Looking for area suggestions for a long-term family move (South London)

[Ally345]

Hi everyone, I’d love some thoughts from people who’ve made a similar move.

We currently live in Tooting and are looking to buy our forever home. This will be our third time paying stamp duty, so we really want to get it right and not move again.

Our criteria:

• 4-bed house with a garden
• Decent living space, ideally a sitting room plus a kitchen-diner that can also fit a sofa (so 2 sitting areas for when teenage years hit)
• Budget £1.1m (we can push to £1.25m, but it's a stretch)
• One toddler and a baby on the way
• Outstanding or very strong state schools are a must
• Walkable secondary school strongly preferred
• Both parents work full time and commute to central London 1–3 days a week (Camden and Embankment)
• We value calm, safety, and a strong family community, but also want some atmosphere: cafes, parks, a bit of life nearby

We have found Tooting to be just okay (maybe that's the best-case scenario in this budget and with these requirements), and are considering nearby pockets of Streatham/West Norwood, and we also like the feel of places like East Dulwich and Forest Hill.

I'm not from the UK, and my partner has family & friends in SW London, so we aren't too keen on leaving the broader South London area.

Duplicate post.

The horses? Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Frameless-Pictures-Paintings-Abstract-70×140cm/dp/B083HXX8S8

If it was the flowers, or another bedroom one, you could probably also search Amazon or Temu etc for it - it all looks fairly generic AI generated and mass-marketed stuff.

The so-called ABC roads in Streatham Hill are very community orientated. (Cricklade / Downton / Wavertree rd etc) and have a fantastic choice of schools - Hitherfield, Streatham Wells / Dunraven - which is a through school for Dunraven secondary. Also for secondary you can try for a lottery place at Kingsdale, the excellent Bishop Thomas Grant if you are catholic, and others. But the high rd is a mess of road works atm.

Other good schools in the area are Julian's - as you have probably looked at wrt West Norwood.

Herne Hill in catchment for Rosendale Primary and Charter secondary - and walking distance from H Hill station. Herne Hill could suit you - Brockwell Park, Lido, so close to Brixton for cinema, theatre and tube, farmers market etc. Better value and better transport, IMO , than E Dulwich.

Have you considered Sutton? For that budget you should easily be able to get a 4 bed in one of the nicer bits like Carshalton Beeches. It has a low crime rate (for London) and has always felt safe, has some great parks and you don't have to go far to get out into the countryside. Lots of good schools, especially at primary. Might want to look at catchments a bit more closely for secondary, and worth knowing that Sutton still has grammar schools but they're the super-selective type so don't really screw the demographics of the other schools. It's probably not as happening as the inner boroughs, but there's plenty to do.

Ah thank you @ComtesseDeSpair
it wasn’t the horses it was the lovely flower one.

Have you looked at Ladywell. This is top of your budget, lots of space, large basement for teen socialising. Nice row of independent shops and a walk to Brockley market on Saturdays. 20 mins to Charing Cross then northern line to Camden. Great local schools including outstanding Prendergast Secondary but it’s girls only till 6th year. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/165338174#/?channel=RES_BUY

It’s not tonnes of space really. Victorian terraces like these feel so limited for a family with teenagers - that living room can probably seat 5 people, 6 at an absolute push. It’s got lots of rooms but not IMO the lateral space you’d need for four adult sized people and wanting to host guests as well.
obviously I know it is how plenty of people in London live and I am in London myself, but it seems a big compromise especially at that budget.
OP I would probably go Sutton or beckenham type suburb and have a little more room to breathe.

There’s a house on my road for sale that ticks your boxes- Pickfords estate agents, Honor Oak . £1.1m.

Sorry - Pickwick Estate agents. And that house has gone under offer. But the agent seems to have quite a few houses which might fit your bill OP. Good luck! It’s a good area and very well connected for city and west end.

@Ally345 would you consider private primary and secondary schools?

Consider Beckenham and West Wickham

@Lemoneyey Unfortunately, we won't be able to afford private school with mortgage on top. (We have considered going for a property of about 800k and going the private route, but on balance, we would prefer a better family home with a state school.)

@TheatreTheatre I hear mixed things about Dunraven, and many of the houses we have looked at would be in the catchment. But it does seem like a gamble; however, it is arguably a gamble, given our children won't be going to secondary school for another 9 years, and a lot can, of course, change with school status.

Thanks everyone, there is a lot to pick through here and I'm going to follow up on all of your very helpful suggestions and go on some viewings in the different locations. Thanks again

I'd say your most difficult criteria is schools - only you know what you would/wouldn't consider and our experience of secondary in SE London is that unless you live on the doorstep of the school you want you really cannot count on anything- it is very unpredictable. If school is the dealbrealer then choose the school and buy whatever you can find within budget as close as you can. Or accept that most schools are fine, children with engaged parents and books at home are likely to do well anywhere, and then you can find a great house in SE with that budget. I say this as someone who was horrified to be allocated our 6th choice of secondary, only to find the school was really good for our son.

Yes, that's a really helpful reminder @LarryUnderwood (As I am not from here and not familiar with a schooling system like this, perhaps I am wrongly misinterpreting the reality of various schools)

As you have very young children, you may need to be on the doorstep of very good primary state schools, and then likely moving to another area for secondary schools (Charter north comes to mind) and unfortunately I didn't find excellent state schools that suit my children in the areas others mentioned here and I looked far and wide in South East London, mine are also young and needed quite small classes and focused attention from reception, you never know until they're 3, 4, 5, 6 what their needs are. I'd say Judith kerr, heber and dulwich village infants schools are fairly good, but they will still have 30 children and 1-2 teachers, also you'd have to live very close to one or more of these, I think that means dulwich village/herne hill or east dulwich, they're oversubscribed I believe so you also have to be fairly close. Your budget would not get 4 bedroom with garden, but 3 bedroom with garden is feasible. You have to make a choice between excellent school vs larger family home, the gap between good and excellent school is quite big in my opinion.
Do you need 4 bedroom or 3 bedroom and if you need office space, build small office in garage/garden?

Pretty much all the primaries you’d be in catchment for if you were in catchment for North Dulwich Charter are excellent (Judith Kerr, Jessop, Bessemer, Dulwich Village, St Saviours, maybe St Jude’s).

The issue is that NDC catchment is very small. OP isn’t likely to get a four bedroom house in that area for under £1.4m. Maybe if you were on the Ruskin Park side, but you risk being just outside of catchment if it is a year with a lot of siblings. Lovely area though.

Most primaries are good. It is secondaries that can be a challenge - but they can and do change rapidly (Forest Hill Boys is a good case in point - a few years ago it was a disaster and now it really is good - although not perfect!). I'd also not set your heart on Kingsdale. It seems to be fab for some kids and not great for others (I've heard many horror stories from parents and ex teachers there, but of course this is anecdotal). More practically, the lottery system means you really don't have any way of assessing likelihood of a place (I have known a few 11 year old who were devastated at not getting a place because their well-meaning parents didn't manage their expectations very well).

Agree with @Bestfootforward11

I would look slightly further out at Beckenham, West Wickham and Hayes. Lots of excellent primaries. Choose your area carefully for the good secondaries in these areas. I live here now with young dc and work in central London. Have also lived In Sydenham and Streatham - both nice along with Forest Hill, Brockley and East Dulwich but you’ll get more for your money here.