Teddington - insights and experiences please

[Londonone23]

Hi everyone,

My partner and I are seriously considering moving to Teddington from South-East London. We have a 2-year-old son and plan to grow our family in the near future. We both work in central London and commute 3 days a week.

We’re drawn to Teddington for its beautiful green spaces (Bushy and Richmond Park), the river, and easy access to the countryside. Before we make our final decision, we’d love to hear from locals or those who know the area well — especially any “things to watch out for” or hidden gems we might not know about yet.

A few things we’re especially curious about:

• Culture & local buzz: We’ve spent the last 15 years in London and Amsterdam and love having good shops, restaurants, and cultural spaces nearby.
• Commute: We’ve tried the train into central London and found it fine (if a touch slow) — how do others find it day-to-day?
• Rental market: 3-bedroom homes for rent seem in short supply — we plan to rent first, then buy.
• Property stock - we're open to a small 3-bed and we have seen a number that fit the bill in the area. Budget is £1m.

We’re about 90% set on the move, just gathering those final nuggets of local knowledge before we commit. Any advice, tips, or even small details you think we should know would be hugely appreciated!

For context other contenders are Chiswick and East Dulwich.

Watch out for Two-Ton Ted. If he tries to give you pies, don't let your DH challenge him.

We loved it there. But I wouldn't put culture and buzz high on the list of its attributes.

For us it was the green spaces and easy access out of London (we're from the South West) that appealed. We had young children and made a lot of use of Bushy Park. The Lensbury was also really nice, and we splashed out on that.

I'm very out of date with schools but I always felt there was a bewildering amount of choice.

Some beautiful streets and houses but not sure what £1m would get you now. We sold a very average semi in 2006 for £800k

Personally I’m not sure I’d want to do both parents commuting from London to Teddington with small children. The train is slow and only goes to Waterloo, so you’d likely have to change, meaning an hour plus commute each way. Plus the nursery drop off, that’s very long work days for you and long nursery days for the kids. It’s better if you’re working different days in London, but there’s no way of knowing how long that will last. It’s also very expensive!

I have raised two children here (originally from SE London myself) and we are very happy here. The big upsides are the green spaces, the schools, the low crime rate and the high street. Downsides are house prices and length of commute. I really like E Dulwich and Chiswick too - I think Teddington probably feels less London and more Surrey than either of those.

Living in Teddington feels like a warm bath compared to where I grew up (N Croydon). It doesn't have that tension in the air you get in much of London. Some people like this, others miss the buzz.

Because its a smaller community, there's perhaps less on your doorstep to do compared to some other areas, but the transport links are good so you can easily get around. When mine were little we had family membership at Hampton Court, we would walk by the river to Kingston or Richmond, the children's theatre in Wimbledon, the tube from Richmond to the London museums, pottery painting or the arts centre in Teddington, and loads of picnics with the deer in Bushy Park.

Many thanks for your thoughts.

I think increasingly we're focussed on the commute. Essentially is be lift in quality of life worth the potentially 1hr30min commute (including nursery drop off).

The commute seems not too dissimilar to that of a Surrey or Sussex commute?

In terms of houses in budget - we feel we can make £1m work if we do a renovation. Will be tight but doable. We've seen multiple examples but they are small.

Good 3 bed rentals in school catchment seem very few and far between.

I think you would probably be better off moving further out but have a shorter commute. How about St Albans or Twyford on the Elizabeth line, These r much shorter commutes.

It depends to where in London you are commuting. Twyford to King's Cross or Liverpool Street is over an hour.
If you are commuting to Waterloo, it would be much longer.

You could get a fast train to London on the Lizzie Line, but if there's delay somewhere on the tube, it takes ages.
I used to do that commute, and usually it was great.

north Kingston way better for schools - esp secondaries .

although I prefer where I live now out in the country! Whole area is way too crowded and teddington is hell on earth for parking.

Teddington is wonderful. If you wanted faster access to the city then Surbiton (17mins to Waterloo, stops at Vauxhall, Wimbledon and Clapham too) might work better for you. Then you also have access to Kingston for more buzz. Teddington is more outdoorsy and sleepy.

It does get aircraft noise from Heathrow on some flight paths.
It’s perfectly nice, but E Dulwich has a buzzier restaurant vibe.
Maybe check out Earlsfield. Faster trains and still close to Wimbledon for green space.

Surbiton is nice and very convenient. It’s on the river only a short walk from Kingston, but has a much shorter commute than either Teddington or Kingston with lots of fast trains to Waterloo. Further out on the same line, Claygate is a lovely village just into the greenbelt. The commute is only a bit longer but there are fewer trains.

Twyford trains go to Paddington taking 28mins.

@Advocodo , yes but the commute probably doesn't end at Paddington.

I wld stay in s-e and buy a larger, beautiful and no refurb needed house in Sydenham / Crystal Palace / HOP. Way better commuting options, great green spaces, decent schools, and you get to enjoy your kids’ childhoods without being permanently broke/dusty/knackered.

I wld stay in s-e and buy a larger, beautiful and no refurb needed house in Sydenham / Crystal Palace / HOP. Way better commuting options, great green spaces, decent schools, and you get to enjoy your kids’ childhoods without being permanently broke/dusty/knackered.

We lived in that area - I like it a lot - easy for Richmond and Kingston and all the parks - not the quickest commute but not awful - for those suggesting Twyford or St Albans ( where I have also lived) please bear in mind triple the cost to commute - even if quicker

We lived in that area - I like it a lot - easy for Richmond and Kingston and all the parks - not the quickest commute but not awful - for those suggesting Twyford or St Albans ( where I have also lived) please bear in mind triple the cost to commute - even if quicker

Culturally it’s not ‘hip’ but if you like a nice meal, a nice pub, occasional plays it’s totally fine - terrific in that whole area if you have kids

Teddington is great for families.
Commute not the quickest but as it's the middle of the loop you have a good chance of getting a seat - I use that time for going through work emails/messages so count it as work time.
Based on last couple of years, you need to be within about 1km of Collis or SMSP primaries to get a space. There are also other primaries that are not usually oversubscribed.