How to Find the Right Neighborhood

We are preparing for a move to London this summer and are quite confused about where we should focus our home search.
We have 3 kids (2 who are school age and a baby).  My husband will be working in Reading and we would like his commute to be an hour or less.
Our company pays our expenses, and although I don't have exact numbers yet, I'm estimating that we will have around 2,000-2,500 pounds per week for housing.  
We're only going to be in the UK for 12-24 months so we want to be close enough to the city to take advantage of the museums, theaters, restaurants, etc.
But since we have small kids we also need space to run around, good schools, and so on.

We currently live 12 minutes from central Sydney via ferry.  We love the convenience of being close to the city but still having a village feel to our neighborhood.

So, what would you suggest:
-Live in Reading
-Live in London (near Paddington Station)
-Live somewhere in between

We will have a relo agent who helps us sort out all the details but I want to narrow the search a bit.

Thanks,
Jenny

I don't have a clue about those areas, but I just wanted to bump this for you 

I don't advice about what neighborhood, but live in London.  If you are only here for such a short period of time you want to take advantage of all that the city has to offer. 

It is easy to get out of London as well.  If you live somewhere not in London almost all your long distance travel needs to go through London.  It takes forever, so I say cut out the middleman. 

Thanks for the replies. 
I've talked to a few British expats here in Sydney and everyone seems to agree that living in London and commuting to Reading would be the best option.
So I think we'll focus our search in that direction.
 
Jenny

With a budget of £2000-2500/week you're going to have your pick of pretty much any neighborhood.  You might want to begin by considering neighborhoods that are on tube lines that go into Paddington if that is where your husband will be commuting from everyday.  I would suggest Marylebone, Notting Hill, and Holland Park for starters.  All near either Hyde Park, Regent's Park or Holland Park

We live about a mile walk from Paddington, in Marylebone, and really love it.  It is an easy walk, but a really quick trip by bus or tube.  There are fewer houses with gardens/yards, but they are around.  And Regent's Park is fabulous for kids.  I'll be useless on good schools for several more years, but there are loads of families and more terraced houses (rather than flats) up in St. John's Wood, which isn't far at all, but is less direct because it's only served by the Jubilee Line (which doesn't go to Paddington).  The American School is located there, hence the family clumping.  Notting Hill and Holland Park would be good, as well!  Your housing budget opens up a lot of very nice neighborhoods.  

 

ETA:  Hahahahahaha.  gretel beat me to it while I was typing!  

 

ETA:  Hahahahahaha.  gretel beat me to it while I was typing!  

Great (Marylebone loving) minds, think alike.

Thanks so much for the information.  I will be taking a closer look at the neighborhoods mentioned.  Have also requested some information from the American and International schools in the area.
I'm assuming that the train from Paddington to Reading would be the easiest commuting option for my husband (it looks like it takes about 30 minutes).  That's why I was thinking of looking for a rental near that station.  Would that be a reasonable option for getting to work every day?
Or, he could drive (although not sure if most rentals would have parking etc).

Speaking of driving- do most people prefer to have a car, or rely on public transportation.  I do have 3 little kids so I'm a bit nervous about the idea of giving up a car altogether.  Just not sure how practical that would be . . . .

Thanks so much for the information.  I will be taking a closer look at the neighborhoods mentioned.  Have also requested some information from the American and International schools in the area.
I'm assuming that the train from Paddington to Reading would be the easiest commuting option for my husband (it looks like it takes about 30 minutes).  That's why I was thinking of looking for a rental near that station.  Would that be a reasonable option for getting to work every day?
Or, he could drive (although not sure if most rentals would have parking etc).

Speaking of driving- do most people prefer to have a car, or rely on public transportation.  I do have 3 little kids so I'm a bit nervous about the idea of giving up a car altogether.  Just not sure how practical that would be . . . .

Most people use public transport, you can only drive on your US license for one year. There's a couple of things that are annoying about driving in London, not including traffic, but including parking and the freaking conjestion charge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge, it is likely that wherever you live you will need to purchase a residents parking permit to park on the street,  this is expensive and doesn't guarantee you a parking space. A rental with a parking space in those areas will be VERY rare.

You could join a car share scheme such as http://www.streetcar.co.uk/ if you didn't want to give up access to a car completely.

Most people use public transport, you can only drive on your US license for one year. There's a couple of things that are annoying about driving in London, not including traffic, but including parking and the freaking conjestion charge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge, it is likely that wherever you live you will need to purchase a residents parking permit to park on the street,  this is expensive and doesn't guarantee you a parking space. A rental with a parking space in those areas will be VERY rare.

You could join a car share scheme such as http://www.streetcar.co.uk/ if you didn't want to give up access to a car completely.

I really agree with all of the above.  I'll admit I miss having a car sometimes, but the money saved by not paying for car/insurance/parking/congestion charge is substantial so I'm cool with springing for a minicab or taxi when needed. 

We get flyers through the door advertising parking spaces for rent from time to time -- generally they're more than our rent was back in Boston.  YIKES!

 

Hi, have you tried upmystreet.com? Just type in the area or postcode and you will get all kinds of stats on the area you are looking at.

Dear Jenny,
       Yes judging by your budget you could certainly take your pick of areas in London and you should definitely think seriously about Marylebone. I know I would be if I had your budget!  It`s gorgeous. It has a beautiful little high street which is strangely free of huge chain shops and has real `local character` shops which are great for browsing through, it has wonderful restaurants and fantastic museums. My favourite is the Wallace Collection which is housed in an amazing period house. The parks are close by - Regent`s Park and Primrose Hill is also close. And to top it all of you have Europe`s biggest shopping street - Oxford Street - about 5 minutes away on foot. Lucky you!
         Jenny I really hope you and your family enjoy London.
                                                               Kind regards,
                                                                              Gary 

Thanks so much for all the replies.  Much to my initial disappointment we have decided that we won't be living in central London after all.  The deciding factor for us was the school situation for our kids.  We really want them to go to an American school and unfortunately ASL is not even taking any applications for my son's year.

So . . .  we've decided to send them to TASIS (in Surrey).  We'll probably live in Virginia Water or Sunningdale or Ascot, which may be a better option for our family all together since my husband will be working in Reading.  We're going to look for a home near the train line so we will still have (relatively) easy access to London.  Some of my husband's coworkers live in that area and apparently there are heaps of American expats there so I think that will make for an easy transition.

I am sad that we won't have the experience of living in central London, but I'm trying to look on the bright side.  Hopefully we will all enjoy our time in the beautiful English countryside!

Thanks again for all the information!
Jenny

My friends that work in Reading live in Richmond, which is seriously the nicest part of London. It feels like a town, but is in London, and there are tons of country parks around. It is a stop on the District Line, so you have no problem getting to the city.

I would also recommend Barnes which is like a country village in London- but with great pubs & restaurants.

Sidneysider

You'll also be glad to know that the general area of Virginia Water, Ascot, Sunningdale is very nice indeed! The Wentworth estate area of Virginia Water for instance being one of the most desirable and expensive areas in the whole of the UK!
 
You are right in that there's plenty of USA based residents here, there's the American School nearby, so you have the increased chances of meeting others in a similar position to you. Living in Central London can be very good indeed, but it's not the end of the world as such, these areas you mention could easily pass as the more affluent, leafy and desirable parts of London anyway!

Lastly, just 2 minutes drive and you are in the open spaces and semi rural countryside and the many villages and small towns that are on the outskirts of London and in the home counties and just 20 mins inwards, and you are in the hustle bustle of London!

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!