Family of 4 Moving to London Working at Canary Warf...where to live?

My husband and I are coming over to work on the Olympics - and bringing our soon to be 13 year old girls for 2 years - any suggestions on neighborhoods that will allow us a reasonable (yes that is a relative term) commute and access to green spaces so we aren't to overwhelmed by city life....and potential for decent schools for the girls...(yes, yes all things ARE relative...)...thanks.

I don't have any information for you as I am in the process of moving too but thought I'd say congrats and good luck with your move!

Any idea what your budget for accomodationwill be? And do you think you want to live in London or out in the suburbs? Do you want your kids to attend UK state schools or are you looking for an American school? St Johns Wood is an easy commute to Canary Wharf, has good schools, state & private, incl an American school. Close to Regents Park & Primrose Hill for outdoor space. Very pricey area though, hence all my questions.

Any idea what your budget for accomodationwill be? And do you think you want to live in London or out in the suburbs? Do you want your kids to attend UK state schools or are you looking for an American school? St Johns Wood is an easy commute to Canary Wharf, has good schools, state & private, incl an American school. Close to Regents Park & Primrose Hill for outdoor space. Very pricey area though, hence all my questions.

Yes, there are lots of lovely areas in commuting distance to Canary Wharf, but they are all definitely for a high budget!

London is about 659 square miles with 33 boroughs.  It's huge.  I would suggest that you get a map of London and a tube map which will give you an idea of what you're dealing with.  As others have said, you need to come up with what are the most important parameters for you.  You've said you want a reasonable commute.  If your husband will be commuting to Canary Wharf then I would suggest that you start by looking at things on the Jubilee Line and the Docklands Light Rail, both of which will give you a direct route into Canary Wharf with no changes. 

You need to decide whether you want your children to go to UK school or an American School.  If you are only going to be here for 2 years it really might be easier for your children to continue with an American style education so maybe areas near St. John's Wood and Notting Hill will be appealing because they both have American Schools.  However, the tuition is not cheap.  St. John's Wood is on the Jubilee Line which goes right into Canary Wharf.  Commuting from Notting Hill to Canary Wharf would require changing tube lines.  Some people don't mind that.  Some people find it a hassle.  Both these areas have a lot of Americans which might encourage you to move there are might not.  Both these areas are on the more pricey side so you definitely have to come up with a budget.

As far as escaping City life.  London has lots of pockets of neighborhoods that have a villagy feel.  It's not like living in a big city like New York where it's hard to escape the masse, the traffic and honking horns.

Based on what I am seeing we are budgeting up to 2k (pounds) per month - UK schools all the way as we can't afford the American schools; plus I think the girls would do good to be in the main stream - they go to an independent school in SLC now so they hopefully will be up for the academic challenge; I have been looking at Up My Street and looking at neighborhoods along the tube line - like Ilford and St Johns Wood - and hope to find a list of 6- 7 options as most the schools seem to have huge waiting lines - fingers crossed that the committee will have some sort of connections - hopefully the schools that have space are still above par to what the public options here in SLC are -

London rental prices are quoted on a weekly basis so that makes your budget about 460 GBP/week.  In general, the farther you go out from Central London and Zone 1, the more you will get for your money.

Here are some property websites:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/
http://www.primelocation.com/
http://www.findaproperty.com/