Moving out of London - I know, another thread!

[three2four]

Hello,

My husband and want to move out of London for more space and a garden. Our budget £550-600k and we would like 4 bedrooms, two receptions and a nice garden. Only problem is we have yet to narrow down the area from the following:
Essex - Chelmsford, Colchester,
Reading
Surrey
Kent - Canterbury...
As it's so wide and we have absolutely zero idea of these areas it's proving to be really hard.

We're a family of soon to be 4 so areas good for young kids (eldest is 18 months), great state schools like proximity to a good high street. A nice mix of people (I know this won't be a diverse of London, but at least something! I don't want to turn up to a hostile area where it's clear me and the babes won't be welcome) as I am black and husband is white.

Our jobs are in Hammersmith and central London (Leicester sq) but we won't have to commute everyday. So good transport links to London.

I know this post is quite chaotic but imagine being in my head with my late night Zoopla binges!

Does anyone have suggestions of areas to look at within the above locations? Any property links would be fab. I'm hoping your collective hive brain can help. Thanks in advance guys.

To me, it makes more sense to commute in from the west for Hammersmith/Leicester Square.
Reading is diverse so you'll have no issues there.

I can only advise with Essex.

With Colchester, AVOID Greenstead at all costs. Seriously it's not a nice place, a very rough estate. Colchester is a real funny mix as you have the university, so lots of students, the barracks, so lots of soldiers and then a real mix of both rough and affluent parts.

The town centre in Colchester is really struggling (even before COVID) but the upside is there's some lovely things for children, such as Castle Park (next to Colchester Castle). There's some nicer parts such as Highwoods, but i always thinks Highwoods is a bit of a yummy mummy estate... not sure if that's for you. Wivenhoe is beautiful but beware that a lot of students rent there which I think can occasionally cause issues for the locals. Overall my opinion of Colchester is that is has gone downhill.

Chelmsford on the other hand has more of a thriving town centre. Lots of shops, restaurants, they have invested in the new 'Bond Street', which is a high end part of the town centre (a Cath Kidston, Hotel Chocolate etc). Work opportunities are better in Chelmsford IMO (can't talk for every sector), it's also a very busy train station and commuter town because it's 30 minutes to London Liverpool Street (Colchester is 60 minutes... both are on the same train line). Chelmsford reminds me a bit of a mini London at times. House prices in Colchester are cheaper as it's further from London than Chelmsford.

If you are looking for a more quiet area, I would really recommend looking at some of the places on the outskirts of Colchester. There are loads and loads of small towns and villages and some really beautiful ones. Give Dedham a google to see what I mean.

Reading is about 25 minutes to Paddington, or there is the longer stopping train to Waterloo, plus Crossrail due to open soon so it has good rail links. Plus it's right next to the M4 and near the M40. You will get a house within your budget. But it's a bit marmite and essentially a rather dull commuter town. I'd be looking at Caversham, Twyford or Henley to get an area with essential shops and a nice feel. Culturally there isn't much going on but it's easy enough to go to London in the evening as it's so close.

i think you start with the job needs. Even if 1/2 days a week, commuting to Hammersmith from Essex will be quite exhausting, to go in and across London. Reading will be ideal.

Avoid Surrey, very expensive
I second staying west, but there are far nicer options to Reading...get the train map and work along the line from Paddington to the West and start looking at places close to the stations...
That should be your starting point..

@twilightcafe

To me, it makes more sense to commute in from the west for Hammersmith/Leicester Square. Reading is diverse so you'll have no issues there.

Thanks Twilight. Any specific areas you'd look into?

@Dragongirl10

Avoid Surrey, very expensive I second staying west, but there are far nicer options to Reading...get the train map and work along the line from Paddington to the West and start looking at places close to the stations... That should be your starting point..

Thanks Dragongirl. My family and friends are south London and im not sure if the Hammersmith job will still be an option once back from mat leave in end 2022. So still feel pretty flexible.

Thanks Sparkling for your detailed response. We have a prospective viewing in Chelmsford and Ingatestone. Happy to know that's it's preferable to Colchester. Any knowledge of Ingatestone?

@tiredteacher100

Reading is about 25 minutes to Paddington, or there is the longer stopping train to Waterloo, plus Crossrail due to open soon so it has good rail links. Plus it's right next to the M4 and near the M40. You will get a house within your budget. But it's a bit marmite and essentially a rather dull commuter town. I'd be looking at Caversham, Twyford or Henley to get an area with essential shops and a nice feel. Culturally there isn't much going on but it's easy enough to go to London in the evening as it's so close.

Thanks tiredteacher. I'll definitely do some searches in your suggested areas.

How about Milton Keynes and Leighton Buzzard? Does any know any particular areas that should be avoided or areas that they would suggest to look into?

We have a prospective viewing in Chelmsford and Ingatestone. Happy to know that's it's preferable to Colchester. Any knowledge of Ingatestone?

I second everything @Sparklingwine1 said about Chelmsford. It has changed immeasurably for the better in the last 10 years and completely bucked the high street trend of charity shops and barbers. Additionally a new train station is planned in the next 7/8 years which will reduce crowding at the station, which is currently exceptionally busy.

Ingatestone is lovely. A real village, with a good high street and transport. You pay for that, however. The schools in both Chelmsford and Ingatestone are good, and people travel from as far as Stratford to attend both.

I would look at Bucks for west London.

I think you need to look at train stations an commute times.

I would imagine Kent would prove to be a much longer commute in than somewhere like Reading so would look more to the West than East

I'd look at Buckinghamshire too. Reading is a very dull commuter town but there are towns on the M40 corridor that are really nice and the schools are great. Trains into Marylebone, which is fine for Leicester Square (Bakerloo to Piccadilly Circus then short walk) but less so for Hammersmith (you'd have to go to Paddington then change there).

@LoudestCat14

I'd look at Buckinghamshire too. Reading is a very dull commuter town but there are towns on the M40 corridor that are really nice and the schools are great. Trains into Marylebone, which is fine for Leicester Square (Bakerloo to Piccadilly Circus then short walk) but less so for Hammersmith (you'd have to go to Paddington then change there).

Thanks Loudestcat. Any particular areas? I'm terrible and have been in a London centric hole all my life, except for a brief three glorious years in Brighton for Sussex uni.

@ClaudiaWankleman

We have a prospective viewing in Chelmsford and Ingatestone. Happy to know that's it's preferable to Colchester. Any knowledge of Ingatestone?

I second everything @Sparklingwine1 said about Chelmsford. It has changed immeasurably for the better in the last 10 years and completely bucked the high street trend of charity shops and barbers. Additionally a new train station is planned in the next 7/8 years which will reduce crowding at the station, which is currently exceptionally busy.

Ingatestone is lovely. A real village, with a good high street and transport. You pay for that, however. The schools in both Chelmsford and Ingatestone are good, and people travel from as far as Stratford to attend both.

Loving the name! Thanks for the Chelmsford backing too. Would you know any starting points for Chelmsford? Is around the station a good areas for example? Thanks!

@Dragongirl10

Avoid Surrey, very expensive I second staying west, but there are far nicer options to Reading...get the train map and work along the line from Paddington to the West and start looking at places close to the stations... That should be your starting point..

I used this technique, worked very well.

don't forget crossrail is coming to that side of London -so look at that map too because that will make both your journeys a lot more pleasant!

@BollocksToRain

don't forget crossrail is coming to that side of London -so look at that map too because that will make both your journeys a lot more pleasant!

This crossrail thing is a being over-sold. My sister lives quite close to one of the stations on the GWR and there is literally no-where to park so unless you are going to walk, cycle or get a lift it's no better than it was before. In fact they're started painting yellow lines to prevent cars blocking the local roads.

makes a massive difference in terms of journey times though - and given they are commuting into central London, you absolutely need to take it into account (because either way they've got to get to a station 3 days a week)

Would you know any starting points for Chelmsford? Is around the station a good areas for example? Thanks!

Chelmsford is very mixed - the only place I would want to avoid completely is the Melbourne estate as I don't think it has aged well and is quite cut off in relation to the rest of the city. Just across the road however, First to Seventh Aves are nice and well connected. Springfield and Moulsham have some lovely streets and good community feel, although they also have some less nice areas. I think the mix is actually what makes Chelmsford function quite well as a city.

One thing I would always consider, however, is how you would get around. The city is very car focused currently (although good bus services do exist and are all geared up for commuters). The Army and Navy flyover closed in 2019 due to safety concerns and the plans to replace it are still in the planning stage. The resulting work and whatever solution they choose could really affect the feel of the area.

Rightmove do a where should I move to option where you put in where you need to get to and in what sort of times and how much you want to spend and it throws up areas which can get to multiple places within the time.

I would suggest looking at Windsor

The thing is your area is just potentially vast ! You really need to narrow it down a bit. I know Surrey and Kent quite well but ...

Surrey - there are loads of commuter towns from areas such as Epsom and all those surrounding areas to much further out. Mostly going into London Waterloo which then is not great for Hammersmith.

You mention Canterbury but depending upon where the train can be fast into St Pancreas circa 1 hour or slow 1.5 hours into Victoria. But you need to be near the station. Again lots of places in Kent further into London where commutes are not as bad.

What I did when I moved from SW London when my sights were initially on Kent (which subsequently changed to Hampshire) was look at the commuter guides for each county as to where the train stations were. My partner needs (or did need) to commute into London so we decided max journey on train 1 hr 10mins or so. We then visited literally every place down the train line further away from London on days out and decided where we liked and did further research. But I knew Kent quite well and he knew Hampshire so it was easier to immediately determine those places we were interested in and those we were not.

I really think to narrow this down you have to decide on the commute element or how long, don't forget to factor in that the further you are away the cost of the train ticket and don't underestimate this - they are very expensive indeed. For instance my partner in normal times spends £500 per month with a season ticket. Train 1hr 6mins into Waterloo and then the tube a couple of stops. If there are two of you doing this - even if not 5 days a week it certainly adds up alongside the time of commuting. Therefore, it's not just the cost of the property but also the cost of commuting. This could then lead you to discover that you might be better on the outskirts of london in the more leafy suburbs. Again for instance Hayes near Bromley would give you a better commute than Canterbury, good schools but is a suburb of London bordering on Kent if you see what I mean.

Hampshire good for schools. Winchester is just under an hour to Waterloo. Full of ex Londoners and child friendly.
Obviously look at other places around Hampshire but Winchester is central so a good starting point for a search. Look at places with a station if you are commuting. So follow the rail lines for your search .

The commute from Essex to Hammersmith would be pretty horrendous, even if you weren't doing it everyday. I suspect Kent might be the same, some of the train links from Kent into London are very slow. Surrey is incredibly expensive, and you might struggle to get something that fulfils the brief for your budget. As you're both heading into West London I'd be looking at areas in Buckinghamshire close to the Chiltern Railways Network (trains come into Marylebone) and areas in Berkshire close to the GWR network (trains come into Paddington, and Reading falls into this category). I'd also check the quickest train times into central London from any areas that take your fancy as they can vary hugely depending on whether fast trains stop there or not. Would you like to move to a town or a village? Do you envisage walking to the station in the morning, or would you mind driving? Often in this part of the world there are some pretty nondescript towns with lovely villages on the outskirts, but not all of the villages have their own train stations. Perhaps look at some of the pretty villages/areas outside High Wycombe such as Penn or Hughenden (you'd have to drive in and commute from High Wycombe station). Also look at Marlow (a market town that's on a branch line that connects to the mainline into Paddington), Maidenhead (big commuter town, a bit like Reading and on the same trainline) and also some of the villages around Maidenhead such as Cookham, Bourne End and Pinkneys (the first two have a train station, Pinkneys doesn't). If you don't mind going a bit further Henley is a lovely market town that's a bit like a larger version of Marlow, and has trains into Paddington.