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Affordable and commutable to Kings Cross/Euston/st Pancras?

54 replies

Handsfulloflavender · 17/08/2015 23:57

Hello Mums! I am Mela, a mother of three living in the USA. My husband just accepted a position in London near the British Museum. We have never been to England before (!) and won't be able to visit in advance, so I am desperately researching towns on the train lines from Kings Cross and Euston so we will be ready upon arrival in December. I have read the older threads but thought it might be worth it to put our situation out here in hopes of some current information. We hope to pay around £1,100 or less and we are prepared to squeeze into a two bedroom flat if necessary, and we love to walk. We live in a small mountain town now and don't mind small villages but we need to be commutable to London. Of course I dream of a tiny garden but I think this may be impossible? I've read a lot about St. Albans but I worry we won't be able to afford it.

Thank you, thank you for any suggestions!
Mela (who will probably be posting many more questions)

OP posts:
Belleende · 18/08/2015 09:09

You should look at hitchin. 25 min's into kings x. You could rent a three bed cottage with garden for your budget. Fantastic walking and cycling. The town is fab. Lots of good places to eat, decent shopping, market three times a week. Good scools. I moved here about 6 mos ago and love it.

Belleende · 18/08/2015 09:14

Oh one thing to note renting from agents in the UK you will be hit with some fees on top of your deposit and rent in advance. This can be several hundred pounds. You should also check out gum tree for privately rented places.

And fyi hitchin is famous for its lavendar

GRW · 18/08/2015 09:42

Tring and Leighton Buzzard on the Euston train line. It would take 40 to 50 minutes on the train, and then a 15 minute walk.

specialsubject · 18/08/2015 12:18

first website for you is rightmove.co.uk which will show you rental prices in the areas of interest.

check maps - St Albans City station is a fair walk out of the town centre!

next job; check out train fares. Petrol currently about £1.13 a litre. You'll pay about £2000 a year council tax (roughly) and budget maybe £1500 for electricity and gas per year, obviously depending on use. Also water bills and tenant's insurance for your possessions. Plus food and everything else!

with no uk credit record you'll almost certainly need to pay your first six months rent in advance.

be informed on your rights as a tenant - look on .gov.uk. Don't rent a dump!

specialsubject · 18/08/2015 12:19

oh - and five of you in a two bedroom flat? You'd better check room sizes...

MsRinky · 18/08/2015 15:47

Yes, don't underestimate how tiny most UK homes are. A 2 bed flat is likely to be less than 700 sq ft. I had a 3 bedroom house that was 850 sq ft.

MsRinky · 18/08/2015 16:00

Tring is nice, but it isn't cheap (2 bed/700 sq ft would take you up to the top of your budget) and the station is not in the town. The season ticket to London is just shy of £4k.

You could get more house in Leighton Buzzard for sure. And more still in Bletchley, by which point the season ticket has gone up to £4300 and the train journey time to 45-60 minutes.

Chchchchanging · 18/08/2015 16:03

Milton Keynes
Rugby
Market Harborough
Leamington

All easy commutes with varying proces but for £1100 you'd get a 3-4 bed house with gardens and parking in a nice area

Chchchchanging · 18/08/2015 16:05

Milton Keynes
Rugby
Market Harborough
Leamington

All easy commutes with varying proces but for £1100 you'd get a 3-4 bed house with gardens and parking in a nice area

ItMustBeBedtimeSurely · 18/08/2015 16:05

Second Leighton Buzzard suggestion, although it's actually quite a bit faster into Euston than Tring - 30 mins on a fast train.

Nice market town, good schools, beautiful countryside and lots of young families.

You'd get a house in a good area for that money, although the rental market isn't huge.

Handsfulloflavender · 02/09/2015 20:58

We have had internet issues so I haven't been able to get back here. THANK YOU for all of your help - I will research these towns. I had no idea that we might have to pay 6 months up front! And yes, maybe we should consider 3 bedrooms only. We live in a small 2 bedroom house now but our children are still small. 3 bedrooms would be ideal!

If you were us, would you trust a real estate company to search for you, or is it best to do the searching on our own?

OP posts:
JustCallMeDory · 03/09/2015 22:40

I second Hitchin, or if you really want your money to go a lot further, go a little bit further up the line to Biggleswade - 35mins to Kings Cross on the morning and evening commuter trains, and a quick zip down the A1 to London by car for weekend sightseeing. It's not glamorous, but it's an up and coming small town, with lovely countryside around.

I'd recommend doing my own searching.

CocktailQueen · 03/09/2015 22:42

Second leighton buzzard!

Milton Keynes also an option, though the town is planed and v large and you need a car to get to the train station

Tring
Berkhamsted
Watford
Hemel Hempstead

PM me if you'd like more info :)

Pico2 · 03/09/2015 22:46

Royston is 45min to Kings Cross and you can get a 3 bed within easy walking distance to the station for that.

Will you be looking for school places too? That can be a challenge in the UK.

Ftumch · 03/09/2015 22:52

There's no way you'll get 3 beds in St. Albans or Watford for £1100.
Hemel Hempstead might be affordable, but I'm not sure about the trains.
St Neots is about 50 mins to King's X, Huntingdon about an hour. Peterborough is even quite doable.

Wigeon · 04/09/2015 18:48

Have a look at this website: www.commutefrom.com - tells you which towns are on which train line into London.

Having just had a look at Right Move (which lists practically all rentals and houses for sale in England), Watford would be affordable, just about. You are right that St Albans might be pushing it, but as Watford is a short drive from St. Albans, you can live in Watford, pay far less to rent, and easily get to St Albans for shopping, restaurants and the nice park and Cathedral! And Watford is only 20 mins from Euston on the train,.

Also, just to echo everyone saying that you would be v lucky to fit five people in a 2 bed flat - even if your children are small, you will really really struggle even to fit a double bed, a toddler bed, a cot and a single bed in a 2 bed flat here. In fact, given the size of 99% of rooms in flats here, I would say it's almost impossible and suggest you look at 3 bed houses (which migh put not necessarily be massively more expensive - eg a 2 bed new flat 5 mins walk from the train station could be the same price as a 3 bed house 15 mins walk away).

On your question about getting a real estate company (called here "estate agents") to search for you - really not recommended here for most normal people. There are loads and loads of estate agents marketing properties in any town, and if you just rely on one to search for you, they will just be telling you about houses on their books and you will miss the other 75% of the market which they don't cover.

I think you may be able to pay someone if you are relocating from abroad to look for houses for you, but they won't be an estate agent as such. Might need to ask on an expat forum for how to find that kind of person / company?

Biscuitsneeded · 04/09/2015 18:50

Royston, maybe? 20 mins drive from Cambridge, but nearer to London.

Pico2 · 04/09/2015 18:56

I think that there are much nicer places than Watford to live on your budget and within commuting distance to London.

How have you come to your budgeted figure? Is the cost of other things comparable to where you are at the moment?

HarrietVane99 · 04/09/2015 19:00

Parts of Kent are also commutable to St Pancras. The BM is walkable from Charing Cross, too. Look up Southeastern trains to get an idea of routes and journey times.

London is wonderful, I hope you have an amazing experience.

LBOCS2 · 04/09/2015 20:01

East Croydon has a direct train to King's X and you can just about get 3 beds for £1100 around here. There is shopping but it's a bit... Concrete. It's mostly 60s built so it isn't pretty.

GuessWhoIamToday · 04/09/2015 20:53

Baldock is commutable and you should be good within that price for a 3 bed. Or Letchworth - which has slightly better trains.

nottheOP · 04/09/2015 20:58

Radlett?

nottheOP · 04/09/2015 21:06

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-35864760.html

Love this in rugby. The season ticket is fierce though.

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 04/09/2015 21:06

Baldock, Cambridge and St Neots worth a look. Also the villages around Huntingdon but that would require a drive to the station. Get the right bit in the others and you can walk to the station or cycle.

Yes, I agree Kent worth considering too. As is Newham and other places round Stratford although that's a bit urban.

nottheOP · 04/09/2015 21:10

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-35901990.html market Harborough is really nice but again the season ticket is £££

Rent is comparatively cheap though