Where to Look in London?

Thank you for the information! DH is actually flat hunting in London right now. I will send him over to check it out.

Oh, I second Balham.  Or even some place near there.  We hop on the train to Balham almost weekly to go to the shops.  Streatham in the residential sections could easily get you a two bedroom with a garden with money left over to spare.  Just avoid Streatham Hill when looking for flats.  It is definitely "city", but probably not what your husband means.  It's not bad to shop and stuff, but I don't know if I could bear to live there.

For those of you recommending Balham, do you know of any good estate agents in the area? Or any to avoid? The bf and I are planning to move in late August and Balham is one of the areas we're interested in.

Really just anything BUT Foxtons (they're so horrible). We got lucky with our flat, we found it on gumtree and it was through a really small agency where only a couple women work. The fees were minimal and the two women are really nice.

I think maybe Jacksons, Aspire, or Douglas and Gordon. There's about twenty estate agents on the high street to chose from..

I wanted to report that DH really liked Balham. He went to Islington, Holloway, and Muswell Hill too. He liked Balham the best. He looked at several properties, liked them, but decided to wait until I got there to make a decision 

Thank you everyone for your recommendations.

Great news!!!

I look forward to having more Americans in the area

I really, really *heart* Muswell Hill, but you need to be OK with buses as there's no real tube stop and East Finchley is a walk!

Really just anything BUT Foxtons (they're so horrible). We got lucky with our flat, we found it on gumtree and it was through a really small agency where only a couple women work. The fees were minimal and the two women are really nice.

I think maybe Jacksons, Aspire, or Douglas and Gordon. There's about twenty estate agents on the high street to chose from..

Many thanks! I've heard nothing but horror stories of Foxtons, so I'll be sure to avoid them. And glad to hear OP's DH liked Balham! Am so looking forward to getting out of this area of Southwark to a place where people can actually enjoy living... lol