Where to live in London (or nearby)

[TKJ]

Hello Parents,

I am looking for advice about where to live in or around London with a child. We are looking for somewhere relatively safe, with green space, and good daycares and schools.

My partner and I and our 2.5 year old daughter are coordinating a move to London in January. We are both Americans but have been living in Germany for 4 years. My husband has a job (academic) that is exciting but doesn’t pay a lot so our budget will be around 1500. We will have visas connected to his work. We are really hoping for at least a one bedroom but dreaming of a little garden or a two bedroom. (We currently all make it work in a studio but it has a garden!). We are open to a commute obviously (but hoping to keep it at or under an hour from central London - Euston station) and I definitely would prefer some place that had a community vibe and as I said some easily accessible green space.

Any advice on where to look would be so so welcomed. So far I have identified North Chingford, Loughton, Buckhurst Hill, Epping as possibilities but really looking For anywhere else (north, east, south, west! Any of it good!)

also any advice on how to make it work with two jobs (I don’t have one but I will need one!) and daycare with longer commutes also welcome :) things to know etc.

I also any positivity/advice generally about London with kids will warm my heart. We love the city but I am extremely nervous about the move and there can be a lot of doom and gloom about living in London - right now I am looking less for warnings and more for advice about how to make it work in an expensive city! We have been living internationally for a while and the truth is everywhere we have looked to live - Europe and in the US seems pretty challenging with kids (and careers) but people make it work. So if you are making it work I would love to hear your wisdom.

thank you in advance

Yes one bedroom is fine. We are fingers crossed hoping to upgrade from a studio

Have a look at the SW suburbs like New Malden, Raynes Park, Sutton, Cheam and Morden (the latter is at the end of the northern line but the others are all only a short train journey plus bus, tube or easy bike ride via a rental or fold-up up to UCL). Not as far out as some of the other places being mentioned but so many parks and good local facilities plus family-friendly. There would definitely be 1 beds for 1,500.

Will you be working & your child might be eligible for some free childcare hours as well. If your dd has a nursery placement & you're not working then consider a remote job to help with living costs. This way you'll save on commuting costs for yourself. Are you an academic because the 1st link below will help.

https://www.jobs.ac.uk/ Higher education sector roles - academic & non academic

https://www.charityjob.co.uk/jobs?Workplace=hybrid&Workplace=remote&MinSalary=50000 hybrid & remote roles in the charity sector

Look around the postcodes DA15 and DA14 in SE London. Good schools, zone 5 , on overground train lines. Good for green spaces and safe areas compared to more inner city places. You might even get a two bed flat.

Dartford is another place with cheaper housing. Short train ride to Abbeywood where the Elizabeth Line can be picked up. Or even Abbeywood itself (SE2).

Or look at the Medway towns like Rochester or Gravesend. They have fairly quick trains to London but check the commuting costs.

Or Thamesmead (SE28). It’s not a great area but it’s close to Abbeywood for the Elizabeth line.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/163989347

Avoid Rochester and the medway, high commuting costs & time plus anti social issues. There's a reason why the medway towns are cheaper, London councils have historically rehoused their problem families/ anti social tenants out of town to these areas.

This is great thank you!

I have a higher degree but have worked more outside of academia (in academic staff positions). I will definitely need to work - for mental health and economics but we assume my salary will mostly go to childcare so trying to keep the budget for rent within his salary (sort off)

So currently you don’t work
and you say you have to factor in expensive childcare

if you get a full time job, it will increase the rental budget and only 2 years of childcare costs until school

If you are looking at just 1 bed places then there are places but the choice will be very limited.

Looking on Rightmove, even with filters you will still have to read the description or look at the floor plan carefully as sometimes a studio/room/HMO can be described as a 1 bedroom flat.

Try Ashford (Surrey), Feltham or Whitton.

Watford might be doable on that budget (there are some ok areas and some less ok areas!) - fast trains from Watford junction too eustom

I put your criteria into Rightmove.

There's this one-bed in Surbiton Surbiton is an extremely safe, clean, nice area with good schools, lovely cafes, shops, and with Kingston walking distance for cinema, theatre, music, sports facilities. Not very green but easy reach of incredible greenery and countryside in Surrey, and close to gorgeous places like Hampton Court, Bushy Park, Richmond Park.
It's in zone 6 so much cheaper to commute than if you go for outside the TfL area. Loads of trains to Vauxhall and then you change onto the Victoria line to get to Euston in well under an hour.

I also found a newly done up 2 bed in Enfield, (if you use the kitchen as your main living space) which is the outskirts of North London. Enfield 2-bed It has a private garden, is 0.3 miles to the train station - again, it's overground not tube, but you change onto the tube at Seven Sisters for a direct line to Euston, so an easy-ish commute. The area is near some really outstanding green space, including Trent Park. I don't know it well, but it has a reputation for being quite a quiet neighbourhood, so good for raising children. Even in that photo you see traffic-calming flower beds and bike stands. If I had a young child, I'd consider it.

This one in Sutton looks really nice. No garden but 2 beds, and is on a direct trainline to Euston in just under an hour. Catchment area of good schools. Imo it's a bit far (add the walk either end and any delays and it could easily turn out to be a good 3 hours or more each day, there and back. But hassle free commute - he'd probably get a seat at Sutton and be able to use that hour for marking student work or prepping classes etc. Worth a look maybe.

How about somewhere like Hertford? It will hit your hour commute limit but there are 2 train stations so thats a real bonus if one line is down. It's very leafy with a huge park/green space/ meads in the middle, very child friendly, lots of commuters so plenty of childcare options and you will get a 2 bed for that budget. Great little town centre with a buzzy vibe. PS Don't tell anyone else

You can get a small 1 bed in Surbiton for your budget. You’d like the area, you don’t have to worry about which road/area as it’s very safe. It’s got plenty going on whilst being right on the river, lovely green spaces, affordable quick commute and good schools. No chance of a 2 bed but plenty of flats with communal gardens.

Example https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/164896271#/?channel=RES_LET

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/164889179#/?channel=RES_LET

You could also look at northwest or west London, along the metropolitan line which is easy tube ride to Euston Square. There are a lot of very expensive suburbs on that line but somewhere like Ruislip might work.

You can't afford somewhere nice in London for £1500 per month. Look at way further out, but consider commute costs too

Surbiton is a nice choice…the train is very fast and it’s right on the river. Kingston next door has a lot of amenities and good shops / restaurants. It’s a borough of London but has its only town centre if that makes sense.

Yes Watford too could work - direct train to Euston.

Regular poster but namechanged for this.

Taking as the starting point that you identified Chingford and around as an option and that your DH needs to commute into central London here are some ideas for more realistically priced areas in north and north east London
I see you are getting lots of suggestions for south London and Surrey from the thread so far. This is because lots of MNers who answer these threads seem to live in these areas (no disrespect intended) ...
If you like the idea of north and north east London, have a look at the London Boroughs of:
Redbridge
Enfield
Haringey
Waltham Forest
As you will see if you look at a map, they cluster to the south west of Chingford etc
These are all a bit cheaper in places and you could find a one bed within your price range with good transport links to central London and plenty of parks etc.
Other posters will now pop up and say "... but poor people, but crime ..." but believe me there are plenty of university lecturers and other lower paid highly educated middle class professionals with kids living all over these areas. Just like me in fact!
You just have to find the right pockets ... and crucially you need to be comfortable with living in a multi-cultural diverse area.

If you want to be close to Chingford you could have a look at Ponders End and Southbury which are on the western side of the big reservoirs ...or you could go south from Chingford and into the northern part of Walthamstow.

For an experiment why not try loading a few area names into RightMove and seeing what your search comes up with on prices.
You could try:
Ponders End
Southbury
Tottenham
Edmonton
Wood Green
Enfield (there are various parts)
And see what you get ...
Hope this is helpful.

Surbiton is a good call, fast trains to Waterloo and then Northern line to Warren Street.

I’m suggesting these areas not just because I live here but because south east and south in general is cheaper than north, but needn’t be dismissed because they’re south as you can get a single tube to where her DH needs to be from those terminals.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/164847410#/media?id=media0&ref=photoCollage&channel=RES_LET This place is much more central. It looks a bit scruffy to me, but ground floor with a big garden (not photographed which probably means you'd have to clear it) but you could smarten it up and make it attractive. It's in Stoke Newington, near the gorgeous and very family friendly Clissold Park and also near Finsbury Park. Tube from Manor House is only 20 minutes to Euston which would have a massive impact on family life.

This is perfect for UCL as it cuts the commuting time & costs right down.