Please help us finding a place to live. I really want to move out of London now

[kingat]

Dear Mumsnetters, please help me finding a place to live. I have seen many threads like this and there were always so many good ideas, so hoping There is a perfect place for us too.
We are currently in a London suburb and looking to move out.
What we are looking for is a town with low crime rates, generally feeling safe and good schools. The property itself doesn’t matter as much, but we need 3bed and would love to have a nice garden for DC.

These are the challenges though:
Budget of 400k, I need to factor in commuting costs
Commute: I have to get to Canary Wharf most days and to Liverpool Street/Bank some days
DH works in Ealing and drives
We are of foreign background, so multicultural aspect matters too

It is possible?

Tunbridge Wells has an easy commute to Canary Wharf, there's a coach! (I love the coach.) And train not too bad either.

Ware in Herts or Bishop's Stortford maybe - not sure how multi-cultural they are but would have thought Stortford was due to close to Stansted. Rail costs maybe high though - Ware is probably the safer of two. Further out there's Saffron Walden, very safe, good schools, trains to Liverpool Street from Audley End. Not sure how drive to Ealing would be - possibly pretty awful.

Woking? Fast train to Waterloo for jubilee line. 24 miles to Ealing but not sure what the journey time would be in rush hour....

Petersfield
Fleet
Liphook
south Basingstoke
Bramley

all good comp schools
all train lines to Waterloo
all near the M3 / A3M
Hampshire is a very tolerant county

I’d have a look at somewhere that will be on cross rail too. As Buxbaum says there are loads of stations up to Maidenhead that would work - Burnham, Taplow, Maidenhead etc and lots of lovely towns and villages nearby especially if you don’t mind a short drive to the station. The central part is operational from Dec this year. Trains along that line go very regularly to Paddington. Once you’re there it’ll be 17mins to Canary Wharf on cross rail. Then end of next year it’ll be all one train journey. There are also direct trains to Ealing from that line or driving in down the A40 isn’t too far.

Have you considered relocating/moving jobs? I only say this because some friends have & were suprised that salaries were actually quite competitive.

Hi! I've recommended these sites to my friends and they've found quite a few appealing and affordable options.

Moat Homes and Property Booking are both great places to look to find nice areas and shared ownership properties to live in. They are very cost-efficient too, so you could it will be a bit easier on the purse rather than buying 100% outright

Hope it helps :)

Given where you work and the budget I’d go for Slough. Surprisingly good schools and although the town itself is a bit ugly surrounded by gorgeous areas

I agree with KeepingBees - East Midlands would be my suggestion! Leicester is a nice, fairly small city with a great multicultural community and some good schools. 400k would get you a very nice house! Alternatively, if you're looking for somewhere more quiet and suburban then Market Harborough (and the surrounding area) would also be worth a look. 400k would get you a lovely house and there are some very good schools in the area although it is much more suburban. Both Leicester and Market Harborough have direct trains into St Pancras which take 1 hour/1 hour and 20 minutes.

Leicester to Ealing is a two-hour drive without traffic!

Seriously, OP. Crossrail.

www.commuterguide.co.uk/counties/lincolnshire/grantham#.WxmYRe4vzIU

Grantham is a nice place - easy links to London. Cheap houses.

Bishops Stortford - nice market town, good schools and an easy straight line commute to Liverpool Street.

You could get a 3 bed small garden in Crofton, an area between Petts Wood and Orpington. Good schools. Safe community. 30 mins to Cannon St on train and a 17 min walk from there to Liverpool St. Compromise is walk to stn is about 15 mins and 1960s architecture but it is nice area. This is an example www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54404046.html

Thank you all, going to do some research now

Most of the pps have clearly never travelled much to Ealing. That's going to be your issue. We drive from Guildford to Ealing regularly and even in the middle of the day of you need to allow an hour. Kent and further into Surrey or Hampshire are going to be even worse.

Could either of you move jobs? Or work more flexibly e.g. 2 days from home? If not, then agree with @Buxbaum, Crossrail is the only way you'll avoid an enormous combined commute.

Am in Horsham, we have a lot of commuters here.

I have a lovely 3-bed semi in Reigate on for 415k. Large garden & potential to extend or add a loft conversion. In catchment of great schools & close to several stations with trains to London. Many people commute from here. No idea of the logistics of where you need to be, just throwing it out there! Good luck!

We cant move jobs unfortunately. DH leaves at 6am though

Sorry, pressed post again.
He leaves really early now and still takes him an hour now. My commute is 1.15 already, so we are ok with an hour commute.

Your best bet is Surbiton, Surrey. 45 minute train journey to Canary Wharf (change to Jubilee Line at Waterloo) and a 36 minute drive to Ealing.

A do-er upper
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54527538.html

I would look at trains going SW from Waterloo - your DH would be able to drive to West London more easily than from towns to the south, and you'd be able to get the Waterloo and City line from Waterloo.

eg. This one

Or this, in Kingston link

you can't live in london, and you can't work out of london. so now it's the big commute. years and years of transport......... ealing and canary wharf are opposite ends of town to please. one of them has to give, then you chose Kent or Hampshire. that's a MINIMUM of 2.5 hrs a day commuting. You probably do 1.5 hrs a day currently.

Don't think about living in East Surrey /Kent and driving West, that stretch of M25 is a disaster.

I'm ESurrey, have always worked South, or East, but never West. Happily flown past the daily queues going the other way. Whenever I have to head to Guildford it's a disaster.

Aside from that, E Surrey is great. Cheaper than the rest of Surrey, stunning countryside, all good.