I would highly recommend Earlsfield and the area of the Magdalen Estate - a priority catchment area for Beatrix Potter school. Because the school prioritises living in the catchment over siblings out of catchment you are basically guaranteed a place.
The gardens of the houses in the area are much bigger than we found when looking in Balham.
No tube but trains every 3-4 minutes at Earlsfield station - 3 stops to Waterloo stopping at Clapham Junction and Vauxhall along the way. Though the trains are packed by the time they reach Earlsfield.

Garratt Lane is not the greatest high street but has a fab Korean restaurant, a Carluccios, coffee shops, a couple of upscale pubs. Basically everything you need.
And Bellevue road is a short walk away too. Also you can catch the bus down to Tooting Bec easily if need - and also enjoy all the eateries there.

For grocery shopping there is a big Waitrose at Southside shopping centre where you can park easily (and a cinema too) and other run of the mill shops.

Wandsworth Common and other small parks are a short walk away.
If your budget doesn't stretch to the Magdalen Estate there are maisonettes for sale in the area between the Magdalen Estate and Garratt Lane which also have nice big gardens. I know many happy families at Earlsfield primary too!
Earlsfield is super family friendly. We met the most amazing families and friends in the community - our street alone had around 6 kids going into BP for reception with our son. Everyone scoots or walks to school. We have since had to move overseas and miss the community a lot! Best of luck with your house hunt.

Thanks a lot for all your replies - much appreciated!

Nurseries are, in fact, one of the things we haven't looked into yet.

Being closer to Clapham Junction would be great for transport links, but I am afraid properties tend to be more expensive.

If you really decide to move to Balham, I highly recommend this lovely nursery opposite Waitress and Balham Library - Oaktree Nursery School. Both my boys went there.. staff are amazing. They care so much of each child and all activities are so carefully planned. Their nativity play and end of term show for parents just impress us all. Lovely families, parents who we met through Oaktree. They are just an amazing wonderful bubbly place for a child to be. Our children learnt so much from there. They use Tapestry online children learning journal, so you can see a lot of images updated daily on what they were doing at nursery. Those lovely ladies have been working there for so many years! Give Jill a call to arrange a visit in your next research trip to Balham. Her number is 07721 047949

And of course there is us the wonderful Chinese school in Balham where children are so happy to learn Mandarin together. We teach little ones through singing, nursery rhymes, games, stories. www.wenlinchineseschool.org.uk

Very best of luck for your big decision. We love it here

SLD, have you looked at Battersea area? Check out St Johns Hill as it reminds me of LSL in Dulwich. We love living there and going to the surrounding parks and cafes.

I've lived in Tooting, Balham and Earlsfield. Agree that Earlsfield doesn't have much to offer on the high street and obviously no tube.

Balham is ok - Tooting Bec Common is lovely. Playground, pond, cafe. Swimming at Balham Leisure Centre or the Lido in the summer. As someone else said, lots of rugby, lacrosse, football clubs nearby. Heaver Estate houses are gorgeous but expensive and the catchment areas for schools are nightmarish with the good ones oversubscribed, which is why many people from round here send their children over to Alleyns and Dulwich College to be educated...

I'd disagree that the Northern Line is ok in rush hour. It's HELL. And one reason I'd rather not live here. I never get a seat in the rush hour and it's always packed. I get on at Tooting Bec...

I am not sure Balham is that good for cafes although H Street Deli is lovely and people seem to like Bertie & Boo. Good supermarkets, butcher, fish at Clapham South. Good luck!

I would agree with the renting suggestion.

I know you say that you risk being in a worse position if you still cannot afford a house in the area but one of the main things putting pressure on your budget and ability to buy in the area is the need to be within catchment of a decent school.

If you rent in the area for a while first, you get to not only ensure you're in an area you love but also you put yourself in a much stronger buying position. You won't need to negotiate as heavily on the price as you will be fortunate enough to move quickly and you will also not be restricted with regards to catchment area if your little one has already started school so the houses available will be in slightly less demand.

Didn't Ega move on to Balham High Road opposite Du Cane Court?
The council recently shut down an unlicensed nightclub there

I think Ega wasn't entirely legit

Ega ! Wow, had many a great (and very late) night there....

I've been in Balham for over 21 years and seen lots of changes, most good but Tooting is still much more down to earth. The Bedford Hill hookers have moved on, there are more unnecessary 4x4's struggling to park in Safeway's old carpark, the late night back bar at the Dev is now a dining area, The Grove doesn't have bands on any more as it's been turned open plan. M & S Simply food closed down shortly after Waitrose opened. State schools are good. Too many hairdressers and phone shops. Shame Ega and Hobgoblins on Bedford Hill & McNab's bar on the High Road are gone, but that's progress by all accounts. There are still Ice Cream vans though which is a plus and one can cyle into the west end in half an hour.

Is Balham particularly popular with expats, especially European expats, or is it mostly a British neighbourhood? I understand there are some French schools around Battersea, but that’s a few miles north. I ask because I wonder about the impact of Brexit. Of course no one has a crystal ball, just thinking the impact might potentially be greater in areas more popular with EU expats.

There's no sibling priority at Beatrix Potter unless you live in the catchment area so you are pretty much guaranteed a place as long as you live in either the primary or secondary catchment. There haven't been any cases of people living in either catchment not getting a place! You wouldn't be able to afford a house in catchment though (I don't think ) unless you weee closer up towards the prison perhaps but you could afford a 3 bed maisonettes with garden and some have drives.

Mmm, renting for a bit would be a logistical nightmare. A big question is if we can find and afford to buy a property we like; renting in the area makes weekend viewings easier, but doesn’t really give us greater chances of finding something within our budget. In other words, if we rent, like the area, but then fail to buy… we’ll be in a much worse position because by then our little tsunami will have started school, and the last thing we want is to move her around from school to school.

@sw1234, were you referring to Beatrix Potter? What do you mean about being guaranteed a place? My understanding was that priority is given to those living in the two “priority areas” but, even then, there are no guarantees, just like you are not guaranteed a place even if you live 150 metres from a school , because theoretically there could be lots of siblings ahead of your child.

Good idea actually to rent for a bit if you can. You will get a better feel of where in balham to live. We moved from balham to Earlsfield. I only use overground so E was better with trains every 3 mins to Waterloo plus if you make sure you live In catchment for BP you are guaranteed a place which made it a safer bet. That together with the drives, bigger gardens etc it was a no brainer and we have never looked back!

How about you rent for 6 months in the area and see if you like it and take the time to suss out your target roads. I can't see prices changing much in that time and although you will be paying rent you will get a feel for whether you like Balham and avoid making an expensive mistake if you hate it.

Ice-cream wise - see my previous post