Moving out of London - where to?

[bertiebadger]

DH and I currently live in a small 2 bed flat in very central London with a baby on the way. We are trying to shortlist places that we might like to move to in a year or so. Budget hopefully 500-600k or so.
DH grew up in beautiful rural Scotland and is craving more green space. I grew up in north London and love our friends, the community and the general feel. We're both liberal sorts of people.
Key points for us would be:

1. Good commute to London (city area, DH to Canary Wharf or city)
2. Feeling of space and greenery - decent sized house and garden and green space around
3. Fun young families - not too much Daily Mail!

I'd be very grateful for any thoughts!

Oh and loads ofe moving down from London so it’s very friendly and there’s a great community here...

@Cuttinginfine sounds really good! Will investigate - thanks!

Where's that place the dreadful Mother of Daughters moved to? Reckon you'd get quite a bit for your money down there, and doubt any DM readers hang around there either.

Was it Ramsgate?

Look at Sevenoaks and the surrounding areas such as Eynsford . All easily commutable and quick to London but also lovely areas

@Growingboys

Where's that place the dreadful Mother of Daughters moved to? Reckon you'd get quite a bit for your money down there, and doubt any DM readers hang around there either.

Was it Ramsgate?

Yes Ramsgate. I don’t follow them but I live about 40 minutes away from there. No idea how they managed to make it insta-worthy though as it is not very nice (to put it mildly)

Sevenoaks is a good shout. Pretty villages around it, and much better commute into London than T Wells.

All depends on priorities, small towns offer space but the commute is longer and people are more "daily mail". There's exceptions but if liberal values are important to you then cities are a better option.

Have a look at Forest Row - commute from nearby East Grinstead is 55 mins into Victoria or London Bridge. It's right next to Ashdown Forest for greenery (near Pooh Bridge and the 100 Acre Wood), and has a nice villagey feel. Also has druids as there's a crossing of lay lines somewhere there, and is about half an hour drive to Brighton. A couple of decent cafes, and some eateries and pubs, so there's always somewhere to meet people too.

Disclaimer - I've never lived there, but members of my family do, and I've always thought if I moved out of London I might get a house there!

Somewhere like this would do me

Stanstead Abbotts has got green space and goes direct to Liverpool Street. Ware is on the same line.

Hertford is one stop up and has two stations and is direct to Liverpool Street and Moorgate.

Forest Row is nice, I grew up there. Very alternative/hippie vibe but actually pretty affluent these days. But it’s 15mins from EG and then another hour into London from there.

Oxted is good too, closer in so a shorter commute. Quite pricey and very Tory/DM land though but lovely countryside being right on the foot of the North downs.

Currently in Fleet which is pretty pleasant, nice calm feel but superb mod land all around. 45m to Waterloo. Not cheap but not too bad either.

Another vote for Petts Wood. Good local shops, houses walking distance to shops, supermarkets, restaurants, gym, activities and station. Zone 5. 30 mins to central London, 22 mins to London Bridge. Multiple destinations to Lewisham for Canary Wharf,,Blackfriars, Victoria, LB, Charing Cross, Cannon St. London Borough but feels best of both world of London and country. Diverse range of cultures and people, with good social cohesion and community feel. You’d get a 3 bed semi for your budget or if you need more space a townhouse in crofton.

These are great thoughts. I'm heading to the Petts Wood area today so will check it out!

Why don't you just bite the bullet and move but get somewhere on a mainline train route. York is only 2 hours from London on the train. Lots of fab schools. I think your in danger of getting the worst of both worlds if you're not careful!

A four hour commute (plus walking time and delays where you inevitably miss a train, or signalling problems)! 😬

I think 4 hours might be a bit much, and that's not even counting getting from the station across London and at the other end... I agree York is lovely though.

I'm going to say you aren't going to find a non daily mail place just outside of London unfortunately you are better of staying in London and moving to zone 4 or something or move completely out to another city. Speaking as someone who has made the mistake to one fo these places mentioned and very well described!
We're currently toying with moving far away or back in and cannot decide 😫

@slimecentury sorry to sidetrack but it seems to be that every first time buyer I know is buying outside London for space. I was one of the very few who wound up in North London zone 3 and that was due to a combination of factors- that I was planning a small family, DH and I were ethnic minorities and DH's mum owned a house in zone 3 London unlike most people who have parents who live outside London.

I don't personally know any DM reader types below 30. Surely if all the former Londoners below 40 move outside London, wouldn't this mean that former daily mail type areas become more liberal over time? Surely places like Guildford and St Alban's are more liberal even if they lean Tory.

I wouldn’t describe a lot of these suggestions as liberal! And definitely not Tunbridge Wells... (I have the same demographic criteria as you and, as pretty as it is, I wouldn’t live there.)

Parts of Sussex, definitely. But not a great commute unless Brighton, though? But perhaps not countryside enough for you both?

What about the Kent coast? The liberal, north london types I know who moved out of London mostly all went to the Kent coast - places like Deal, Whitstable.

@bertiebadger how did the visit to Petts Wood go? Any questions do just ask.

Forest Row (by far my strongest recommendation)
Lewes
Alton in Hampshire
St Albans

We had a lovely day! The National Trust parkland was fabulous and it felt incredibly rural! We'll be back to check out the Jubilee Country Park. It still felt quote suburban but we were impressed!

@Desiringonlychild good point I hope so!

Penshurst and the villages around Tunbridge Wells are beautiful also. Tonbridge has a good rail link to London.

Tunbridge Wells actually voted remain and I think it's probably a bit more liberal than most places in Kent. A lot of Londoners have moved there and the stuffy, cliched image is rather out of date.
Surprised no one has mentioned Canterbury, a remarkable Labour outpost and very arty/studenty. The problem with East Kent (Deal etc.) is that it's a hell of a sweat to other parts of the country if you have family/friends there.