Buckinghamshire commuter towns/ villages

[totallycommitted]

We are moving from London and looking for a quick commute from Bucks.

Does anyone have an opinion on what's better - GX or Beaconsfield? We are used to being in central London and want more space but still with some local amenities we can walk to.

We are also considering the Chalfont villages - is driving to a station and parking a normal thing to do in these areas? Would we be able to park ok?

Thank you

I've always thought Beaconsfield has a nicer 'feel' than GX which always has seemed a bit spread out and soulless to me. (Grew up in GX, parents still there). Both probably ££££ though.

Do you have/plan school aged children? If so be warned that Bucks is a secondary modern area (aka grammar area, but you don't get one without the other).

Would you consider a bit closer to London like Ruislip? No 11+ and lots of houses with walking distance to the many stations

But but but Ruislip is London isn't it? I mean, it's on the tube map!

You are going to need a big budget OP.

Amersham or Marlow are nice and reasonable commutes. Like a pp said if you have children carefully consider secondary options.

Yes Ruislip is on the tube map, but that’s literally the only “Londony” thing about it. No one living in London would describe themselves as actually living in London (I hope!!). Only suggested as OP didn’t mention wanting countryside or village life specially and solves the driving to stations problem

Well, Beaconsfield is lovely, but it has been the most expensive market town in the UK for several years. Average house price is over £1m. There's also Old town (the bit you see in Midsomer Murders) and New town, which is where the train station is for commuting. Different "feel" to both, but fewer residential sales in Old town. GX is more sprawling, more diverse, and closer to London. Slightly cheaper, but not much.

Both are pretty close to London, but as they are small stations, be aware that they are not necessarily on the "fast" routes (what Chiltern railways calls Mainline). This means that a journey which should take less than 20 minutes to Marylebone can take much longer as it stops everywhere.

Not so aware of the Chalfonts, but they are small. Subsequently, few properties come onto the market, so may take longer to find somewhere you like.

Commuting from the chalfonts can be difficult - parking can be an issue if you wish to use the tube lines.

I'd prefer Beaconsfield over GX, if I could afford either!

With the pp that compared to Ruislip, it very much depends what you want really!

I commute in from Stoke Mandeville/Wendover, but it can be a slog at times and my work is based not far from Marylebone.

How big is your budget and what will you do if your DC don’t get in to the grammars?

We really liked the idea of the quick commute from GX and Beaconsfield, and they are very nice places, but we just couldn’t make it work. Our DS is bright but if we had more children we’d no way of knowing if they’d be able to pass the 11+, and while we could have afforded a tiny flat or minuscule house, we couldn’t have afforded to trade up in 5 years time, say.

So we’ve given up on Bucks and are going to Hampshire instead.