Where would you live outside of London for £550k?

[Pestoandsun]

Hi all

DP and I are looking at buying a house outside of London, commuting in to work a few days a week. I work SW London on Waterloo train line (about 15 mins from Waterloo), he works in the City. I would commute in about 1/2 days a week but probably could wfh longer term, he currently is in office 3 days a week.

We have probably around £550k to spend, ideally 3 bedrooms so we’d have room to have proper home office setup, we’d like to be somewhere with a bit going on, some pubs/shops. I’d like to have a small garden. Ideally walking distance (which could be 20 mins) to train station. It would be nice to be somewhere with quite a bit of green space around, good hiking. I don’t want to be right in the middle of a really busy big town.

We both much prefer period properties to new build.

Does anyone have any ideas or live anywhere like this?

Ideally towards Bristol or south direction if pushed. We’d be having children in next few days so probably good schools but don’t know much about that yet!

Thank you!!

What is Hook like, I think it’s very near M3? Does it feel rural or busier? Winchfield probably a bit small for us and also right next to motorway… Thank you!

I wouldn’t describe Hook as rural- it’s more of a small town but you would have most of the things you need. It’s in the Hart district which is consistently voted one of the best places to live. Yep on M3 and direct trains to Waterloo.

I had looked that up but unfortunately 90 minutes for train will be too long to commute, we’re looking for under an hour for the train journey.

is it the train journey you want under an hour or a whole hour? Distance from station will make a difference too.

Just the train journey under an hour, as we’d have to take into account journey to station either end too..

Petersfield ?

Probably a bit too long on the train I think but I’ll have a look! Thank you

What’s your budget for train ticket per day, and how long do you want to spend on a train each day?

We live in a village 1 hour on the east coast from King's Cross which fits all your wish list, except its "up north"

You'd also get a lovely 4 bed character property, more outstanding schools than you can shake a stick at, tons of amazing food locations and gorgeous countryside. Whilst still being within 40 mins drive of 3 major cities and 2 excellently served towns.

It's next to Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire.

Reigate (expensive) or Redhill (a lot cheaper). Latter has direct trains to Victoria and London Bridge.

Basingstoke has a great rail link. There are some nice villages around there too.

Absolutely nothing against up north, it sounds great and definitely get more for your money! We’re just looking to be closer to family too, who are in the south. I’ll have a double check of travel times though, thanks!

I’d look at Wokingham. Or Maidenhead or Twyford. Getting to South London (where?) can be quite an easy change from the Lizzie Line to Jubilee at Bond Street or Northern at Tottenham Court Road.

My friend lives in Rochford in Essex. It's three hours north of Southend and lots of commuters live there. It's a very pretty large village/small town. Lots of tudour buildings, some nice restaurants, cafes, a couple of pubs. I looked at house prices recently out of curiosity and you could afford a property there.

Tonbridge is awful. No clothes shops other than a discount outlet and bonne marche. Grotty high street. Nothing to do in town. I'd look at Sevenoaks.

Woking and surrounding villages are a very good option and full of people who've moved from London. Some very good schools for the future if you're having children.

Surrey Hills very close, plenty of great walks and countryside.

I looked up those first links and agree with that.

It's one of the problems of Guildford if you want easy access to the station. Most of the housing close to the station is either too small or too expensive.

In smaller towns like Godalming, Haslemere, Petersfield and Farnham it's easier to find the right size house within walking distance of the station.

I vehemently disagree with this.

The centre of town is undergoing regeneration and whilst it will never be quaint it has all you need and more.
The neighboring countryside has both Horsell Common and Chobham Common which are wonderful for long walks, mountain biking, horse riding etc.
The Basingstoke canal runs along some of the outlying villages (right through the centre of St Johns) and you’ll see canal boats come through the locks regularly.
Woking even has its own little canal boat called Kitty which does round trips.
You can be in Waterloo from Woking station in around 30 minutes.

For your budget I’d look in Horsell or St Johns. Both active villages with cafes and shops.
The view that Woking is grim is outdated. It is actually a very pleasant place to live nearby 😊

@TheNinthLock whilst I'm not Wokings biggest champion - it has a lot going for it. Quick commute, lots of retail, some pretty areas on the edge and very quick into Guildford- there are way way worse areas to live- the thing is I think some posters with bigger budgets are thinking that they wouldn't pick it- same with those houses I posted (nice houses) but not in the best bit of Guildford and not that convenient for the train- If you want to live in the commuter belt and buy a house rather than a flat- there are always compromises. We don't know the OP , so don't know what really matters- if it's house size then they will need to look in non prime bits of town or a longer commute - if they want plenty to do and non village life

How about something like this in Wokingham OP. My bil loves there- very pleasant town- Waterloo line , nice countryside easily reached and this is big enough for any growing family and 10 minutes walk to station - about 44 minutes into Waterloo , but if you work in SW London you can get off at Richmond and change

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/139099244

Leigh on Sea?

The dimensions and and bare bones of it… and that location are wonderful. And the view out of the big bedroom of trees and sunshine is lovely.

Might need more than 25k left in the kitty for new kitchen, bathroom, floors, plastering, probably updated electrics for plugs etc.

Doesn’t all have to be done at once.

It could be made into a spectacular home!

I would check internet speeds and water pressure for bathrooms whilst there.

@BetterPlease yes I thought so too for the money. It needs a bit of 'updating' no doubt - but looks very liveable and could indeed be made fabulous. I think it would really fit the bill for OP, if she wants value and a nice town

Agreed. For someone who has the right eye to see through the cosmetics of the general superficial knackered cosmetics of carpets and a lick of paint.

I like how much light it has.

I would imagine money spent on it would be more than recouped in a few years.

@Pestoandsun train times are excellent in Farnham, and the trains can be busy but I always manage a seat.
House prices are high but there are some hidden gems on the outskirts or in the town centre (only thing is in town centre it's permit parking at £120pa) I'm not sure if that's a dealbreaker for you. Outskirts are weybourne, Bentley, Alton, church crookham, hook, hale, health end. They're all surrounding the town centre (where I live)

It's a beautiful town and so lovely for children with many parks and things to do, decent walks and GREAT pubs. So many pubs.

Good luck in your search!

I was going to suggest this too. It's a good location for getting in to the city. Not sure about SW London though. This is in your budget.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/139655477#/?channel=RES_BUY