Hi!

I came across this thread and had the exact same questions. My husband and I are looking to buy a property in Tooting Bec, very close to the Tooting Bec tube station. We currently Iive in East London so have very little idea about this area. How is Tooting bec as an area? Are the schools good? I get mixed opinions everytime, and I'm very confused. Any help would be greatl!
Thanks

We will probably be moving to one of the lanes between Bec and Broadway. Still reasonably priced terraced houses... Fingers crossed .

We have moved to Tooting Bec a few weeks ago from Putney. I have found the people on our road really friendly and a mix of old residents and new like us with families. Our daughter will start reception at Fircroft, but there are lots of privates around here as well. There are some interesting cafes and bars around. My husband and I went to the Imperial Dunbar and had some fab cocktails. There is a sweet cafe called Glamorous Puds on Trinity Rd. Lots of banter and character there. We had takeaway from a few Indian /Sri Lankan eateries and they were wonderful and there are so many others we haven't tried yet. I have taken the kids up to Balham for the Library and a quick shop in Waitrose, but there is a bakery cafe called Tartine where I've bought bread and groceries from a Turkish shop near T Bec station. We've also been down to Tooting Broadway Leisure Centre to use the childrens pool which was lovely and clean and so much nicer than the one in Putney. Of course there are the Commons and the Lido. It's a great spot. It may not be everyone's cup of tea because the area is diverse but we like that. And yes house prices are going up all the time. A 3 bedroom house on our road got sold for close to a million a few weeks ago it was refurbished but not even extended! You can take a bus on Trinity Road up to Northcote Road for the shops
in 15 minutes. It's a great area and in the middle of lots of other contrasting neighbourhoods. If you have the right attitude, the go for it!

I think the prices are still a little higher in the roads nearer to Tooting Bec than those nearer to Tooting Broadway. But I could be wrong. Just as the prices are higher on the Balham side of Tooting Bec... But it's not a vast difference by any means.

St Anselm's doesn't have a catchment area as such, as church attendance is always taken into account before this, but of course you would need to live within the parish and I would say, the closer the better - not least to get to mass every week!!

Pulling an old thread up... But given the recent boom, is there any difference in the roads near Tooting bec (up to Brudenell perhaps) and the roads near the shops ? ( near Lahore Karachi)
Where would you live? Do the house prices differ vastly?
Also does St. Anselm have a catchment area in addition to church attendence?

Welcome to the area! I moved to Furzedown 5 years ago from Tooting Bec and love it - there's a real sense of community here and so many nice families, plus great schools too.

Re surgeries, I can't recommend The Greyswood Practice (on Eastwood St) highly enough - best doctors I've ever seen (particularly Drs Osborne & Andrews). For nurseries, the Eveline Day nursery in Seely Hall on Chillerton Rd was fantastic, wonderful, caring staff. My daughter went there and I've since recommended it to several friends who all sent their children there when they went back to work and all were really happy with it.

Hope that helps.

Good luck with everything!

p.s. check out the forum on the Furzedown net for lots of local info/recommendations etc

I'm registered with Trinity Medical Centre, near Tooting Bec tube

http://www.trinitycavendishmedicalcentre.co.uk/trinity/

They are busy (like every surgery) but I find them very good. Dr Wallat-Vago and Dr Eno both very nice.

Nursery wise, pm me if you like. Are you looking for day care or pre-school?

I have just moved to Furzedown from Balham (literally been here a week) and need a nursery and GP recommendation in the area. Any suggestions? thoughts?

We are also thinking about moving to this area but I'm so confused about schools! Can anyone tell me which are the best state primarys so we can pinpoint our search?
Thanks so much!
X

This is such a great thread! We're about to move into Furzedown and I've been a little anxious about it despite really loving what I've seen of the area. We currently live in Abbeville and whilst it's only a 10/15 minute drive it does feel quite far away from everything - but all these great comments have made me feel really excited about our new home. Like others have said - we've just bought a huge house and garden (needs some work but it's 2000 sqft) for 620,000. Basically that's half what a similar house round here would cost. I'm also a little concerned as I'm going to keep my kids at Parkgate House, where they are now, rather than send them to the local primary and it does rather feel that we're going to be flying a bit solo down there. I plan to join up to some of the fantastic after school clubs available in the area so hopefully the kids will make local friends but anyone already down there have experience with this? I do get the impression that alot of the kids go to the , excellent, local school (we just didn't sign our 4 year old up in time to get a reception place). Sorry, bit of a babble...

I think it's a case of, the further down the northern line you go the less expensive/ less desirable the properties become (and better value for money possibly)... So, Tooting Bec less desirable than Balham, Tooting Broadway less desirable than Tooting Bec, Colliers Wood less desirable than Tooting Broadway etc. but that's probably a given anyway as you would obviously be adding time onto a city commute.

I think Tooting Bec is generally considered more desirable than Tooting Broadway as you are really in the thick of the markets, and not very attractive rows of cheapy-shops in Broadway, whereas Tooting Bec is more residential with a scattering of shops but more importantly closer to the Common and therefore prettier. Also, from what I have seen the houses seem to be slightly more modern looking nearer Broadway - less instances of original Victorian/ Edwardian features - UPVc windows and porches instead of sash windows and stain glass front doors for example -but obviously that might not be a consideration for you.

I am biased though as I live in Bec, maybe someone who lives in Broadway would be better placed to offer a view.

My wife and I have been trying to move to Tooting Bec for the past six months. Despite a couple of tries we haven't managed to buy a house there yet but we are still looking. It was great to see all of the positive comments on this thread. We've got some strange looks from friends and acquaintances when we've told them where we're looking. They think that there is nothing south of the railway line at Balham, but we think they are missing out on better value properties with more space.

We've been looking at properties both north and south of Tooting Bec Road/Trinity Road. We have got the impression that the area north of Tooting Bec Road/Trinity Road is considered more desirable or at least the properties there are more expensive per sq ft. Is that generally the case?

I love this thread! We moved to Tooting Bec in 2010 - we lived on Venn Street in Clapham prior to this where everything was literally on our doorstep so it was a big change for us. We bought off Franciscan Road for under £600k and got 1700 square foot, a south facing quiet garden, 4 bedrooms, wide hallway and original Victorian features. It would have been lunacy not to snap it up!

I had already lived on the modern Heritage Park estate with a friend for a couple of years so had "got over" Tooting High Street ugliness - and it is ugly, there's no denying it - but I am CONVINCED it will improve, it already has since we have lived here. But with the common, the parks and the fact I have never in my 10 years of living in London had more contact and genuine friendships with my neighbours, I am pleased as punch to be here.

When I meet friends for coffee we still more than often meet in Balham or Clapham but that's easy peasy to get to so I feel we have the best of both worlds.

Come on over!

I agree Tooting Bec is great. Sure, it's a bit rough around the edges but I think it's got a great sense of community. Our kids went to a local primary school and we've made many great friends from there. It's brilliant having Wandsworth Common one side, Tooting the other. It's a great spot for walking everywhere - you can go left down to the Asian shops and Primark etc in Tooting, go up to Wandsworth Common for your 'posh' fill including the fabulous Chez Bruce, right to Balham for the cafes, restaurants, Sainsbury's, Waitrose etc and down to Tooting Common and the all important Lido. There are loads of families and importantly loads of families that seem to stay put so while my kids are or are about to go to secondary school, they will still have have a lot of local friends around. I know lots of parents with children at a variety of local state primary schools and they've all be happy with them. Being near the tube is fantastic - up to Oxford Circus in 20 mins, Sloane Square in 30 and slowly by slowly there's new places opening all the time ie Meza, the sugarcraft shop, the Wheatsheaf, Walker Wyatt coffee and the shops and cafe's on Ritherdon. There's lots of gyms and sports clubs nearby as well. Importantly, and this is a big important, I feel pretty safe around here. Things do happen as do they always in London, but personally I've never felt threatened. I agree on house prices as well. Everything on our road gets snapped up as soon as it's put on the market as well so don't delay!

We live in Tooting Bec - off Trinity Road- after upsizing to a house from our 2 bed maisonette in Balham in 2009. We could not afford Balham so wanted to be as close as possible to Balham but in a nice house with garden. I would be lying if I said I prefer TB to Balham, but it does exactly what I need it to - we have a 4 bed house which is very spacious, a manageable mortgage, wonderful, friendly like- minded neighbours and a 15 min walk to Balham! TB is still a bit rough around the edges, especially the high road which I try to avoid but it is definitly gentrifying. House prices are going crazy (this is not necessarily a good thing, but reflects the increase in demand), and houses seen to sell in days, independent shops are springing up left right and centre, and schools are improving. I love being slap bang between Wands and Tooting comms, and we have some great cafes and restaurants (Dee light, Meze, the Wheatsheaf) to name but a few. My advice is to go for it - if you buy now you may also get yourself a good deal