Where to buy “forever home” in SE/SW London?

[Londongreen1414]

DH and I have two little ones (both still in nursery), and we are bursting out of our current place so looking to upsize. Ideally we want this to be a house we are happy to commit to through our kids’ schooling so the next 10-15 years.. can’t face moving / stamp duty more than once..

While we seemingly have a healthy budget, DH and I each have different priorities which is making it difficult to land on an area. The main non negotiables are:

• Large (around 1900/2000sq ft min, 5 bed) - DH criteria
• Near nice high street / safe, family oriented, community vibe - my criteria
• Within 10 min walk of a station with quick, reliable and regular links to the city - we are both in the office full time so this is a non-negotiable for both of us.
• Good schools in the area - we are flexible on state vs private, ideally would start state primary and move private for secondary. But as long as there generally good private or state schools nearby we are fine. We’d factor having to go state or private in the budget.
• Budget - could go up to 1.7m, but ideally would stick in the region of 1.4-1.6m max.

So far we have looked SE, as we know it better and DH is convinced it’s better value. East Dulwich/Peckham rye borders is our frontrunner and fits the bill on nice high streets (lordship lane, bellenden road), family vibe and schools, but the houses near the stations are not “big” enough by DH’s criteria or if they are, totally out of budget. We’ve also looked at Forest Hill (better value, big houses, but lacking the “naice” high street vibe), West Dulwich / Norwood (some lovely streets and houses, but less going on and we’d need be near Tulse Hill for commuting which I wasn’t as keen on), Herne Hill / North Dulwich (love it but can’t afford it), Brockley (some very nice big houses but feels quite expensive for what you get in the area/high street).

We don’t want to go any further east than those areas due to family/friends being more west. Is there anywhere SW that might fit the bill? DH is convinced SW isn’t in budget but we’ve never actually looked properly. I was thinking we should look at places near a quick / frequent train to Waterloo (eg Earlsfield, Wimbledon, Putney, maybe even Surbiton or south of Clapham junction?) or possibly the Northern line. I don’t really know any of thsee areas that well though or if I’m being totally unrealistic with our budget. Anyone got a unicorn location they can recommend??

I very mich doubt you'd get that sort of space in Putney for £1.5 to £1.7m. Probably Southfields but the district line can be a drag.

I should’ve said, we did visit and seriously consider Crystal Palace but it felt like it was stretching the limits of our commutes ( the southern and windrush lines did not seem that quick or frequent relative to some other areas), and as we are in the office every day, it would really limit how much time we get with our kids during the week. But we are spoiled living more centrally.. I know we have to compromise on something! The houses, park and shops did seem great

Was going to say West Dulwich (my parents are there) but hardly anything around your budget though they do come up. Thurlow park Road, croxted road, Rosendale Road, dalmore Road.

Southfields SW18 is quite good but generally smaller houses - about 1,400 sq m - prices about £1.3 million. good for parks, tube, shops, quiet. There's an area called the ''grid'' I think - quite nice. Very near Wimbledon.

Earlsfield would be worth looking at definitely.

Lots of people I know live here and commute but a few do hybrid work or cycle in. Gipsy Hill and Crystal Palace are main stations, CP has overground. You can get to Tulse Hill for thameslink line.

Any particular roads / sections to look at? I’ve been there once and thought the high street seemed really good but the houses seemed quite small?

I hate the term 'forever house' not sure why... sorry, totally unhelpful.

I’m just wondering why Ealing hasn’t come up? Transport links and schools as far as I know are pretty top notch? Eg:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/89250054?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

All our family and friends are either SE or SW so we hadn’t considered anywhere north of the river (especially with two kids and wanting to be near family). That house is huge for the price though..

Earlsfield Road and Magdalen Road both have 5 bedroom houses - some of which will have the space for your budget.

But it's a case of putting your criteria into Rightmove and seeing how far from the station gets you a 5 bedroom with the space within budget. There are some roads up towards Wandsworth Common that may also be in budget but then you are looking at Wandsworth Common as the train station rather than Earlsfield etc.

I would also recommend looking at Beckenham as well and see what you can get at a decent radius around Beckenham Junction (going to be limited) and New Beckenham. Yes you do have Kent House station but not much of a high street around there tbh.

I grew up in Beckenham and lived in Earlsfield for 25 years!

Raynes Park could be an option (https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/87969588#/?channel=RES_BUY). The high street isn’t as inspiring as Earlsfield but it’s getting there; there’s a great Waitrose and Wimbledon Village and town are a short walk away. The train links are great (tube is just in Wimbledon if needed), very green, and schools are very good. Best value, great boys schools and train links (not great high street) are in Merton Park where you can get the northern line from Morden.

I used to live in Wimbledon. If I ever lived in London again I’d move there again in a heartbeat. The village is lovely, the common is on your doorstep, you’ve got several options for central London transport links. Your budget is enough for something within a mile of the station.

Are you following Tanya Baker? She gets good properties.
For example https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/173455724

The good thing about Kent House/Penge/Beckenham junction is that the train is really fast into victoria (or quick change at HH for Thameslink, Brixton 7 minutes away for going out). Windrush line also an option for the City.

If you are interested in grammars I know some children get the same train out to Orpington for Newstead Wood. But the state secondaries are good as well. It's an excellent line for commuting. Loads of families. It gets more suburban moving out from Penge towards Beckenham (Penge feels more 'London', Beckenham more burby). Tons of green space.

I agree crystal palace is poor for commuting. The train is really slow into Victoria and the station is really in Anerley, not Palace. Handy for changes at Clapham though.

I also really like the houses to the South of Mayow park in Sydenham- it's a lovely network of streets.

The problem with Earlsfield is that the trains are rammed and you will likely not get on. It's also not on the tube.

Those houses are nice and very solid with good gardens. Both children had friends who lived on Worple Road. It's a bit of a rat run though and and a main road. It gets rammed at school drop off and pick-up times. There are five schools withon spit, all excellent ones though. State secondaries are limited.

Forest Hill and send the kids to St Dunstans

Good points and agreed. I’ve only ever got trains from Gipsy Hill, sometimes Crystal Palace. Don’t commute to London now. Agree re Mayow Park, some stunning houses there (park quite nice too) and Sydenham high street is gradually improving.

You could get a huge house in Penge area for your budget but roads merge into Kent house areas and sort of back part of Beckenham. Penge is being redeveloped the main shopping centre so worth bearing in mind. Alexandra pub and Alexandra nurseries are nice, carnival coffee cafe, nouvelle hair salon, an interiors shop and Maple Road all have some gems, sewing/upholstery shops, Mabel cafe, Chez Yves French restaurant, music shop, retro record shop with cafe. Penge has Penge east and Penge west stations plus Kent house. ElvMolino nice tapas place in Kent house and Sicilian Art Pizzeria up the road.

Wimbledon train station trains are rammed in mornings though…

You could also try Wimbledon Park and Southfields. I spent first two years of my life in the former. Nice high streets. Only issue is tube lines only, Haydons Road is nearby thameslink line.

You might find you get a better quality of life and better schools moving a lottle further out. We did that when the DC unplugged from the SW London Schools and moved to Surrey which we probably should have done when they were tiny but didn't because of jobs. We'd have saved a small fortune in school fees and DH now gets the London Bridge train, 35 minutes, travels first class and can work for half an hour so commuting isn't dead time.

An uber after a night out costs between £20 and £40 depending on surge pricing.

Definitely sounds like Beckenham would be to what you’re looking for - you’d have the posh-ish high st, restaurants, several stations to choose from, beckenham place and kelsey parks. And at your health budget you’d get a house the size you want.

Where in Surrey did you end up, if you don’t mind me asking?