London location with young family

[Motherhood12345]

We're relocating to London as my husband has a new job, flying long haul from Heathrow. I'm a lawyer (formerly a corporate lawyer but currently working in-house) and will be looking for a new job in London. We have two children (boy almost 2 and girl 3.5) and are looking for a nice location to raise a family. We currently live in Scotland in a lovely, artsy, liberal area and would love to find somewhere with similar, welcoming vibes.

We're open to either London itself, or the outskirts but don't want a commute for myself of more than 45 minutes. My husband's commute time is less important as it will be less frequent.

I would like the children to be relatively close to their school (ideally walking distance or short ride on public transport). Initially, I would like the children to attend a state primary school but for late primary and secondary, I'm open to either state or private. For secondary in particular, I would like them to attend an excellent school where they have great pastural care and lots of extracurricular opportunities.

We'd like a period house with a garden, near green space where we can walk our spaniel. Our budget is around £1.25 million. We're happy to buy a property that requires some work. Any suggestions would be very welcome.

Leyton and Leytonstone have the arty, liberal vibe. Good schools, good housing stock within budget, Both very close to Stratford fo Elizabeth line to Heathrow, and relatively quick into central London. Loads of green space nearby if you need to get out in the ‘countryside’.

I know both Ealing and Twickenham well having lived close to both all my life, and spent time there. I’d go for Ealing over Twickenham as it has far more going for it town-wise. The rugby road closures and sheer volume of people irritate me and I only live close by, so I can’t imagine how much worse it is for residents in the thick of it.

Ealing is also extremely well connected; even commuting to Canary Wharf only takes something like 35 minutes thanks to the new Elizabeth line.

There are loads of private secondary schools with excellent extra-curricular options in Ealing too.

Here are a couple of properties which are slightly cheaper as they are West Ealing, rather than Ealing Broadway or Pitshanger:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/170049860#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/170628869#/?channel=RES_BUY

I really like the area around Ilford. There a massive country park and it feels like you’re living in the countryside. There’s a tube station ant Newbury Park and it’s about 30 minutes into central London.

You won’t need us to tell you about the enormous difference in property prices between Scotland and London. What would get you all / most of a spacious well-decorated Georgian house in Stockbridge or Edinburgh New Town will buy you a very ordinary Victorian or Edwardian terrace in many areas of London. Maybe rent so you can try the new area for fit. Depending on his commute and your current location, he could fly down to Heathrow as needed while you stay put for a while.

We visit Blackheath regularly to see family. If I was to move to London I'd go there if I could afford it.

Sure Blackheath is lovely but it takes 2 days to get to Heathrow from there!

Maybe Chiswick/Turnham Green but not sure your budget will stretch for everything you want.

I think the only area of London I’d rule out is South East as Heathrow would be a real pain from there. Tricky for you as you don’t have a job yet but assuming you end up working near a transport hub (Liverpool st/London bridge/Victoria would be the main ones for legal jobs) then as long as you’re in zone 2/3 and near a tube then ~45 mins should be doable.

Your budget probably won’t get you more than a 3 bed terrace in the type of area you want to be in, and if you’re thinking of private schooling bear in mind that the London day schools are currently pushing £9k per term plus extras so you’ll need to assume well in excess of that by the time your kids get to that point - possibly something to bear in mind in the housing decision.

I think somewhere like Ealing or nearby would be perfect as it’s on the Liz line, good schools, near Heathrow, family friendly.