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Where to buy in London?

Budget of c. £1m

I could go higher but essentially, I spend way too much money on a party lifestyle and I have zero intention of giving it up. However, my issue is that I don't like council estates near me nor do I want to commute far.

 

Thoughts? 

Ha yes I can really see how I've really trolled people with this post. Jolly good.

 

I don't really want to sell my rental flat but if necessary, that would net me a further c. £600k.

 

I just want a decent 2 bed flat - £1m is fine for that in most areas.

I just want a decent 2 bed flat - £1m is fine for that in most areas.

Why are you asking the question then?  You can get a decent sized 2 bed flat in Marylebone for £1m.  

Because I don't like Marylebone - I find it too boring. I don't need to be THAT central.

Also, I was done with Clapham years ago. I may give the west a go. 

Good recommendation playftse4me but I think I prefer period property conversions e.g. like what you get a lot of in Fulham.

I lived in Kensington Olympia for a bit, it's not bad at all, Kensington High Street one way, Holland Park nearby, Fulham not far, and some very nice backstreets tucked away between Olympia and Shepherds Bush, sort of around where the K-West hotel is.

Shepherds Bush ain't great though.

You can still get a townhouse off Holloway Road for around a million. Sometimes a doer upper for just under.

 

it’s pretty straightforward - surrounded by more expensive areas, close to Upper Street, and many independents and nice bars along Holloway these days. Only downside is difficulty using the tube on match days.

Thanks all - some great suggestions. I don't know the W4 postcode at all, so I shall have to explore.

Belsize park is lovely.

Any experience of Putney or Highgate?

W4 is Chiswick. District line and Picadilly after 10pm only. BR too. Highly popular leafy suburb. Pricey. If you come for a look see on a Sunday you will find a market - vintage, cheese and flowers on weekly rotation.

Putney is fine , with plenty of lovely large period conversions in leafy roads . Great transport links , two tubes and an overland which takes you to Waterloo in under 15 minutes. However the amenities and shops are awful and there is non stop traffic . You’ll end up socialising and shopping In Wimbleddon, Fulham and Chelsea .

do you want two bathrooms and a demised garden or balcony , if you do that ramps up the price especially if it’s a period building . Richmond, Kingston and Wimbledon will serve you quite well at that price point .??

@ Just, Kingston is far from a dump. It has as good a shopping and amentities as you could wish for outside Oxford, BoND Street et al. Surprisingly, not too many decent restaurants/Brasseries . The villages/towns that neighbour Kingston are nice IMO

@ Roger, why is Wimbledon worse than Kingston? The problem with Wimbledon for people that don't know it extremely well, is that everyones reference point/default position is comparing it to the Village. The village is an outlier by any standards in London. You could be in any village in the country almost, but without some of the drawbacks. 

PROS

Fantastic schools, commons and parks a plenty, eatieres and restaurants  of excellent quality, gyms, horse riding stables, quiet yet bustling,  picturesque beautiful roads and streets, 5/10 min walk to the train station/tube, low/non existent crime, not flashy (mainly old(ish) money, good/ decent bars and proper pubs, butchers, and houses and flats, which are jaw dropping and tasteful.

CONS

Absurdly expensive , for good reason . People move there and don't leave. The demand for 2 bed period flats are huge, and rarely come to market, and a million is about the very starting point ( for a new build)

FUN FACTS

1) The Pope has his official residence there ( vatican aside)

2) The last place in London to have CCTV in and about the High Street

3) I think it is the only place to have traffic lights for horses.

4) All commercial properties are not allowed to have illuminated signage. Some do push their luck and try  it though.!

OB, Putney is a strange place. For all the money there, the shopping, high street and facilities are woeful.

Wimbledon is a tale of 3/4 towns all with the same name. I would go as far south as the Broadway, when you get into south wimbledon proper, take your chances!

@ roger wimbledon shopping is not great, agreed, especially for things like furniture and other stuff. As you say Elys is as good as it gets. However Kingston is a ten min drive max, and has everything. Lots of good places to eat in Wimbledon, better than Kingston IMO.

OP, look at Richmond its ace, fooking ace.

At least you've got a £1M budget, which is s.t. many of us will never have.

Others have said Putney for a 2-bedder, which sounds about right.

Old Kent Rd or Whitechapel has been suggested, which doesn't address your veto on council estates.

Chingford, s.o. has suggested. No effing way. It more or less Essex, next to Woolwich. Brexity white lower-middle class/ working class far right demographic.

In London, £1m gets you a TOYA, albeit maybe a 99-yr plus lease.

Move outwards. Berks, Beds, Northants. Not Surrey. You'll get a FSAIP.

Find a town with a Waitrose and a Waterstones and with a direct rail link to Waterloo. Forget London. It's shyte.

 

Not getting much for that tiny budget in SW. Have too go east/stop being so poor.

You could pat?

That's what most half rate lawyers who need money do.

Or just sell a watch?

/Rof/

roger it takes me ten mins, that said I never do the journey in rush hour. Even the bus takes just 25 mins max ( non rush hour)

@ secular, wimbledon, Kingston , and Richmond has all of the three things you mentioned in your last para.

£1MM is a decent budget OP, but don't get too excited, it is not a great one particularly in the areas most have mentioned here. You are still going to have to hunt, look, and find. You won't have a huge choice

True, ebitda, about said facilities in those SW/KT postcodes. It's just what you can get for your money.

Better to own a f/h one hour from London than a long lease on the District Line.

ebitda a mine of knowledge.  Re shopping Wimbledon has a supermarket problem.  I find both the Wimbledon Waitrose (the one beside the rail line) or the Raynes Park Waitrose small and underwhelming. What supermarkets do Wimbledonians use?

 

I have nothing to add to this save that Tooting Common also has some horse traffic lights! At the crossing near the Athletics Track - I think there used to be a police stables around there back in the day.

Agree Richmond particularly if you like the outdoors and the River. It’s very accessible for the rest of London.  Fast trains and the underground. Not trying to be cool and isn’t cool but great place at weekends. 

@ cuckoo, didn't know that.

@ roger, I have been doing the journey since I passed my test. My parents have been doing that journey for a great deal longer. From the Village ( not rush hour) its ten mins , give or take.

@Play, trolling again.

@ Rob, the Waitrose in Wimbledon by the rail station is hugee, as big as I have ever seen. Morrisons is huge, but shit on a number of levels. There is a biggish Sainsburys in Worple Road, that has everything A few tescos/metro express, and small Sainsburys, 3 Waitroses, including a little one. Wimbledon does not have a problem with supermarkets. There is even a Tescos ( small one) in south wimbledon which is 24 hours

OB, that is the only fly in the ointment for me, apparently you get used to it and ignore it?? Not all of Richmond is under it though? I don't think Richmond Hill/Park is under it?

Never got used to it, impossible too as woke me up every single morning in summer months screeching overhead. Perhaps would bother me less now I have ear plugs but was fairly continual. Do like Richmond park and pubs along the river round barnes etc 

Presumably for an actual party lifestyle you need to be on a night tube line (ie not Wimbledon or Richmond) or close enough that a cab is 20 mins max from town (ie not Wimbledon or Richmond).

Highgate is a good option, as is Highbury Fields. 

OP, Tooting will buy you plenty with your budget, and is very popular.

@ mole you can get a cab at night after a party, taking 20 mins from charing x to wimbledon or richmond, its about 7 miles...

@ebitda - maybe if you’re lucky with the traffic. google maps says 55 minutes and 9.6 miles by road right now, so you need a pretty clear run to do it in 20 even overnight.

or it’s an hour on the N77.

Find a town with a Waitrose and a Waterstones and with a direct rail link to Waterloo.

Any specific recommendation? May be looking for a place like that in retirement. 

Hmmm Putney was one of my top choices but you're putting me off a bit... District can be awful.

Wandsworth has always seemed a bit stabby to me.

I want to be able to get to/from Soho reasonably easily after the lash.

Never been to highgate but heard good things.

@ebitda!!!! My mum is responsible for that horse traffic light between the park and the common! She wanted to make sure I didn’t get taken out when perambulating on horseback. Got the pony club involved iirc

Don’t get me wrong: a few days in London shopping and hanging out is great, but don’t be fooled

London is a scam of epic, BitCoin-esque (although of course the jury is still out on that one) proportions — super expensive, overcrowded with sh1t transport and even more sh1t housing stock 

I have friends and acquaintances that live in 2 mill homes that are objectively awful 

New York (Manhattan) is the same, of course, but it’s at least 20% cooler and I much prefer the vibe there 

So my advice — on the basis that you are probably a successful professional with numerous good job-related options — is to move to NYC and buy something there 

I’d rather go out on the lash in SoHo than Soho and SoHo isn’t even a top three lash destination in NYC 

Good luck whatever you do 

NYC is much more overpriced than London, and the subway is shite compared to the Tube.
 

I’m not disputing that PP — I’m just saying, if you are going to live in an over priced sh1t hole with developing world-type infrastructure and housing and you like to party and meet people, then at least chose the option with more fun and friendly people/areas

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