Priced out of London - where to go?

[HisNameWasPrinceAndHeWasFunky]

I really need some help finding a suitable area to move to.

I am a single parent to 2 primary aged DC. I work in London and have lived in London for 22 years. We currently live in a one bed shared ownership flat and HAVE to move. Prices in London are ridiculous and though I was initially thinking that we would buy another shared ownership flat, even those are now silly prices. Plus I could find myself at retirement age and still having to pay a massive rent/service charge etc.

So the idea is to move out of London and work from home. As I will be able to afford a bigger place outside of London, the idea is to have a work space/office at home (I need a PC, printer etc). Staying in London in a small flat wouldn't really be an option as I think I would go crazy living and working in a small space IYKWIM. Whereas I think I could manage in a bigger house.

I will still need to be fairly close to London as the DC's father lives in Hackney - and has them every other weekend.

Also I would need to be able to visit the office (West London) once every couple of weeks.

I am looking with an eye on great high schools/girls grammar schools etc, so in a few years the DC will be able to go to a good school.

Re other connections most friends live in south London. Many have left London recently for similar reasons to me and moved south too. I have no family connections apart from the girls Dad's family in east London, so i am fairly fluid, though south/east is a better location than north or west of London.

I've been looking at Folkestone - while it is a way out of London, it is very affordable & has high speed train link for visits to the office. It also has an excellent grammar girls school. On the downside it is a bit of a journey EOW for the DC to get to their Dad's though this burden would be shared between us.

I looked at Hastings too, but the schools don't seem to be that good there and the must promised HS rail link hasn't materialized.

Margate/Broadstairs looks amazing too but I am concerned over travel to London times but driving and rail - I think it is too far away location wise.

But there are probably lots of other location options I just don't know about. I'm hoping the mighty MN might shed some light/advice on this really important change in our lives. I really do need some help.

My budget is £250,000 - I could go a bit higher if access to London was relatively cheap & easy (ie monthly travel costs were down).

OOOOh! Just seen a 3 bed terrace on sale in Tonbridge for 250k
(Ea Ward & Partners)
Most people live in Tonbridge rather than T Wells itself as it is just
too expensive. The schools are top notch and so is the place
Education is important isn't it?

Medway? Not the most beautiful area but you'd get a lot of house for your money, there are excellent grammars and fast rail links into London. I lived there 7 years ago - was back at the weekend and the place is really changing. It's definitely getting a lot of investment and improvement so could be a good place to buy investment-wise.

Southend is like anywhere - some nice bits and not so nice bits

As much as I would LOVE to live in Norfolk or Suffolk, the problem I have is that my main support network/close friends live in Croydon/South London. My family don't live in this hemisphere ere so being able to have relatively easy access to these people is really important to me/us - to be able to drive 1-1.5 hours for a BBQ is OK and doable. Having to navigate across London as well as the rest of the journey =- well it just doesn't feel right. Also I can stay with these friends for weekends in London & use as transfer point for access. So south/SE makes sense to us.

Education is important & as I am a reluctant mover, and have no family or specifically work ties geographically speaking (other than wanting to be south of London) then I can make education prospects/schools a high factor on my list. I have 2 intelligent girls who love school, love learning and I'm happy to treat their education needs as a priority re residential location.

I will look at Margate/Ramsgate/Broadstairs. And I will look at Berkshire (good point about Crossrail and West isn't impossible though I think more pricey?) & Medway too - thanks for those suggestions.

I particularly love Norfolk - shame it doesn't work for other reasons.

I agree about considering Tonbridge, especially if you have girls. Great schools. Two girls grammar and one solid girls comp. High Street just ok, but two great parks and easy trip to Sevenoaks, TW, Maidstone or Bluewater for any major shopping. I can get to Croydon in 50 mins by car or just over an hour by train. Drive to South London is around 90 mins depending on traffic. One hour drive to seaside. Do handovers at Charing Cross or London Bridge in 45 mins and you will be perfectly situated in Central London for your London fix.

Kings Lynn in Norfolk is compared to London cheap as chips but 1 hour to Kings X on a direct rail line.

I do think if you are within daily commuting distance of London you pay a premium for housing

I do think if you are within daily commuting distance of London you pay a premium for housing
Absolutely.

I guess ultimately I'm looking at the spaces just beyond that daily commute belt - the occasional commute belt.

There were a few 3 bed places on RightMove (all in need of modernisation/decoration) right at the very top of my budget - I'll keep an eye on that.

Thanks for the tip about the girls schools MineyMoe

Don't go to Margate, it's awful.

How about Canterbury (55mins to st Pancras) or herne bay (1hr 20)?

Peterborough is lovely 44 min to Kings cross green and friendly I moved here from Chelsea many years ago

Agree Margate is horrible to live in.

How about Rochester? Very close to London (30 mins I think to Victoria, and goes to Charing Cross in Less)

Rochester is more like 40 mins to Victoria. And that's when south eastern are running on time.

Tonbridge. It's a great place to bring up kids, good schools, and good road and rail links to everywhere.
Tonbridge is a friendly place too.

So I've accepted an offer on my flat!

Look at the villages around Chelmsford. Writtle is affordable, has a good primary school and is in the catchment area for the Chelmsford grammar schools. It's only 20 minutes from the M25, so getting to south London is no problem. Shenfield (15 minutes' drive) even has Crossrail opening next year. Good luck!

Writtle looks out of budget - only cash properties coming up on the search.

More generally, lots of people like to pebble their entire back yard don't they? It's either a total turn off for me, or I try and calculate how long it would take to get rid of it all :)

I'd recommend Rochester, only 30 minutes to Stratford international, great grammar schools too

What about East Berks (as a PP suggested) as there are a cluster of grammar schools really close to London - Langley, Hersschel, Upton Court, St. Bernards... I don't believe any are single sex though if you specifically wanted girls schools.

Crossrail will make travel to London easier, but the current train line in to Paddington isn't too bad.

RE ROCHESTER would the posters who recommended that please return with more info on parts to live in.

We visited Rocester today - arrived early and much to our delight the Charles Dickens festival was on - so we had a great day at the festival, but didn't get to check out much of the housing situation (town was pretty busy).

We did see a few streets in Strood and they looked pretty ..... grim. My budget isn't huge so I am realistic, but I would not like to live in the bits we drove thought today.

However Rochester is ticking lots of boxes and not too far from the DC's dad and we really liked it. I plan to return for a days house hunting one weekend soon - any guidance as to bits to avoid/look at would be really appreciated.

We also visited and loved both Ramsgate/Broadstairs (very pretty) and Folkestone - which I like as its by the sea but not a "Seaside" town. But the distance from London in a concern.

Didn't get too much of a chance to look at Margate - we did drive through. Shame about the building which is the biggest "shithole" screaming building I've ever seen in the UK, smack bang in the middle of town.

We also went to a MASSIVE shopping park and went to the biggest supermarket I've ever been to in UK - Sainsburys.

re going west to Berks, etc, I think it's too far from south London/Croydon, East London where all my "people" live. But I will take a look.

Slightly over budget but does meet a lot of your requirements - close to train stations for connections to London/East/South East. Grammar School in Dartford, nearby Bluewater shopping centre and easy journey to Stratford for hand overs. Shame the garden is paved over in one of them though!

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-59291393.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-41927853.html

I've saved the first one - thanks Spickle!

Schools not so great on the 2nd. And yes that paving.

It's amazing too me just how many back gardens, of quite decent size, are entirely paved, or covered in stones. Unless I could pull it up fairly easy (and they come attached to a fab house) then it's a real turn off. Guess some people like them though.

Have a look at Birchington and Westgate, OP. Both in Thanet, a stone's throw away from Margate but away from "the building". Nice schools in both villages too.

I should have added that we re-located from London, to Margate, and absolutely love it.

Probably no good if Rochester has taken your fancy, but we relocated Croydon-Ashford 3 years ago and have found it very accessible. Family/friends find it easy to come down and we (less frequently now) drive up there - straight out through Bromley down the A21 to the M25, one junction along to the M20.
Stratford Int is about half an hour, though fares expensive. But the train to Charing Cross takes about an hour and a quarter and is half the price.
A variety of schools, Highworth Grammar for girls, my own Yr9 is very happy at an academy in an adjoining small town.
I don't think you'd get a 3 bed new build on your budget, but there's plenty of older stock around. Long established local people will tell you to avoid certain areas but having grown up in Brixton and Croydon they don't know they're born down here - the very worst areas aren't a patch on what we were used to!