Where can we buy a £500k 3 bed house north of London?

[WanderingStars]

We have one DC not school age yet. Need a 3 bed house with a garden within an hour's commute of London (work in Soho). Maximum budget £500k could probably stretch to £550k if we absolutely had to but would rather not.

We are looking for a nice area, some green spaces, decent schools, amenities etc and a house walking distance from a station.

We don't want to be south of London. We have family in the north and want to be accessible for them. Please MNers help us find a home!

Look in Herts. Stevenage, Hitchin, Letchworth etc would all get you a really nice house for that price and all easy commute to London

Market Harborough?

^^

Agree with M H - lovely countryside around, easy commute, much cheaper and lathes houses... what's not to like?

There seems to be plenty of choice on rightmove.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E92826&maxBedrooms=3&minBedrooms=3&maxPrice=500000&propertyTypes=detached%2Csemi-detached%2Cterraced&primaryDisplayPropertyType=houses&mustHave=&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=

Croxley or Rickmansworth? You can get a 3 bed semi for that price, on the Met Line from Croxley or Met or Chiltern Line from Ricky. Good schools, local amenities etc.

We don't want to be in London as all the areas we can afford to buy in we don't really like. So looking for somewhere to commute from.

www.rightmove.co.uk/s6p/72744601 great schools. Longish walk, quick cycle to station - 35 mins to 60 mins to Euston.. If you don't mind cycling the. You can get more space for your money. www.rightmove.co.uk/s6p/83031824 or this www.rightmove.co.uk/s6p/73022725

Following

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-72522418.html

Agree MH is far enough north to feel like a proper town, not just a satellite of London. This isn't my ideal house but shows the VFM and you could get much more with your budget.

Market harborough is lovely but east mids trains are crazy expensive! Rugby line is cheaper (half the price)

I would t necessarily rule out Leicester now that the train is just over an hour. As well as MH I would also look at Rugby. I would have once said Warwick but the Warwick Parkway line to London stops everywhere.

Try Billericay in Essex. Gorgeous big park (Lake Meadows), woodland nearby, plenty of shops, good schools.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-72224980.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-81643472.html

No advice but following for ideas

Watford, 20 minutes to Euston, also on the Met libe, handy for the M1/M25. Luton (there are nice bits!) gets you more bang for your buck.

Hatch End? Cousin of mine moved there from West Hampstead and is very happy there. I also know someone who moved down to work in London from here (North Staffs) and chose Hatch End because it wasn't too expensive and is near enough. She's also very happy there. It's quite a nice leafy area and the commute''s great - about eight stations to Euston then a fairly quick tube into the West End. May be too pricey?

South Woodford

Has good schools, near Epping forest, great transport links and on the Central Line.

Sorry - missed your reply that said you don't want to be in London.

Didcot, Oxfordshire and surrounding villages. 35 mins on train to Paddington.

Wendover

Aylesbury

Milton Keynes, or surrounding small towns. 45mins to Euston.

Just go for Cambridge...they have fast nonstop train takes 55min to kings X. Excellent schools. Good green spaces.
If you look around Milton, 5mins from Cambridge north train station....

Abbots Langley or Kings Langley. Train station that's 20mins to Euston, small village feel, easy access to Watford for town type stuff. Langleybury/Hunton Bridge also an option, though further to the train station then.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71610034.html. £425k

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-83346671.html £425k

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71719591.html £475

Milton Keynes or the North Bucks villages.