How far would you walk to the station ?

[fruitqueen]

In the midst of my hunt for accommodation for my DCs( aged 18 and 16) I have come across some wonderful properties. The problem is that they are always some distance away from the tube.Ideally, of course we would prefer a property which is next to it but this has not been feasible so far. So how far is too far to walk daily to the station if no other transport is available except the tube?

[Monty27]

10 minutes for me, downhill, but then at night when I'm exhausted its uphill. I'm not a lazy git I'm not young and I have asthma. My station has kept me in this house for years longer than I would have liked. Oh and the walk from the station to the office is about 7 minutes and flat and its a direct train :)

[BackforGood]

Agree with everyone saying - it depends on how long you are then on the tube/train, and what the walk is at the other end, but I would say about a 15+min walk is ok, which gives you a mile radius of the station. Of course, if the house were perfect in every other way, then that's when can start considering stretching it a bit.
That said, how long are your 16 and 18 yr olds going to be living with you? If you are buying, then presumably only a very short part of the next 10 yrs or so you will live there?

[Chloerose75]

Half mile is absolutely nothing, it's a less than ten minute walk. Also even if a longer walk from station what about buses? I lived about 20 min walk from the tube but had direct buses right by my door so no need to walk to tube if raining, and found that an ideal location really. I wouldn't want to be more than about 20 min from a station or bus though.

[Educatingme]

both my older ones walked to school- 1 mile and 2 miles respectively. Took them longer than 30 minutes. Did not kill them.

[Amethyst24]

I have strong views on this

I'm very fit, I run 30-40km a week and really enjoy walking. However, I would absolutely hate to do a walk of more than about 5 minutes as part of my daily commute. When you're walking because you feel like walking it's fine, but when you're wearing uncomfortable shoes/it's raining/it's late at night/it's hot and you're late for work/you're carrying heavy stuff/you're fed up and tired and just want to get home, it's a total ballache.

A bus journey to the tube can make it a lot more manageable, if the buses are frequent.

[overthemill]

Barclaybikes are used by my nephew / nieces in London to get to tube

[AGoodPirate]

Two miles I would say.

[Johnogroats]

We are a mile from the tube/ overground, ie about 15 mins walk...and I prefer to go to that station (as opposed to one about 5 mins away) because it means I can get a direct train and not change at Clapham. I would say that distance is fine, and I have about the same distance at the other end - it is my exercise! DSs are 7 and 9, and they are fine with that distance too, although they don't walk it regularly.

Having said that, I have just started cycling to work, and love it. 45 mins.

[nauticant]

1 mile. That's walking along the streets and not as-the-crow-flies.

The test for me is what eventually becomes a right pain walking back after a day's work on a chill and horrible Winter's evening.

[hyperspacebug]

if it's more than 10 mins, then it'd be served by next train station - so there's no more than 10 mins in our area that I can think of :)

Our area of search was quite narrow - so anything that was more than 10 mins from our station just didn't fit our criteria (south - too suburban full of 1930s semis and no shops and black hole for schools, too posh and expensive on the north, and too rough on the west)

It's 10-20mins from tube to my work and it's actually ok, I'm surprised. Good exercise too. But maybe I prefer less from station to home as I am less patient trying to get home)))

[Breakage]

I've always had to walk 15mins to get to the station but that's at the start of a 1:15hr commute. Brisk walk in trainers - just over a mile.

I actually think it depends more on the job than the rest of the journey. I'm willing to do it because it's for an interesting job with decent pay. I wouldn't do it for a miserable job on minimum wage (unless I absolutely had to)

[apermanentheadache]

Could they get folding bikes? I woukd only do this if they can drive though. Too dangerous for the non-road-aware. Might be a prob for the 16 year old.

20 mins walk is surely fine?! They are young and fit(I presume?). They won't be rushing to chikdcare pickups etc so won't be under time pressures I would imagine....?

[fruitqueen]

Here's the thing..........We are expatriates living overseas and DCs are to start uni in central London so they are pretty much left on their own. Not sure what tubes serve LSE and UCL in London but presumably there will be tubes nearby. and university hostel isn't exactly cheap either.Perhaps nearer, but we are visiting a few times a year so it makes sense to get our own for our convenience as well as investment in the long run.

Budget is not huge though-looking at a 1 room flat for 250k ? Not sure where that would get me but presumably Zone 3 or 4 or 2 if I am lucky......and has to be a reasonably low-crime area. Eventually, they will get a car so I am also looking where there will be free parking.
Thanks all for great feedback and advice.

[fruitqueen]

They will be 17 and 19 soon.....

[Notyetthere]

Im happy to walk up to a mile to the station which takes me about 20mins. At the moment im about 2 miles from the station so im tsking the bus to the station and then I walk back home when the weather is pleasant which takes me 40mins.

[Mintyy]

20 minutes

[ShoeWhore]

Dh reckons he can comfortably walk a mile in 15mins (ie without breaking out a sweat) In some places you can bus it to the tube - might be worth considering? It would make your money go a lot further - or look for places on good bus/overland routes, they also tend to be cheaper.

[lljkk]

1 mile is my suggestion. It's quite hard in London to get more than 3/4 mile from a tube or train station.

[MummytoMog]

Well I live a mile from the tube station and I'm afraid I generally take the bus. In our last house we took the bus everywhere, but it was very central ( just oddly far from tube stations). I can and sometimes do walk from the house to the tube, but it's up a bloody great hill and I'm lazy.

[pearlbutter]

These days I wouldn't walk more than 10 mins. I got used to a walk of 7 mins in my previous flat, which spoilt me I think! That was about 0.4 miles according to Rightmove. Used to do a 45 min walk every day to college when I was 17, these days I will hop on a bus if the tube station takes more than 10 mins to walk! And I wouldn't cycle in London either, too many mad lorry drivers.

[NiceTabard]

I'd say 15 mins which is a mile if you are reasonably mobile.

Your situation is quite specific though. How long for commute overall? London tube is super, if you avoid heavy use stations at peak times / changing, you can get a long long way in a short time.

UCL is euston so you have a great range of areas to look at. I can recommend the borough I live

Honestly north london is very diverse and with a range of prices (all heading to expensive now!) but I grew up in and live in that area and would be happy to say yay or nay to areas if you like.

[HazeltheMcWitch]

LSE and Euston are both REALLY well situated for tubes and buses. And trains (Euston or Kings X/St Pancras), tho you might need a connection from train to LSE.

I'd think more about what is the length of (entire) journey that they'd want.

I'd also question the need for car. Unless you have diplomatic immunity, no one drives to UCL/LSE. Or are they planning to drive out of London?

[fruitqueen]

Are overland trains less crowded than the tube during peak period?

I understand cost of living is substantial in London but would it be more cost effective if the 2 DCs were to live in hostel accommodation which I was given to understand would be about 200-250 pounds a week per DC.

Or to buy a place worth 250K for both of them?
Decisions! Decisions! Decisions ! Help me out here please!

No we do not intend to drive into London except perhaps over the weekend in order to escape the congestion charges but it will be useful to have a car to roam around the suburbs.

I know there are many issues to ponder upon and I will be grateful for any advice or suggestions.

[HazeltheMcWitch]

During peak period, pretty much everything is crowded! Tubes often a little bit worse. Don;t worry though, fruitqueen, your DC will soon learn to sharpen their elbows and squash in along with everyone else.

I went to UCL, and I found that living in Halls, in Zone 1 in 1st year was one of the best things about it! Did you mean 'official' Halls of Residences rather then 3rd party hostels?

[pearlbutter]

If you can afford a 250k property in London I think it would be a good investment, the way prices are going. Rents seem to be going up so it could be a lot more - and your dc would avoid the possible disruption of rental contracts, hassle from landlords (but of course then have to deal with maintenance themselves).

If they are in London they could avoid the cost of owning a car/parking and use zipcar or similar if it is just for occasional use.

Yes I think overground trains are better than the tube but runs slower than most tube lines.

A friend has recently sold a 1 bed ex-council flat for £250k in zone 1, it was for two young siblings who will be sharing by converting the living room into a bedroom. You could get quite a central property if you look at ex-council, which in zone 1/2 are being snapped up by young professionals so aren't as grotty as they sound.