Move North or Commuter Town Closer to London?

[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?

Don't forget to factor in your commute to a mainline station, London to Manchester is 2 hours, you would need to get into city centre from south Manchester and it would add an extra hour if you booked onto a particular train. You might be better off somewhere in Cheshire with a direct train to London.

I know you love your job now - but what if you/DH want to change jobs? Are all your contacts/industy London based - in which case what about if the wfh are less with a new company?

Realistically unless you live next door to the main Trainline that is around 6 hours of commuting a day door to door. In your shoes, I would come to Manchester for a week, and travel back to London to work for 2-3 days to see what it’s like in reality.

At the moment it’s looking like we’ll stay in London / move to the surrounding areas when we need more space. In a dream world we’d move Cheshire way and have jobs in Manchester. My job is very London centric but my company are embracing wfh so there could be the option to commute once a week / a couple of times a month depending on where we end up.