calling rural downshifters please: so we cant stand living in london ANY MORE now....but where to go?

[woodstock3]

We need to be commutable (ideally about 45 mins train journey to london). We'd like it to feel like actual countryside not suburbia. We like Oxfordshire, at least partly cos we like the idea of a nice city nearby thats not london (ie, oxford) but other than that, clueless.
does anyone live anywhere that they love? has anyone moved out of london and to their surprise regretted it? any advice on downshifting?

We moved out towards Cambridge last year. I commute back to London each day (is about an hour for me) on a train line to liverpool street. This area is best of both worlds in my opinion, we live in a small friendly village, great dog walks from the doorstep, sheep in field behind house etc..but have Cambridge 20 mins away and London is easily accessible. Schools also fab. And house prices round here are more reasonable than towards Oxford (we looked there first).

villages around Guildford/Woking/West Byfleet?

Which train stations do you want to arrive into London at to make the rest of the commute easier?

St Albans is lovely. As is Amersham.

Agree with Cambridge.

Could live closer to Peterborough for the same commute but is only 1/2 hour from Cambridge to visit/shop.

Lovely stone towns with good schools and pretty countryside and cheaper than Cambridge.

Stamford is lovely as is Oundle.

Cambridge (if you can stand the traffic)
Peterborough - surrounding villages
Milton Keynes - surrouding villages
Northamptonshire
Bedfordshire
Colchester
Maidstone
would guess Rugby (fast train 55mins)to be the cut off point.

Or you could head south to some of the villages around Winchester. Journey to Waterloo from Winchester is under an hour.

st albans is fab though not a village of course!

harpenden possible - a bit sleepier

have you looked east towards essex? fab villages, great property and near to the coast

tbh 45 mins away is probably not that rural - you may need to go further - people have been doing the same move for years hence suburbia - if you find the perfect spot let me know!

What sort of budget would you have and for how big a house?

There are some lovely villages in North Herts. Here are a few examples of houses for sale in them:

Datchworth
Langley
Whitwell
Little Wymondley
Kimpton
Old Knebworth
St Ippolyts
Whitwell again (I've been in this one)
Codicote

Will stop now before I get too carried away!

i agree cant - kimpton is a fab village with a great primary school just lovely

near to st albans for shopping

not sure what they do about secondary schools but its really worth looking at

We are in the same dilemma and have done a lot of research, but are reluctantly thinking we have to stay in London as the commute from anywhere genuinely rural is horrific. As newgirl points out, this is an age-old middle class dilemma and thousands of people have trodden that road before you, so anywhere that used to be rural is now suburbia. Amersham etc are classic example of this, as is most of Surrey.

We found you can always find somewhere quite rural if you're willing to drive to a train station in the morning, but that obviously just makes the commute even worse. Eg there are lots of lovely villages in Bucks, Herts, but you've got to consider getting to the train station will take some time, plus the parking fee, then a train ride, then a tube. We're asking ourselves if it's worth it in the end.

If you discover any hidden gems let us know!

thankyou for all your suggestions - cantsleep the whitwell one you've been to looks lovely, you obviously have excellent taste in houses! will definitely think about hertfordshire. essex - i was brought up in essex so dont fancy going back (even tho it has changed unbelievably since my day and is lovely - illogical but there you go)
trouble is for ease of work we'd be better off coming into s london stations - we are south at the moment and both work on the south bank - but cant seem to afford anywhere south of london that is remotely nice or commutable! just have to hope for property price crash that strangely leaves london untouched while halving prices of lovely rural farmhouses...er...

sorry to hijack but

RAININGCATSANDDOGS

i have a question about your playhouse. does yours have proper perspex (or whatever they are made out of) windows or just the openings iyswim?

Moved from Amersham to rural worcestershire in 2003 - never regretted it for a second! the children love the farming community feel to the village and the schools are small but very nice.
went back to amersham for a visit a month ago and it felt really busy and townlike now tbh.
good luck with whatever you decide though!

Moved end of last year from north Kent to Upwell in Cambs/Norfolk (literally on the border). Sold a 3 bed terrace in Kent and bought a 4 bed detached on edge of village for same price, still haven't stopped smiling. Also you will find you are not alone as have met LOADS of people who have done the same thing. Unsure of communiting times around here to London as work in Cambridge and go in car, but I think I'm right in saying if you aim near Ely or Huntingdon theres good rail links.
Seriously DO IT, we ummed and ahhed for years and are so glad we made the move

We live in West Berks. My DH commutes into London everyday on the train from Didcot (takes about 40 mins). Didcot itself is fairly vile, but there are loads of beautiful, rural villages scattered either East or West of it in the Downs. Oxford isn't a million miles away either.

Helpafriend:

Yes does have perspex windows with curtains!

Try this book. We live outside Milton Keynes in a lovely village and I commute to London every day. If you lived nearer a station (I go from Bicester North) it's an hour to Marylebone. It depends on where you need to get to in London, agree for a 45 minute total journey time you need to be nearer, so Hemel or Harpenden or somewhere. What about Berkhamstead?

Another vote for North Hertfordshire. Good train links into King's Cross. Cambridge is a half hour drive away when you want a big town. Milton Keynes about the same when you want shopping (the Centre MK is HUGE).

woodstock - we didn't go in the Whitwell one with a view to buying it. We know the people who own it so have been for parties! It's a lovely village to live in .

You can get trains direct to Kings Cross, Farringdon, Blackfriars and London Bridge (c50 mins) from Luton Airport Parkway, which is less than a 15 min drive away (as are Hitchin and Harpenden stations).

Please don't move to West Berks or Oxfordshire. We are getting overcrowded and there aren't enough family-sized houses.

What about Pangbourne, Goring etc to the west of Reading? Feels very rural, beautiful area with Reading for shopping trips, trains are pretty good out to there from Paddington / link through Reading. We'd move there if it wasn't so expensive! (currently in west reading)

Again Herts/bucks border id say, easy access to M25 and M1, we live in a village and it takes 20mins to get to the edgware rd or finchley rd or direct trains into euston or baker st from the next town

Mmm, South Bank is walkable from London Bridge I think. One of the lines that goes into London Bridge is the line from Sussex. The other London Station is Victoria from this area.

There are some nice villages in Sussex along this line. Balcombe, villages around Haywards Heath ie Lindfield and Cuckfield, Hurstpierpoint, Hassocks.

Not sure what the commute time is, you would have to check, but I do know if travelling in rush hour you would be hard pressed to get a seat on the train.