Moving to Kent from London, worth the commute?

[ouzo]

I've seen a beautiful cottage on the Kent/Surrey borders. Near Edenbridge, and walkable to the train station.

I work in the office three days a week, and dh can work from home full time if he wishes. The train station is walkable in distance, meaning my commute would be 1h 30ish all in. The train is 45-50 mins to London.

Cottage is a lot cheaper than where we currently rent in London. In a few years we want to buy, but want to find a rural area we like first. Want a dog, and countryside around, a decent garden (not a concrete patio!)

Does anyone do this sort of commute regularly? How is life? Is it worth it?

Yes! We commute x 2 week and it's fine, DD on train, I drive into SE London and DS train x 2 weekly, WFH rest of week, our quality of life is so much better we lived in London (SE) and honestly it's changed all our lives for the better!

Trains are more expensive but nicer, can work from twin or just read.

So much to do at weekend on doorstep and slower, less manic pace of life with less people around.

You won't regret it

It all depends on how you feel about commuting, because Edenbridge is far and that’s a really long journey. What if you got another job that was 5 days a week? Maybe look at places nearer, like Sevenoaks or Tonbridge. Schools are better in Kent, the trains are getting more and more expensive though, and in good areas, decent housing is always in short supply.

We live in Goudhurst which is even further away but love it. Our door to desk (Liverpool Street) is 1:15. It's really not a bad journey, it's a good time to relax on the train each day without any changes. The houses around here are old and characterful for the most part with so much choice for schools.

We live outskirts of gravesend towards Meopham. It’s expensive but close to roads A2, Bluewater shopping centre, ebsfleet (20 mins to St Pancras) and gravesend both have good train services (55 mins into London). We can head out of the village in three different directions which is handy for traffic issues. I’d avoid Sevenoaks area as it’s always rammed with traffic.

lots of rural life around, several large country parks, and lots of foot park walks. An hour to the coast for seaside day.