To think there is nowhere within commutable distance to London that I want to live?

[Teacherprebaby]

Any advice greatly appreciated; if you commute to London, where do you live and what is it like? I have seen some less than desirable areas and don't want to make a mistake. I'm sure there are fabulous places, I just don't know them.

Must be within commuting distance to London Bridge/Victoria.

Yes, you can get to Cheshire in under two hours which is very good for the occasional day there, but I wouldn't recommend it as a commuting location! Especially not if you have to pay for your own train tickets.

I live in South Buckinghamshire. It's extremely nice where I am, and costs a fortune. There are some less pleasant towns nearby which are a lot cheaper. It very much depends on budget... which I assume is the case everywhere. Whether you're in Buckinghamshire or Bolivia, I'd hazard a guess that the better the budget, the better the area.

We lived in Charing (Kent) for years, really lovely. DH commuted daily for years to Victoria. Always got a seat (on the way in), homeward was tougher (until he got past Bromley South that is).

I commuted from Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Tunbridge wells. All have good schools and green spaces.

i don’t think we can help you, OP.

Try Google Maps,

YABU to think there is nowhere at all commutable to London that is a nice place to live.
Whether they are affordable, or suitable for your lifestyle is another question!

I know people who commute from York so it all depends on how long you want the commute to be etc.
I also know people who commute from Grantham

You're probably struggling because you either have unrealistic expectations or not enough of a handle on your priorities. What size house? Buy or rent? Need schools? Do you drive? But mainly, what's your budget?

You're confusing Victoria with Waterloo. To get to Victoria from any of those you would need to change at Clapham Junction but not all trains stop there so you would be on the tube, with a change, from Waterloo.

(and we don't need any more bloody DFLs...)

I wasn't actually, I was more thinking that a change of train on the same line was workable in the way that a commute across London might not be. The OP said commuting distance, not no change commuting. I commuted from one of the above locations to Victoria very effectively for a number of years and it took more or less the same time to get there as it did to Waterloo even factoring in the change (give or take a few minutes). When the trains worked anyway (pre South Western!)

Definitely no need for the tube. In fact, it would be possible to walk from Waterloo to Victoria faster than the tube which I also did fairly regularly.

Like everyone else has said it depends on about a million things and what you are used to.

DHs family live in Tunbridge Wells which is meant to be nice but for me it’s quite rough and run down, over crowded and with appalling traffic and pollution. There’s some nice countryside but… the towns are all grim IMO. Other people think it’s lovely so it’s personal taste isn’t it?

I live in the North but it’s only two hours to London so it’s commutable if you’re only there occasionally or you love trains and early mornings.

So given we don’t know if you’d think somewhere like TW is heaven or hell, how far you’d be willing to commute and what your budget is it’s very hard to say.

There are lots of great places. The problem is that none of us can afford them! I live in St Albans, but probably couldn't afford anything there is I had to buy now.

There are a variety good schools and a genuine sense of community. Restaurants, pubs and smattering of shops. Twice weekly market. Plenty of sports facilities and cultural things going on (Comedy festival this week, open air theatre at the Roman remains. some live music venues, independent cinema) Lots of parks and green space. Commute into London is very fast (37 mins direct train to London Bridge, more like 50 mins to Victoria)

On the downside the house prices are ruinous, train prices are high the traffic is pretty bad. I know some would say there is a bit of smugness to the place.

There are lots of other nice, commutable places in Hertfordshire too: Radlett, Harpenden, Markyate, Wheathampstead ,Berkhampsted, Tring, Welwyn, Knebworth, Hitchin, Brookmans Park, Hertford, Shenley, Sandridge, Letchworth, Kings Langley, Rickmansworth, Welwyn, Welwyn Garden City . I'd live in any one of them (but prefer St Albans for the easy commute and proximity to family)

Gloucestershire may be worth looking at. I know a few people who commute in 2/3 times a week from there. Just make sure you’re not millions of miles away from GWR station.

Commute takes 1hr from Biggleswade in Bedfordshire to London Bridge. It's an up and coming town which is popular with commuters. Alot of people originally came from London and moved out here in order to get on the property market.

Sorry to all posters who took the time to respond, I'm reading all now.

4 months pregnant
House hunting budget 900K
Max commuting time 40 mins
I'm a teacher so hopefully could get a job locally.

Thanks for the swift inaccurate judgement 😂

Other posters are helping but thank you so much for your comment have a fabulous day 😂

The Estuary accent would be enough to put me off living in the South East, but having said that, if your salary is high enough you could commute from somewhere near a stop on the GWR main line like Didcot, Chippenham, or even Bath or Bristol.

Surprised a Bristol accent doesn’t bother you! 😆

Guildford and the surrounding areas are 30 mins to Waterloo. Weybridge also desirable - leafy and yummy mummy territory.

@Teacherprebaby the 40 min commute is that door to door or the actual train/tube journey?

Great questions thank you! If either commute to my school in Vauxhall or change schools to nearer the location. DP would need to get to Farringdon 3 days a week. Love market town with cafe culture, not a dead high street full of betting shops if possible. I would need a local nursery.

https://www.commuterguide.co.uk/

I used this website when I was looking you can click on each area and town and it will tell you a bit about the town. It is a useful starting point.

Oxted, Reigate, Horsham, Dorking, Epsom, sevenoaks.
Edge of London places like Coulsdon, Purley.

If door to door then you need to probably be in Greater London.