Where can we live without a car?

[DespairingInLondon]

We're thinking of leaving London but really do not want to have to get a car.

Our children will be in secondary school soon, so we want them to have social lives but without having to drive them everywhere.

Tell me about the places you know within about 2 hours of London where you truly can live without a car. Frequent, reliable public transport, safe cycling options, walk to town centre and shops, etc.

It's further away than 2 hours but Birmingham

Kingston? It's almost London but has Richmond and Bushy Parks, Hampton Court and the Thames for breathing spaces. Shops and schools within walking distance or short bus ride. Has its own cinemas, restaurants, leisure centre, sports and sailing clubs, theatre, nightclubs and a very very good indie music shop that puts on super-cheap gigs by well known bands. Pretty much all you need. I love Kingston.

Chipping Norton?
Beautiful property, lovely high street with independent shops/ cafes/ pubs but also two large supermarkets (co-op, Sainsbury’s). A good secondary school, leisure centre and also countryside on your doorstep. No station but 15 min bus journey to Kingham station which goes into London.

Sark. No cars allowed, and it's within 2 hours by air

Brighton

I didn't expect to see a small Cotswold town come up! I'd say the infrastructure in the Cotswolds is challenging to make life easy without a car. I think you need mainline train access to make it sensible. A 15 min bus journey to a branch line station means it's going to take ages to get anywhere. And it's the type of community where lots of your friends (and children's friends) are going to live rurally, meaning it's hard to get to them easily.

I think you need a good size town or a city to make it practical - my friend lives in Warwick, which isn't that big, but is right next door to Leamington (which is bigger) and is walkable/cyclable/busable/trainable. Both Warwick and Leamington are on the mainline rail route between London and Birmingham, so you are very well connected, potentially just a few minutes walk from your front door. They are both quite compact towns, so the chances are you will meet people who live within walkable distance (or a bike ride/bus). Good schools (plenty of them), and all the big supermarkets, as well as lots of local shops too. Plenty of choice of bars/restaurants, plus a cinema, and a couple of live band/comedian venues. She doesn't have a car, and manages perfectly well (she used to, but when she moved to central Warwick decided she didn't need it). She does have access to her sister's car if she ever needs one for something, but I can only think of about 3 times when she's borrowed it.

There's loads of options I think. I loved in Leicester for a decade before I could drive and it was very easy. I think it's 90 minutes from london iirc. I assume Birmingham is the same. I'd look at all the midlands cities.

@lunarlandscape I love Kingston too (it is officially a borough of London) but one of the main reasons we'd be leaving London would be so we could afford a nice house and I think KT is expensive.

@Comefromaway Which areas of/near Birmingham would you recommend?

@WhatAWasteOfOranges Sounds lovely but perhaps too small. How frequent is the bus to Kingham? Does it run at weekends? How is transport to other bigger towns, Oxford, Banbury, etc? Are school activities based in the town or do you have to drive to different locations for them or for birthday parties, etc?

Schools will be important as both of ours are pretty academic. So places with good/outstanding mixed (not single-sex), non-religious state schools would be good to know about!

We looked at St Alban's but even though it has buses and the train to London, it still felt like it would, in reality, be challenging without a car. So maybe my expectations are unrealistic, LOL.

@supremelybaffled

Sark. No cars allowed, and it's within 2 hours by air

No airports on Sark - ferry to Guernsey, taxi to airport, flight to mainland = > 2hours journey time IMO.

I would have suggested Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, but it is more than 2 hours from London, although less than that if you fly.

Bristol.
I lived there for 15 years with no car. There's a little train line that connects many neighbourhoods across the city. There's some great bike lanes (in particular the one connecting Bristol to Bath). There are also water taxis in the centre. And there's a shuttle bus running 24 hours a day to the airport. In fact, the traffic in Bristol is so appalling, you wouldn't want a car there!

My wife is Chippy born and bred.
Lovely little town but definitely not the place for a non-car owner, apart from day to day things how about getting to the Horton or JR hospitals etc?
We are moving to Banbury, not as pretty but just about everything you want is there plus there are good links to surrounding towns (and Birmingham & London).
Kidlington is good, still a village (just) but no need for a car there with most things on your doorstep plus excellent public transport links. Also Oxford is close enough to cycle into.

It's only just outside of London but I moved close to Bushey Station in Hertfordshire. Its only a 5 min walk to the station and there are a few small shops (bakery/corner shop/coffee shop) even nearer than that.
I can get the train to London /Watford/Milton Keynes .
There is a high school (academy) around 15 min walk and Watford which has shops/cafe/cinema/bowling/escape rooms is 25 min walk or 1 stop on the train.
We are also on the edge of countryside and there are lots of paths for walking and cycling .
We do have a car but are always contemplating getting rid of it as we use it so rarely - we moved from London and I think I've used the car less here!

York. Two hours from London by train Compact city, good cycle routes, fairly frequent buses in the city (though not as good in the nearby villages), and well -connected to the rest of the UK by train. There’s also a car club in the city, which is handy for those occasional times when you need a car.

Norwich?

Cambridge and Oxford. Both have great secondary schools too and they're big enough to entertain teenagers amply. And they can go to London easily (as can you).

Cambridge also has Standsted on its doorstep too for holidays without having to traipse half way across England to get to the airport on the first day of half term...

I definitely wouldn't move to Chipping Norton with teenagers and no car! It's a village - your kids would never forgive you. :)

You need a certain density of population to make good public transport cost effective. So that tends to be cities. And they tend to be expensive.

I wouldn't do Chipping Norton without a car. Beautiful place; but it's a village.

Birmingham... you could do without a car, depending on whereabouts you can afford to live, but I know a decent amount of people who live there and 95% of them have and use cars.

York and Cambridge are good suggestions, I've been to both without a car and been fine. Newcastle is another good suggestion if the two-hour window is flexible.

Within 2 hours of London because one of you works there? If jobs are moving with you, really any city would probably do - unless you're working in a neighbouring city. E.g. I have lived car-less in Liverpool for donkeys years but commuting to Manchester is a pain (on the train AND in the car). If I worked in the city where I live it would be fine.

Lots of people live in city and town centres across the country without cars! Taxis and car clubs can expand your options.

It does sound like you want the rare beast of a large cheap house walking distance to a station that is less than 2 hours travel time to London and a thriving centre plus catchment for a good secondary.

What budget and size of house are you after?

Cambridge and Oxford are both 1 hour on the direct train to London, if that helps. If one of you is commuting the annual ticket is ££££ though.

Milton Keynes

Live within walking distance of any market town centre and the secondary school. They can walk to school and walk to meet their friends. Just because you have a car doesn't mean you are obliged to ferry them around if everything is in walking or bus ride distance.

York apparently has an amazing PT system. Not 2 hours away.

PP said Brighton, I second that and add Hove. You can live within 10 mins walk of a station, shops inc big supermarket, parks, And the sea. Has good PT, cycle lanes galore, decent schools. Buses up to the Downs for countryside. Plus Brighton festival, Artist Open Houses 2 months a year, lots of culture.

However you said something about expensive houses and they generally are that. Portslade on the west edge of Hove and Shoreham would be less so, and Worthing. Chichester v nice, the Southern answer to York, some say.

Cambridge. So flat and good cycle provision. can get from one side of the city to the other in less than 30 mins. I know quite a few families there that don't have/ need a car.