Talk to me about your commute in / into London

[JennyDBP]

We are considering a move from zone 2 somewhere further out in order to buy a house. We have a budget of approx £900k and would like a 3 bedroom house with a nice garden. We need to commute into west/ central London, ideally an hour door to door.

We have one nursery aged DC so need to think about schools. A lot of the places we look at seems like people drive to stations. Does anyone do this, would it be a massive PITA?

DH's main concern is what the commute is going to be like, I want a more chilled pace of life with easy access to london.

If anyone has any lived knowledge or recommendations we would be very appreciative!

@JennyDBP

4 bedrooms here for £775K

It's equidistant between South Wimbledon and Colliers Wood, on the Northern Line. It will take no more than 40 minutes from there to Euston.

Local schools are, as far as I know (my DC are grown up now!) all very good.

But there's no opportunity to grow in that property price or space wise.

Forgot to say, we're zone 5.

This one, tbh, is a bit weird - it's been on the market since last summer, so the price has dropped considerably. It looks like it has a bit of an odd layout downstairs.

However, it demonstrates what you can get around this part of London, with good/easy access to central London.

You could get a nice 3 bed with garden for that in Hanwell, it’s only 15 mins or so into Paddington on the train.

I think it makes a big difference if you are prepared to cycle to the train station. The two houses I’ve lived outside of London when I commuted into London weren’t marketed as “walking distance to station” because they are around 15 min walk. But I can cycle to my station in 6 mins (including locking up and getting to the platform).

£900k would get you a 3-4 bed with garden in Watford, within a walk or a short cycle of Watford Junction. Trains are 16-20 mins to Euston, very regular at rush hour. And it’d be slightly less than an hour door to door to Soho, probably slightly more to Shepherds Bush (but not much). If I time it right, I can do slightly under an hour door to door to Elephant and Castle.

I’m in Hertfordshire , is 25 mins into Euston . Annoyingly my office moved to Shepherd’s Bush and now takes me about 1 hr 30 as they have got rid of the quick southern trains so most my journey is on the London overground .

We're in zone 6 (Gidea Park). 10 mins walk to station, train takes 30 mins to Liverpool St. We get to our offices in Shoreditch and Hopefully at the end of this year the Elizabeth line will finally open and we'll be able to get a direct train to Tottenham Court Rd or Bond St.

Being in the London zones means the fares aren't extortionate, trains are reliable, frequent and run late at night and £900k would get you a lovely house here.

I found that once I had kids the driving to the station didn't matter as I was already ferrying them around in the morning to childcare so I was in the car anyway.

We live in Sanderstead, the station is maybe a 5 minute drive away. Plenty of parking, always got a seat on the train, 20 minutes to Victoria. My door to desk when I worked in Vauxhall was about 50 minutes including a change at Clapham Junction so I'd drop the DC at the childminder's at just before 8 and be at my desk with a coffee and breakfast by 9.

Commuterbelt living if both working in central London 3 days + a week is anything but ‘chilled’ IME.

Parking at stations fills up early and is costly, on top of petrol and rail costs.

There’re some good points, but some big negatives too

I am in Zone 4. Few minutes walk to station. 12 minutes train to Paddington. Always gets a seat.
I finish work at 4, and home before 4.30.

Thanks for all the suggestions going to look at some train maps and see.

For me I know we could afford a house in parts of london but I don't want to be in london, I'd rather have a more country/ town way of life so am after recommendations that fit the bill outside of london where we can get in fairly easily (if possible!)

Does anyone know anything about commuting from Beaconsfield/ Amersham/ Chalfonts? We have some friends wanting to go to Buckinghamshire for schools.

A long commute does not give you a more chilled pace of life. Sorry. I used to do a 1.5 hour commute from Essex into London Liverpool St four days a week and it was exhausting, I honestly don't know how I did it.

I now work from home with occasional office days. Much better.

Proper commuting from out of London is a fucking nightmare! If you have to do it there's no choice. But if you can avoid it then do so. £900k will buy you a decent three -bedroom house in zones 2 or 3. That's what I'd be doing.

(Aside from commuting there are all the other arguments about the advantages of being in London that cause massive bun fights and hissy fits on here. But I would very much be hissing on the London side!)

You can get in from Crystal Palace/Gypsy Hill/Penge areas to charing x in less than an hour, and it's an uncrowded overland journey changing at London Bridge.

Another vote for commuting into Euston. 30 minute walk + 26 minute train journey. Choice of Overground (although that's 50 mins vs 25). Pleasant location, quiet neighbours and good schools from nursery to secondary. The only problem is lack of housing stock for your budget. Although a neighbour just sold her unextended house for £600k to London leavers which was a steal (with loft, en suite and a bit of tarting up would be £725k). You can set some wide parameters on Rightmove eg. 20-30 miles with type of house/rooms/budget. Try that?
(Pollution levels are noticeably less here vs Euston Road as we are elevated DM/PM me for more details of location).

Amersham is a popular choice as some great grammar and state schools. Mainline and tube station.

Berkhamsted. 30 mins max into Euston (can be 25). Big village, small town. Lots of decent restaurant and young, professional families.

And I’ve a hunch there’s a fair few in your industry there too (Endemol?! Apologies if incorrect!).

I can second the Chilterns (Amersham, Berkho, villages in and around). Quite green, friendly community, good shops and restaurants, good schools, access to tube. Long journey but always get a seat and fairly relaxing..

18 minutes from Penge East to Victoria. That money would get you this 5 bed house, round corer from Penge East and 5 mins to Penge West which is on Overground:

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/60989971/

We are in the Chilterns. It’s genuinely lovely and we are happy here.

£900k will not get you into Beaconsfield or Gerrard’s Cross but should buy you a house in a High Wycombe village, and most likely Amersham. There are bits of High Wycombe that are absolutely dire (Desborough) but it’s a useful town with 5(?) big supermarkets, great leisure centre and a quick drive to the cafes of Beaconsfield/Amersham Old Town and the countryside. The Chalfonts are worth looking at too.

Be careful of commuting costs. A daily from Hugh Wycombe is £31 and station parking is £9.50 per day. Add on £5 for 2 x tube trips and you’ve blown nearly £50 just getting to work. It is am extremely reliable line though. Amersham is cheaper but slower to commute from.

I commuted for years. My drive to the station was ten minutes, train into King’s Cross an hour, then five stops on the Victoria Line. For me it was the best of both worlds. I left the house with a view of cows over the fence opposite, an hour later I had access to all the joys of
London. I read a lot of books on the train! It’s amazing how quickly you get used to the commute and the pace of life is much quieter here.