Where to live that's commutable to London?

[HeyyyMrNoodle]

I've recently started a new job that has an office in London, and they are happy for people to move to work out of that office instead of my local one.

Can anyone recommend some family friendly areas that are a commutable distance to London?

Criteria is:

• 3 bedroom minimum with a decent garden
• budget is £550k max (aware this may not be much for down south!)
• I'll need to commute to Waterloo 2x a week
• very occasionally my husband will need to get to Bristol (longer journey is fine as this is likely to only be once or twice a year)
• amenities such as cafes/restaurants/nice parks nearby with preferably some good shopping not too far away
• our family are in Manchester so maybe north or west of London would be best to occasionally drive back up? This is less important though
• we have one nursery aged child so in a couple of years will need to think about schools
• one important criteria is that my husband doesn't drive so need public transport, schools, nursery, etc to be easily accessible

I've wanted to move to/near London for years but for some reason never done it and now have the opportunity to. Our mortgage is up for renewal in just over a years time so it could be a good time to move. I've just realised since having my child that where we are doesnt offer as much opportunity for her as I would like as there isn't much around where we live, it's just a bland commuter town with not much going on!

Caterham is 45 mins to London Bridge then a quick two stops on the underground to Waterloo, and you should be able to get 3 or 4 beds for your budget. Good area with children and good schools too.

Tonbridge has an excellent train service into Waterloo and Charing Cross for your commute and for days/evenings out in London. Your budget would get you a decent 3 bed with garden, easy access to lovely countryside, an hour from the coast, good schools. Tunbridge Wells also worth considering although your house budget won't go as far, its probably doable.

TH isn't great crime wise for

and doesn't have a great high street

Basingstoke- great access to Winchester and London (fastest 45 mins to Waterloo and regular) but affordable so more for your money definitely. Decent shopping mall and a high street. Loads of surrounding villages are beautiful and even possible to walk to the station from Old Basing village. Great countryside for walks. I like Reading but I think Basingstoke is calmer with less crime.

I was thinking Epsom too.

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/63532685/?search_identifier=35d8451a7a75136f11f9643172f0c999

Guildford sounds like a great place for you. About 40 min train to Waterloo and loads going on locally.

Around when we live, Staines, would tick a lot of your boxes. It's 35 minutes to Waterloo by four fast trains per hour and a bit longer on the two slower trains.

For Bristol, it's 2 hours by car or you can go by train via Reading.

Manchester is 3 hours by car or by train (via Vauxhall and Euston).

£550k for 3 beds sounds reasonable - you could probably stretch to 4 beds on that budget.

Plenty of cafes, restaurants and parks.

Nursery should not be a problem.

Fast forwarding to when your DC's are older - it's a brilliant place to be a teenager.

Highly recommend the borough of Sutton, which includes area like Wallington, Belmont, Cheam etc. S/SW London.
Some lovely areas (do your homework, some not so nice parts too), easy commute to central, affordable in your budget. Also has 5 excellent grammar schools, if your DC are academic high achievers (and you're keen on grammars, I know some people don't like the idea of them).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LondonBoroughhofSutton

@FormerlySpeckledyHen you have to be really careful in Windsor (and Staines too as someone mentioned) - we have just moved back to Bath from Windsor (did a stopgap there after coming back from overseas) - the flight path noise is pretty unavoidable in the whole area- and it's pretty bad for large swathes of time from 4.40am ! and we had a double whammy with Legoland traffic too. I didn't like it at all -

This is nice in Godalming OP - very lovely town , very handy for Guildford, on train, in budget -

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/124119767#/?channel=RES_NEW

Your budget would be doable for some London boroughs, especially if you're willing to consider garden flats. You sound like you would enjoy being in London often and you'll get more out of it without the hassle of a train journey every time you want to go in. Agree with pp that it's useful to have a fallback transport option as rail is down frequently enough to need it - strikes, storms, leaves, signal failures, engineering works. There are advantages to being in the TfL zones, it tends to be cheaper than rail fares and children travel for free. Schools in London are generally good (although check what would be your nearest ones) and council amenities like leisure centres, children's centres and libraries are often better than outside (and easy to get to ones in nearby boroughs if yours aren't as good). Public transport in suburban towns can be pretty dire even if they have good links to London, getting around locally can be very difficult if you're not a driver. If you do go for a town outside London, I'd prioritise getting a driving licence for your DH if possible (I can't drive for medical reasons and it's one thing that makes living outside London not an option for us).

It's worth a trawl through Rightmove to see what you'd get for your money. Your budget could get a 3 bed house in areas like Sydenham, Streatham, Leytonstone, Tooting, Chingford, Walthamstow, Bromley. If you'll consider a garden flat in a house conversion, you could consider some more desirable/central areas like Crouch End, Tulse Hill, Kensal Rise, Honor Oak, Muswell Hill, South Wimbledon, Forest Hill, Arnos Grove. I wouldn't consider a leasehold flat (in a big block) though, as I've had leasehold flats and you have less control over costs.

you could get a smaller place and live in London. We got a 2 bed in Tottenham for 400k with our own garden just last year!

you can always move out a bit in a few years! Plenty of areas still you could get a place with your budget

Essex here and have commuted into London for 8years now.

Depends on how far out you want to be. I'm currently 35mins from fenchurch street on the c2c line.

We are looking to buy wakering/shoebury way to be closer to the coast but still able to commute.

More great suggestions, thanks so much! All the links and particularly the lists of areas and postcodes are so helpful.

I'm honestly surprised at how close to London we could be for our budget, I thought we'd have to be way further out!

Thanks again everyone!

Look at woolwich- certain parts are ok. This is a 3 bed on shooters Hill, 1.5 miles to Elizabeth line or bus to North Greenwich or Blackheath for travel to Central London about an hour to Waterloo.

Blackheath and Greenwich on your doorstep, clipper boats to central london. Oxleas Woods 10 minutes walk for beautiful walks and views. 20 minutes drive to Bluewater for excellent shopping facilities but there are many supermarkets nearby.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/127917032#/?channel=RES_BUY

I was going to suggest Market Harborough in south Leicestershire but may be too far for you.

Kettering is less than hour too but the town and facilities are shite.

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/property/hampton-wick/?q=Hampton+Wick%2C+London&search_source=facets&price_max=550000&beds_max=3&beds_min=3&feature=has_garden&is_auction=false&is_retirement_home=false&is_shared_ownership=false&property_sub_type=semi_detached&property_sub_type=flats&property_sub_type=detached&property_sub_type=terraced&property_sub_type=bungalow&radius=3&view_type=list

Zooplankton Surbiton Kingston Hampton. With your search criteria. All with good schools and excellent trains to Waterloo

Lower sunbury. Quite pretty and by the river thames. 40 minutes into London waterloo.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E96888&minBedrooms=3&maxPrice=550000&sortType=1&propertyTypes=detached%2Csemi-detached%2Cterraced&includeSSTC=true&mustHave=&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=

also the benefits of being in London is cheaper travel

Thornton Heath could be a good option for you - it's in walking distance to Crystal Palace with a huge park, nice cafes and good schools etc

Thornton Heath is nowhere near as nice as some of the places mentioned on this thread.

London has everything for everyone.

South Norwood would be a better option, 12 minutes to london bridge from Norwood Junction

OP is your dream is London, you can definitely afford within its boroughs, and you also need to take into account the commuting costs of some of the other suggested areas which would be huge