Safe family friendly commuter town within 30 min train from London (first time buyers, £450K budget)

[Marghe87]

Not in the process of buying yet but hopefully close enough and we are starting to consider a few options. We have a relatively limited budget of £450K (hoping that prices will also decrease in the upcoming months) and we’d be looking for either a decent sized 2 bed or a 3 bed house. We live in zone 5 in a lovely place and are aware of the fact that we’d have to compromise on location but there are a few main things we need to consider:

• we both work in London so need somewhere with an easy commute and fast enough (we don’t have family supporting with drop off, pick up etc so we need to be able to be in and out fast); I am in central London, DH in West London
• Have a DD who is a toddler and we want to settle somehwere safe and with good state schools, both primary and secondary

In our list of options there are a few places, each with their pros and cons and honestly, feeling a bit stuck as we either go live in a decent area but in a shoebox house or in a nicer house but in a less nice area or somewhere more remote, none of these ideal (when I say less nice I also mean potentially less safe).
Do you have recommendations based on where you live?
So far we have:
Weybridge/Walton on T (fav choice but too expensive, can barely afford a 2 bed house)
Guildford (would need to be very close to the station as commute would take longer and issues with schools pick ups etc… properties also quite pricey and not sure it’s worth the longer and more expensive commute for what we’d get)
Woking (was keen but I keep reading how there is some crime in the town at night, with armes police etc and a few dodgy areas. I want my DD to grow in a safe place, especially in the teenage years and I am a bit concerned with what I read - never been though so will check it out)
Tonbridge/Sevenoaks (good train links, for me especially, but am a bit put off by the grammar schools system and I don’t want our house buying decision to penalise DD in years to come)
Maidenhead (expensive, especially properties near the station)

Where else to look?…

@MotherOfHouseplants (great name btw) to be completely honest, I am
not too much of an expert of the UK schooling system as I am an expact and DD is still at nursery. Based on what I have read, grammars can be very hard to get into and in areas where there is lots of these (like Kent), the other schools might be not as good as the best kids would typically get into the GS. Not sure I want DD to feel the pressure to get into one iykwim - but maybe I am worrying too much?

*expat

If you don't want grammar then Hertfordshire and Essex should work. Broxbourne? Cheshunt? Epping? Tring?

You will have to compromise somewhere. And I would consider swapping to a childminder rather than a nursery as you will have more flexibility on drop off and pick up times.

If you can go a little further out/wfh some days then Didcot, Newbury or Swindon work well and get you a comfortable family home in that budget. But a lot will depend on where you need to get to in London. The more you have to change tubes etc the longer the commute time.

If you have a tube journey where are you going to? The Elizabeth line now goes from Slough straight through to Liverpool st and beyond to Abbey Wood or Canary Wharf. Opens up the whole west to you depending on where you're commuting - I go from Slough to st James park by taking the Elizabeth line to the new Dean Street entrance of the Tottenham Court Road station and walking 10-15 mins down.

@Thingamebobwotsit By the time we buy and move in she won't be in nursery for that long, it's mostly school clubs I worry about as they all tend to finish at 6. I can leave work at 4/4:30ish but if I have a longish commute and there are even minor delays with trains + walking time from station to school, we are going to be too tight. I could consider a childminder after school I guess, we are not there yet so not even looking into options. The thing with the childminders though is that they can get ill or go on holidays whereas other childcare settings tend to be always open at term time. I am also not 100% comfortable leaving her at a stranger's house, although I fully appreciate this is my own personal issue and perhaps something to overcome.

In terms of arrival stations, Waterloo or Charing Cross are the closest to my office; could also have a short tube journey but the Likes of Euston, St Pancras etc are already a bit too far, especially if train journey is longer than 25 min.

Re the childcare piece - the thing with after school clubs is that they often only run during school time, so you have to find something else entirely during holidays. We had the same childminder from babies upwards, and she initially had them all day, then before and after school and also in the holidays (unless we went for a totally different holiday club for a change when they were older). It was really easy, seamless and “home from home” for them - like going around to an auntie’s house. If you find a childminder you trust and like (and there are loads of personal recommendations out there) it’s wonderful. Don’t discount it. But I agree with you about the day length - they may be able to be more flexible but you’ll want to be as close as you realistically can be and avoid really long or unstable commutes to make all your lives easier.
Good luck!

Maybury is relatively cheap because it isn't posh, but it's perfectly safe. I lived there for 15 years before moving to another part of Woking. There is some council/ex council housing and it's close to the mosque, so both these factors put off some people, which says more about them than the area. IMO. Woking in general gets a lot of negative comments because it's not pretty or glamorous, and tbf the local council has been a train wreck for a while, but as a place to bring up a family with a commuting partner, it worked well for us and many others. Wonderful countryside all around, sensible shops, good community.

Or try Epsom, similar virtues but cheaper travel to Waterloo as it has a zone 6 station?

Realistically I think you'll struggle to both be commuting. I know you won't want to hear this.

We live in commuter belt, a bit first out so our fast train is around 40 mins. I know only two couples who attempted to both be in London and it didn't work for either. You just can't get to nursery and on a train and into work in time. They both had full time nannies who came in at 6.30/7am in order to enable to commute.

I've been on that train which is delayed and you're desperately calling around for anyone to pick your child up from nursery before it shuts. The evening trains are not reliable, 15 mins delay here, 20 there, once a month it's a disaster and it's a trip to another station and a taxi home.

I'd say that you're better off staying where you are, your quality of life won't improve as you think it will unless someone drops the London commute

@AnyRandomName that's why I am looking to be somewhere within 30 min from London with frequent trains (for example Woking)... I know a lot of people at work who commute into London with young children, they live in commuting towns within 25-35 min from London mostly and seem to make it work.

I can leave the office at 4pm which allows me enough time to do pick ups and I also WFH a couple of times a week.

Windsor. 10 mins to Slough on the train, get the Elizabeth Line into London, or GWR to Paddington.

Cons: if you are looking for a house at that price in Windsor, it will probably be in the outskirts, and miles from the station

Slough house prices have shot up in value, but you could probably find something within your budget. Looking at the outskirts might be an option - some villages are nice.
Cons: Slough
Pros: Grammar schools, good transport links

I lived in Woking (Knaphill) for many years and I never felt unsafe. I moved when my kids were 2 & 4 yrs old but it's a nice place to raise a family.

Also second looking at Coulsdon, Caterham, Warlingham, South Croydon areas. Good train lines. Zone 6 so not too pricey. lots of school options. Standard suburbs safe and nice countryside. The commuting thing is doable imo. We live in the area and pre-covid both commuted daily with 4 kids. It was fine, if a little stressful if something went wrong with the trains. I got the 5.15 from London Bridge for years and made it back for Nursery pickup at 6pm - have to have a local friend on standby though in case trains messed up. We did switch to a childminder eventually as other said it is more felxible and offers holiday time care as well as term time. Also found that once the kids were at school after school clubs or holiday clubs worked well too.

Fleet is very pricey.

I wouldn’t go for Maybury or Sheerwater. Horsell is good, but more expensive, but if you can get somewhere within walking distance of the station, that would help commuting costs. Less expensive areas outside Woking will add time to the commute.

Would you consider a large 3 bed flat or a garden maisonette? That could open up some really great options in terms of areas.

I think given the restrictions of the London terminus needing to be Waterloo or Charing Cross, your partner working in west London, and 30 minute commute the areas which will fit will be very expensive (as what you’d like is want everyone wants). I’m guessing a bit here but I would think that houses in areas that fit the bill would likely be £600k+

Epsom and Sutton are in zone 6 and a reasonable commute.

Stevenage will work. 20 mins into Kings X and you'd find something within budget in some of the "naice" areas such as Great Ashby. Lovely countryside surroundings. Hitchin is also a good shout and a gorgeous town with a station on the same line as Stevenage (one stop up). Cobbled, pretty, lots of pubs and good restaurants. Higher value properties than Stevenage.

Hanwell? In London W7 zone 3/4. Hanwell station on the Elizabeth line so easy access to central London.
3 bed townhouse here for 460k

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/130886831

There are about 7 properties showing at your price level but you'd need to check how near the station they are. The one above is very close.

@KirstenBlest I saw a lot of lovely 2 bed properties in Windsor within budget but based on train journey calculations, it seems that train commute would take overall 1 hour, plus walking time to the station and tube to work. This would be overall a 1.5 hr commute, which would make life too hard unfortunately, unless I am missing something??

@TheFormidableMrsC forgive my ignorance, I am saying this just based on what I have heard from a colleague at work but I thought Stevenage was quite rough?

With the new Elizabeth line it should take less than hour to get into Liverpool Street from Windsor. If you were to live here for example

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/129830624#/?channel=RES_BUY

it would be a 10 min walk to station. Windsor is great for primary/middle schools but we will be going out of windsor for high school for our girls.

@justanotherhappyflunkie I'd get off at Paddington as am in Central London.
Why, are high schools not good over there?

It would be a lot quicker then to Paddington.

Windsor Girls has mixed reviews, friends of ours have had terrible experiences. They don't push sports which isn't right for my girls. We're going private for year 9.

Windsor Boys has a good rep but I think you have a DD.

I second Sutton - definitely houses within budget there, well connected and great schools on doorstep.

Sutton, Epsom, Woking

surbiton if you are going for flats - 15/20 min fast train to Waterloo, or even shorter to Vauxhall to get tube