London Zone 3+, do you/your partner commute or WFH?

[mapotofu]

It seems that the nicest areas but still affordable for us (~£1M for a 3-4 bed house) are relatively far from the City. Those who live in Richmond, Twickenham, Muswell Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, etc but work in the City - do you / your partner just swallow the commute, or how do you cope?
I used to have a fully remote job but hated it. I'd want to go to the office 2-3 days / week but dreading the idea of spending 1h commuting. For context, my partner and I currently live in a flat in Islington. We are planning to have kids in 3 years so I've started researching for my dream areas.

Yes. The commute is fine from where I live. I think the important thing is how close to a tube/overground you are and which line it's on. So Muswell Hill is a great area but it's a tricky commute because you're a long way from a tube. Whereas Finchley is much easier. Places like Chingford/Highams Park are worth looking at if you work in the City as the overground takes you into Liverpool St.

An hour's commute twice a week is honestly no problem if the trains/tubes are behaving. I live near Richmond/Twickenham and my husband goes to Victoria twice a week and it's fine. He prefers it to WFH in some ways as the journey home lets him decompress after a day's work, whereas on the WFH days he stops and is just thrown straight into family life!

Crikey. We're zone 6 (south of the river so no tube) and have commuted in for the last 20+ years. The majority of it 5 days a week, before wfh became a thing. I'm sure you'll cope.

Like a PP said, just choose your area so that your commute is straightforward - I'd say no more than 1 change.

Ha ha ha ha ha. I live in zone 3 and my commute is 40 min door to door. I "cope" as it is a perfectly normal, short even, London commute.

Which area if you don't mind sharing? My commute is also 40 mins right now, which I truly appreciate!

Forest Hill in SE London to London Bridge. My office is a 10 min walk from the station. If you work in the City you may need to add another 5 - 10 mind walking.

Same here with a short commute. Gipsy Hill z3 to Victoria, work in Westminster. About 26 mins

We are in Zone 4 - bus to tube station. DH commuted daily for 30 years. DD used to commute but now has a job locally and WFH most of the time anyway. Their journeys took an hour each way. It was what everyone did , once upon a time!

Blimey! I used to commute 1hr and 45 mins each way, 5 days a week.
I lived...yours sounds absolutely fine.

I used to be in Upper Norwood and my commute to Holborn was 40 minutes (West Norwood - Victoria - Chancery Lane). Did it 5 days a week with no problem.

I cycle into the City from SE23. Started during lockdown, when I’d barely ridden a bicycle since childhood, and never looked back. It’s made such a difference to the commute, I love it. Would recommend anyone give it a go!

I tend to go in 2-3 days a week, and the train commute isn’t especially tiresome either, but spending 40 minutes actively moving and seeing the world makes it enjoyable rather than a chore.

DH works in the office everyday - 25 min cycle into Canary Wharf.

I commute 40 mins by tube 2 days a week and WFH remaining days.

zone 3 - Leyton/stratford border

Have a look along the Elizabeth line - you would get a lot for your money in SE/E London and even with a longer commute the Lizzie line is spacious and has air con. It's a totally different experience to getting the central line every day!

I commute from South London zone 3 an hour two days a week, DH does 45 mins four days a week - mine is longer because my office moved out of the City. The Northern line is now more reliable than most of the others - and I’m far enough out that I always get a seat.

@ComtesseDeSpair SE23 cyclists are amazing. So many hills!

I think the difference is that 15 years ago, people moved further out for much larger or beautiful houses. These days all houses are expensive.

I worked as a secretary to a partner in a law firm. He moved out to Kent and had an hour and a half commute but his house was massive and had a swimming pool, so to him the commute was worth it.

Now these days, people in the same jobs can 'just' afford a 4 bed in a boring and bland commuter town so they ask themselves if it's actually worth the commute.

Not always so.

My house was a tiny two up, two down terrace. That's what working for a charity gets you!

I commute from zone 7 to Victoria and it's less than an hour!

We’re in zone 4 and DH’s commute is 45 minutes door to door (that includes a 15 minute walk to the mainline train). He’s in most days as he prefers it.
It depends on where you’re commuting into. SE is generally better for getting into the City. We have friends who do it from SW but getting from Waterloo further east is a pain.

Zone 3 here - 45 minute commute to the West End, 30 minutes to London Bridge (including walking to the station) and then add on a walk at the other end to the City.

There are lots of places in Zone 3+ with quick transport links to central London. Purley is in Zone 6 and is 23 minutes to London Bridge, and is on Thameslink so has direct connections to Blackfriars, Farringdon and Kings Cross, as well as a fast train to London Victoria. Lots of other examples - have a look at (for example) London Bridge live departures to get an idea of places with quick connections.

Beckenham/Penge zone 4 - 5min walk to the station. Then, 20min to Victoria and London Bridge, 25min to Waterloo East/Charing X.

The good thing about zone 3+ is that you are more likely to get a seat on the train or tube.

Before all this WFH was possible everyone commuted, from all over outer London.

How do you think people who can’t work remotely manage? Hospital / hospitality / etc employees ‘cope’? Most of whom can’t afford £1m houses.

We're just up the road so have Purley Oaks and Sanderstead to choose from. It's 25 mins into either London Bridge or Victoria, and we have Thameslink trains during peak hours. My commute - door to door - to Vauxhall was 45 minutes which included getting to the station and a change at Clapham.

We are in zone 3 (Archway) and my commute is under 30 mins door to door to the City (17 mins tube, the rest is waiting/walking at both ends). Would not consider a commute of more than 40 mins door to door. Others do it of course, but often they have no choice financially. I value a short commute over a bigger house/smarter neighbourhood, it just makes for a better quality of life for me.