Commuting from Reading to London

[Attenboroughsmistress]

Hello! Obviously lots of threads on this but wanted to start my own incase new insights to be had!

We are looking at moving to one of the pretty villages around Reading, we have a 1 year old and a dog and would like more space. I would love my child and hopefully future children to have more of a “wild” nature upbringing rather than total city life.

We do need to get to London for work however. My DH needs to get to Victoria 4 x a week and I need to get to city - Moorgate/Bank/Monument/London Bridge all work 3 x a week.

My timings are immensely flexible in current role, sort of just need to show face in office but can start/end work at home. DH mornings flexible but can’t leave until after 18:00.

A few of our friends have moved to places with “40 mins to London” trains recently and seem to be doing alright but just wanted to hear some more experiences.

Your honest view - is it worth the commute for the space and more greenery?

We keep holding back because of all the things London has to offer but since having a child it I make an honest assessment we only manage to walk the dog in the same small parks, if we go out to eat we choose the same favourite restaurants, we last went to the theatre probably 1.5 years ago, art galleries make me sleepy (how embarrassing lol but true), and we see our non-London friends more than our London friends because we can go and stay with them for the weekend and everyone in London so busy with kids etc that organising a get together requires 2 months notice anyway!

I just feel like we are clinging onto London for the “idea” rather than the practicalities of life with a young child.

Please help! :)

I thought the fast train from Reading didn't stop anywhere until it reached Paddington?
I agree but there are ones that also stop in Slough and the ones that stop at every station.

... makes me laugh on these threads when people refer to Caversham as a "village near Reading". It's part of Reading! Some parts of it are minutes away from the station.
I agree.

The trains to Waterloo are slow. Reading to Waterloo is about 68 mins.

I don't know what the trains from Hampshire (e,g, Farnborough) are like. They might be OK.

Yes I know.

It's Caversham darling! It's so not Reading, it's better than Reading, it has a Waitrose after all. 😂🙄

It's the same as people describing the university area as nice. It's nice if you don't mind students.

Look at Twyford and Woodley OP

Have you discounted greener parts of London like Eltham? Lots of parks, a quiet part of the city and trains into Victoria, London Bridge, Waterloo and Charing Cross. Buses that link you up with the tube at North Greenwich.

Twyford is on fast trains and the Liz Line and is nice and great for families but is more the burbs than a traditiona snalll village. Wargrave and Shiplake are lovely but you have to change trains. Sonning has no station and lots of traffic . Windsor, which is a bit of a tourist hole, you have to change at Slough.

If you get a yearly season ticket from Reading to Paddington it's about 5800 a year

Twyford station car park is full from about 7.00, and the village FB group complains about people driving from Wokingham (no fast trains) and parking in Twyford. We were about 20 minutes walk from the station, which was fine in good weather but miserable when wet. Have a look at Wargrave and Shiplake as the train from Henley connects with the GWR fast train. Other option, live nearer Maidenhead and drive to Maidenhead station where parking isn’t an issue.

Where is the dog and child going to be when you are both in London? To me, it sounds like you think moving out of London is going to give you a better life to walk the dog and that you aren’t taking advantage of living there.

But you, especially your dh, going to have less time because of the commute. And the extra pressure of station parking, connections and crowded commutes.

Trains from Farnborough into Waterloo are good. That might be more convenient for both of you than Paddington tbh - Waterloo and city to Bank, or change at Clapham junction for very frequent trains to Victoria.
It’s not a pretty village though.

You could look at Church Crookham - you can walk to Fleet station, though there are fewer trains than to Farnborough.

When I did a similar commute, the travel to the station was the worst part by far. I would definitely prioritise being able to walk that part, it makes a massive difference.

I would look at schools too (secondary). It becomes a consideration much sooner than you think it will.

Basingstoke to Waterloo is just under an hour, (fast train 50 minutes) - so places like Hook, Winkfield, Farnborough, Fleet, which are on the same line will be similar. The line into Waterloo you can often change st Clapham Junction which makes Victoria easier.

Reading to Waterloo is very slow, as are places along that line (Lower Earley, Wokingham, etc.)

You also have room consider te extra costs in time and money - travel to the station, parking at the station, tube/bus/walk at the other end. A fast train from Reading is only good if you have a short walk to the station.

If it's once a week, fine, but if you have to be in daily - I wouldn't make this move.

Changing at Slough isn't a problem because the Windsor to Slough line only goes to Slough, then you get the train to Paddington or Reading.

The downside with Windsor is that not much of it is close to the station, and parking isn't great. Eton is close to the station.

Villages like Eton Wick and Dorney are great and you can get to Taplow or Burnham for trains.

Taplow and Burnham are on the Paddington main line, as is Iver.

Yes this is very true! Possibly I am imagining the lovely Saturday mornings and forgetting the day to day slog and getting home later each week night.

We had thought Reading direction because we have really good friends who have moved to near Newbury and seem to be making it work (albeit they need to go to office in London less than us). And also out west seems so lovely in terms of pubs, access to Cotswolds etc (and just generally feeling more familiar with that direction). Also DH office move is very recent - he was previously in City with me, and I hadn’t recalibrated the absolute ball ache of getting from paddington to Victoria.

You have all given me ample food for thought so thanks very much!! The reason I posted. I think we will re-look at greener London surrounds and south (or north?) for Victoria convenience. Any ideas most welcome!

Although - people always describe places like Pangbourne as full of London bankers - how are they managing it as presumably they work in the City too and needed to be at desk for trading hours? Do they all have SAH partners to make it work?

It's not full of city bankers. Typically you'll have a high-earning husband and a SAHM or a wife who works part-time.

That's a massive oversimplification of Pangbourne.

Yes there are big houses with London commuters but the demographic is way more mixed than that - there is social housing there and lots of terraced houses as well as big detached houses.

Though I would say it's common where one person in the relationship commutes into London for there to be another person who doesn't work or works locally and so can spend more time on maintaining the home life of children and dogs.

St Albans in Hertfordshire is very nice and there are trains to Victoria that take 49 minutes (one change at London St Pancras)

I know a family that lives in Pangbourne. 3 DC (one ND) - they aren't city bankers. The DH works in an office (hybrid and not London), the DM in a school.

Places like Pangbourne have some expensive houses as it's on the Thames, but it doesn't mean that the occupants are working in the City.

There are lots of great places for dog walks around Twyford, and also some nice village pubs (not in Twyford though).

Victoria is a bit of a pain to get to - I used to do Lizzie Line from Paddington to Bond Street then Jubilee to Westminster and walk from there. The circle line is slow and you can wait 15 minutes for one to arrive.

I commuted from reading to Victoria for about 8 years in the noughties. The tubes were often a pain so I sometimes walked or got the bus from paddington. It's ok as long as you don't have to get home for a specific time as there are sometimes long delays due to incidents on the line or weather disruptions.

op we in London with 2 kids 1&5

now big girl in school we have 2 drop offs - so a kid each for drop off and pick up at diff locations - my commute is only 20 mins cycle and 30 on overground - and I find this tough going I feel like I. Always running around getting a kid somewhere and then work and then running back to get them on time

of something happens with the trains it’s so stressful husband has had to jump on a lime bike at King’s Cross a few times and cycle as fast as he could
to make it to the school gate while I’m trapped on platform and overground is experiencing severe delays and I’m trying to get the baby at nursery by 6!!

wouldn’t feel comfortable both husband and I being over and hour from the kids in case anything went wrong!

At least we have options like the lime bike or whatever to get to them

I live around that area, not Pangbourne but similar and usually one partner commutes and the other works more locally or wfh. If both commute it's usually different days. DH is a commuter and probably gets screwed once a fortnight with trains. I think both of you an hour and a half away in London is dicey unless you have family nearby to do pickups.

You'd get more for your money in Twyford/ Reading suburbs than one of the Thames villages.