Hi,

My husband has just accepted a job in London that is a 2 minute walk from Waterloo station. We currently live up North and have no idea where to live in London.
We have 2 children aged 7 and 5 who we would like to get into a good school and my OH would like to be within a 30 minute commute of Waterloo
Does anyone have any good recommendations on what areas we should be looking at living in? We're looking to rent somewhere for the first 12 months before potentially looking at buying. For rental, we've set a budget of around 1200-1500 a month

Please help! we're so confused!

Hi

I can't help with south of the river but my daughters recently moved to London and are in Kensal Rise, NW London. My main comment is that your rental budget seems quite low for four of you and wanting only 30 min commute in London. My girls are paying £1600/month for 2 bedroom flat and it takes my eldest 40-50 mins to get to Islington. Something may have to give unfortunately

It is going to be difficult to get something within your budget. The best way is to check with sites such as Rightmove, example Properties To Rent in Wimbledon - Flats & Houses To Rent in Wimbledon - Rightmove where you can find prices, schools, proximity to station etc. South of the river is more likely to get you a lower rental but some areas are still expensive.

Dulwich College used to have a good name. Dulwich would be within 30mins of Waterloo by car out of rush hour. You wouldn't commute by car, I don't know what the public transport links are these days but should be OK. There are some nice places round Dulwich. Also some places to avoid. See what you can get for your budget eg Properties To Rent in Dulwich - Flats & Houses To Rent in Dulwich - Rightmove

Your husband is ahead of the game already, being a two minute walk from a London terminus. Many London commuters have to factor in a further 20 minutes or so, bus or walk, once they get to London.

So, would you consider somewhere in the outer suburbs or countryside that is within 20 or 30 minutes of Waterloo? I'm thinking Chislehurst, Orpington, Sevenoaks even. In other words, get a map of train services that go into Waterloo or Waterloo East, and consider towns that have a travel time of less than (say) 25 mins and have a frequent service.

Yeah I was going to say Dulwich and Sydenham and loads of lovely places around there. Parks, museums, public gardens galore. Rents not cheap though. Multitudinous train and bus services into London from those areas. You'd be in Waterloo in twenty minutes by train, slower by bus.

Dulwich is expensive. Look at Catford, Bellingham, Lewisham. All on the Waterloo line.

Consider Herne Hill.

Nowhere is going to be cheap, but potentially anywhere in and outside SW London from Wimbledon, kingston, Surbiton and out towards Guilford is going to be within or close to 30 minutes from Waterloo (trains from further out are faster).

You may want to work out the trains terminate at Waterloo first, then use the station names along the line to do a good search on rightmove/zoopla. If you want to stick to the tube, may consider looking further east on Jubilee line that brings you up to Stratford (about 30 mins ride). but that is still within zone 2/3, you may still want to increase your housing budget to accommodate.

thanks for all the replies. We've sat down at the weekend and tried to review all the direct trains into Waterloo and have also reviewed the budget which looks like we may now increase.

so many places to choose from though, hopefully we'll make the right decision!

There are good reasons why those places are cheaper!

Factor in Waterloo East, which is adjacent to Waterloo. That brings in SE London, and Kent and Sussex.

I grew up in Bellingham.

i wouldnt live in Lewisham//i lived there in the 90s was ok as single person sharing with my mates all in our early 20s..i mean it was sh*t hole then not for kids though..today its even worse..not for the faint hearted.