Moving and commuting to London

[Amberella]

Hi there,
I am from New Zealand living abroad with a 2 year old, 5 month old and a dog. Just doing some research as my husband has told me his business might be moving him to work in London in April. I would really appreciate any recommendations or suggestions for good areas to live and commute to London. We would like to live no more than 1 hour out of the city by rail.

A friend has already suggested Surrey, specifically Guildford - although google research says it is expensive to live? Online it looks lovely!

We would like to rent somewhere that is walking distance (15-20mins) to the train station. With good preschools / primary schools as hubby’s work contract will be minimum 3 years. We are looking for a good places to walk the dog but still close enough to put both children in the stroller and get to the supermarket / farmers market / basic shops. As I taught Drama and a Theatre before having kids, I’d also love to live somewhere that has a least a small theatre close by to get my art fix ☺️

TIA! 😁

OP, someone mentioned Tonbridge, this is an example of what you could expect to get to meet your requirements and budget:
www.zoopla.co.uk/to-rent/details/45393339?search_identifier=6392d867e48d8bc6576a465df8e08dda#04K0EZiFMPCYVRhV.97
Pretty well every other town within an hour on London by rail will have similar properties. I say town, because to meet the 10-15 minute walk to the station will invariably mean living in one, however most will have dog-walking countryside within easy reach.

"but we still need to be central enough to ensure he’s not traveling across London for another 40mins"

London is so big and you can be living in centrally in zone 2 and still take 40 minutes (or more) to get across London. Some bits of London knit together IYSWIM much better than others. That's why it's really important for us to to know - assuming you do - roughly where in alondin he is likely to be working most often.

Tbh, with your husband working from home and only travelling to London for meetings, I would look further out so that you can afford something nice for the budget. All these towns in the commuter belt are expensive as they are prime spots for people commuting daily - 1h-1h30 door-to-door is considered normal.

Coming from NZ, you’ll probably used to more space around you and 6m2 bedrooms might be a bit of a shock to the system. And you’ll most likely be looking at tiny terraced houses if you’re after an upmarket location.

And yes, consider which side of London you need to be on as it’s probably much bigger than you imagine. It does take 30mins to get from one side of zone 1 to the other, or can take 1h door-to-door from zone 2 to the office in zone 1.

A lot of people who only need to be in London once or twice a week, live a little further afield, eg in some coastal towns- great for families and the trains still take from 1h15 to get into London. If you go for a nice area (but not one with 100% postcode premium) you’ll get a much more decent property.

Look at some of the commuter towns in Essex. I'm in Chelmsford and to Liverpool Street it's 40 mins. Great schools here and property may be more reasonable although prices are going up due to the new cross rail line.

but we still need to be central enough to ensure he’s not traveling across London for another 40mins

In what section of London is his office?

Ok! Thanks for putting it more in perspective for me! And thank you JoJoSM2, you are right I am operating under a misapprehension of the size of London. It is a heck of a lot bigger and spread out than I was imagining.

So I think it’s time for a retraction. My previous comment of ‘central enough for a 40min commute across town’ will need to be flagged. I get now that this is totally out of the question.

Basically DH will be all over the show meeting with different architects and installers when he travels to the city. So I guess it is best to plan for what works best for the family DC’s and dog as no matter what DH will be spending his days in the City traveliing all over the show.

“A lot of people who only need to be in London once or twice a week, live a little further afield, eg in some coastal towns- great for families and the trains still take from 1h15 to get into London. If you go for a nice area (but not one with 100% postcode premium) you’ll get a much more decent property.”

So any more suggestions considering the above comment?

Also what is the age for school entry in the UK? My eldest is 3 in May. And I do understand that schooling is another hot topic in itself, but can you rely on the OFSTED rating in judging a school? It’s hard not being able to visit them before we move.

After all this discussion I’m not sure if we should pay for a trip to London before the relocation date to do some looking around (the more costly option and our budget is stretched tight ATM😬), or if it would be better to take a previous poster’s advice and find a short term rental so we can take the time to look around before committing to an area. Though I don’t know how realistic this would be with a dog or how unsettling it would be for my 2 year old. She does struggle with change and London will be very different from the Middle East 😳

Thanks again for all those taking their time to lend your advice! Clearly I’m out of my depth here and it is greatly appreciated 😁

Formal school (Reception) starts September after 4th birthday. If your dc turns 4 before end of August 2018 applications close mid January (although there may be a few weeks leeway for those moving imminently). However you would not be able to apply until you gave an address confirmed. Surrey LA may allow you to apply shortly before you physically arrive but you need to make contact with them to be certain. Reality is that by missing January's deadline from which places are allocated in April you wouldn't have such a wide choice of schools from which to shortlist but rather wherever has a place available in the correct year group,

Another vote for saint albans here. It's very quaint, very British and very commutable.

Re: coastal towns, Brighton or surrounding area would work. Brighton to London (trains get in to Victoria or London Bridge) in less than an hour.

Bear in mind commuting from further out is expensive.

As others have said, the dog will be a major issue. Try looking at a website called Open Rent, through which you can rent directly from private landlords, rather than through agencies. Private landlords might be more open to a dog, though you will probably need to pay more of a deposit and pay for deep cleaning when you leave.

There are lots of other places that would work, depending on how close you want to be to London. You could try Herfordshire - Berkamstead for example.

Do you know anyone at all near London? Friends? relatives? husband's work colleagues? if so I'd be inclined to settle near them or within commuting distance of them if your budget will allow.

If your DH is likely to have to go to meetings around London rather than just attend his office, then I'd probably stick to outer London. That way, he'll have his commuting options and an annual ticket to cover all tube, trains etc will cost 2k as opposed to living outside London and forking out 4-5 if not 7k for the ticket.

Also, 'burbs in London might be different from what you'd normally expect. E.g. we live in zone 5 but on a boarder of what used to be a town and a village dating back 1000 years but has been a London suburb for 50 years. So you do get your high streets, shops, theatres, leisure centres, farms shops, there's even a community farm etc. Its easy to walk places. There are many train routes that take you directly to Victoria, Blackfriars, the City, London Bridge, Farringdon, Kings Cross so plenty of options to attend meetings. The trains take between 25-45 mins depending on where you need to get to.

On the school-choosing front, I wouldn't rely solely on Ofsted (btw I'm an education consultant). It's worth looking at results and school websites if you aren't able to visit in person. E.g. in my area there's a fab school (very well run and caring) but it's right in the town centre so it's got a small concreted playgroud and scary tall fences. On the other hand, further away from the station there's one that's also lovely but it has massive playgrounds and a heated pool. So the latter is a much more appealing environment for a child to spend their day at.

Here's a Wikipedia link.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Borough_of_Sutton

And here's a link to how primary school admissions work
www.sutton.gov.uk/info/200439/school_admissions/1069/applying_for_a_primary_school_place

A friend of mine is looking at relocating and was looking at Banbury and Bloxham, as good commute for London and more reasonable prices.

I'd look at North Essex/ Suffolk: Ipswich/ Bury St Edmunds, Saffron Walden
You'll get a lot more space for your money.

Short term rentals with furniture are very pricey. Most tenancies are a minimum 6 months. Read the how to rent guide on gov.UK

As I said, the dog will limit you.

Why not stick to areas around Central Line Tube stations? Then you are traveling towards the centre of London to start with and that line connects well with the others.

We moved from Melbourne to London 2 years ago (with no kids), and now just about to buy and move in this month. Depends on where your husband works, I would suggest looking for short term (6 months if possible, although with pets as well, it could be difficult) first because buying in UK is quite a painful experience for us vs. buying in Oz/New Zealand (I bought in Australia, no problem what so ever, and it was very stressful for both my DH and I until the last minute). Also, adjust your expectation for the sizing and look very careful into the Sqft of the house you may buy or rent .
I would say stick with outer London, because it would be very difficult to find a nice place 3 beds and allow pets with the price you are after.
Anyway, when we looked for areas to buy, we visited and shortlisted these areas - Weybridge, Surbiton, Woking, Chislehurst, Welwyn Garden, Hitchin, Harpenden, and last but not least St Albans and Guildford. Mostly depends on our budget, how long it takes to get to London, how frequent and reliable the trains are, and the general feeling of the areas, and school zone.
IMHO, all of the areas above are lovely, but we love Guildford the most, and then St Albans. Almost bought in Guildford but couldn't go through, we now ended up with a place in St Albans. Still super duper happy with it. I think either Guildford and St Albans will tick your requirements. Perhaps rent there first and look to buy in surrounding areas that fit your budget and requirements. If you look for somewhere near the park and Station - in Guildford along the River Wey - Pewley Down or St Nicolas Parish areas, further out Merrow is also nice near Spectrum Park. In St Albans, central area or nears Verulamium Park is very nice (not sure transport to the main station) but $$$, I think renting is ok but buying you will struggle to find with your budget if you also want somewhere with parking, not flat (so no restriction for pets) , we are in Marshalwick area. Good luck.

Have a look on rightmove to get an idea of what you can get for your price range in the areas already suggested.

There is no reason for you to know this but don't say to letting agents that your husband needs to travel "all over the city".

To Londoners this means the City of London only which is a small area of London, 1 square mile I think around (roughly) The Bank Of England.

Agents will talk about Central London, the West End, The City, East London, Inner London, Outer London, North London, South London and so on. All of these are London. It's really big and lovely.

If your husband isn't going to London every day then personally I'd chose somewhere like Grantham (surrounding villages are lovely) or Newark and get the fast over line to London

But funky wnst to live closer for more
Money then I'd be seconding tunbridge wells or Sevenoaks - Guildford is also quite nice

3 beds in your price range
south west London
Leafy North London
East London
West London

If your DH train fares are on company expenses then I would look to use one of the main fast overground trains into Paddington, Euston, KingsCross, Waterloo, Victoria, Liverpool Street etc....and then you could live as far out as you wanted along these lines - especially if he is only doing this a couple of days a week. He could even stay in town overnight. It is quicker to get to the centre of London from further out on one of these fast overground rail routes than grinding along on the tube from zone 6.

Depends what lifestyle you want eg - independent market town, coastal town, historic city, uni town, rural village etc - you could look at Windsor, Winchester, Bath, Cambridge, Whitstable, Lewes,

Market Harborough. You'd get a 4 bed and change for your money. 55 minutes on the fast train into St Pancras. Downside is expensive train fares. But if he'll only need to go down a few times then less of a concern.