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?

Old Windsor might be good.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/136318772

Or, think I suggested Datchet before. Good commute into Waterloo and near Heathrow.

Lovely property here - 2 min from a train station with an 1.15 commute directly into Victoria - 15 mins to the lovely town of lewes with all the hustle and bustle and restaurants you want

if you have the budget https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/115327451?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

I love a Rightmove search, OP, so here's some possible options for you near St Albans. I haven't gone for St Albans itself, because while it's a fabulous place to live; it's a city, and you won't get the land or separation from the neighbours you want there:

Wheathampstead is a gorgeous, chocolate-box pretty village near St Albans and Harpenden, so you have access to both of those for their high streets, train stations and excellent schools, but the village itself is actually quite well appointed, with a couple of pubs, a Tesco metro, a couple of lovely bakeries/cafes, a sweet little French restaurant and an Italian pizzeria. There's even a micro-brewery! These houses are both lovely with plenty of green space:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/138639932#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/134010416#/?channel=RES_BUY

Harpenden is lovely little town with a busy high street, lots of green spaces, fantastic schools and a reasonable commute into London. These properties have their charms (although the decor in the first is rather tired, imo, considering the price, but the grounds are stunning):

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/138356834#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/137528558#/?channel=RES_BUY

I definitely recommend at least coming up to this area for a reccy.

Berkhamsted & surrounding villages - Little Gaddesden, Great Gaddesden, Frithsden, Aldbury, Wiggington, Cholesbury, Potten End (Little Heath), Ringshall

Decent train service to Euston (35mins ish)
Excellent high st
Indie cinema (The Rex). So good.
Ski centre in Hemel
Mix of v good state & indie schools
Rothschild/Nat Hist museum satellite in Tring
The Rex - so good I mention it twice! The chap that opened The Rex has another in St Albans.

The Ashridge - NT land. Amazing woods, open commons, Ivinghoe Beacon. So much accessible space & walks.

I moved from St Albans to a village near Berko, so v familiar with both & Harpenden. If you want Harpenden /St George’s school - be v careful where you buy.

Friends with your budget have bought the do -er upper. Hired a company that project manages the whole thing. Rented for a year. And let them get on with making your Richmond dream home happen. If that’s an option.

You don't have to leave Richmond https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/135276605#/streetView?channel=RES_BUY My friend lives in Ham. Her boys cycle to school (Grey Court) and play in Ham Lands on the BMX track. 65 bus to Richmond in 10 mins or cycle along tow path to Richmond in 10 minutes. There are a few properties in your price range on the market.
Last time I visited we went for coffee in the Swiss Bakery (always long queues as very popular) and at night we walked across the footbridge and went to Teddington for dinner. I loved it. Obviously v near Richmond Park and the river.

Berkhamsted ?

Hurst Green, Oxted, Sevenoaks… On the Sevenoaks line (which goes to London bridge and Charing Cross and Victoria) there are some lovely villages where you can indeed feel rural but have a short walk to the station and shops.

This is beautiful!

Hi! Where about dare the theaters in the West End? Which area is this? Thanks!

Huh? @Fruitandveg3

Where are the theatres in the West End?

I assume @LittleMonks11 means theatres in London's west end, eg around Shaftesbury Avenue- which is easy to access from Waterloo, which is easy to get to from Waverley Borough (Godalming?).

Theatreland in London's West End is broadly located around Leicester Square and Covent Garden tube stations. But its all mostly walkable from there anyway, except maye the few theatres near Victoria station.

I would have suggested this if OP didn’t want access to family in N.London. For that reason I’d say Marlow, St Albans, Amersham way.

That’s Petersham and it’s on a main road, and, lovely though that area is transport into London is a nightmare. Worse now you can’t get through the park.

Petersham Nurseries and Ham House are two of my favourite places but I wouldn’t want to live round there.

Personally with that budget I would look again at kingston/surbiton or the other way Totteridge/whetstone. Advantages is 'in zones' so much cheaper transport, I have lived in St Albans twice- I wouldn't personally pick it over Kingston as we ended up going into London a lot for days out as didn't like anywhere much around it. I think Kingston/Surbiton have more variety and facilities.

Kingston isn’t very nice and the train into London is super slow. Surbiton line is faster.

Rather than Kingston or Surbiton if you’re staying in SW London I might scoot round to Wimbledon - only 20 mins to Waterloo.

Surbiton is on Wimbledon line but a few stops further on.

I would choose St Albans, it has a lovely community feel, great shops and decent restaurants and cafes, the park around Verulamium is fab. I would find Harpenden (whilst lovely) feels too far and cut-off from London.

What about around the Hampton Hill area? You've got London close by, bushey park on your doorstep and lots of decent private schools. Heathrow is down the road.

I've seen some lovely houses round there. Won't be massive gardens but a google search of the streets around Hampton prep school show they are decent. It's only a short period of time that children are happy to play in their own garden and not want to go to the park / further afield anyway.

If you can afford to buy a decent place in London, I would stay!

Ohhhh okay you mean London’s Weat End. I thought you were referring to some area of Westerly borough and I was not sure where you meant. This makes more sense! Thank you!

Buy my house from me? Goring on Thames, top end of your budget. Great for commuting especially now the Elizabeth line is up and running.

It's certainly not Petersham. It's Ham. It's a slip road parallel to the main Petersham Road. My contact lives very close by so I actually know those houses. My contact and her husband both work in London and have absolutely no issue getting to Richmond for the tube.

@LumpyJumpy I was actually looking at this area as a possibility! Thank you! I’m just not sure about Kingston as others have mentioned. It almost seems silly to even move there as not too far away and it doesn’t seem like we’d really get that much more garden space in Kingston at least from what I’ve seen right now. I’ll look into this area.