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.

@Andwegoroundagain thank you! We’d love to consider the parts you suggest (Highbury and Finsbury Park in particular) but tbh our budget doesn’t seem to stretch as far as it does in south London. I’m not sure if we could find a 4 bed house there for example but perhaps I need to familiarise myself with the area more!

@Mayim that is SO helpful, thank you! I’m really liking the sound of Chiswick more and more.

@HowIrresponsible thanks! That’s a lovely house but looks closer to North Sheen than Richmond proper. It seems the best we can do in Richmond center is one of those tiny Alberts cottages, otherwise we’d have to consider maybe somewhere like Kew Gardens.

@Andwegoroundagain I did actually just find this house which I like the look of! I think I was too quick to write it off. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/151131140

Finsbury Park gets a bad rep but during the day is really enjoyable. You're right next to parkland there which is fantastic for walks and runs also.

Affluent and educated expats, POC and religious minorities are overwhelmingly in West London and North London. Use the Ofsted website to identify schools you like the sound of, and then find a tube station that works for your office. Don’t think too far ahead; if you don’t have children yet, year 7 is almost a decade away and many things can change. Buy a freehold house and not a flat.