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?…

Forest Hill/Sydenham/Crystal Palace but it would be a flat rather than house - lovely converted Victorian houses, mind.

With the best will in the world OP, you can't pick out a secondary for a 2 year old! Supposing you have another of the other sex, or she has SEN?

See we thought our DD would go to a grammar but she turned out to have very different educational needs to what we'd expected.

Whereas somewhere with good transport links is always good.

Start with a train map op, look along the map and go from there but forget Surrey you will only get a flat for that money close to a station...

I doubt that's true. You could look at Staines, Ashford, Woking or Camberley

@Rafferty10 that’s not true. There’s plenty of houses on sale on rightmove for that budget (not prime locations like Weybridge for example but severall in Redhill, Epsom, outside Guildford, Woking and Sutton etc).

@Phineyj you are very right! But I like the idea of choosing an area that can become home and not having to change or have issues with schools in a few years time…

Yes, we thought that too.

Sadly the English school system is complicated and future changes are hard to predict.

The falling birth rate is on your side, at least.

Oh yes you're on on a strict budget, I would not have suggested anywhere in London if I had remembered!
The thing is you need to know the areas you are choosing quite intimately before choosing. I know for sure that on your budget the houses on a hell hole drug-infested crime-ridden estate costs £450,000, just because of the postcode.

and that's on one of the places you've listed.

I'm worried by your comment about school clubs finishing at 6pm. My experience is that that isn't the case.
We live in a naice bit of the Home Counties. Primary school finishes at 3.15. Any after school activities finish at 4.15. However, they can be cancelled at up to around 2.30pm on the day due to staff illness, staff's child being ill, weather etc. After school club technically runs until 6pm but normally the lights are off and staff are gone by about 5.40 as no one around us seems to need childcare that late. I sent DD to after school club in reception with a pick up time of 5.55 and she'd be the only one there and was often the only one in her year for the last hour or so. The two days she did this became hideous as there were so many tears at drop off and the night before for that matter. We tried again 3 years later when she was yr3 and DC2 was yr1 as they were both a bit older and would be there together and it was the same.
DC2 is now at a private school and their clubs are run on a totally different basis as they go on until 5pm and are never cancelled. Again, there is wraparound after this until 6pm but absolutely no one seems to go.
You also need to think about holiday childcare. Anything specialist (football, gymnastics) around us only seems to do 10 - 3. Other clubs do do 8.30 - 5 but are largely geared for a 3.30 pick up with those who stay later really being made to feel like second class citizens. My DC love mass games of it and capture the castle and things so I didn't understand the reluctance about childcare until I did the 3.30 pick up one day and realised that that was when the various trophies and awards were made, that the "late" children then went to one side of the hall and were given an activity to do but basically got to see all of the parents of the "early" children swoop in and hug them, chat to them etc. After that, I managed to juggle things so mine never stayed late but I was only able to do that as the club was 7 mins from home and my DC were then old enough to watch a film or TV unsupervised for the rest of the day.
In the end, we found an after school nanny and that transformed our lives. I spent 5 years trying to find one though! It has cost me a fortune too.
What I'm trying to say is that, whilst you're basing your move around both doing the commute and working the hours that you do, the after school club hours you see advertised might not be the solution you think they are.

After school club technically runs until 6pm but normally the lights are off and staff are gone by about 5.40

Other clubs do do 8.30 - 5 but are largely geared for a 3.30 pick up with those who stay later really being made to feel like second class citizens

That sounds ridiculous, where on earth do you live?!

Oh yes you're on on a strict budget, I would not have suggested anywhere in London if I had remembered!

You can find houses in the outer part of London for that budget that aren't on drug infested estates.

We had ours in after-school clubs (Surrey school), and there was no second class feeling to staying till 6pm.

A pp mentioned Fleet, but I would agree with the poster who said it was too expensive, but the schools are extremely good. If you looked at Farnborough, there are some reasonable school options including secondary and houses are cheaper, South Farnborough which includes a conservation area with attractive period properties is good and the Empress area near the excellent Sixth Form College (used to be in top 5 nationally, not sure now).

There are 3 stations, so Waterloo, Reading, Guildford and Gatwick Airport are all possible, plus the M3 is easily accessible.

I agree with PP about logistics, it only takes an incident on the line and trains can be delayed by hours and partners who are based locally end up driving to pick up the one stranded.

We've had a similar experience to PP with clubs. The older DC get, the less likely they are to be in ASC till 6pm and most 8-10 year olds don't want to hang out with infants till 6pm!

That's at a private school that guarantees 7.30am to 6pm, no messing about, if you want the service it's there. Holiday club at the school is 8am to 5pm.

With state schools you have to beware: they don't always have wraparound at all, it may not start till 8am or finishes well before 6, reception may not be allowed to attend, 4 year olds sometimes aren't taken in holiday clubs, spaces may be limited. Plus DC may hate it. Oh and watch out for a month of half days the first September.

If you research this carefully you will quickly find the local schools with parents like you - they're the ones whose breakfast club starts at 7.30am, wraparound info is on the website and there are Saturday open days!

Sorry if it’s been suggested - I only got halfway through the thread! But what about shared ownership in your favourite areas ?

People do often comment- 'oh you won't get that in xyz area ', it's way out of budget- forgetting that it might well be for the nice 4 bed Edwardian they live in or are after- but the poster might be quite happy with a maisonette or a 70s terrace or an ex council etc in a bit of a secondary part of town - I see it here in bath, people saying oh you can't get a 3 bedder under £500k- you most definitely can , it just might not be the best bit of town or the prettiest house or in a schools particular catchment area or be quite near a busy road or hadn't got bifold doors and en-suites etc- but it's perfectly possible. Here's a typical example at £310,000

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/85418631#/?channel=RES_BUY

@ganggangrosey what area are you referring to?
I have seen some nice Victorian houses in Redhill for 470K for example (which we could stretch to), based on my research the are didn’t seem what you are describing.
We’d be happy with a 2 bed or a small 3 bed house, I don’t see how nearly half million pounds can’t get us that in some areas of Surrey!?!?

Re what people are saying about pre and after school clubs, I think if that is an issue then it doesn’t matter where we live; we’d still need them whether we are 35 min or 65 min commute from home as we work full time so if that’s the case we’d have to use a nanny or a childminder I guess. We are currently paying £1900 per month on nursery fees so surely a childminder for 3 hours a day won’t be nearly as expensive.

@Rentquestion our income is too high for that

Is anyone familiar with Bromley?

I thought the upper limit was £100k?

Of course you may know and earn more than that - but then I’m guessing you could get a bigger mortgage than £450k? (Not that I’m suggesting you mortgage yourselves insanely!)

Bromley is an outer London Borough- pleasant, great schools at primary and secondary for the most part as the two grammar schools are super selective and take the top scorers from a wider area. The best secondaries are the Langley boys and girls schools and Darrick Wood in Orpington. Good main shopping area and easy to get to central London (fast train from Orpington for example is non stop to LB in 20 mins). Bromley South station also has fast services but the houses near to the stations are over your budget but there will be two bed terraces a bit further away that will fit your bill. Also easy to get to the countryside villages of Kent and Sussex and the coast in those areas.

Avoid the Downham/Grove Park area although there are some nice streets on the edges of this area.

Small deposit and high childcare fees bring our borrowing potential down unfortunately :( based on what I can see from halifax website we could borrow around £420K-£430K. If we didn’t have childcare fees, then closer to £500K
unless it’s possible to get much more via a broker (which we will use but as I said we are not ready yet)

Thank you! Budget could stretch to £475K, I have seen some nice 2 bed within that range (also hoping prices might drop slightly in a few months)

@Turmerictolly I meant to say I have seen some nice 2 bed for £475K near bromley south