Where to move outside of London to commute in

[Fruitandveg3]

Hello,
we are currently living in Richmond/Kew and are thinking of moving out of London for more space but cannot figure out the best area to go.

Checklist:

• husband commutes to London (works near city of London) so ideally not longer than an hour, 1.5 max
• husband travels a lot for work so we can’t be too far from Heathrow airport
• We have two young boys (1 and 3) so need a place with good school options: private and mixed gender
• we have family in north London but we don’t necessarily need to be so close to them, but a huge plus!
• Really want a community-feel but still near a lively high street, things to do such as restaurants, cafes, pubs, library, shops, museum (plus), etc.
• In an ideal world I would love to find a location that has semi-rural feel but also has a big enough town/high street nearby as I don’t know if we are ready for very isolated/rural life but I dream of a house with a lot of green/garden space that isn’t on top of neighbors
• budget is high (range £1.75-2.85)
• area near green space/parks
• family-friendly with lots to do for kids

We love Richmond but struggling to find a place with lots of space in budget. Kew is nice but DH hates the district line as it ALWAYS has issues and he sometimes ends up commuting 1.5-2 hours having to find alternative ways. And he feels like we are living in an awkward in-between life: we are quite outside of central London, living in Kew has a village-y feel but we are not living in a large house with large garden that you can get when you live more out of London and end up having a better commute.

Would love any recommendations! Thank you!!

From my own searches I’ve thought of checking out:
Kingston/Surbiton/Thames Ditton (is this even worth the move as not too far from where we currently live?)
Esher/Claygate
Weybridge
Farnham
Guilford
Marlow
St Albans
Mill Hill (still London)
any towns near Oxford?

Goldalming, Farnham, Henley or Marlow, although you must need a lot of space if you can’t find it for £2.85m around Richmond!

Henley-on-Thames or one of the villages around there? Your husband will be able to get the Elizabeth Line into the city from Twyford, it's close to Heathrow, Henley is a lovely place with a proper high street and v family friendly. It's not cheap but you have the budget for it (depending on what you're looking for).

I think the commute would be too long from Oxford, although lots of people do it.

The commute from Oxford is awful.

The Elizabeth line means villages around Reading/Berks might work for you.

Personally I wouldn't give up Richmond for that. It's space vs location really.

You could also look at Bucks villages around Amersham / Great Missenden / Beaconsfield (Amersham has the added benefit of being on the Met line as well as the Chiltern line) or Hertfordshire (Croxley / Rickmansworth which are both on the tube, or Tring).

Add Harpenden to your list, it's one stop further out from St Albans and is lovely. Too pricy for most of us, but not with your budget.

I live in St Albans, btw, and adore it here. It has everything you want.

Somewhere on the Thameslink line might work well for commuting into the City, which would include St Albans to the North, or down to Brighton to the south.

My friend loves living in St Alban's. I've visited several times. It's beautiful. They live a 10 minute walk from the station that takes you to Kings Cross in 20 mins.

Harpenden, Cobham/Oxshott, Oxted, Wargrave. Chorleywood is also worth a look.

Beaconsfield and Marlow are grammar areas with very little private provision.

You need to be quite careful in Berkshire which side of the Thames you’re on as traffic can be horrific at the river crossings. Getting to Twyford train from Henley would be a no go for me due to the river crossing.

Hitchin is a lovely market town with amazing schools. 30 mins into St Pancras. It's also close to various other big towns/cities so lots to do and great for kids. It's really close to countryside too.

I second St Albans. The line running through St Albans City is reliable, has multiple trains an hour and takes less than 30 mins to get to City Thameslink.

At that budget, wouldn't it be sensible to use a professional property finder?

I also second anywhere on the Elizabeth Line

Harpenden. There are some fabulous houses on the common. Lovely high street and great schools. Easy commute to the city.

Berkhamsted ticks all your boxes

Esher , Weybridge and Marlow are eye wateringly expensive.

Check out Caversham in Reading. Walking distance to the train station. Fast trains into Paddington ( 25 mins) or Elizabeth line into central London.
Good primary schools. River Thames. Easy to get out to countryside, close to border with Oxfordshire. Lovely period properties.

You could also consider Henley and surrounding villages @Fruitandveg3

Esher

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/136058096#/?channel=RES_BUY

With your budget personally I would look at Wimbledon/Kingston as Esher and like don't have the same high streets.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/138538736#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/136397429#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/134347661#/?channel=RES_BUY

Central Guildford for schools and train, all walkable, plus next to open countryside Pewley Downs. Tucked away, but in the centre!

Hook Heath in Woking is your other potential, but not so rural, and Woking.....

The Sands Farnham, much more rural, and not on any good train lines, but stunning area.

Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington is approximately 1.5 hours, so may be worth looking west of London
Bristol and Bath house prices are similar to parts of London.

Guildford or Godalming would be good choices. Cheaper that the Richmond and good train links to Waterloo. Esher is excellent for Waterloo (24 mins), but not cheap. Sorry if I missed it, but what are your requirements/budget? Cobham not far from Esher, but property prices more manageable.

@MNetcurtains budget up to 2.8m

Horsham would probably tick all your boxes (except N London)

Letchworth Garden City ticks your boxes for green space. Not super easy commute to Heathrow but 30 mins to Kings Cross St Pancras and a direct train line to Gatwick (1 Hr 30)