Commutable locations to raise a family but also be close to the sea/river

[bonniekruger]

Our house is under offer and we are hoping to move somewhere where we will be closer to the coast or a river to be able to do water sports and other activities that are free or don't cost an arm and a leg. We're an outdoorsy family - 4 year old and 8 year old. We need to be commutable to London - +-1.5 hours one way.

Are there any suggestions for good suburbs/locations/towns/villages? Have been looking at Winchester but I have no knowledge about the area.

Also been looking in the Ipswich area but the high schools are an issue if you're closer to the coast. Also lots of new developments which in themselves is not a problem but there is quite a lot of them happening.

Any suggestions would be very welcome. We're originally from South Africa but children born here. We would like to explore a different part of the country from our usual Kent locations but would not rule Kent out if someone could convince me there is a lot to do in Kent.

Our kids do swimming, karate, tennis, cubs/squirrels so an area where there are good activities for kids along with good primary and high schools.

Agree totally with this comment. It’s a nightmare!

@bonniekruger -Southend has excellent state schools, including selective grammar schools. It is a lovely, friendly town - or was when we lived there - and the transport links to London are really good.

another vote for Brighton and neighbouring towns. Fast links to London and Gatwick airport.

There are ways to get round it- most of the time.

I think more info needed from OP. How frequently are they commuting for a start....
A 1 hr 30 commute- if it is to include the journey to and from each end of a train journey, is likely a 1 hr - 1 hr 10 min train journey which excludes a lot of places suggested.
If the train journey is 1 hr 30, the full commute would be nearer 2 hours, which might be bearable eg once a week, but possibly not every day.

I'd echo others - really depends on where you're commuting to in London, how many days, whether you and your DH are commuting on the same days etc.

If you're both in London on the same days you will have a 4 and 8 yr old 1.5 hours away (if the trains are running on time) - do you have to be back for 6pm childcare? Will you have any local support network who can help in emergencies like sickness, transport fails, childcare fails etc?

There are lots of lovely places to live where you will be able to afford a home for £650k.
But that doesn't mean they will work for your circumstances.

We have friends who have left London for greener pastures but none of them had both parents commuting to London 1.5hours regularly with young kids and no family locally to help.
Most either had one parent change job for a local one or moved near family who were their wraparound childcare.

Wateringbury,Ayelsford,Tonbridge , anywhere along the River Medway.

Somewhere near Diss? 1.5h to Liverpool St. The river Waveney is very nice for kayaking and stuff. Lots of nice quiet villages. 40 minutes ish to the coast but nice sandy beaches.

@TheNoonBell I suggested Marlow and Henley earlier- lovely but def pricey !!

If it's water sports and activities rather than specifically the coast, take a look at the area within reach of Grafham Water near Huntingdon. Huge amounts of options for out and about activity on the river Great Ouse and other smaller lakes etc as well as Grafham Water, plus you're on the main LNER line into Kings Cross, so trains are pretty fast down to London. You'd get a lot of house for a £650k budget, but as people said above, commuting will cost you.

Marlow Bottom or Bourne End perhaps

I’d take a good look at the commuting costs of some of these places before considering them. How much is a peak time return to Wales or Nottingham? How long a drive to the station from some of these villages? How much does the parking cost at the station?

A previous poster’s comment about choosing a family friendly location with good schools and a reasonable commute and then driving to the coast seems spot on to me. Most places have cubs, swimming lessons and the like.

I used to live in Kent and think it fits your bill; also lived in Essex and didn’t find it any ‘less boring’ than Kent ( in fact more suburban because of the good train links).

Problem with Marlow is that it is on a small branch line that shuttles back and forth to Maidenhead and I think there is only one train every 30 minutes.

There are some lovely places listed by @Bluevelvetsofa , and indeed I have a place in a village in that area. But I’d echo what another poster said about fast train connections. Of the places listed only Barnham, Chichester and Emsworth have stations with direct links to London (Victoria); it’s just under an hour and a half from Barnham on the ‘fast’ train, but almost 2 hours from Emsworth. You can do it in an hour and a half from Emsworth but it involves a change and will take you to Waterloo. If you’re not within walking distance of those stations you are probably looking at adding at least 20 minutes for driving / parking…and parking at all 3 stations can be challenging!

If you need airports on the other hand I think that side of Sussex is good - it’s an hour or so to Gatwick, not much further to Heathrow, Southampton is half an hour or so and you can get ferries to France from Portsmouth I’ve retired now, but would go to London by train a couple of times a month for work, and wouldn’t want to do the journey much more than that - it’s an early start. On the other hand, going back up to town at the weekend or to see friends seems less hassle for some reason!

I’d also have mentioned Cookham which is closer to Maidenhead and the Elizabeth Line - I fear though the budget would be tight- though not sure what sort of property OP is after

I'd also suggest Colchester. Lots of lovely coastline around there and a good train connection.

Are there any specific areas of Colchester you could recommend? We were looking at Wivenhoe as well and are doing a reccy there soon.

We are also exploring Chelmondiston on the Shotley Peninsula but problem is the high school. I like the area but just not sure what the solution is for High schools as we won't be able to do private schools. The one in the area has mixed reviews.

@bonniekruger heads up that the Wivenhoe art trail is on over the first May bank holiday weekend, Friday to Monday - means the village will be heaving with people but also means absolutely everything shop and food wise will be open and a lot of artists open their home studios so good for a nosey inside 🤣

Ah that sounds fab. Thank you

Hove?

Yes, Shoreham. Nice little town, interesting 'bohemian' style, river AND sea and loads of walks on the Downs. Near Brighton for extra culture. Frequent direct trains to London Victoria, 1hr 20mins.

I'm astonished at the number of houses under £700k! This one may not be your style but take a look as an example. It's really close to the beach.

The beach is pebbles, very popular with kitesurfers; there's a skate ramp and a children's play park. Nature reserves. Historical buildings.

I’d love to live in Shoreham. But a monthly season is £600 pp plus parking if you have to drive there. If you both work in London, how does that £14,000 Pa stack up? There’s a reason you can get houses cheaply in these places. Plus nearly three hours a day in the train and that’s if you work near Victoria. If you don’t, add another 30 mins walking/ using the tube each way. Are these locations really practical?

@bonniekruger
Are both of you commuting?
How frequently? Where to?
This info us pretty critical. 2 parents commuting 4 or 5 days a week, will mean different options to one parent commuting once a week!

Wivenhoe is stunning but near to the uni so lots of student lets. Rowhedge also a good shout? Colchester wise avoid the centre and the south bur consider lexden.
Have you also considered sudbury/long melford/Lavenham?

Wix in Essex is a lovely village - near water and you can commute from nearby Manningtree. It's got a pub, school and park and property prices are really reasonable for a nice village in the South East.