Just to give first hand feedback on one of the areas that you're considering moving to. We made the move from Battersea to Streatham Hill two years ago and we couldn't be happier. The area has a real family feel, we're right next to Tooting Common, we're in between two OFSTED outstanding primary schools Telferscot and Henry Cavendish Streatham, Balham is only a 10-15 min walk away for great shops and coffee and transport links are good for getting into London: Balham for the Northern Line, quick bus from Streatham Hill to Brixton for start of Victoria Line and overground trains from Streatham Hill or a bit of a walk to Streatham for the Thameslink. I was a bit nervous about moving to what seemed like the 'unknown' but it has definitely been the right move for our whole family.

Wanstead. It's 20 mins on the Central Line to the city. Lots of people from Clapham/Balham move here. I lived it Clapham South and my commute to work halved. There are two tubes (Wanstead and Snaresbrook) at either end of the High St. Lots of nice coffee shops and restaurants. Everywhere around the High St is nice. Also if you work in Canary Wharf you don't have go through Zone 1 so Tube pass is cheaper.

We used to live in CJ and couple of years ago moved to Earlsfield. It's very safe, neighbours are very friendly, high street is getting better and better, and the schools are good. In fact Earlsfield primary just got Outstanding rating. We are very happy living here and I wouldn't want to move.

We were renting in Fulham and Earlsfield, then made the move to Tooting and bought a fixer upper there and haven't looked back! Furzedown is lovely (a real community feel like Seb says), but it's very quiet (which of course suits some people more) and the transport links aren't great which ruled it out for us. We also viewed a few places in Colliers Wood, but for us we just felt it lacked that community feel. It's always down to personal preference, but I'd say Tooting is a great more affordable option. It's got a bit of a way to go, but it's got pretty much everything at your finger tips with a community feel

Have you looked at Furzedown? It's really really lovely community (I don't live there but have heard only great things)

Depending on how "edgy" you want to get, Colliers Wood is the Balham of 1995, ie no one thinks it will go anywhere but if you got in then...

After 3 blissful years renting in Nappy Valley, we’re taking the leap and looking to buy a 2 bedroom flat. Unfortunately NV is a bit out of budget so we’ve been looking for areas that are more affordable but not too far away! So far we’ve looked at Tooting and Streatham but wondered if anyone had any other recommendations? We both work in the City so need a reasonable commute, but also want somewhere that will have a good community atmosphere and is safe, especially for when we start a family! Any ideas or past experiences will be much appreciated, thank you! x