where to consider NE of London on King's Cross line?

[kalidasa]

If you were contemplating a complete move out of London, but needed to be able to get in regularly to King's Cross, where would you consider? We have friends/family in Cambridge and north Suffolk. DH would be working at home (writing), I would be commuting, but wouldn't have to do it every day (2-3 times a week) and could sometimes stay in London, so a long commute would be feasible. Budget a bit uncertain but up to around 500k. We would want a country town not village/completely rural. We have one DS 14 months and hopefully one more within the next 18 months/two years but would need a fairly large house so we could both work at home. We both much prefer older properties, in an ideal world something Georgian!

We are only just beginning to consider this, would be a big change for us both and wouldn't be for at least 18 months (i.e. post next baby) so all suggestions v. welcome.

If you don't mind a change io train or driving to Peterborough on the London days, the the place that screeches Georgian is Stamford.

Thanks meditrina. Looks really lovely, but the journey would be quite fiddly I think? Any idea what the Stamford-Peterborough drive would be like? But we should go and look round I think.

Another possibility is that DH would keep his current job and we would both commute. In which case Cambridge is probably the only realistic option for various reasons, but the budget would be bigger.

It's all so complicated!

If you're happy walking from Euston, then there is a lot up the London Midland line towards Milton Keynes. Places like St Albans (though I think that's Thameslink), Berkhamsted, Tring and so on are nice - some more pricey than others.

We currently live in Hemel Hempstead in one of the nicer parts - Boxmoor - which suits us perfectly as it's a good mix of villagey feel with town facilities and more affordable than some of the fancier places, but everyone has their preferences! 25 minutes into Euston for us.

Thanks Crispy. That's worth considering. DH is quite set on coming in to King's Cross as he is from Paris and both we and family members come back and forth a lot - obviously moving out would already add a good deal of time to the journey so he is keen to minimise that. 25 mins into Euston is great though . . .

What about Huntingdon - fast line into Kings Cross and trains are pretty reliable. Lovely villages on the edges - Kings Ripton, Broughton etc.

Or failing that Ely - again you could get a nice enough house for 500k and again, a fast train does run into Kings Cross and I think you can transfer and get the Liverpool street train from Cambridge.

Both can be town or rural and within easy striking distance of a good station which is reliable. However there are vitally no buses into the stations early in the morning so you need to drive.

Thanks life this is all v. useful. We both drive so that's OK. Ely is v. pretty though I remember (from a few day trips) that it seems quite small. I don't know Huntingdon at all, good point about trains though and definitely the right sort of area for us. Thanks.

St Neots might be worth a look?

In Cambridge or just outside of Cambridge is worth looking into. Cambridge has excellent schools (generally) and people are very cultured.

There's a huge new development in Trumpington, Cambridge which may be with looking into. Couple of mins on the guided busway gets you to the station and then 50 mins to kings cross.

Ely is lovely and rammed with Georgian houses. Really very pretty around the cathedral and Cambridge is so close for shops and a bit more life.

Huntingdon is not the world's greatest town imo. High Street full of boarded up shops and charity shops, and not a lot on offer culturally afaik. Saffron Walden would be a much better bet, but it's not on the Kings Cross line - on Liverpool Street one. The commute would be lengthened once you got to London.

Ely is very pretty and much better than Huntingdon but the countryside around is very..... flat.

If you can afford Cambridge that would be a much better option - loads on offer but not too big, trains to London Kings Cross and Liverpool St in under an hour, Suffolk is very accessible. but Cambridge comes at a price, and Georgian properties in the City would be close to 7 figure sums.

Stamford is gorgeous, if you don't mind such a long commute. Quite a way from Suffolk though.

Great name MrsAMerrick! Cambridge is definitely a real option if we decide to move out of London while both continuing with our existing jobs, as then our budget would be quite a lot bigger. DH is quite keen on this possibility though I'm not sure how much sense it makes to move out and then both commute back in. We do like Cambridge though and both know it well, in fact we were introduced there. There's also a possibility that one of us may eventually end up working there again so it might be a sensible bet from that point of view as well. Thanks everyone, I'll look into all these suggestions.

You could consider Ampthill - the railway station is in Flitwick (very close) and the trains go into St Pancras. Georgian houses, nice town, lovely park.

Hitchin is 35m direct to Kings X and 35m to Cambridge (based on fast trains) so could be an option