Renting in SW/SE London for commute to London Bridge

[PinkPoniez]

Hi all,

I have been offered a job in London Bridge so we will soon be relocating to London from Cheshire. I will need to commute to London Bridge 3x per week, DH works from home and we have a 7 year old son who will be going into year 3 in September.

We are looking to rent a 2 bedroom property, budget is around £2,300 pm (not including tax, utilities etc) but we could stretch a bit further if need be. Happy with terraced housing or an apartment and not fussed on a garden. Would rather be closer to a park or two. Our main priorities are safety, good schools (we are not religious but DS currently attends a CofE school), local amenities we could walk to (restaurants, cafes, gym, lido, pictures, library, playground etc). Prefer wide open (green spaces) which is why I have focused my search south of the river.

I have narrowed down our search to the following areas - Wandsworth, Wimbledon, Chiswick, Dulwich, Herne Hill. Does anyone have any insight into any of these? Or any other areas that we should consider? Would prefer to keep my commute time under 45 minutes.

We will be able to spend a few weeks getting a feel for the different areas but would appreciate if anyone has any insight.

Thank you for all your messages and recommendations! We have had a chance to have a look at a lot of the areas mentioned and Wimbledon is at the top of our list so far. We preferred the vibe of the SW to the SE (sorry SE’ers!). We also really liked Clapham, Wandsworth and Battersea. What made Wimbledon stand out for us was the amenities within walking distance for activites we enjoy (parks, pool, restaurants), different tube line options etc but the main thing was that it wasn’t super busy but enough people around to not be full suburbia. Clapham etc would be a bit too busy for us I think (although we loved the area). I think Wimbledon is a good mix. My office is soon moving to Liverpool St so will be looking for a place around Wimbledon South station for the northern line.

Does anyone have any primary school (state and not religious) recommendations the South Wimbledon/Merton/South Park Gardens area? I think the closest ones to those areas are Pelham, Garfield, Merton Abbey, Park Academy and perhaps Merton Park and Dundonald. I can then focus our search area on recommended school zones, although DSC will be an in year transfer so I understand it will be space dependent.

We have looked at flats in these areas and they all have places available in our price range (up to £2,400pm rental).

For Dundonald, there is a priority admissions area, rather than just the usual distance criteria so you need to look at specific roads. https://www.merton.gov.uk/education-and-learning/schools/admissions/primary/wimbledon-chase-priority-area

Join the Colliers Wood News & Views FB group. Kids from CW go to Park Academy, Merton Abbey and Garfield so you'll definitely get views on all of them. Merton Park has a waiting list i believe as its very popular. There's also Wimbledon Mummy Network on FB. There's probably a South Wimbledon fb group as well for Pelham but if there is, im not in that one.

Honestly, they are all good schools. Merton Abbey less desirable but it’s a great school with super leadership. The others are all good. You can’t go wrong with any.