Commuting to London Bridge/City

[Zermatt]

We will shortly be relocating back to the UK after living abroad for the last 7 years. DH will be working in the city of London, we would like to find somewhere to live that he can commute easily enough from, maybe no more than 1.15 mins door to door. We have 2 very young children so would like somewhere good for a young family with plenty of activities/community that we can tap into. I think the problem we have is too much choice, anyone have somewhere they would recommend?

Depending on which side of the City he could walk from Waterloo in about 25 mins - I do it everyday, quicker than the W&C!

Epsom and Ashtead would be worth looking at, 40 mins to Waterloo, very frequent trains in rush hour and good schools - private and state. Closer to London you've got Ewell, Stoneleigh and Cheam - first two South West Trains, Cheam is Southern, all around 30mins to Waterloo.

Thames Ditton, Esher and Kingston might be worth a look but unlikely to get that much for your money.

From Waterloo you can do one stop on the over ground to London Bridge. That helps avoid using the Waterloo and City line and is much less crowded.

If you were looking in the Guildford area I would go just slightly further and look at Godalming instead.

Really for the reasons PP have mentioned:

• There are not many nice houses near the train station in Guildford
• Parking at the train is not exactly extensive and fills up very early
• Unlikely to get a seat on the train.

Godalming on the other hand is on the same train line but just two stops before and you will get a seat. Much more in the way of nice housing stock close to the station.

Much nicer to live in Godalming IMO and it's close to Guildford when you want to go to a larger town. Plus it's very pretty!

I get the Waterloo & City every day....yes, it is crowded but the whole journey is 5mins so TBH I don't find it a problem at all.

Monkey
Wow makes me want to give up on our property search in SE London and go to check out Godalming!

Although I doubt we could afford it there either

Have a look at this link @Zermatt
www.commutefrom.com
and also do your research as to where you're likely to get a seat on the train in the mornings as some of the trains are absolutely packed.

Wrt to Kent, Sevenoaks if you are looking for 75mins door to door max. This would factor in the inevitable regular train delays.

I'm in Tunbridge Wells and used to commute into London Bridge daily. During the autumn and winter months, the delays can be regular and really tiresome on that line. Love TWells but hate the commute.

Oxted goes into LB, or nearby Caterham.

OP just to say explicitly what others have hinted at - Southern Trains, which are a good number of the ones terminating at London Bridge, are in the middle of an industrial dispute which has ground service to a halt and shows little sign of resolution. There are stories of people renting pied a terre near the office / losing their jobs / forgetting what their dog looks like after months of late-night commutes.

I'd strongly recommend you look at an area served by another train company, such as Southeastern. FWIW I think Hither Green, Lee and Blackheath are good shouts, though they are much closer to London than 1h15.

Carerham trains are slow (and on southern)

I commute to the city from Godalming area,
Great for kids and a relatively easy commute.

I don't find the Waterloo and City line problematic but I'm in work before 8am, it's busier later as are all lines.

It's not as fast but it is probably more flexible, has free wi fi and you're guaranteed a seat if you travel by coach. I haven't used the service, but it says here they offer you a free trial
www.centaurtravel.co.uk/commuting-centaur
They probably don't suffer from industrial action or those irritating changes in service when they decide not to stop at scheduled stations in order to make up time and not be penalized for late arrivals.

I'm on the Waterloo line near one of the big stations which is only about 25 mins with a fast train - that takes you to Surrey and Waterloo is good for LB and for the City generally. There's a pretty good spread of towns/villages and things in between though you'll certainly be able to find cheaper options! We're on South West Trains and at the moment I'm really grateful I'm nowhere near a Southern Rail station and would avoid those like the plague.

I would say Sevenoaks would work - my commute is under an hour door to door to the City (coming into Cannon Street or London Bridge) and I have a 20 minute journey to Sevenoaks station. Budget might be a bit tight though for a 4 bed. Would echo avoiding Waterloo if you can, have found it added substantially to the London end of the journey on the odd occasion I've used that route.

Other good options for more house for your budget are Tonbridge or somewhere down the Maidstone East line. Otford (on the edge of Sevenoaks), Borough Green and West Malling will all have direct fast London Bridge and Blackfriars trains when the Thameslink work is finished - I think next year. They have the odd fast Blackfriars trains at peak times now but via E&C.

Echo PPs that Waterloo is great for London Bridge as you can hop on the overground from Waterloo East to L Bridge (about 5 mins), which is included in rail season tickets so no need to add tube. I would also look to avoid Southern rail. I know it sounds silly but it's a massive problem for commuters at the moment - they are awful and had huge problems with their service even before the industrial action.

Godalming's lovely. Look at Pirbright village too - good primary school and proper village with green / pub. It's about a mile away from Brookwood station, which has regular fast trains to Waterloo (about 35 mins). Brookwood also nice, but less 'villagey'. Good luck!

Walton-on-Thames, Hersham.

Maybe we should rent at one of the longer commuter areas to get an idea of how far we out we can happily live.

Waterloo east to and from london bridge has become less and less convenient/fast IMO.

It's great that you are renting first so you can get an idea of the area/commute. I would second what people have said about being wary of Southern trains. Even if the industrial dispute is settled the everyday service is terrible. I have been driving to get the South East line to Waterloo instead and it is much better. On that line I quite like Petersfield (1hr5 to Waterloo).

Bromley? I commute to Elephant and Castle and some trains take just 20 min. Next step up is Blackfriars and then City Thames Link.
£750k definitely buys you a 4 bed in Bromley.
If you prefer to go to London Bridge then the Chislehurst connection is the best. Mind you Chislehurst is far from the station and on a hill. It's well over a mile which is how far I am from it too. My nearest station is Bickley but I never really use it as I'm still close to Bromley South which has fast trains.
We love it here. Great schools, good community, big parks...

I used to rent in London and worked in the City. The easiest commute I found (but it was some time ago) was from the Dulwich area getting a mainline train into London Bridge, then walking across the bridge. It takes 20 mins on the train e.g. from North Dulwich, and trains are very 10 minutes in the morning.

Dulwich is a nice family area I think. I confess to not having a clue on house prices there though.

Dulwich is lovely. We used to live there. I doubt you'd get a four bed for £750k. Probably a two bed. So we moved to Bromley

Billericay - 35 mins to Liverpool Street, very good schools, very family-orientated, park, woodland etc.

Most of the places on your list are the poshest in the region I'm afraid and you might be disappointed with what you can get for 750k. We're selling our 4 bed in a less smart bit of the Surrey commuter belt for that (hopefully!). Places a bit further out worth a look are Haslemere, Haywards Heath (Lindfield just to the north is gorgeous), and I second Godalming, recommended up-thread. Having commuted via both, South West Trains are much better than Southern, and not just on strike days. A fold up bike would get you from Waterloo to the City in no time.