House hunting - within 1.5 hrs commute Westminster

[wowfudge]

Right - things are happening quickly so I would really appreciate your advice as I'm a bit overwhelmed at the moment. DP has just been offered promotion at work, but it means relocation. He'll be based in Westminster and is prepared to commute up to 1.5 hours door to door (by train).

We are currently in the Manchester area not far from my parents who are in their 70s. My sister and her family are in Warwickshire. Would be good to be near them and good transport links back up to my folks. DP has links to East Midlands but I'm not sold on some of the places he's suggested - prepared to be converted though!

Can you suggest some suitable areas for us to consider moving to? Our budget is around £350,000 although we could stretch if necessary. Minimum 3 beds. Our current house has cellars and a huge garage so we are used to spreading out. Near decent schools useful, but not essential. I like being near a city and all that has to offer. At the moment our kitchen is tiny and I would love to have a decent sized kitchen again. Links to places that look good will be very gratefully received.

Yikes - this is at least six months sooner than we had been planning and is pretty daunting.

I know you want to live North London but if you want to save on commuter costs and possibly have your DH home earlier than if you lived in Didcot, then perhaps consider moving to a town near a South West Trains, Southern or South Eastern Train service. These will stop near Westminster and save your DH trekking across London after a train journey. Also if you can avoid tube altogether his season ticket will be cheaper. Be realistic about how often you will be going back up north, as sometimes commuters don't fancy doing long journeys at weekends. I say this as a northerner with the benefit of hindsight.

All suggestions considered. What kind of places are you talking about captainproton?

If he's going to Westminster I would look at places on the south west trains route, he could then walk from Waterloo and avoid the underground (the underground greatly adds to the time of commuting). Look at areas like Guildford, Farnborough, Brookwood, Fleet, west Byfleet, surbiton. His commute will be short. He says he's happy to commute up to 1 hour 30 min, but trust me 3 hours travelling a day is not a tolerable commute when you have no seat, when there are delays etc...

I'm not sure your budget would stretch to Caversham (north of Reading) if you didn't like Terraces, TBH. Living in East Reading (alongside Wokingham Road) or West Reading (along Oxford Road) are much more diverse areas but your money goes a lot further - for the same price as that Caversham terrace you'd get a Semi-Detached with a garden. This could be a useful website for you: www.commutefrom.com/

I live in Bedford and work in Westminster.

Thameslink is pretty good, and goes into St Pancras (where you can pick up the Victoria line - 5 stops to Victoria) or Blackfriars (district line - 3 stops to Wesminster). Seat guaranteed as we are the first stop. There's also a faster East Midlands service into St Pancras, but you don't always get a seat. Commuting is pricy though - over 5,000 pounds for an annual season ticket.

You're 15-20 mins from the A1 (to the east) and M1 (to the west) for traveling north. Good schools, and you'd easily get a 3 bed Victorian terrace/semi for your budget. Near MK if you want a big shopping centre.

i have colleagues who live further east (in Royston, Cambridge and St Neots). The St Neots people seem to have more train problems than I do

I do find the commute tiring, and try to work from home one day a week to break it up. However, it does focus the mind and make me leave work on time - I catch a train at 6:00 from St Pancras and am home by 7:00 most evenings.

Thank you for the latest suggestions. I shall get researching.

Yes, we know the commuting costs are significant, but they are nothing compared to the higher property prices closer to London.

You get a lot of house for your money in Bedford - any particular areas better than others? A few of the houses for sale are HMOs / student lets so presumably there's a student area which wouldn't be for us.

The best thing in Farnborough is the road out of it.

Re Bedford

Russell Park/the Embankment/Castle Quarter = nice big Victorian terraces/semis.

Kimbolton Rd - 1920s property, near Bedford Park

Polhill/Brickhill - more modern properties

The University is on Goldington Rd

Station area/Midland Road - I don't know the area well, but wouldn't choose to live there.

If you want to be closer to the M1 there's lots of new build on the A6 heading west out of town.

HTH - good luck with your move (and should have said before, congrats to your DH)

Thanks OhOne - DP is really hard-working and this is a big step for him and us as a couple. We aren't going to rush into anything and will have to spend some time looking at all these places. I'm going to suggest he does actually try the commutes from our favourite places.

I found this website very useful, basically pick the best mainline terminus in London and work backwards. We live in Kent now which has HS1, bit pricier but really good commute times. But even if you use big standard trains some stop at either Victoria or Charring Cross which are close to Westminster. Tubes can get delayed and the staff love a good strike.

www.commuterguide.co.uk

Yeah it would help to post the link!

Thank you - will take a look

Another vote for Bedford... I don't live there because it's no good for our work but it's my home town. The Prime Ministers area is up and coming (look at the back of Bedford School playing field) and close to station. Castle quarter / embankment is to my mind the nicest area but expensive for
Bedford and about a mile from the station.

My friend lives in Elstow, just outside Bedford. They've been there a long time, and seem to really like it.

Bedford would be a good option for you.

Also look at Basingstoke. You still get a seat on the train to Waterloo. He can then walk to Westminster. And you have the Cross Country trains to get up to Birmingham, the North West and beyond.

Thanks for the link captain - useful and interesting.

Commuting from SE London may suit? Train journey to Charing Cross from Orpington is 30 mins and walk from there to Westminster is ten mins, so most properties will be 45 mins to an hour door to door commute. Zone 6 Oyster card so reasonable train fare too. Orpington has some good value properties but you'd be hard pressed not to have a terrace for your budget and won't get a 'pretty' house e.g www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-32745090.html is probably within budget and a nice area, nearby Petts Wood a property of similar size but a semi and 1930s will cost £150k more.

You are absolutely not going to be in Westminster in 1.5hrs door to door from Bedford (I grew up there). And several other suggestions here are longish train journeys, which make it hard to get door to door down to 1.5hrs.

How about Watford? Good for getting back up north (v close to motorways), 20mins by train into London, and you can be in Westminster in an hour door to door. I know, because I am three times a week! In fact, if I time it exactly right, I can leave the house at 6.55am and be at my desk at 7.45am as Big Ben bongs. Direct tube from Euston to Westminster on northern line. Think you would get a house for that price just about, although probably would need a 15 min walk to the station, or I cycle it in 6 mins.

St. Albans is another option, but think you'd struggle to get a house for that money.

Have you seen this website www.commutefrom.com - good tool for working out where to commute from into London?

SE London and Kent are no nos due to family links in Warwickshire and Manchester. I'm not just thinking of us travelling to them, but vice versa. That house in Orpington holds no appeal. Sorry.

I think with a budget of 350k you will struggle. SE London is a bit rubbish but if you go further into Kent (i.e not within M25 you will have better luck. But to be 1.5 hours door to door wherever you end up you are either going to have buy a 2 bed or live in a not particularly amazing looking area. You really need about 500k if you want to tick all your boxes.

We moved to Medway with a budget of 350k last year. A lot of people will tell you it's a shit hole, and yes there are parts of it which have its problems. With that budget though you can live in the nicer part and still commute within 1.5 hours. Personally I feel a lot safer here and the people are friendlier than the area of London we previously used to be able to afford to live in.

You are going to have to compromise somewhere, length of commute, size of house or where you live.

What I said above doesn't just apply to Kent but anywhere in the commuter belt of London.

Another vote for the villages around Leighton Buzzard. They are generally "naice" villages, although LB itself is s bit grotty.

DH works near Victoria and is an hour door to door; you also have fast trains to Manchester.

If you buy just north of LB, in Bucks rather than Beds, you're in a grammar catchment. Nice schools generally, Milton Keynes nearby with great amenities, close to the M1, nice and green.

I commute in from one of the villages between oxford and Didcot - leave home at 6:55 and am at my desk by 8:20 most days. It's really not that bad (I'm still doing it at 32 weeks pg) and the benefit of being 'upline' from Reading is that I always get a seat. Plus fgw let season.ticket holders reserve seats so if your DH commute is predictable then that works. I'm on one train for 45 mins which also is long eniough to get some work done so I'm back home by 6:30. Fellow commuter goes into Westminster and she finds it OK. May need to change at Baker St but that's an easy one. Also Oxfordshire/Thames Valley would be great for access to the midlands/north west. Maybe look at the new Oxford station too which will have direct trains into Marylebone as of 2016/17

Twyford has good links into London too and close to Reading but not 'in it'. There are a couple of morning trains that start at Henley and you can normally get a seat, plus a 21 min train in the evening which is incredible. West of reading can be quite good - the Newbury line (theale, thatcham etc) have some pretty good direct trains. The stations on the reading to Didcot stretch (pangbourne etc) are nice but you'd really need to change at Reading which I'd try to avoid if possible.

Good luck!

lastnight that's interesting - thank you. That's not dissimilar to the commute DP was doing from home a couple of years ago up here.

I know Kent is good for commuting to London, but it's not an area we are considering for reasons already stated.

Interesting info on new rail links too.

We've said we'll go and have a look at some of these places soon. Looking on Rightmove there is quite a bit in our price bracket which appeals so it's a case of seeing what the areas are like.