Affordable, family-friendly commuting town near London

[giovanabrei]

Hi everyone
I'm new here and I hope I picked the right thread!
I'm moving to England in a couple of months, as my husband got a job in London. We are Brazilians currently living in Japan and we don't really know London except as tourists.
Our idea is to live in a commuting town approximately 1h from central London, where we hope we can rent a 3-bed house with a little more space for the kids. We have a 2yo boy and another bun in the oven.
I'm really worried we could miss out on something critical during our research and end up in a trap for not knowing the city secrets...
I'm also worried about some news about a "London exodus" and prices going through the roof in commuting towns...
Husband will work from home 3 days a week, so commuting costs will be reduced, yet not negligible. Any advice on this? AIBU? :-)

Hello! Where in london will your husband need to be getting to? You will get different suggestions depending on where.

London is a big place. You need to say what the nearest mainline station is to your husband's job if you want people to advise you on what is commutable.

Also ask MN to move this to the property forum.

You need to be a bit more specific and this is definitely not an AIBU

As others have said it would be helpful if you could say which area of London your DH will be commuting to as this will make a big difference. Do you have a budget in mind for rent?

Yes, Budget and work location (train/tube station) required!

YABU

Budget is key! But also, as PP have said, we need to know whereabouts in London your husband's job will be, as that makes a big difference in terms of where you can/should commute from.

Stevenage is an upcoming town with loads of new developments in nice areas, loads of Londoners have moved there due to rising prices obviously in London.
25 minutes on train to kings cross, 27-30 miles car drive into London traffic depending of course! Lots of greenery , affordable housing compared to London so very appealing!

Sorry, I'll try to move the question to the proper forum and add the details.

He´s going to work near London Blackfriars.

We are considering a budget of 1,500-1,600 for rent and commuting.

1500 including commuting? Following with interest, would love to move somewhere bigger if it's possible at that price

@giovanabrei

I need an 'affordable, family-friendly commuting town near London.'

This does not exist sorry.

You will be paying high prices for ANYwhere within a close commuting distance of London.

Stevenage is an upcoming town with loads of new developments in nice areas, loads of Londoners have moved there due to rising prices obviously in London.

Unfortunately part of the reason Stevenage is reasonably priced is that it is legendarily a shithole. I haven't been there in 7 years or so, so maybe it's improved a lot, but historically... Yeah.

We are considering a budget of 1,500-1,600 for rent and commuting.

£1600 a month for both rent AND commuting in the Home Counties? Ouch. I don't think there are many places that will go far.

How about Bexleyheath, Kent or somewhere in that area?

I’m afraid that commuting costs for anywhere an hour from London will be significant. I think your budget may be too low for rent and travel.

Commuting for only two days a week will keep costs down a bit.

Your budget isn't going to get there I'm afraid.

the further out you go the more £££ on commute. I am zone 5 a two bed rental is around £1600 pcm and then travel on top. That's an hour commute into City or LB.

£1600? Including commuting costs? Not sure that’s realistic.

I was going to recommend the borough of Bromley as it has train lines into Blackfriars. Rent for a 3 bed starts at about £1500. Good schools, near London and near countryside.

@giovanabrei

Sorry, I'll try to move the question to the proper forum and add the details.

He´s going to work near London Blackfriars.

We are considering a budget of 1,500-1,600 for rent and commuting.

As others have mentioned, you should look at places that have a train line that comes into close where you work, as travelling across London after the main train would be an onerous commute. I believe one of my friends train comes into Blackfriars and she lives in Kent, so maybe look there.

I am concerned about your budget for rent and commute though. Commuting into London is very expensive, my train to London takes between 35 and 45 minutes and the monthly cost is about £500, if yours is similar that is £1k for a three bed house within commuting distance of London which could be difficult.

“ Commuting for only two days a week will keep costs down a bit.”

Yes I suppose that’s true and I didn’t take account of that.

I still thinks it’s a challenging budget.

We are in zone 6 (still on the tube) and I have been checking rents recently and the cheapest 2 bed places are £1200 pm.

And I wouldn't live in Stevenage!

That is a very small budget if it's to include commuting as well.

Stevenage is awful. If your budget was higher I would suggest Cambridge but it would be impossible to get anywhere there for your money.

Look at towns with access to Thameslink service, north and south, outside M25.

And even two days a week commuting would still be a couple of hundred a month.

Yeah, for a budget like that you might as well live within the Tube radius. Property will cost about the same in the outer London zones as it does in the Home Counties in many cases and the transport within London will be cheaper.

35 mins commute from Bromley South