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.

We went Labour in 2019!

Crouch End! Yes you have to take a bus to get to the tube, but it’s worth it. And if you want to be near there but get a bit more for your money, Stroud Green.

As someone who grew up in Ealing. I think it fits the bill for you. You'd get a penthouse in Dickens Yard on your budget or if you move away from the Broadway, then you may get a nice house around Lammas Park or off Mount Park Road / Nichols Green area or Pitshanger Lane. Excellent state primaries around Ealing. Good state secondary options as well as plenty of independent schools to take your pick of. Would you consider Acton? There's some great houses off Churchfield Road. The state options are more limited but if you go privately, it's very easy to drive to Ealing or Chiswick for schooling.

4 bedrooms in Wimbledon for £1,500,000

This is one is equidistant between South Wimbledon (Northern Line) and Wimbledon (mainline station and District Line)

I lived in Highgate for a couple for years. Absolutely hated it. It is so boring. Highgate Woods is very special, but honestly that is the only good thing I have to say about living there.

@BIWI you took the words out of my mouth! I actually enquired about that very property (4 bed semi D in Wimbledon). I think it’s closer to South Wimbledon tbh so a little worried about safety but I really loved the transport links and proximity to good state schools. Do you know much about that area? Any insight into the demographics, lifestyle etc would be much appreciated!

Putney was Conservative from 1979 until 2015! Wimbledon was historically more prone to swings and never had such a strongly Conservative council.

We live in Epsom & Ewell now. Conservative forever until the last election and until now a donkey with a blue rosette would have been voted in. It went Lib Dem.

@ThisJollyTaupeBiscuit I'm always stunned at how much you can get for your money in Worcester Park and it isn't bad for travel. A lot of people in Sutton/Cheam/Ewell would have bought in Fulham/Putney/Wimbledon/Chiswick 40 years ago. For £1.5m you would get a very nice house and the vicarious benefit og excellent secondary schools. Cheam/Sutton have excellent train services into London - little faster than the District Line. Epsom & Ewell aren't far behind and 15 minutes to Wimbledon. It's close enough to maintain our old Putney/Wimbledon connections.

Admittedly it isn't very international but neither were Putney/Wimbledon 40 years ago except for the outlier Investment bankers who wanted family homes and a small French contingent for whom it was convenient for the Lycee at South Ken.

Our children's independent schools in Wimbledon were pretty international which their leafy cofe primary wasn't. There's an awful lot of "on your knees to save the fees" on that branch of the district line so think hard if that will suit you.

@ThisJollyTaupeBiscuit vis your safety comments about South Wimbledon, the demographics are shifting. Casting my mind back to the 80's, buying in Wandsworth (including the Tonsleys) was regarded as intrepid. Putney, over the river, met raised eyebrows from anyone under 30 because it was back then as suburban as Surbiton and the closer Surrey reaches. Think not now but tomorrow.

@ThisJollyTaupeBiscuit just looked at the house posted by @BIWI. That area is absolutely fine. I'd be perfectly happy living there.

Putney high street is rubbish but the rest is great and it's so nice being near the river. Loads of different nationalities and good primary schools. Lots more people sending their DCs to state secondaries but also lots of good independents nearby.

@blackcherryconserve forgive me. Putney was Conservative from 1979 to 2019 with a hiatus from 1997 until 2002/3 when it went Labour when the country swung. I had disinfected that period from my memories.

Hi OP tell your husband I totally agree with him! Also I once lived in the most left voting area of London -Telegraph Hill here in the peoples Republic of South London, isn't that great!
I don't know if that's changed but London and even areas within London are so mixed. Its what gives us such strength.
I once had to have a minor surgical procedure which I was awake for, at a major London Hospital, the doctor had the poshest accent I had ever heard in real life, the nurse had a broad Jamaican accent ( I worked with a lot of Jamaicans and could tell Caribbean accents apart), they had a most interesting conversation absolutely ripping their rude male colleague to pieces. I wanted to join in as he had been horrible to me as well. No one likes a bully!

@vivaespana Putney High Street has always been dreadful. However, at present it's better than Wimbledon but that too shall pass.

I would look at Northfields Avenue or Pitsanger Lane areas in Ealing. Village feel, good schools, good housing stock, great transport links, very green and leafy, and lovely community feel.

I've lived in the area for almost 40 years (no idea how that happened - I was only 21 yesterday!) and I can assure you that there isn't a problem re safety. Like any other London borough there is crime - but Merton has one of the lowest crime rates.

I'm quite happy to use the tube back from town to South Wimbledon, on my own, at night.

The grid of houses I live in is very family-oriented. Local primary is Pelham, which is rated 'good'. Two other primaries are 'outstanding' (Merton Park) and 'good' (Merton Abbey). The nearest secondary is a boys' school (mixed 6th form), Rutlish, which is rated 'outstanding', as is Bishop Gilpin, which is a girls' secondary. Raynes Park secondary, which is mixed, is rated 'good'.

Not sure what you mean by 'lifestyle' as that's a pretty broad term! But we have good green facilities - Abbey Rec, Morden Hall Park, John Innes Park and, obviously, Wimbledon Common. Lots of places to have coffee, a drink or a meal out. Two cinemas - Odeon multiplex and Curzon.

Wimbledon Theatre is the largest theatre outside of Central London and often has some great shows. The pantomime at Christmas is especially good!

Transport links are very good - 2 different tube lines, mainline and also the tram, which goes to Croydon (and beyond) - makes it very easy to get to Gatwick airport.

Tufnell Park (zone 2, northern line) has outstanding local schools and a strong community. A short walk from the heath too. Definitely up and coming so good place to buy into now.

You need to walk away from the main roads to explore the really nice housing stock on the side streets though. Further from Holloway Road.

You seem to have so much 'knowledge' of all these locations already, I'm surprised you need any help.

North Dulwich/Herne Hill has a big German expat community (and a bilingual state primary, Judith Kerr, as well as lots of other outstanding primaries and secondaries and obviously lots of private options). Lots of parks, lots of activities like rugby, cycling, tennis, dance, gymnastics clubs. £1.5m will get you a 3-4 bed Victorian terrace in decent condition. The Thameslink is pretty good (goes through Blackfriars/St Pancras), and the overground goes through Denmark Hill.

The subtext of your posts, OP, is so hypocritical.

You want it to feel diverse, cosmopolitan, not too “English”, “open minded”.

But you also want an area that feels “safe” (code for affluent, no graffiti, white).

Can you not see how these things are in conflict? You want to have your cake and eat it - to retain your view of yourself as a progressive, liberal minded anti racist person. But you don’t want to actually live close to or among people from mixed backgrounds and classes.

Being real, somewhere like Richmond would be perfect for you, full of wealthy white liberals who will eulogise about how vital immigration is, while buying their way out of living cheek by jowl with it.

Sad but true.

Putney is a really lovely place to live!

I'm a fan of Tower Hamlets. Mile End has some lovely houses within walking distance of Mile End tube. Victoria Park/Mile End park is up the road and there are loads of buses.

There's also Bow, Bethnal Green and Stepney. It's a really diverse area, a stone's throw from central London.

Sloane is as outdated a term as Chav.

It’s a very 1970s / 1980s thing. I lived in London for decades and never heard it after 2000. Do you mean people who hang around Sloane Square? Or do you mean “old money” , “upper class”, Princess Diana (the most famous Sloane of all!) types, people who don’t have to work and live on inheritance?

In any case speaks volumes about your networks and knowledge if Sloaney is still a thing for you! London has moved on quite a bit.

OP another reason for living in southwest London in particular, the Borough of Wandsworth is the lowest council tax in the UK. Richmond and Merton (Wimbledon) are much higher as is the rest of London except Westminster, I think.

If you like South Park Gardens in Wimbledon, also look at Merton Park. You get more space for your money than South Park Gardens as most houses are semis not terraced, plus off street parking. It is Lib Dem heartland and accessible by both District Line at Wimbledon and Northern Line at Morden. You can get a four bed house with big garden for your budget, plus excellent schools.