Re-locating to London from Melbourne

[Hickibics]

Hi everyone. We have made the hard decision to move back to England after 10 years in oz. Hubbie is most likely to get a job in London. We are from the north of England so not familiar with the suburbs around London. Looking for recommendations of where we should base ourselves initially. Needs to be 30-60 minute commute to London. Safe. Lots of open spaces. Plenty of places to walk to (with a pram) great village or town with individual cafes and restaurants, forward thinking people. Close to the countryside. What do you think ?

Maybe zone 6? I can't see 30mins commute and small village being compatible as you'd still be in London (I think. I'm sure those more knowledgeable will post.)

Does it have to be London? Cost of living and commute times will be far higher than elsewhere in the country. Unless you have a large budget the things you ask for are a lot. You might need to state budget.

Fwiw when I lived in London we considered Melbourne but moved away from London instead!

I'd ask to get this moved to Property where you should get more answers.

If you can give your budget that would help.

We are zone 3 and its roughly 20-30 mins to central London (either Victoria or LB). It's nothing like what you're looking for sorry but do think for what you want your commute time is more likely 60+ mins.

I'm from Melbourne. I miss it!

Good luck with your search.

I think you will miss those blue skies a tad......my family emigrated to Sydney for a couple of years when I was a child but came back to the UK as we missed family (not the grey skies!). We are zone 6 (East of London), the final stop on the district line and you can be in the city within 30 minutes if the trains are running on time, so easily commutable with the benefit of some open space and parks. So if you look at zone 6 I don't think you can go too far wrong and the rent should also be a little cheaper than closer into town.

I hope this helps and good luck with your move.