Good (affordable) towns near London?

[UnsureHmm]

Apologies, posting for traffic.

I am looking to move out of London over the next couple of years as I cannot afford to buy in london.

I am also not sure of the surrounding areas as I am from up north originally. Unfortunately, I need to be near London for mine and my partners work.

Which towns/areas are good for families with kids, with good schools etc.

@MsJD ah- see my post below. Given the budget constraints and needing to go into London I think it will be the best value - on the river, good connections, good shopping and easy to get anywhere ,

Maybe Surbiton? There are some good secondary schools there. You propbably couldn't afford a house there, but there are flats for sale within budget.

They definitely can be, it depends where you look. There's quite big differences even just within Orpington price wise. All prices have gone up quite a bit in the past year or so, but I think you still get a lot for your money. Just had a peruse on Rightmove and there's some good options.

Epsom has good transport links with London or a 20 min drive. There are still houses that are affordable at around £400. Lots of nice open walks, a village feel but spitting distance of London

I would also suggest something like this in Wokingham . It's shared ownership but 70% and Wokingham is very nice and the house is lovely-

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/130994444

Cranbrook and surrounding villages in Kent? Good state primaries and a grammar school. 50 minutes or so to London Bridge from Staplehurst Station.

Something like this in Sissinghurst ( nice primary)?
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/132700271#/?channel=RES_BUY

Trans women dont bother me. But, unlike a lot of Mumsnetters, I am not obsessed with toilets and peoples bits.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/131667722#/?channel=RES_BUY Surbiton

What about somewhere like Selsdon and the surrounds? It's in the borough of Croydon but quite near the edge. Access to Riddlesdown for secondary, which is a good, non-selective school, and you can just about reach the Sutton grammars if you're so inclined.

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/61562691/

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/63032786/

Bexleyheath? Good schools and within your budget www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/64213111/?search_identifier=85bf86534293ed0636d079913327959e

also Bellingham and Bromley
www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/64204838/?search_identifier=ea892278648d465f5d68360669bb5fc0
3 bedroom houses available for your budget. Bellingham and Bromley are on the Thameslink train Line

These are outer London areas, if you work in London part-time, the big advantage is the contactless fares. If you move totally out of London the train fares can be huge

Thanks for that insight @IncessantNameChanger . Yes decades ago it had a simple charm to it; the working man's Greenwich, of a sort. It is truly hideous now and bears no relation to the borough it is in. I ought to write to the MP on behalf of my ageing beloved relation who deserves better (retired nurse, lone female). On the road there used to live a university professor next door and a gardening/ tree cutting company chap, and a few people who worked in the Standard in Blackheath, also the majority of the houses were single homes. My relative's house is one of the few homes now and all the other properties have been turned into flats (which is brilliant for younger smaller families), but no one takes care to bring their bins in or clean up. Front gardens and the local green are used as a fly tipping spot on a regular basis, it's almost as if tenants are not aware they can call the council to pick stuff up. I'm sure that it is commonplace now, but the amount of harassment that my relative gets from estate agents to sell or from property developers to turn the house into multiple flats. Sorry to derail, but it is awful. She is too old to sell and move to a new area as she is at home and her church isn't too far away, but the town itself is abysmal. Would they ever let Greenwich or Blackheath descend to such a level?

Within an hour by train from King's Cross you can get quite far like Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Buckinghamshire that's more affordable. Different lifestyle than closer to London but still commutable from a few times a week.

How about Eltham or Shooters Hill? You can get a small 3 bed in your budget, very easy access to Kent and decent schools around, with Bexley Grammars nearby.

Its an absolute shithole north/around the station but further south and towards Bexleyheath you may find that. Easy bus connections to the station too, and lovely green space.

Not ideal for South London obviously, but you'd have a fair few choices of properties (houses) for £400k around the High Wycombe area.

Commute in to Marylebone is quick on the fast service (less than 25 mins), though the train is obviously expensive, but I think that's the same wherever you live.

Schooling wise, there are some good primaries and it's also in the grammar system.

Alternatively, Kent wise, Maidstone and its surrounds have some nice areas. Again within the grammar system, but I'd say the non-grammar schools are perhaps better than Buckinghamshire.

Around this area perhaps - Leybourne

@Chickenly Ive have lived in south Oxfordshire and near Tunbridge Wells and Oxfordshire was and is much more expensive generally than around west Kent (though perhaps exclude Sevenoaks from that!). @UnsureHmm what about Tonbridge, Paddock Wood, Staplehurst? Those places all have a pretty good train line and station. It may be too far out but it’s a pretty area and good school options as well as grammar schools.

You couldn't pay me enough to live in high Wycombe. The new Eden shopping centre is trying to drag it up but ultimately it's just a really unpleasant place. There are some parts around it like downley, sands, booker that are ok and towns next door that are gorgeous like marlow. High Wycombe just has an odd vibe I can't explain, it feels very unsafe and dodgy? Like I wouldn't want to be walking around by myself. It feels unwelcoming and nothing makes sense in terms of town layout and driving around. There are some good schools like wycombe high and Wycombe abbey but both are on a terrible hill that's always busy and by the hospital.

I wouldn’t recommend Reading. I live in a small market town just outside so know Reading well.
House prices are good for the area and it’s very close to beautiful parts of the Thames like Sonning and Henley, but unless you can get your kids into the super selective grammar schools on the town or pay for private, schools really aren’t that good and the town centre is a bit grotty.
Never personally seen a trans person in Reading, not that it matters or is anyway relevant to this thread, but MrsJD seems to bring the subject up for some reason….

@sugarapplelane thing is though the other places people are suggesting that are affordable , most are none too special either and plenty of places suggested don't have amazing state schools too. Itsall kind of relative and if there were lots of 'nice , attractive, affordable and in this lady's budget, well connected places with great schools then they would come up on here. I'm not a massive fan of Reading but would take it every time over Luton , Hemel or Stevenage.

Not my experience of Reading schools at all....

(DS in Y9 in at Reading Comp)

Also, never seen a trans person in the town centre!