Move North or Commuter Town Closer to London?

DespairingHomeowner · 02/07/2021 18:28

Where do the 2 of you need to get to for work & how often. By train or car? Max journey time?

And what are you looking for in a house and the area…

London to Manchester is quite a big area 😉

Sum2021 · 06/07/2021 18:43

I reccomend Milton Keynes. Not far from birmingham/manchester etc but also an hours commute. Also for that budget - could get a fairly decent house. If my partner agreed I would move there.

PraiseBee · 06/07/2021 18:47

@Sum2021

I reccomend Milton Keynes. Not far from birmingham/manchester etc but also an hours commute. Also for that budget - could get a fairly decent house. If my partner agreed I would move there.

I don't recommend Milton Keynes at all. My DH and I recently moved away we hated it so much.

Movealongmovealong · 06/07/2021 18:56

I cannot understand why people live in rabbit hutches in London... this is available to you ...

Possingworth Close, Cross in Hand
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/109425698

and you sit in a train for less than an hour if you have to go to the horrible smoke ... this particular area has a wealth of childcare, play groups, great recreation grounds and an incredibly low crime rate.. (we haven't locked out back door in a decade and don't even think I know where the key is..) you really don't need to move to the back of beyond to get a civilised way of life !

Igmum · 06/07/2021 19:22

Manchester is great - welcome OP . On that budget you'd get a nice 3-bed semi and garden in the nicest bits of south Manchester (Didsbury and Chorlton) or much more elsewhere. It's a fabulous place to live. In the Before Times London trains were plentiful but eye wateringly expensive, though you could get cheap deals by booking in advance. Good luck

HidingFromDD · 06/07/2021 21:09

Check commuting costs beforehand. I live south Manchester and pre covid a day ticket to London to get in before 930 was c£300. There will have been some discounts available but not many. Much cheaper if you can travel up midday but then you’d need overnight accomodation.

I love it here but wouldn’t do it if I was self funding twice weekly trips to London

Timperleybell · 07/07/2021 07:11

@Sum2021

I reccomend Milton Keynes. Not far from birmingham/manchester etc but also an hours commute. Also for that budget - could get a fairly decent house. If my partner agreed I would move there.

Milton Keynes is a 3 hour drive to Manchester and a minimum of 90 mins on the fastest train.

Original poster

PeachTea1 · 07/07/2021 08:44

Will have a look at MK, thank you. I’m from Stoke so can appreciate the love / hate nature of a town

I’m on Rightmove daily so will add Chorlton to the list, Didsbury is already on there. In a dream world we’d move Manchester/Cheshire way and live near a train station for easy access to London if needed. Realistically a 2 hour ish commute each way is only going to be something I’d “enjoy” doing if I was only doing it once a week. I’m still wfh, our office is going to decide on the future of things in the coming months. They want to see how we adapt to our new normal but definitely do see the office as part of working life going forward. My office is in Vauxhall for context.

Ive been looking at Hemel Hempstead, Tring, St Albans but we can’t get much more for our money if we were to stay close.

I’m from the countryside and love the convenience of London living - I’d hate to be in the sticks again relying on a car to do anything. If we do move I still want to be able to walk to a good high street - if that will be a thing post covid.

Commuting costs from Stafford, Macclesfield, Wilmslow £7k+ and we’d need a car if we moved so it doesn’t make the move make sense.

@Movealongmovealong that place is lovely but keen to stay north of London as all of our friends / family are north. Yes our flat is small but there’s only 2 of us and we have a garden so enough space for now, we knew it wasn’t a forever home. Just sad my salary won’t be doubling any time soon to be able to afford something bigger locally

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Cowbells · 07/07/2021 09:00

@Movealongmovealong

I cannot understand why people live in rabbit hutches in London... this is available to you ...

Possingworth Close, Cross in Hand
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/109425698

and you sit in a train for less than an hour if you have to go to the horrible smoke ... this particular area has a wealth of childcare, play groups, great recreation grounds and an incredibly low crime rate.. (we haven't locked out back door in a decade and don't even think I know where the key is..) you really don't need to move to the back of beyond to get a civilised way of life !

Pretty as it is, that place is my idea of hell. You don't have your own land to grow your own veg and flowers or to keep guinea pigs sandpit and paddling pool for DC. It's actual pretty tiny. There is nothing nearby. You have to jump in the car every time you want to take the DC around to a friend's house to play or if you need milk or want to go to a fitness class.

I love living where everything you need is walking distance: shops, gym, friends, cafes, cinema. If you look hard there are some great villages and small market towns that have all this where you could get a gorgeous home for 450k, especially near Manchester. But I would factor in the reality of your door to door commute OP, if you will be doing it twice a week every week. If you put 4 bed detached with parking and garden at 450k into Rightmove Greater Manchester area there are 336 results many of which look lovely!

MaggieFS · 07/07/2021 09:05

Do you want a town or more rural?

There are some gorgeous villages around Rugby, which is then less than an hour on the train into Euston and a quick hop down the Victoria line to Vauxhall.

Sounds like you might want to be further north though?

Saltyslug · 07/07/2021 09:11

Do you both need to commute to London? If it’s just a couple of days a week try Cirencester (kemble train station) Cotswolds direction.

Dozer · 07/07/2021 09:17

For us, it came down to job opportunities. Where are you likely to need / want to work? Would want to be within reasonable travel time/cost for that.

Also bear in mind that if you want DC it can be very difficult for both partners to commute, if jobs require you to be in a specific location 4 days + a week. We’ve done it with two DC (moved from London to commuter belt when youngest was tiny) and although we really like where we live, commuting has been detrimental to health and relationships! And IME my career.

I know a LOT of local mums who took a huge pay cut or quit work because of similar strains. (Fathers not willing to do that, always the mums!)

Africa2go · 07/07/2021 10:21

I've done the MK - London commute, it was pretty standard. There are some perfectly pleasant villages / small towns out towards Northamptonshire (in and around Towcester for example) - 20 min drive into MK and then commute into Euston. Frequent trains, 35 mins or so into London etc.

Now live in Manchester - I think the price of housing in those parts of Northamptonshire is actually cheaper than most of the nice parts of Manchester, so financially, it doesn't make sense to move so far North with the cost of the commute on top. However, I'd still opt to live in Manchester rather than MK and the surrounds, so for quality of life, its definitely worth considering.

You'll just have to do your homework - Stockport is easy for commuting now as it has a massive car park right next to the station and probably easier to get to than Wilmslow from parts of Manchester. About 2 hrs 15 into Euston.

Ozanj · 07/07/2021 10:54

@PeachTea1

We’re currently in London but my partner is tired of London life and really stressed out with work / current flat etc so I think a move is on the cards!

Budget 450k, we’re currently in zone 2 in a one bed flat with a garden. I’m open to commuter towns on the outskirts of London (although amazed that it wouldn’t get us much more space and we would then need to pay to commute) and we’re also debating being based on the Manchester to London train line and commuting in the two days I need to be in the office. The added bonus of moving north is my family live this way and my partner in particular would love to be around them - they get on really well!

Would love some advice - does anyone know what Stafford is like as a place to live / commute from? Or are there commuter towns closer to London worth considering?

Midland towns close to good train routes eg Bedford, MK, Leicester, Market Harborough are all options with that budget.

Ozanj · 07/07/2021 10:56

I used to live in MK and commute to London Bridge everyday. Used to take 45-50mins max each way (including commute time - if you stay in MK proper you don’t really have traffic during London commuting times) which was quicker than many parts of London.

BringMeTheCoffee · 08/07/2021 16:43

Have you considered Welwyn Garden City, Hitchin, Letchworth Garden City, Stotfold?

Besides Hitchin, you could buy a reasonable sized house close to the countryside and with excellent commuter links into London.

Stotfold and Lower Stondon have a lot of new housing developments at the moment.

Original poster

PeachTea1 · 08/07/2021 22:46

Thanks @BringMeTheCoffee had looked at WGC but not familiar with the other places mentioned, will have a nose.

@Dozer I love my job and can see myself being with the company for a long time so do need easy access to London. I’m hoping that I’ll be wfh at least 3 days a week which should help if / when we decide to have children

@MaggieFS I’m keen for a town vs a village. Would love a good high street, we currently live 5 minutes from some great restaurants and a small shopping centre and I’d miss the convenience of these things if we’d live somewhere remote. I’d love somewhere like St Albans - we just can’t afford it 😅

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Subbaxeo · 09/07/2021 09:10

I would look at places near Crewe-Nantwich is a very pretty market town and as it’s South Cheshire, more affordable than Manchester. Crewe is great for reasonable trains to London. Further north-Hartford will get you something nice for 450. Train station one stop from Crewe on Birmingham to Liverpool line and Greenbank for Manchester. Hartford very nice vibe, very good schools, good places to eat, Waitrose at Northwich and Delamere 5 minutes away. Lots of families and quite desirable.

Subbaxeo · 09/07/2021 09:12

Nantwich would get you something very nice. Sandbach very lovely town too.

Funf · 09/07/2021 17:28

Have you looked at Widnes, Warrington etc? A bit cheaper but still on the main line to London.
Just over an hour from North Wales lakes etc

Toomuchtrouble4me · 10/07/2021 10:02

St Albans or Harpenden.
Beautiful elegant towns with mainline station direct to London NW or Central.
Great schools/,eateries/ entertainment and under 25minutes from West Hampstead NW London by train. 40 min drive.

Toomuchtrouble4me · 10/07/2021 10:03

Harpenden better schools - for which you pay a property premium. With no children I’d go for St Albans.

Subbaxeo · 10/07/2021 10:37

I don’t think you’ll get much for 450 in St Albans-agree it’s a lovely, elegant town-not expensive compared to London but budget wouldn’t go far here.

SweetOrange1 · 19/08/2021 14:29

Hey @PeachTea1
Your situation is virtually the same to mine. Did you have any luck looking into any of the areas or discover any new ones since these last few posts?

Thanks

Original poster

PeachTea1 · 21/08/2021 19:34

@SweetOrange1 we quite like Holmes Chapel and think it would be a contender if we head north.

St Albans is definitely our favourite London commuter town but sadly way out of our price range!

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