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?…

@Marghe87 not many no- but you only need one!

@Crikeyalmighty ehehe yes, but I just figured the chances of securing a property are very, very slim

I'm in West Byfleet (so between Weybridge and Woking) £450k is a bit tight but not impossible. I bought for less but my house is small. There's a small estate called Brantwood that you'd be able to afford. Schools are great, there's a waitrose and train to Waterloo and you're close enough to have the benefits of Weybridge if you like the area.

Woking isn't unsafe but some parts of Maybury are a bit run down. School places is an issue with some parts of Woking as there aren't enough spacea. West Byfleet is very well served with schools. You could also try New Haw (which is a bit cheaper, our plan is to go there in the future for a bigger houae) some parts are practically West Byfleet and close to west Byfleet Station.

OK, I get it about the commute. I always find it's best to think in terms of door to door. Something that tripped me up (and I've lived in the SE most of my life) is the extra half hour the dropping to school and picking up adds on - as sadly "near to station" has never been a consideration when UK schools were built! Plus the constant need to have a car parked either near the station or near school.

There are many Mumsnetters who claim to drop and collect their DC without using a car, but they presumably have more flexible hours than me (ironically I'm a teacher - school hours are such a pain for us - never any early enough starting childcare!) I suppose it would be possible to use taxis to speed things up. I've sometimes had to do that.

@Marghe87 Not necessarily- just depends who is looking when you are- our current rental house in Bath would normally have flown out the window-lovely Edwardian semi , gorgeous interior but we were the only ones who offered in the right time frame - it was just timing- when we looked 6 months before - there was naff all suitable , worth keeping an eye out in Hampton though as clearly those little 2 and 3 bedders are in the right ballpark for you

@Marghe87 I do wish you loads of luck though as to be frank it's bloody ridiculous that anyone struggles to get even a modest family home in Greater London and a 20 mile border round it at £475 k and with 2 decent jobs.

I would recommend Eltham/Shooters Hill area. Good schools, lots of green spaces.20- 25 min on the train to London Bridge or Charing cross, or a quick bus ride to Woolwich for Elizabeth line. You might be able to get a 3 bed that requires some work in your budget.

If Woking is too rough for you, definitely don't go for Reading. Though Woking isn't actually bad in terms of crime.

Honestly, the Woking line trains are a massive help. Eg tomorrow between 4.25 and 5.25 there are 10 trains, 6 of which are 24-34 mins. There are many annoying things about commuting but at least the trains are very very good compared to many places, and as they’re a variety of lines, it’s very rare that there’s been an unexpected issue or you just can’t get home. Especially if you have flexibility, which it sounds like you do. West byfleet also a great shout. It’s not just maybury in Woking - it looks like there are some terraces near Goldsworth School (a primary) which is a great school, not too far to walk to the station.
And if you can walk or hop on a bus to your office from Waterloo that’s a big help - nice not to have to descend underground if you don’t have to.

Hampton wick has around 6 trains per hour and only 4 are 30 mins ish. It’s only 2 per hour to Hampton. We lived near there and it was a pain. Very nice and cute but for flexible fast commuting I’d prefer elsewhere.

I second Hanwell. It is a great place to live. Great schools and beautiful green spaces like the bunny park and fab canal walks.

@ganggangrosey and @lilacclementine I heard that Hanwell is a nice location but the high street used to be quite depressing. Has it got any better in recent years?

Orpington or somewhere else in Bromley - lots of choice of schools (both selective and non-selective).

I can see also why people suggest Woking- it isn't the prettiest place but it is practical and it's great for commuting- it's also super easy into Guildford etc which is great for shopping- but Woking is cheaper on housing

I just don't think you'd manage the commute times specified (esp to West London) AND the house budget in Bromley/Orpington. Plus school situ can be tricky unless you do a great deal of research and have some luck.

They are doing lots of regenerating there at the moment. I guess the high street isn't like Chiswick (which I love), but it is still a great place to live. The Cross rail being there is the icing on the cake.

It was recently voted the best place to live in The Times recently.

Much better than the likes of Woking with the crime ridden Sheerwater.

@Googleplexa we are also going to get a small house so don’t mind the size too much (unless it’s less than 60sqm, which would be too tiny, but anything bigger is acceptable)
@Crikeyalmighty thank you! Yes, it’s very frustrating, we are not rich obv but have decent jobs and an income of over £100K and yet we are not able to afford a decent house within a reasonable commuting distance, something is very wrong with this system

Have you gone on Rightmove and entered Charing Cross in the search and in the filter put + 30 miles? There are just under 7000 2/3 bed houses.

Look at the houses you like it will show the distance to train station. You can then research the area and schools.

Yes, it’s very frustrating, we are not rich obv but have decent jobs and an income of over £100K and yet we are not able to afford a decent house within a reasonable commuting distance, something is very wrong with this system

tbf your budget is quite low considering your income. Lots of people in London particularly FTBs borrow the max. I assume your issue is the deposit which unfortunately the vast amount of buyers have family help with.

@renonovice yes, no family help and out income increased fairly recently so couldn’t save too much over the past few years. We also have a high childcare cost which bring the borrowing potential down but DD still has 2.5 yrs in nursery and ideally we’d want to buy before she starts school

you could rent in your chosen area, get dd into school and then buy a little further away from school. I know rent is dead money but house prices will probably soften a bit more & there is such a premium buying a house in a "catchment" area.

also your childcare costs would be reduced then & you could borrow more.

I second the idea of Stevenage, there are some really decent areas. Yes the town centre is a bit grim looking but it's due to be regenerated and isn't as bad as some places.

Further along the train line you have Hertford which is lovely (I have family who live there). It also has two stations with direct trains into London so gives you options. You would be fine within your budget there.

You could try Redhill, I was selling a 5 bed house there for 450k a few years ago, I got offer of 410k for it. Prices have gone up since then but there should be something out there, especially if you're prepared to do a bit of decorating. Train is about 35-40 minutes into London.

The things is OP, I'm not sure that lots of families do do what you describe. I think you are trying to emulate an illusion. In my experience the families who live in the commuter belt with school age children make it work with a fiendishly complex but largely invisible underpinning of some combination of at least two of the following: family support; paid help such as a nanny or au pair; robust friendship networks of other parents who help each other out; and one or both partners on reduced or compressed hours, or doing enough WFH days between them to cover the whole week.

If you know people who seem to be doing it (and it needs to be people with school-age children - paradoxically it is much easier to get long days of care for younger children) then I would sit them down and really probe how the are managing it. This will give you a much more realistic idea of what you are trying to emulate.

Leigh on Sea (Essex)
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Beckenham