Where would you buy for 900k in London?

[SD25]

3-bed (minimum) house. No further out than Zone 4. Decent access to Paddington. Prefer urban feel than suburban. Good high street and schools for DD.

We like SE London but Dulwich is a bit out of price range for something nice so perhaps Forest Hill/Sydenham but not sure about schools. West London we don't know so well but most of the nicer areas seem too expensive.

Oh me too @TheJaneyB I’ve lived in a lot of places around London but when I moved here 11 years ago I finally found ‘my’ place. The community vibe is wonderful and the pubs, restaurants and cafes a delight. And so much from space. And it feels just urban enough that it’s still got an excitement about it. Beckenham/ Bromley are just so suburban in comparison - literally and in attitude.

I wouldn't move to East or SE London if you need regular access to Paddington. Surely there must be some more affordable areas to the West?

@ContactNightmare ok I can’t argue with your opinion but there isn’t a particular crime problem in Forest Hill and there’s not only one ‘good’ school and those two things are fact!

If you live in a city there will be some crime - but it’s unlikely your children will be involved. And in fact there’s knife crime everywhere as this attack in Beckenham shows.

www.btp.police.uk/news/btp/news/england/update-arrest-in-connection-with-stabbing-at-beckenham-junction-station/

This one has so much character but everything needs doing to it:

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/69171648/

It was this, amongst other things, that persuaded me out. I loved all the cafes and the nice community, and that was fine. But not enough. My children grew up and I was not going to take them to the Horniman every weekend

www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/forest-hill-stabbing-schoolboy-15-pulls-footlong-blade-from-his-chest-after-being-attacked-near-train-station-a4100956.html

What are you talking about? Sydenham girls has an amazing reputation.

I said Sydenham Girls was good! But it's not an outstanding school which what I wanted?

OK, if one targeted gang attack 6 years ago is informing your telling everyone how unsafe Forest Hill is then I give up.

I don't know how working people can afford these property prices or rents in London .

Also I love the fact your ‘crime’ witnessing has built up from a school boy fight to ‘four knife attacks’ over subsequent posts!

Quite clearly they have 6 figure salaries / inheritance / have made money on previous properties / none of your business?

remember property prices usually double every 10 years in London so once you’re ‘in’ it’s easy to keep moving up the ladder

No, that was one of five. One involved me being threatened with such a knife.

How safe do you feel if this is train station you use? Would you like me point to all the other stabbings in the area?

900k should mean a lot of safety imo

900k in London for a house in zone 2/3 is actually relatively small fry, I agree with previous posters you seem to be hysterical over a few incidents. All of London has crime such as the above, even the ‘expensive’ areas.

Op, these are the secondary schools you’d likely have access to in SE23, 4 outstanding, 3 good and one out in Catford which is requires improvement.

When you say good schools do you mean private?

No, that was one of five. One involved me being threatened with such a knife.

I think you’re winding us up now. It’s escalating with every post! Unless you were in a gang yourself!

You are pathetic. I left after;

Watching a lunatic attack several women in a children's playground (inc me). He had to be tasered to stop him

Watching a series of school children from Forest Hill boys school attack each other in the street on Dartmouth Road

Calling the police as a road rage incident occurred where a man attacked another with a hammer (small boy in the back of his car)

Walking past the site of a fatal stabbing sign towards Wells Park. There was another one recently.

These would put anyone off

These are my SE London picks for your budget, I don't know East or West but as pp have mentioned, it would be good for your commute to Paddington.
Agree that Forest Hill/Sydenham would be nice too.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/157426601#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/157564568#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/156963965#/?channel=RES_BUY
A flat, but should be in Charter catchment and lovely road.

remember property prices usually double every 10 years in London so once you’re ‘in’ it’s easy to keep moving up the ladder

Those days are gone in recent years particularly if you have a flat.

state primary schools are great all over London. If you want an excellent state secondary there are a lot less options. But it depends on what you want really.

I would say the first two are first two are Maida Hill, not Queen's Park - very different IMO.

However - great find on the Fortess Grove. Super cute though pretty small (the description of three double bedrooms is a bit misleading) and doesn't look as though it has a back garden. But great location for heath and for schools - particularly if you have girls! In catchment for Parli and possibly for CSG.

I think Forest Hill, Sydenham, Honor Oak, Brockley, Crystal Palace, and even Penge are much much nicer than east Dulwich. I've lived in the area for 50 years and the over gentrification has ruined East Dulwich; fortunately Forest Hill is still relatively unscathed. There are many outstanding primary schools in these areas, and no need at all to look at private schools. As another poster has said, Sydenham and Forest Hill Schools have improved greatly over the years and get good results; they also have a good joint sixth form. You can also apply to Haberdashers and Prendergast, and depending where you move to, may be in the catchment for both Bromley selectives, as well as Bexley and Wandsworth selectives. If you wanted to move out a bit then I really like Beckenham and Chislehurst.

In terms of safety, I don't feel safe walking alone at night, but I think it is much safer than areas like Peckham, Lewisham, and Camberwell. There's quite a lot of petty crime but it doesn't seem as bad as many areas.

SE London is a bit of a 'mare travel wise to Paddington. Surely better to look West or along the Elizabeth Line. Ealing, Acton, or even somewhere like Isleworth or Brentford?

I live in Forest hill area and there are lots of good secondary schools within reach. 5-10 years ago Sydenham girls did have a bad reputation but that has changed as head teachers have changed and investment was poured in. I know a lot of parents who have kids there and they are very happy with the school. Harris girls east Dulwich is also very good school with lots of positive comments in my social circle.

another area to consider is Catford. not so pretty right now as a town centre however there is huge investment planned for the town centre - supposedly rebuilding the whole centre. so currently quite good value and you should expect to see good return on investment in the next few years

So some time ago. Any idea about now? I know a couple of current parents who are treating their hair out over understaffing.