London commuter towns

[Kannet]

So. We are being relocated to London. We need somewhere to live that's an hours commute. We really don't know where to base ourselves. We had thought maybe Horsham but just not sure. We need somewhere with decent school. Anyone have any suggestions

Where are you commuting to?

Victoria station

You could try carshalton area. Good schools. 25 minutes ish to Victoria but also London Bridge and Thameslink trains. Also 20 minutes on bus from northern line.

Always loads of options if one method of public transport or train line goes up the spout!

However it's more a London suburb so depends if you want a town in a more rural location.

Thank you. It's so hard when you don't know the area At all

East Grinstead is lovely with lots of lovely surrounding villages and good schools.. (primary or secondary?)

Are you looking for somewhere outside of London which is cheaper to commute from, but costs £££££ to travel in each year or somewhere on the outskirts of London where the house rental/buying price is a little more, but much cheaper to commute from?

Cheaper to buy, not commute from

An hour's commute or an hour's train journey? They can be very different things. My commute is around an hour door to door but the train journey is only around 35 mins of that. The rest is walking to and from the station and waiting for trains.

Bucks has some very good schools. High Wycombe is about 25 minutes to London Marylebone on the fast train (40 minutes on a stopping train), or Chorleywood / Amersham is about an hour to Victoria on the tube.
How old are your DC? And what's your budget? Do you want to live somewhere with a villagey feel, a market town, a big town with a good high street..?

Thanks everyone one. We are looking an hour by train, office is right next to Victoria. We are looking to buy (will be renting for the first 6/12 months). Budget 425/450

Is that your weekly rental budget or buying one?

Would you prefer to spend more on buying a house or more on rail fares? The rail fares can easily be 2-4k per year from outside the zones, which can really add up if you also have a job in London too.

The rail fares are not an issue as work cover them. Renting I don't mind what it costs as it's very short term. Twelve months max then look to spend 425-450k for the right house. Ideally three bed, garden and nice schools