Commutable distance to London

[IncorrigibleTitmouse]

Hello all

I’m planning a move back to the UK after about 10 years overseas. I’ll be bringing my non-UK spouse with me, who has never lived in the UK but has visited. He really wants to live in London. I’m trying to explain why this is probably out of the question. My salary for my job will be in the range of £40-60k which just isn’t enough to buy a 2 bed anything in London, realistically.

My family is all in a different part of the UK, no interest in living there, but it’s within 100 miles of London anyway so no big deal for occasional visits.

Does anyone have any ideas on places that are within a 30 minute - 1 hour commute to London where we’d be able to buy a 2 bed flat or house in a nice area in the £250-300k range?

Where in London would you commute to? Big difference between an office near Kings Cross and one near Canary Ward.

Canary Wharf (!!)

I’m not sure yet. We’re looking to move back in the next year or so and I’m researching jobs in London because it’s where the best opportunities are in my field.

As long as they’re commutable to a hub like Kings Cross, Euston, Liverpool St, Paddington etc I can make it work!

Maybe Bishops Stortford or Sawbridgeworth (much smaller) but you need to take into account commute costs and commute times will vary a lot with where you are working in London. Very easy to spend 30 minutes commuting across London.

I would think you are better renting first and looking round and doing a lot of research on commute costs, things like crime, schools if you might need those. Local newspapers can give an idea as well as official stats. For property Rightmove is a good search tool, it also links to some area information.

Thank you @Silkiescat I’ll take a look! When I lived in London years ago I commuted from one of the northernmost parts of zone 6 to London Bridge, which was a mission! I was renting in a shared house back then because I was in my early 20s.

I’m really hoping that work will carry on being at least partly remote in the future to try to keep commuting to a minimum! We definitely want to take advantage of London for work, food, culture etc because we’re very definitely city life people. Just wish it didn’t have to come with such an eye-watering price tag!

If I had all the money in the world I’d want a nice flat in a Victorian conversion in the Borough area. A girl can dream!

It’s an hour’s commute from where I am and you wouldn’t get two bed flat or house with that budget, let alone in the nice area. Can you either be further out or look to rent for a while first?

Have a look at Hitchin (trendier)/Letchworth (quieter)/Baldock (smaller) - all next to each other and commutable into Kings Cross.

Ebbsfleet can get you into Kings Cross exceedingly fast - like 20 minutes (though the ticket prices are eye watering). Didcot and Reading are both commutable to Paddington in 45 minutes or less (with fast non stop services), and you ABSOLUTELY can get a flat for the price you want to pay - especially if you consider a new build estate or Help To Buy/mortgage guarantee scheme. However, that's not door to door. Your full commute time is almost going to be doubled by living outside London and commuting in, then getting the tube to the office or a bus. For example: if you work centrally, tack on at least an extra 30 mins to your train times.

Following with interest as I am in the exact same position but already living int he UK

Will your DP be working (even if it is 6 months further down the line)?

You could look at Harlow or Colchester in Essex.
You could also afford a flat in Beckton, Dagenham or Barking with that budget. Then you'd be on the tube/ DLR.

You could get 3 bed house house for that in Leighton Buzzard and the quickest train is half an hour to Euston. But it is very definitely not London so if your partner wants to live in London I wouldn't recommend it.

As PPs have said, it hugely depends where you are going to be working. I live near Didcot, so easy commute into Paddington (45 minutes) which is fine for west London but it would then take me another 40 minutes to commute to the last London office I worked in (in the City).

You need to know where your workplace will be as that will determine which side of London works for you. Not much point deciding to live in Essex (East) if your office is in Shepherd's Bush (west), for example.

Thanks everyone, that’s given me a really good start! I know it’s difficult while I don’t know where exactly I’ll be working. I’ve explained to DH that London proper is probably out of our budget, he just wants to be somewhere we can access all the amenities of London regularly. We both currently have a long commute (45 minutes each way for him, 90 for me) because we live in the suburbs of a large and incredibly expensive city.

In the first instance, yes, I’ll be the only earner. I wish it was easier, but it’s likely to be six months before he can work. I mostly just wanted to start exploring possibilities so I can start some research. I’m hoping most employers will continue with partial WFH so the commute can be limited to a couple of times a week.

As PPs have said, it hugely depends where you are going to be working. I live near Didcot, so easy commute into Paddington (45 minutes) which is fine for west London but it would then take me another 40 minutes to commute to the last London office I worked in (in the City)

That's what Crossrail is all about !!!!

When you say “30 min to 1 hour commute”, do you mean door to door, or that time just on the train? It makes a massive difference where you work - my commute is 16 mins on the fast train, but I come in to one of the north London main line stations, and work in south London (and not even very south at all!), so the door to door commute is an hour. That includes cycling to the station where I live (which would be a 15 min walk because house prices are cheaper than houses within a 5 min walk!). So I would really only plan where to live once you know where you need to get to in London.

Having said that, you can get a 2 bed in Watford for that (16-20 mins to Euston), or your money would go further in Bedford (40 mins on the train to Kings Cross), or the more affordable station towns on the Bedford line, like Flitwick or Elstree. Or on the Watford line but further out, and affordable with your budget, Leighton Buzzard, Bletchley or Milton Keynes.

This website is very handy in helping you work out commuting options into London Commute From

Until you know where you need to get to, it’s almost an impossible question. You either need to choose a workplace and then choose where to live or choose where to live and then let that dictate where you work.

Bear in mind places within walking distance to a station cost more and it’s not uncommon to need to walk at least 10 mins at both ends...often more or to need further transport links. Bear in mind that quickest journeys frequently do to happen so factor in having a back-up route that is also acceptable.

Personally I wouldn’t want the train journey itself to be more than 30-40 mins with all these other factors to consider too. With these other things you’re already looking at an hour minimum and quite likely 1 hr 30 or longer in bad days.

A 1hr commute, for Londoners living in London is absolutely normal and no one raises an eyebrow. It's a huge city, and there are so many variables at play, so as PP said - do you mean door to door or just train journey 'to London'? Because they're quite different!

Just be mindful that if you're out of the TfL zone that whilst housing might be cheaper the commute will get considerably higher. My 4 bed detached house was only £350k and I can get to London in an hour, however doing so 5 days a week would cost more than my mortgage.

I just meant to London itself, not door to door. When I lived in London almost 20 years ago my commute on the tube was 45 minutes to an hour. My current commute is 90 minutes each way.

I’m trying to think of nice places where my DH will be happy, with good transport links. He’s going to spend most of the first six months by himself because I’ll be working. It’s such a lot to think about.

Thanks @Wigeon that’s a great resource!

East Croydon is very cheap for its proximity to London; 15/20 mins from London Bridge, Blackfriars & Victoria, and there are lovely areas to live further down the line if you don't mind adding more time to the commute, eg Sanderstead, Purley, Coulsdon, Caterham

Sutton / carshalton / Wallington you could get a 2 bed flat for that. Zone 6.

Trains into London Bridge / Victoria / also thameslink from Carshalton/ Sutton.

Also not too far on bus to morden for the northern line.

Honestly I would try and rent something small in (say) zone 2/3 for a year.
Enjoy being actually within the city itself.

Then spend a few weekends looking for somewhere to settle further out, once you know where you'll be commuting to.

Or pick a city with a bit going on in its own right (bearing in mind that will make it a bit more expensive- Brighton? Cambridge? They'd be my picks) and only go into London occasionally.

Flitwick in Bedfordshire
Maidstone in Kent (or villages around)
Paddock Wood