Where to live in central London

Hey! So my husband Chris and I are moving with our two children and we are really looking for a place close to a park and a good school because we don't plan on having a car. We are looking into The American School in London, as well as Southbank. Thoughts?

What kind of budget do you have?  How many bedrooms?  What kind of commute to work do you want?  Central London is expensive, but completely doable without a car.

We're looking at about 1500 or 1600 a week - three or four bedrooms, two bath, and preferably close to a Tube stop so my husband can get to work without breaking too much of a sweat, so maybe a 15 minute walk, max? Is that doable at all or are we going to have to dig out the pocketbooks even more (London is expensive, my goodness!)

Hey! So my husband Chris and I are moving with our two children and we are really looking for a place close to a park and a good school because we don't plan on having a car. We are looking into The American School in London, as well as Southbank. Thoughts?

Will this work?

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-17724864.html

only that is £1250 per month

The American School is in St. John's Woods and your budget and bedroom/bathroom requirements are healthy enough for that and surrounding areas so relax.  . Regarding the tube, where is your husband going to be working? You should get a tube map and a map of London so you can get your bearings. Does your husband want a commute on 1tube line or is he ok with a transfer? Also, at the moment, the tube isn't air conditioned.

Here are some property websites:

Findaproperty
Primelocation
Rightmove

This website can give you some neighborhood info:

Upmystreet

St. John's Woods is lovely and as you would expect because of the school, there are a lot of Americans there. There is a nice High Street with restaurants and shops. There is even a small grocery store off the High Street which carries some American foods that you might stRt missing like Kraft Mac and Cheese.

Other areas you might consider are Maida Vale, Marylebone and Bayswater which are still pretty close to the American School. But, do consider your husband's commute and how close you want to be to the school. They do offer a bus service for an extra charge.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-28881232.html

This may work for you

Just to add, the areas Maida Vale, Marylebone and Bayswater are pretty nice and the commute to South Bank shouldn't be more than ten to fifteen minutes.

I work at the American School...there are a lot of families in St Johns Wood, Marylebone is great, I'd also look at Hampstead (park right there is fab) w/46 bus (many kids take this), Primrose Hill (walkable to school & lovely park).  We also have families in Maida Vale (walkable).  If you do get your kids in ASL, they can also have a bus pick them up & drop them off.

Thank you for all of the input!

We are moving towards the end of this summer. My husband will be flying over to look at houses, so I'm trying to do as much research as I can to relieve the pressure on him (and so that I have a say!)

We have started filling out the applications to The American School in London. We are really hoping that the kids will be accepted. Not counting on it, but it would be ideal for us.

Onetiger, you don't happen to work in the lower school do you? We think that living in St. John's Wood would be great, however friends who used to live in London recommended Hampstead and some other nearby neighborhoods that look absolutely gorgeous. How important is it being able to walk to school?

How important is it being able to walk to school?

I think it depends on how busy the bus or tube you plan to take to school is during the morning when people are commuting to work and whether or not their is a reasonable bus or tube ride.  By that I mean, you would probably want a direct route.  One thing about Hamstead as far as your husband's commute.  The Northern Line is notorious for going down.

I work in the high school.  I think it's nice for the young ones to walk to school but at the same time, the buses that you can take (school ones) are quite easy as is the 46 bus for Hampstead.  The Northern Line can be a pain but my DH has taken it quite a lot for his job and hasn't had too much of a problem getting to work on it (the Jubilee line seems to be just as much of a mess to be honest).  If I had my druthers, I'd live near Primrose Hill as it's walkable and lovely (and if need be your DH could take either Northern or Jubilee line if he's okay with a short walk).