Caversham commuting

[ButterMelonCauliflower]

Thinking of relocating from west London to Caversham. We both work in London and the moment it takes me about 1hr 15 mins door to door and dh slightly less, so I don't think moving would affect commute times really. We have two DC, 10 months and 3yrs. Would we find a childminder to have them until half 6/7? Do lots of couples in Caversham commute to London? Both parents, or does one parent tend to work more locally?

Where in London do you work? Yes its 25 mins Reading to Paddington with no seats!! But it used to take me a good 40 mins to get into the City or Chancery Lane. Traffic from Cavershsm into Reading over the bridge can also be pretty bad so factor in time in the am for that. My husband did work locally so could drop at childminder at 8 (I used to have to leave before 7.30 to get the 7.56 train. Some childminders will do long hours but you do have to hunt around. Most nurseries are 7.30/8 until 6/6.30. I had a great childminder who was very flexible about pickup and we had a core contract and overtime so that if I coild collect on time I need only pay the core rate. Also be prepared for train cancellations on the way home (although it was quite useful that you could get back fromWaterloo if need be albeit slowly!

I live in Maidenhead (so just down the line from Reading). A lot of the population commutes into London; however, when people have children often it's only 1 parent or there is a mixture of working at home some days. The difficulty is dropping off at childminders/nurseries etc. Often 7.30 - 6.30. Realistically, even if you drop a child off at nursery 7.30 you've then got to station and travel in - looking at 9.30. Pick up of 6.30 means leaving London at 4.30.

If you have a Nanny, not such a problem. DH and I are both based in London so we have to have a Nanny as we can't guarantee to be back for 6.15 every day.

Check out the price of a season ticket 5 K per person from Reading. Although you will get a much bigger house in Caversham, the price of the season ticket may mean any savings on mortgage are quickly eaten up.

Not sure how you get a much bigger house in Caversham - its the more upmarket place of crntral Reading!