Calculating Commuting Costs (London/Home Counties)

[Yoozanaim]

Hello

We are looking to relocate for work, job will be in London, I am looking at homes within zone six, but also outside as obviously we will get more space for our money - but I am trying to work out commuting costs and it's a bit of a headache!

So, for homes outside of the Oystercard zone, prices seem to jump significantly?

I've started looking at Guildford or Woking or Sevenoaks (or similar areas/distance out), and the travel costs are such a huge hike once out of zone 6. Unless I am looking at it wrong.
Are all z6 stations the same price from a central spot or does it depend if they are on the underground or not?
It seems to me, that if we can get to a tube station and travel in from there, it would be a big saving? Do people do this? Am I missing something obvious?
Any tricks to keeping the commute costs minimal, yet not living within z6?

[Asta19]

Yes it will be a lot cheaper if you are nearer the oyster zone. I lived in Harpenden when I started working in London and that was 15 years ago and it was about £100 a week then! Then tube/bus after to get to where I needed to go. Once I moved to London I saved so much money. You have to balance up the cost of commuting against your mortgage to make sure you’re not actually making yourselves worse off.

[Asta19]

Oh and sorry yes, some people do go to zone 6 and go in from there. I have a friend who lives in Luton and she drives to one of the outer stations and takes the tube in.

[EchoLimaYankee]

You won’t be able to drive to a tube station without paying for parking there (not many have parking anyway) because all the street around tube stations have controlled zone parking.

Try the outer zones like zone 7,8,9

[titchy]

All zone 6 stations will cost the same for a travel card , but there will be differences in a point to point ticket if you don't need the travel card element.

Yes people often get to their nearest zone 6 and travel from there. However if you drive and park at the station there's that cost to add, plus you probably won't get a seat whereas starting one or two stops further away and you will.

[Yoozanaim]

Many thanks.
I can't believe the hike though, it's HUGE!
I don't ideally really want to be too close to London as I am concerned about the pollution, whereas out in the commuter belt seems a bit greener and fresher? And seems we can get a MUCH better space (including a decent garden, and a garage), whereas that is seeming impossible for London. Or is pollution just all bad around the M25 and under the flight paths? We are looking south rather than north as the job currently considered is near Waterloo, but that means lots of plane traffic with Gatwick and Heathrow.

[titchy]

Have you looked at Kingston borough - green and not particularly polluted being by the river. Or A3 corridor. No airplane noise despite proximity to LGW/LHR. Thames Ditton maybe. Zone 6 but not London so doesn't quite have the premium price. Dominic Rabb would be a neighbour though

[titchy]

If job is walkable from Waterloo look at season tickets without the all-zone travel - much cheaper.

[JeepRoadTrip]

We drive to our zone 6 station (Upminster) as it’s a huge saving on using the local network rail service just two stops down nearer our home.

The saving is massive - on average £15 a day which works out a lot over a month. That’s taking into account petrol too. Parking costs the same at both stations.

[Yoozanaim]

Thanks - I'll look at Kingston and Thames Ditton. Thank you.
What is A3 corridor?

Job is walkable from Vauxhall, I have calculated that without the all-zone travel and it's still making my eyes water!

How long is your drive, JRT? If I stick with the suburbs mentioned in my OP, it's a good half hour drive to the nearest Z6 stations according to Google, and I guess that does not allow for peak rush hour traffic, so it's possibly a no go anyway. I take it that's two of you too, which for both, does make a huge difference.

I've actually seen a doer-upper just outside of Upminster that looks great - though being that side of London would add extra to the journey too so for now I am not really focusing on that end of town.

[Obsidian77]

If you're that far out, Tube would take bloody ages. Overground train likely to be much faster and could be cheaper (depending if you need to add Underground zones). Not certain about all the places you mentioned but Oyster zone goes pretty far out of London.

[Yoozanaim]

Looking at Dorking/Woking/Guildford, they are around 50 minutes to Vauxhall/Oval/Waterloo ish - so the speed is ok, it's just the price hike that feels like a rip off. So I am needing to weigh up price/time/effort and try and find the balance. I think it's pretty outrageous that they want us to be more green and use public transport but make it so expensive. The Oyster card/Underground pricing seems very reasonable to me, but go out a little further and they want thousands!

[Needallthesleep]

What’s your budget? We are in one of the Kingston Boroughs and it is lovely. Kingston is great for shopping. Richmond/Bushy Park and Hampton Court on our doorstep. Great (and obviously oversubscribed) schools. Plus 20 minutes into Waterloo

[Sauvignonblanket]

If you work from home or have flexible hours it might be worth looking at carnets. I commute from a different part of the Home Counties but go in peak and back off peak which saves a bit. It needs double checking against season ticket costs though.

[Yoozanaim]

£650k if not wasting too much on train fare, £600k I guess if having to factor in travel.

What is a carnet?

I ideally wanted to be in a small village - ideal would be a small village/hamlet with a drive to a z6 station - any pointers?! I really want a friendly little community feel.

I am currently looking at Fetcham, with a drive to Chessington South. Totally not set on this area just trying to work out some cost ideas.

Would that be a good way to do it (drive to CS) and then Oyster card in and out, or would he be better off just getting a weekly/monthly travelcard? I just can't work it all out! :/

[Yoozanaim]

For £600/650k, I really want:

• detached
• three double bedrooms (ideally with a fourth/study room)
• garden big enough for a trampoline and to kick a ball about (and a treehouse would make their day!)
• garage/off-street parking
• zone 6 (or one stop past, dh wouldn't mind a slightly longer walk/bike ride, if it meant a bigger/greener home space)

A cul-de-sac or quiet road so the kids can comfortably play outside.
Or a house sitting on its own with space to run and cycle around it.

Is our budget unrealistic for that? We could possibly stretch to more but then would be mortgaged to the hilt.

[averythinline]

Sunbury/Shepperton/Staines /Egham/Walton/Chertsey

not far from heathrow but not necesarily under flight path - still quite green...much shorter commutes but into Waterloo

[Yoozanaim]

Thank you very much. A few are quite far from z6 though, and so expensive travel, I think?

[titchy]

You're getting too hung up on the travel costs tbh. By the time you've factored in time to drive, parking and petrol you've spent another couple of hundred quid and got no seat and a lot of hassle. Walton, Claygate, etc are around £2500 a year travel if you don't need the zone 1-6 bit - that's about the same as the 1-6 travelcard cost!

Fetcham to Chess S will be a hideous journey btw - and I'm not sure there's much in the way of parking.

A3 corridor btw is just the towns/villages along the A3! Although your budget's a bit low you might be lucky.

[averythinline]

from sunbury nearest zone 6 is feltham - which is not a long drive (not sure about parking as previous carpark has been built on !) but annual tickets £600 or so different Shepperton £700 more - a year which would be worth it for it for the greenness!

[CraftyGin]

Staines to Waterloo is about £16 return at peak times, if that is of any help.

[Yoozanaim]

I totally do feel a bit hung up on travel costs, you are right. But I do need to include the budget for it, and work out the most economical way to make our money go as far as possible and still give us the home we want, just trying to work out if getting a village home just outside z6 is worth the savings but with the extra travel costs and hassle.

[CraftyGin]

Where are the villages just outside zone 6?

[Yoozanaim]

Well, that's what I'm asking!
Are there any?

[LBOCS2]

Zone 6 tends to be Greater London boroughs so I think you're going to struggle to find anything truly 'country' or genuinely remote without a fair hike - although to be fair we live in the borough of Croydon and have woodland, a common and a nature reserve within walking distance.

For your budget I would recommend my local area - Sanderstead for example has houses in budget, excellent schooling options, plenty of parking at the station for £25 a week, and is 40 minutes into Vauxhall (it takes me 50 minutes door-to-desk and I work by St George Wharf) plus rush hour thameslink trains which take you through the City or you can do a cross platform change to Waterloo East.

[Sauvignonblanket]

Carnet info here: www.southwesternrailway.com/train-tickets/smart-ticketing/carnet