# Child friendly / affordable areas in London



## aj10280 (Jul 7, 2012)

Hi - 

We are moving to London from NYC with 2 kids (3.5 years old + 1 year old). Any suggestions on child friendly areas in Greater London (and affordable too)?

I need to commute to the city and am targeting a maximum door to door commute of 40 mins (by tube or overground).

We live in Battery Park now so are kind of spoiled in terms of 'child friendly' expectations.

We would really appreciate the forum's thoughts on the following areas:

- Holland Park / Shephard's Bush
- Earl's Court
- Primrose Hill
- Chiswick
- Clapham
- Dulwich
- Battersea

Thanks everyone. Please help us out.

Best,
AJ


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

What is your budget? Affordable is a very relative term.


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## Cherokee (Oct 8, 2010)

Hi,
I just spent the last 2 weeks looking for a similar accomodation.
Not so easy. Ended up renting in Wimbledon park. Drove around and walked around and checked statistics. Looks and feels safe and clean. Nice people on the streets. 
All my colleagues say its a posh area. Schools supposed to be good. School statistics way above general for England. 

Moving in on wednesday.
From tube connectivity perspective its perfect. Not in typical London bigcity mess but still close to the tube system.

Lets see.


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## aj10280 (Jul 7, 2012)

nyclon said:


> What is your budget? Affordable is a very relative term.


Hi Nyclon - We are looking for a 2 bedroom flat for approx. 1600 GBP / month. Most of the areas I mentioned have good inventory available but I am specifically looking for feedback / thoughts on the 'child friendly': parks, schools, general ambiance etc.

Thanks,
AJ


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## aj10280 (Jul 7, 2012)

Cherokee said:


> Hi,
> I just spent the last 2 weeks looking for a similar accomodation.
> Not so easy. Ended up renting in Wimbledon park. Drove around and walked around and checked statistics. Looks and feels safe and clean. Nice people on the streets.
> All my colleagues say its a posh area. Schools supposed to be good. School statistics way above general for England.
> ...


Cherokee - Thanks. How is the commute to the City?

Also, just out of curiosity, what other areas did you look at?

Thanks,
AJ


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## bellakem (May 20, 2012)

Battersea is great. I usually stay there when l visit London. There is Battersea Park which is huge, there is the hospital ( I think its called The Royal Hospital) just at the Chelsea Bridge which is like 10 minutes by bus. The 137 bus runs all the way to Oxford Circus hitting Sloane Square, Knightsbridge etc in case you need to get on the tube. I don't have any kids, but l see people with them, and l think the price sounds right for a 2 bedroom.. 400 pounds per week , saw a couple on Queenstown Road which is the main thoroughfare.


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

aj10280 said:


> Hi -
> 
> We are moving to London from NYC with 2 kids (3.5 years old + 1 year old). Any suggestions on child friendly areas in Greater London (and affordable too)?
> 
> ...


In general, farther away you get from Central London, the less expensive properties get and the more you get for your money.

In terms of commute from worst to best:

Dulwich- 1 hour, 3 changes
Battersea- 50 minutes 3 changes
Chiswick- 50 minutes 2-3 changes
Richmond- 40-50 minutes 2-3 changes
Primrose Hill-40 minutes 2 changes
Shepherd's Bush- 25-50 minutes depending on where you live possible changes
Wimbledon- 30-40 minutes 2-3 changes
Clampham- 30 minutes 2 changes
Earl's Court-30 minutes 2 changes
Holland Park-20 minutes no changes

With the exception of Holland Park, none of them are City friendly commutes.

Here is a link to Transport for London which has tube and bus maps as well as a journey planner feature:

Home | Transport for London
In terms of finding a property in your price range from most likely to least likely:

Clapham
Wimbledon
Chiswick
Battersea
Richmond
Shepard's Bush/Earl's Court
Holland Park
Primrose Hill

I don't know anything about Dulwich except that it has a nice museum and it's leafy and suburban.

Battersea does have a nice park but I don't know about amenities.

Chiswick is lovely with lots of green space, a good place for families with good shopping amenities, restaurants etc.

Richmond is also lovely and green and family orientated with a very central villagey area with all your needs. There is a Whole Foods going in but I don't think it will be finished til at least 2013.

Wimbledon has a suburban feel, plenty of families and a central shopping area.

Primrose Hill is lovely and a very desirable area to live with a nice central shopping street, close to both Primrose Hill and Regent's Park. It's very unlikely you will find a 2 bedroom flat in your budget and if you do it will be minuscule with a 2nd bedroom that might fit a twin sized bed and nothing else.

Clapham has a good mix of families and singletons, Clapham Common for green space and a reasonable but not great High Street for shopping. 

Shepherd's Bush has a relatively new shopping mall, Westfield with lots of restaurants and a Waitrose which a higher end grocery store comparatively speaking. Both it and Earl's Court have plenty of amenities but I don't think there is a lot of green space and strikes me as the least family orientated area.

Holland Park is also lovely with good shopping and Holland Park for green space and being on the Central Line is has the easiest and most reasonable commute to Liverpool Street. It is also a very desirable place to live and I think you will find few properties in your price range.

Schools have catchment areas but living in the catchment area does not guarantee that your child well get a place in the school. As you can imagine good schools are oversubscribed and there are waiting lists. Your child will get a place in a school but not necessarily the best or closest one to where you live.

Ofsted ranks schools:

Ofsted | Information about schools


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## expatathome (Jun 24, 2012)

Have you considered Ealing in the west. V well connected on 3 tubes lines and mainline to Paddington. Super child friendly and parks galore. Great parents' club: www.ealing135.org.uk 
Good schools and hugely cosmopolitan - can barely think of a nationality I haven't met here - and all mix well. Self contained with lots of shops and restaurants. Cheaper than most the places you mentioned too - you could either save money or get a bigger place.


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## ExpatPumpkin (May 30, 2010)

nyclon said:


> In general, farther away you get from Central London, the less expensive properties get and the more you get for your money.
> 
> In terms of commute from worst to best:
> 
> ...


That really depends on WHERE he'll be commuting to in the city. If he works in the Piccadilly Circus area, for example, Earl's Court would be an AWESOME commute. About 12 minutes with no changes. And if he worked off the District Line, that would be direct from Earl's Court as well...

AJ, tell us where you'll be working (the nearest tube station to your office) and we can give more accurate answers.


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

ExpatPumpkin said:


> That really depends on WHERE he'll be commuting to in the city. If he works in the Piccadilly Circus area, for example, Earl's Court would be an AWESOME commute. About 12 minutes with no changes. And if he worked off the District Line, that would be direct from Earl's Court as well...
> 
> AJ, tell us where you'll be working (the nearest tube station to your office) and we can give more accurate answers.



Um. The financial district is referred to as the City and Liverpool Street is basically the City stop on the tube.


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## expatathome (Jun 24, 2012)

It was city with a small c so could just mean central London. In any case I would argue that the 'City' is a wider area than Liverpool street and basically east of Holborn is where the big City firms like magic circle law firms are based until as far east as Canary Wharf but assuming not there. Blackfriars, Moorgate, Bank are all tube stations serving the City.


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

expatathome said:


> It was city with a small c so could just mean central London. In any case I would argue that the 'City' is a wider area than Liverpool street and basically east of Holborn is where the big City firms like magic circle law firms are based until as far east as Canary Wharf but assuming not there. Blackfriars, Moorgate, Bank are all tube stations serving the City.


The City is a shortening of the City of London also referred to as the Square Mile due to it's approximate size. It's east/west boundaries are roughly Aldgate to Chancery Lane.


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## ExpatPumpkin (May 30, 2010)

Yes, I interpreted the city (lowercase) to mean Central London, not the financial district in particular.


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## modernfamilyinlondon (Jun 20, 2012)

Hey AJ - I was interested in this thread, and wanted to know how things worked out in your search. Please update us if you have a minute! Thanks.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

modernfamilyinlondon said:


> Hey AJ - I was interested in this thread, and wanted to know how things worked out in your search. Please update us if you have a minute! Thanks.


Instead of topping similar threads, I suggest you start a new thread asking for specific advice on where to live in London. Give as much details as you can, such as budget (in pounds per week or month in rent), family composition and need for schools (whether state or fee-paying), where you will be working and your preference for urban or suburban living.


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## wholefoods (Aug 6, 2012)

Hi all!
I am in the same boat as aj10280 - will be relocating to London with wife and small kid (1 yo)
Looking to rent a spacious 1-br or 2-br flat ideally within 30min commute max to the office (budget is GBP 2,000/mo max)
It is located in EC4 close to Mansion House tube station
Given the proximity of Blackfriars and Cannon Street train stations can also consider commute by train (in addition to tube of course)
Can someone who knows London well please recommend a safe and child-friendly area with parks/greenery nearby?
Thank you!!


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

wholefoods said:


> Hi all!
> I am in the same boat as aj10280 - will be relocating to London with wife and small kid (1 yo)
> Looking to rent a spacious 1-br or 2-br flat ideally within 30min commute max to the office (budget is GBP 2,000/mo max)
> It is located in EC4 close to Mansion House tube station
> ...


London rents are quoted weekly so and £460/week, you're asking a lot. Start looking along the District Line in Zones 2 and beyond. If you want spacious, you're going to have to go stretch your commute.


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