Where would you buy? (Commute to London)

[Jenpenj]

After previously setting up a family home in the sticks we’ve had a tragic experience and it’s time to move forward to a new chapter. It’s now just the 2 of us and our dog. We’d like to be within reach of central London in a safe, green area with things to do. Schools are no longer a factor.

We both WFH but I have regular meetings in London and across the midlands. Both drive. Extended family live all over the world so access to airports would be nice.

We enjoy spending weekends going on dog walks, wildlife spotting and having lunch at a nice pub (but currently have none of this on our doorstep). We like to visit London for events, theatre, restaurants, music, shopping and so on. It would be nice to have a simple (not several changes) commute under an hour.

• Budget £550k.
• Outskirts of/commute to London (for leisure).
• 2 bed house with garden.
• Lots of green spaces, dog walks, pubs etc.

If you were me, where would you go?

You could do worse than Bishops Stortford or other towns and villages on the London Liverpool Street to Cambridge line. Lots of nice pubs and countryside for walks. Easy access to central London (about 35 minutes to Liverpool Street) and the Midlands via M11/A14. Next to Stansted Airport.

London

Specifically Greenwich/Blackheath (for the 256 acre park, river and beautiful Heath)

I live here with no kids and a pile of dogs and have never been happier

You will get a nice 2 bed garden flat like I have for that money

Thank you both.

I’ve driven through Hertfordshire and it looks very pretty and green. I don’t know any more than that though. I imagine it’s popular with young families?

Laurie, ‘a pile of dogs’ sounds like a dream, no wonder you’ve never been happier. Not to mention the 256 acre park.

We ruled out London itself because we once had awful upstairs neighbours when living in a flat but I know it’s luck of the draw.

I’m hoping to narrow it down to a few areas and then spend some time in each.

For Hertfordshire, Little Gaddesdon, Potton End Studham and the other villages close to Ashridge estate are lovely. Beautiful countryside, pubs etc. Train stations are close (Hemel and Berkhamsted) and you're in Euston in 40 mins.

Would you prefer to avoid areas with young families for the moment? Greenwich/Blackheath is lovely, and feels both like a green space and connected to the city.

You could also look at places on the way to Gatwick - you could easily get a flat in Crystal Palace (though it;s become the nappy valley of SE London in recent years), Sydenham, West or South Norwood. Maybe Forest Hill?

How about Tring/ Berkhamsted!? Nice small towns. On Birmingham train line. Commute into Euston. Or the ends of the metropolitan line.

Hertfordshire would fit your specs, @Jenpenj. Take a look, at this, for example. Outskirts of Berkhamsted (35/40 mins into London by train). A short drive from Ashridge Forest. Not huge but prices are high in this area.

I would suggest South Bucks or South Oxfordshire, maybe Chilterns area. Trains from Oxford/Didcot/High Wycombe are fast and the area is stunningly beautiful. Even closer to London (nearer Amersham) is nice, with a direct Metropolitan line from Amersham in to London.

Plus you are near the M40 with great access to the Midlands, and you end up fairly central for access to Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and B'ham airports.

Can't advise on locations but as this has just popped up in active I hope you find something that brings you lots of joy

We are in Hampshire. Very close to the border of Surrey.

It's wonderful. So many green spaces, 1 hr train to Waterloo.

Our 3 bed house was £365k 4 years ago. Its pretty big. We got a cracking deal. You could definitely get something pretty nice with that budget. Farnham is pretty lovely which is very close by to us. Old Town feel with some wonderful pubs.

We are actually looking to move but only because we have young children and want to be closer to my family. If that wasn't the case we would stay here forever.

Thank you everyone. It’s nice to start feeling some positivity about things.

@YouHaveAnArse I know it’s not possible to rule out altogether but, ideally yes.

@Vinculum that house is beautiful. It’s the right size for us, a lovely space for some gardening and plenty to do in the area.

Thank you all. I’m putting all suggestions into a spreadsheet and will group them into visits. It seems like there’ll be a fair amount of ground to cover but I’m sure we’ll have a nice time doing it. Hopefully plenty of walks and pub trips for the dog included.

I might then come back to check any places to avoid once I’ve narrowed it down.