I have 2 years to come to terms with moving from my lovely area of London. Please help me find somewhere else in London that I will like just as much!

[IlanaK]

I currently live in Marylebone and love it. For financial reasons we will have to move sometime in the next two years. Until now I have not even been able to entertain the idea of living elsewhere, but now I have accepted it.

I need help to start looking at other areas of London. Here is my list of what I would like to have in an area. I am aware I will have to compromise somewhere as we need somewhere cheaper than we currently are.

1 good transport. I am used to access to loads of tubes, buses and even trains.

2 being able to walk to everything. We got rid of our car. Currently I walk to the leisure centre, drama classes, parks etc

3 Good parks and playgrounds within walking distance

4 Good local food shops - not just supermarkets

5 farmer's market

6 villagey feel

7 cycling distance to dh work (I realise this might be the one to go). He works in the city and currently cycles there.

1. Easy transport back to this area to see my mother

Schools are not an issue as we home educate.

I know already that I cannot afford any of the areas bordering where we currently are (St John's Wood, etc). So I think I want to look at areas completely different.

We are currently in a flat but want a house with a garden. 3 bedrooms.

Soooooo....not asking much am I ? Any suggestions gratefully received!

Oh, we all have to do it [sob]

I crept further and further out... from Maida Vale to West Hampstead to Stokey...and am now in Barnet of all places.

In a parrallel world I am living in a flat overlooking Regents Park and not a suburban semi

i love marylebone too - but also adore chiswick/kew/east sheen/richmond - is that too far? or even putney/barnes
generally except for east sheen which has no tube - they all have tube/overland and silverlink

totally beautiful - chichi shops and lots open spaces

prices are coming down - could you sell your flat now and rent until they are rock bottom??

Some of Kidbrooke is nice, parts of Shooters Hill, parts of Eltham, parts of Lewisham (towards Blackheath side) They are all nice and i am sure you could get a 3 bedroom house for 350-400K there

I grew up in Blackheath and I love it. Had Greenwich Park and the Heath on my doorstep...paradise. The Standard side of the heath is more affordable than the actual village and very nice to live in.

Brockley? Quick trains into London Bridge, Hilly Fields for green and pleasant, lots of lovely property, up and coming with young middle class families so beginning to sprout delis and cafes among the shops, pubs and takeaways. Near Greenwich/Camberwell/Peckham/Nunhead/New Cross/Lewisham/Deptford - make of that what you will!

www.grimshawhomes.co.uk/SearchPropertyDetails.aspx?propid=35837_5600

www.propertyfinder.com/cgi-bin/rsearch?a=o&id=504179895

www.propertyfinder.com/cgi-bin/rsearch?a=o&id=504065208

www.hidden-london.com/index.html

ooo i wonder if i knew you in RL cyteen!??! (poss went to same school?)

Chiswick/kew/richmond are all on the wrong side of London for dh work. And I would seriously doubt we could afford anything there. We can't sell now - our building is in the middle of major refurbishments that makes our flat basically unsaleable.

Lewisham - hmmmmmm. Dh lived there for short while when I first met him. It was dire. Granted, this was a looooong time ago, but it has put me off for life!

I think I really need to be on a tube line. It will be hard enough giving up being right next to 5 tube lines and a train.

the blackheath end of Lewisham is nice (nearer the Concert Halls - Dacre Park etc)

You are probably going to spit on my suggest, but I have lived in Southfields and Clapham/Balham borders and by far the most villagey place I've lived is the Isle of Dogs. There's a 3 bed house here which has a garden, is about 5 mins walk from Greenwich foot tunnel for markets etc, very close to the DLR or 25 mins walk to Jubilee line at Canary Wharf. More modern houses are often a bit cheaper, but have smaller gardens. Most English people don't like the architecture around here but it's not as bleak or as densely populated as you might think. I'm really going to miss it here when we leave (we'll be moving to Ireland in a few years).

It's good for all your points except a farmer's market, although you would probably have to go to Greenwich for specialist food shops, Waitrose at Canary Wharf is fab (I know you didn't just want supermarkets, but I love it). The biggest downside is that all the primary schools are over-subscribed as families are choosing to stay in the area whereas 5 or so years ago they would have moved out to the suburbs.

I am in the same position pretty much, with the same sort of budget. Google Bellenden - it's on the Peckham/East Dulwich border, it's very nice and a house would be within your budget. You could get a garden flat in West Dulwich or Herne Hill too.

Sorry OP, those areas not on the tube, although Herne Hill is very near Brixton. Brockley is another good idea, it is getting the tube and is very quick to get into central London even on the train.

hilarity of clapham being described as up and coming.

in clapham if you want that village type vibe plus marylebone high street type shops I would go for the original nappy valley. twixt the commons area around northcote road.

great local shops, butchers, bread stall on northcote road everyday, wandsworth common rail into town, or poss to cycle. lots of city types and a certain number of blondes of a certain age (a la harry enfield)

Miyazaki - that sounds perfect . Is that Clapham South, North, ??

Sort of near Clapham South - area literally between Wandsworth Common and Clapham Common

here

It is very expensive imo, but in a falling market you might be ok.

Ah, I see. Not very near a tube station though. What about the other side of the common? Between Clapham Common and Clapham South stations?

I spent a long time in Zone 3 and beyond. There is really very little difference between that and living in the home counties. Except outside London the facilities are better and you don't spend all Saturday morning in the car going to visit whoever you want to see or going to the shops.

I think you would like Harpenden. It has a train straight to Kings X/Farrigdon/City Thameslink in 35 mins or so. V bijoux large village with sweet little shops. Market, Farmers Market, French Market in next town (accessible by bus and train), St Albans.

£400k could buy what you want there:
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-18436909.html

Having never been there, I am going to suggest Tufnell Park might be worth a look. A sophisticated friend who likes her creature comforts has recently moved there from a leafy Islington square (where she enjoyed many of the same appealing things found in Marylebone). I know it is on the tube, but have no idea about buses or a farmer's market.

Here's what a quick search turned up:

www.propertyfinder.com/cgi-bin/rsearch?a=o&id=504267514&f=0&p=10&t=res&ty=&fmt=&header=&cc=®ionid=35 931&tb=Tufnell+Park&c=92638013&tm=1230670536

Does anyone here have personal experience of Tufnell Park?

Sorry wrong link. That was ST Albans.This is Harpenden:
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-19073410.html

Oh Stephla, that is so not what I wanted to hear. I have done the suburban thing and that is why I so love living as centrally as I do now. I really want someone to tell me that moving out a few zones will make no difference and be just like where i live now.

Yes, Tufnell Park is nice ... in fact, we love it, but it's not Marylebone! I live round the corner from that property you linked to, Earlybird.
Does tick all OP's boxes, nearest farmer's market would be the new one just opened at William Ellis School - next to Heath.
Only thing is that not sure how much £400k would buy - the property you linked to has awfully small bedrooms and it's basement.

You don't need to go to zone three. How about Brixton? That's proper London and on the tube.

I live in Clapham - it is villagey, it has lots of things you want (very vibrant, lots going on, don't need a car, can walk everywhere, can cycle to City in about 30 mins etc etc) but, especially around Abbeville Village (bleurgh at name) which is the bit between Clap Comm and Sth stations, £400k won't cut it for three bedrooms even in a falling market... You might get a bit more bang for your buck in Brixton which I really like although I have never lived there. Blackheath is lovely, although almost as pricey as Clapham; I would look around Oval/Vauxhall/Lambeth North if schools aren't an issue. I would love to be that central.

roffle at "Bellenden".

It's bloody Peckham, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Oh no - I've fallen into a poets corner type of trap. Serves me right for spouting things I'd heard from my cousin. I do think it's very nice there though.