Where to buy in London?

BitterAndTwisted

There are two conservation areas in Walthamstow (Village and Orford Road) and that's where all the Yummy Mummies are to be found, but where the houses cost more as a result. As a general rule the infant and junior schools are good but the secondaries are not. Which makes it good if you're only planning on staying there until your kids are 11 or they will going on to private schools.

cupid_s

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

There are two conservation areas in Walthamstow (Village and Orford Road) and that's where all the Yummy Mummies are to be found, but where the houses cost more as a result. As a general rule the infant and junior schools are good but the secondaries are not. Which makes it good if you're only planning on staying there until your kids are 11 or they will going on to private schools.

That's a really good point. I'd be happy to move slightly further out when kids reached secondary school age. I wouldn't rule out private school but can't see us being able to afford it. Saying that I've just looked at the league tables and schools in the area. Is ~ 60% 5 A*-C really that bad?

isisini

I've heard the same about Secondary Schools, we're generally thinking we'd move out by then but actually, I go to some evening classes in our local comp and it has good facilities/and the kids always seem polite enough.

Plus 11 years is a long time in schools! So can't help feeling that it would fruitless to plan to be near one specific school so far in advance.

hazyjo

cupid_s wrote: »

I looked at your virtual walk and I agree it looks lovely. But citymapper and TfL think it would take 50 minutes to get to Chingford station (then obviously there'd be some walking the other end as well). You obviously do this journey a lot more often so I was wondering is that realistic?

I've been looking at rightmove and there seem to be some lovely houses for well under 400k, though I'm unsure exactly what constitutes "North Chingford". So the ones I'm seeing may well be in the not so desirable area.

It takes (literally) 10 mins to get to Walthamstow from Chingford.

TFL say it takes 35 mins from Walthamstow to Euston! Tosh. I average a tube journey taking roughly 2 mins per stop. It's only 7 stops to Euston! I've googled 'Walthamstow to Euston' and have found varying times - one said 18 mins, another 21 mins, and thetube.com apparently says 18-20 mins. My 2 mins calculation would put it roughly at 14 mins, so am inclined to believe thetube.com. Victoria line's fairly reliable.

No idea why some sites are horrendously overestimating how long it takes. Give it a try one day

I go straight into Liverpool Street, so a very easy journey for me from Chingford.

I would say North Chingford is anything north of Endlebury Road (at a push) up to and beyond the station, and the bit to the left of Larkshall Road is best. Anything too far left of The Ridgeway means you'll want to get a bus to the station. I would go as far as Mount Echo Drive (and nearby roads), but that is one steep hill!

Some decent houses near the resevoir, but, again, bit of a journey to station. Roads to the left side of Station Road near the station are very expensive. And just after the station... some enormous houses (anything near the golf course at the end basically). Talking millions.

Shout if something catches your eye... I probably know it well enough now to give an opinion.

Oh, and the Bull on the Green pub at the far end is now a Prezzo.

Jx

sniggings

bloody hell 500k and you have to worry about the train fare :eek:

I have an hour commute to a min wage job and my bus ticket is £50 a month, I don't feel so hard done by now

Good luck with the move.

cupid_s

sniggings wrote: »

bloody hell 500k and you have to worry about the train fare :eek:

I have an hour commute to a min wage job and my bus ticket is £50 a month, I don't feel so hard done by now

Good luck with the move.

Thanks.

I should point out that said train fare would be ~25% of our take home pay! When over 50% of your take-home earnings are going to be going on the mortgage already, it really wouldn't be easy to pay another 25% just for travel.

sniggings

cupid_s wrote: »

Thanks.

I should point out that said train fare would be ~25% of our take home pay! When over 50% of your take-home earnings are going to be going on the mortgage already, it really wouldn't be easy to pay another 25% just for travel.

yeah that was the point I was badly making, you can have a 500k property but the train fares are the problem...watched the Daily Politics the other day and they were comparing commuting in London to Italy and a few other places, an equivalent commute to Rome (think it was Rome) for Italy and other major cities in Europe, we were over 10x more expensive, Italy being the cheapest at around £350, with us around £3.500 :eek:

cupid_s

sniggings wrote: »

yeah that was the point I was badly making, you can have a 500k property but the train fares are the problem...watched the Daily Politics the other day and they were comparing commuting in London to Italy and a few other places, an equivalent commute to Rome (think it was Rome) for Italy and other major cities in Europe, we were over 10x more expensive, Italy being the cheapest at around £350, with us around £3.500 :eek:

Ah I get you now! I remember getting a train from Pisa to Florence, bought on the day and it cost about £6 return. It's about the same distance as London to Oxford, which costs £58.

sniggings

cupid_s wrote: »

Ah I get you now! I remember getting a train from Pisa to Florence, bought on the day and it cost about £6 return. It's about the same distance as London to Oxford, which costs £58.

the Rome train commute is even cheaper than my bus commute, which is only 6 miles but will cost me £600 a year, and that's on min wage :eek:

robin_hood

Have you considered Sout-East London? I think it's still undervalued and soon the prices will climb up rapidly. With all the regeneration projects like crossrail, which will affect Bexley borough positively. A lot of regeneration in Bexleyheath too.