Brooklyn NY to London--Where should we live?

[BklyntoUKmom]

Hi Everyone,

My family (me, DH, one year old son and 2 geriatric poodles) are moving to London in January. We are very excited (especially as DH is British and has been away for 15 years) but totally CLUELESS as to where we should consider living. DH is working near Green Park Underground Station and I was hoping that we might find an apartment or house to rent that is less than an hour commute for him. In addition, I am hoping to find a neighborhood with lots of other stay at home moms and young children.

In a word, I am looking for a place that accepts my mommy vibe and all that comes with it: the glamour of overloaded strollers (pushchairs), dirty diapers (nappies), pureed food chunks in the hair and inappropriate screaming at any moment.

I appreciate any advice you might have to share with a very bewildered American as she begins her thrilling journey into the land of Londonalia!

www.tfl.gov.uk

This is the Transport for London website. You can check journeys, plan them and has timings too. Also you can download tube and bus maps which might help you choose areas to live.

Personally, I'm a south londoner. I live in Bromley, but think that somewhere more central would be up your street. How about Dulwich? West Dulwich is on the train line that gets into Victoria, which is walkable (or busable or tubeable) to Green Park.

I do like West Hampstead, Belsizw Park and Cricklewood (all north of the river). Quite vibrant and "buzzy". My father lives in West Hampstead and he would never want to leave, because of the proximity to central London.

Come and live in Kingston upon Thames (SW London). It's half an hour to Waterloo by train and has a beautiful riverside, huge parks, loads of shops, fantastic primary schools and you could rent a nice two-bedroom house with garden for £1,400 per month. It's full of mums and pushchairs and we have dozens of mother and toddler groups so you'd get to know other mums quickly.

commute from n london to green park v good. it's all connected, and once you;re on the tube, changing lines is very easy.


But suspect you're in slight denial about your liberalism.

Which is fine. Liberalism in London is much less of a freaky insult than in US..

Love, love, love that dry understated British wit Portandlemonaid!

Even in the diversity of answers, I feel so encouraged by the number of responses. It makes me feel that with a little research (based upon my growing list of locations), I certainly can't go wrong. As many of you have already (wisely) said, the final deciding factor will probably be based upon what we can afford.

I guess that I was a little worried that neighborhoods with SAH moms and lots of kids might be difficult to find because it certainly is in much shorter supply in NYC. It seems like most families here end up in the suburbs pretty quickly after children enter the picture. Unless you are a gazillionaire, it just isn't financially possible. Apartments are too cramped. Houses are non-existant. Cars are a national obsession. It all translates into only a very few neighborhoods in NYC (mostly Brooklyn) with SAH moms, kids and all the related services, facilities, etc.

In contrast, I am thrilled to find so many London moms who have clearly found their own little niche...where they feel understood and accepted for their own unkempt, exhausted, food particle strewn selves. It is possible to find, it seems, in any number of urban London neighborhoods.

of course port!
no sorry, you're quite right, I'm talking in hugely generalizing swathes, aren't I? I suppose I was originally trying to make a distinction between people who think 'this is the way things are and jolly good thing too' and others who think 'i think things should be this other, different way now'..

ie. for some people daily life just 'is' and for others its something to make choices about.

Both, btw, have vairy annoying characteristics.
(while I, of course, am not annoying in the slightest.)

london of course.

wandsworth for preference:

two fantastic green spaces richmond park and wimbledon common for you dog walk thing

15 mins to waterloo

great shops, restaurants and bars in striking distance (northcote road and putney).

great primary schools (if you want to go state, and even better if you want private).

we love it here.

fuck north london is full of pretentious wankers and is rough.

come sw london. it rocks down here.

once CD comes online btw she will absolutely convince you to move to sheen.

guaranteed.

I've lived in most parts of London and i wouldn't live anywhere but SW with children. It's so green and lovely but within easy striking distance of central London.
Kingston is very family orientated. There are always events being laid on for young children. We're spoilt for choice in the school holidays.

As to my political leanings and closeted liberalism (how did we get here again?), I can only say that I may sometimes have a tendency to tone down most political remarks. Growing up with a father who was a ferverent and passionately vocal 1960's political activist (he was convincedrightly or wronglythat the FBI had a file on him), I have learned that taking a fairly moderate political view in a public forum can keep the peace.

Within me beats, however, the red-blooded bleeding heart of a die hard liberal.

I think SW London would suit you too, lots of green space and child friendly things to do. Clapham has very good transport connections and a big common

Hmmm - but Herne Hill/Dulwich take you into Victoria by train and that's just a short hop from Green Park. Both are also very very child friendly with good parks.

I lived in Cricklewood (NW London) for a while and it's the definition of rough. I would NOT recommend it, especially with children.
If you're a liberal, even more reason to go SW. We have a Liberal Democrat MP.

Sorry everybody...getting lost in translation.

When you say 'rough' are you saying that I wouldn't want to be walking around after dark (which comes pretty early for you at this time of year)pushing my stroller (read: pushchair)in these areas? In other words, 'dangerous.'

Or is 'rough' more like a way of saying that it is 'funky' and home to younger people who like living a bit more bohemian?

Putney is Tory, Justine Greening or something. Richmond and Kingston are Lib Dem. My part of Kingston is in the Richmond Park constituency (Susan 'bad hair' Kramer)

Rough, as in you don't want to be walking about in daylight with young children.

Rough doesn't just refer to danger though, there are other factors such as litter, tramps, rubbish shops etc.

Okay. Thanks for the clarification. I'll put that down in my ever growing dictionary of British English to American English.

people are quite.. keen.. on their own area Bk.

kingston/sheen imo are a bit .. MOR. likewise wandsworth. likewise battersea clapham richmond twickenham etc.

all v nice tho. when brain switched off.

MOR?!!!

How very dare you!

and again.

And SOH - REEEE in advance