Help where to live between London/Staffordshire/MK

[Foresthealing]

Hi all, my partner is working in Milton Keynes and we currently live in south london. We are considering moving and possibly Staffordshire to be closer to family but I’m not sold yet! I’ve been in London a long time and love my life here so I’m conflicted. But wanting a family means Staffordshire is the better choice (Lichfield way). Had anyone made the move and have any experiences?

I'd second this.

Tamworth or Nuneaton will get you surprisingly rapidly into MK or Euston by train. Close to Lichfield, and as @NotMeNoNo says the villages and countryside are spectacular.

If you're playing with a really good budget, then PPs suggestions of Berkhamsted, St Albans, Tring are also lovely areas. edit: but easily a 2+hr drive to Staffs

As someone, who regularly drives up the M1/M6 or M1/A50 to Staffs and beyond, I would far rather commute from St Albans or Berkhamsted, and drive to Staffs to see family from time to time; than do a 2 hour commute on the M6/M1 to MK every day!

A budget of £800k plus should buy somewhere in St Albans or Berkhamsted. I don’t know about Berkhamsted, but there are some outstanding state schools in St Albans.

Is your DH likely to be based in MK long term? If you're thinking about starting a family there's also the logistics of childcare to think about , so while a long commute for both of you might be bearable for now it could be a headache if you're including a nursery drop off into the mix.

I'd suggest a proper look at MK or Northampton for housing, it's not all new developments and the option of being home at a decent time is priceless. From bitter personal experience, proximity to wider family doesn't necessarily equate to the kind of help you need so I wouldn't sacrifice my immediate needs over that, but only you know how your own dynamics would work.

We are used to London prices after being here 20 years so I’m guessing it maybe similar. Our starting budget is 800K but we can go up if needed.

problem with MK is we don’t know where to start in terms of areas.

I would respectfully caution against trying to cover too many bases and actually sort of missing them all, OP.

Thank you for this comment because this has been playing on my mind a lot and my intuition has been screaming not to moving far away enough for commuting to be an issue for us but not family and whilst my family want to be involved, everyone does have there own lives and that could where thin after sometime and then we are stuck with long commutes.

my partner wants us to have the family support and has pushed his own needs aside. Whereas I think after sometime it will take its toll on him and I know he wants to be present

Please do not make decisions relying on family help - it frequently doesn’t materialise as peoples personal situations change

I'd look at places along that train line as it's been a really decent one. There are lots of nice villages around the London to Birmingham leg. The one that springs to mind is Allesley village in Coventry or near Draycote water in Rugby. I probably wouldn't go too close to Birmingham as it's so quick to get in and out of needed. Rugby train station is great for parking if you need to drive in from a village.

If you need to be in MK for work, really, I wouldn't go too far from MK. I'm with you on MK itself, I wouldn't want to live there but it is useful for John Lewis and other facilities. And it's not far to London driving or by train.

Things to think about:

Parking in MK is terrible, is there parking with the job? If not, work out where he's going to park and how much it will cost (I know you're used to London though)

MK station and commuting to London is fine in theory but in practice the service is terrible, the trains are often delayed or full or not working and it can easily take 2 hours from Euston to MK. The parking at MK station is expensive and gets full by 8am some days

There are some really nice villages & towns around MK: Stony Stratford, Buckingham, Olney, Winslow. There's supposed to be a new train from Winslow which will go to MK / Oxford so bear that in mind although it's currently delayed by the unions arguing with Network Rail (there aren't enough eye rolls in the world). Winslow is a nice town.

I'd say the commute from St Albans is do-able but not great and if the M1 is fucked everyone goes on the A5 so that gets snarled up too. St Albans is lovely but expensive.

From MK Birmingham isn't too much of a drive but you really wouldn't want to commute it. But fine for visiting family. I wouldn't base where you live on family help with childcare unless your family have 100% agreed to do this, but maybe they have.

Here's a nice house in Stony (but no parking and only 1 bathroom)
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/168309956#/?channel=RES_BUY

Here's another, near Olney
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/163119284#/?channel=RES_BUY

Stewkley
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/170747519#/?channel=RES_BUY

Buckingham
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/170573978#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/167320184#/media?activePlan=1&id=media19&ref=photoCollage&channel=RES_BUY

I would try and be as close to work as possible. It makes so much difference with school and nursery. Your husband could do the school runs on the way to work and pick up from after school club on the days you’re in London. You don’t want to be in a situation where one is in London, the other in MK, and the child is sick at school somewhere else (or your trains pack up, or a traffic jam and you can’t get back in time).

I don’t think St Albans would be in your budget for a 4 bed (and personally I find it so dull, a few friends live there). Do you really want to leave London? Could you move within an easier commute to Euston? Personally I dislike Watford and the surrounding areas, but it would be an easy commute for both of you.

I haven't thought of Tring. I've just googled and it looks stunning.

Wow thank you for the list of houses. These are all stunning and within budget.

A lot of great food for thought! I really don't like the idea of living in MK neither does my DH. He does have parking at work as it's slightly outside of MK so not directly central. He has colleagues living in St Albans which is why we have been thinking about it but like you said it is expensive. I have found a few nice properties around the 900K mark but you get slightly less for your money.

I don't know Buckinghamshire very well but looking at these properties we should check it out. Thank you

The reality is I don't want to leave London, but where we currently live is too far as we live in South East - We could potentially consider Barnet though on the North Side.

My DH has colleagues in St Albans and they love it which is why we have been thinking about checking it out. I have found a few nice 4 beds around the 900K mark which we can go up to if needed. We need to check out the area ourselves but this thread has made me think about a few other areas to consider.

If he has parking and it's just outside MK, that's great.

I get it about MK, I wouldn't live there either but some of the surrounding areas are really great. St Albans is too but as I said, M1 or A5 and both get busy and you pretty much have to do one or the other to get to MK. What side of MK will he be working in, roughly? NSEW? That would help.

Barnet will still be really expensive and a big commute so I wouldn't do that personally.

Actually PP's make a good point about prioritising the daily commute rather than the occasional family visits. You are never going to be close enough to family for everyday childcare, but if your partner is a 20 minute cycle from work, they will see much more of their baby and give you more flexibity.
MK also benefits from cheap trains to London and reasonably late ones back IIRC, we sometimes use it to park and ride to go to London for the day.

Good point - His work is near Caldecotte area which is actually further out from MK than I thought

I live on the Herts/Bucks borders. Tring is nice but there’s not much there - just a tiny high street that you’ve walked down in 5 mins. Berkhamsted has a lot more on offer in terms of cafes, restaurants, interesting shops. The train line is super pricey especially factoring in parking (which you need for Tring but not Berkhamsted). It costs me £40 per day to get into London to work. There are lots of nice villages nearer to MK but the towns (like Northampton/Leighton Buzzard) might not work for you if you are looking for a London vibe. I like small towns, countryside and villages but if you don’t then I’d say Berkhamsted and St Albans are your best bet. St Albans is very Londony and has lots in it (but not that near MK)!

I suggest Leighton Buzzard area if he works that side of Milton Keynes or Wendover if you want a village but if you prefer a city Milton Keynes depends on your budget some the most expensive and exclusive areas of the country in this area as it is computer belt and close to film studios so it is how long is a piece of string

I wonder if Woburn would be good?

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/165685571#/?channel=RES_BUY

Or you could go towards Leighton Buzzard, hmm, not sure, it's not the nicest

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/167683529#/?channel=RES_BUY

Hollingdon

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/170638883#/?channel=RES_BUY

I would also be slightly wary of basing anything on a business being in xyz - having lived in north London at one point ( southbank offices) and then it moving to Woking - I would prioritise it being somewhere you like - if you can afford St Albans and don’t mind a fair bit of a commute (him) then it’s not a bad bet - bear in mind it’s outside zones so train commuting will be expensive for you . Same applies to all the places like St Albans, tring, berkhampstead - somewhere like bushey maybe is the right side for MK and in zones for you and not unattractive which will keep commuting costs down a lot .

Yep, you get a lot less for your money in Berkhamsted, lovely as it is!

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/170605493#/media?id=media0&ref=photoCollage&channel=RES_BUY

Also could he get a job a bit nearer to Lichfield ?
Stony Stratford is nice.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/164459180

just realised that’s an old listing.
Cosgrove , Hanslope , Woburn Sands, Calverton. Some lovely villages. Winslow , a small nearby town , 20 mins from MK.

St Albans has two trainlines - the Thameslink which runs into London St Pancras, Farringdon, City Thameslink and London Blackfriars, and the Abbey Flyer, which runs back and forth to Watford Junction, connecting to trains to MK, the Midlands and the north. If you wanted to live in St Albans and you found a home within an easy walk of the two stations, both you and your DH would have a nice easy commute to work. If your DH prefers to drive, then MK is a 45-min drive from SA up the M1.

SA is a lovely place to live and tbh I wouldn't move to Staffs if it will mean a really long commute for your DH. Move somewhere that is going to work well for your family - that means you and your DH for now - and has good schools for the future. Family support is good, but I wouldn't prioritise that over a good commute/quality of life for the two of you.

This is an example of train timings from St Albans Abbey to Milton Keynes Central on a workday: