araas because they are ex pats. Just like the Brits abroad . Swedes in Maida Vale. South Africans in Wimbledon and the French in Chiswick and Ravenscourt Park. Just choose an area that suits you and NO area is 100% safe and neither is transport as reports suggest. No schools are guaranteed to be outstanding.

This one is in a great location near the footbridge to Teddington (10 minute walk you'd be on High Street). Towpath to Richmond and Kingston. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142290929#/?channel=RES_BUY

Did the eighties call and want their Sloane's back?🤣

@BIWI that is so true! We really liked Wimbledon when we visited, especially around the South Park Gardens area.

@TizerorFizz Sorry if I offended, I really didn’t mean to. Many of my own uni friends live in Fulham/Parsons Green and I’d lovingly associate them with Sloane-y culture, I didn’t realise it was such a pejorative term. I don’t mean to generalise but I do still get that vibe whenever I go, especially around the self proclaimed Sloaney Pony pub. Not to say I don’t have a great time when I do visit! It just isn’t really where I want to raise my kids.

London is the most multi cultural city in the UK. Speaking as a born and bred Londoner it's far less. English than it used to be and that's no bad thing. I'd always go for a freehold house than a leasehold apartment wherever you finally decide OP.

Hi OP, how exciting for you to be in this position. The world is your lobster as Arthur Daley used to say on Minder.
I'm in South East London and I do think you might like East Dulwich and my manor Forest Hill.
I've lived in London since 1986 in lots of different areas I would say London is always changing and yet always the same, energetic and lively and constantly optimistic.
I used to spend a lot of time out and about very late or very early, depending on your point of view, I never experienced any violence or crime, on the streets. So I've never understood the safe thing, but there are definitely areas that are more busy. I remember being offered acid in Brixton and thinking how odd to be approached on the street!
In terms of politics some areas are more left wing I think than you are, Professor Curtice says London is lost to the Tories and is mostly solid Labour but you will find LD areas on the outskirts.
I work in secondary education, London has a brilliant state sector, and I have seen children gain top grades in the schools I have worked in even though we were never the top of any league table. Mine isn't a popular view on this site but I believe education is mostly about the child and the family. On the other hand we have some marvellous private schools here in South London, especially in Dulwich.
Happy house hunting, and don't forget to look on Modern House and Inigo websites, they are a bit mental but fun.

Clapham is just about within your budget - lots of green, good transport, good housing stock.

And Putney is now Labour!

@ThisJollyTaupeBiscuit Parsons Green isn't particularly Sloaney nowadays. It's a vibe that had been replaced by posh hip if my mid/late 20s are anything to go by and not particularly in the old "Sloane belt".

@RosesAndHellebores thank you so much for this kind and patient insight! I might just be giving away my age in that case, ha!!! But that’s great to hear.

@Notgoodatpoetrybutgreatatlit What a generous, kind, and thoughtful reply. I so appreciate it.

Honestly, I’ve been thinking more about demographics recently because of last week’s race riots, which shocked me to the core. I want my children to grow up in a safe neighbourhood where we don’t have to wonder whether our neighbours will be harbouring any anti immigrant or racist sentiment. In many ways we are, sadly, the ‘right’ kind of immigrants - affluent, highly educated, our kids white passing, but I do not want to be in an inward looking community when I’ve always been taught to celebrate other cultures. That said, I take comfort in the fact that Londoners are very progressive on the whole and put a stop to those riots before they even really began here!

You are right though, that nowhere is ever safe. I love how you describe London: ‘I would say London is always changing and yet always the same, energetic and lively and constantly optimistic.’ Have to say, this makes me feel more optimistic too! My husband agrees with you completely re education (he’s generally more left wing than me). He went to state school and has done very well for himself, and he says it came down to his parents strong influence.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/149728109#/?channel=RES_BUY

Voting a Lib Dem MP in here is nothing short of a miracle - we've had a Conservative MP since 2005. Sadly no chance of the Labour candidate winning. Hopefully next time!