Advice on moving from Clapham

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AS16
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Advice on moving from Clapham

Postby AS16 » Fri May 29, 2020 11:37 am

Hi all, am looking for advice and suggestions please. We're considering upsizing from our flat to a place with a garden / more living space for the kids. Key criteria are catchment for state schools and proximity to public transport - green spaces close by would be very welcome too. We were considering areas such as Dulwich, Wimbledon, Clapham, Surbiton, Kingston for e.g. 

Has anyone recently made a similar move with pre-school kids? Which areas did you find great to live in? Would you have any thoughts on the schools to consider (outstanding state schools)? Are any of these areas better value for money from a space vs house price consideration? (Clapham ticks most of our boxes but houses are expensive!)

Have been trying to do online exploration on rightmove etc, but nothing compares to personal experience and so would be very grateful for any thoughts from people who've been down this path before. Happy to give you a call to speak if easier, please let me know!

Thanks a lot. 
 
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Jomanley
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Re: Advice on moving from Clapham

Postby Jomanley » Mon Jun 01, 2020 6:40 am

I’d suggest taking a look at Earlsfield. Outstanding state primary school, train station with trains every few minutes to Clapham Junction, Waterloo and Wimbledon. It has a fabulous community feel, lots of young families and always feels safe and friendly.
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SouthLondonDaddy
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Re: Advice on moving from Clapham

Postby SouthLondonDaddy » Mon Jun 01, 2020 9:07 am

Where will you commute to? The areas that you can easily reach from Dulwich are very different from those that you can easily reach from Kingston!

Will both of you be commuting, or only one?

Do you have a car?

I'll ask this pretending there's been no virus, because no one has a clue about what will happen to the real estate market, but what's your budget and what are you looking for? Garden flat, small terraced house, etc? Do you want to buy or to rent?

Without all these pieces of information it's basically impossible to say much.

Just beware of all the people who will try to convince you that wherever they live is best! 

My two cents:
East Dulwich good for state schools, both primary and secondary, but terrible for transport.
North Dulwich - Dulwich village too expensive and transport is even worse.
Earlsfield and Southfields are better value for money but there is absolutely nothing on the high street apart from a couple of small supermarkets and cafes.
Wandsworth common: you pay a lot for proximity to the park, but there is even less on the high street, and lots of trains pass by without stopping.
Tooting better value for money but not everyone likes it.
Kingston is lovely, it has a city feel with a great high street, but, if you work in central London, your commute becomes long.

Get a railway map and see how many lines pass through a given station. What makes Balham Wimbledon Earlsfield etc great for transport links is that so many different lines pass there: not only are trains frequent, but, if one line is disrupted, you can still rely on others.

 
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KatherineHepburn
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Re: Advice on moving from Clapham

Postby KatherineHepburn » Mon Jun 01, 2020 11:20 am

Depending upon your budget buying off the Northcote Road is great for a community feel and brilliant schools but it is REALLY pricey for what you get in terms of sq ft! Being close to Clapham Junction is great for Waterloo and Victoria.
Wandsworth Common is lovely and there is a larger range in housing prices. You also have the options of trains into Victoria, over to Clapham Junction or walking down to the Northern Line for Tooting Bec. The schools are great too. I live over this way and like being able to access both Bellevue Road and Tooting as well as a short cycle ride over to Northcote Road.
Furzedown is also an option. Lovely community, lots of nice houses, two great primary schools and a brilliant secondary school... the transport links aren't great though.
This is a lovely area of London to live in - great choice. 
 
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balhamwilbur
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Re: Advice on moving from Clapham

Postby balhamwilbur » Mon Jun 01, 2020 4:08 pm

Have you considered Streatham, either Streatham Hill near Tooting Common or around Streatham Common?  Much better value for money in terms of houses and gardens compared to Battersea / Clapham / Wandsworth and although there's no tube  there are several mainline train stations (inc Thameslink which is 25 mins to Blackfriars and the City) and lots of buses.  We moved from Balham some years ago and are very happy here.  Schools are good - Julian's Primary and Dunraven Primary on Leigham Court Rd are a couple but there are other good ones too.  Then Dunraven Secondary is outstanding (small catchment). If you're Catholic then Bishop Thomas Grant is also excellent.  Quite a few local kids I know also go to Kingsdale School in West Dulwich.  For our family, Wimbledon and Kingston would have been too far out from Central London (husband cycles to work and my work takes me out in the evenings a fair bit - or used to! - and I would hate the commute at that time) but they are nice places to live.
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AS16
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Re: Advice on moving from Clapham

Postby AS16 » Fri Jun 05, 2020 11:46 pm

Thank you all for your replies. 

Jomanley - thank you for putting Earlsfield on our radar. 

SouthLondonDaddy - thank you for bringing those questions up. Both of us commute to central London (Waterloo/London Bridge). We are looking to buy but space for the kids to run around is a primary consideration as we've learnt during the lockdown. Thanks for the colour on Dulwich,

KatehrineHepburn - we are currently off Northcote Road and love the area but getting more space, as you say, seems an expensive proposition. Will look into Furzedown. Thank you.

balhamWilbur - thank you for suggesting Streatham. That wasnt on our list but will definitely explore more based on your suggestions for schools. 

Thanks again for all your detailed inputs - really gives us a lot of options to explore. Appreciate it!
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Ex Clapham resident
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Re: Advice on moving from Clapham

Postby Ex Clapham resident » Sun Jun 07, 2020 8:18 pm

Wimbledon Chase is still good value. Lovely community feel. Fantastic transport links- northern line, district line, Thames link and overland to Waterloo. Lots of ‘outstanding ‘ primary schools and Rutlish and Ricards are outstanding secondaries.
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