Where would you live within 1 hour-ish of London?

[feb1982]

Would love to hear all opinions. Moved out of London to a pretty Surrey commuter town 5 years ago but not sure it’s where we want to be for ever…where would you go? DH currently needs to commute to central London around 3/4 days some weeks and others not at all. Good state schools, beautiful countryside nearby, cultural/arts scene and liberal leaning would be at the top of our wish list. Thank you!

People making the exact same move as you (and that I made 10 years ago) are pushing prices up that distance from London. If you stretch your commute a bit you can get something great within your budget.

Remember to also factor in commuting costs - St Albans is great but your daily commute will set you back £30ish pounds a day plus £10 parking if you’re not close to the station.

Also suggest Bishop's Stortford

Yes @BellesAndGracesi think that’s exactly the answer. I just feel a bit guilty as it would be DH suffering the longer commute

Brighton! I've lived here all my life, and love it. OK, it has it's bad points, but is lively and tolerant; with plenty of access to coast and country. And an hour to London on the fast train.

For your budget - Hertford? St Albans would mean a fairly small house for that. Cambridge. Folkestone. All ££ train tickets tho.

St Albans

If you look at St Albans on Rightmove check out the map as the places around 850 are a long way from the station in places like London colney. Traffic is a nightmare at peak time so if your partner needs the train you need to be walk/bike distance.

this is a nice quiet area but a very long walk from the station

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/172511429?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

Well, I found quite a few houses around £800k mark in St Albans itself; not London Colney! One in Jersey Farm/Marshalswick; another in Bernards Heath; a bungalow in Roberts Close….to name but a few! Some around 0.6 - 0.7 mile to the station.

Do you mean that you want the train to take an hour, or the total commute to take an hour? Those are very different things - eg my train is 15-20 mins but my door-to-desk London commute is an hour.

Also you can get to Piccadilly Circus easily from several mainline stations, so I wouldn't necessarily limit yourself to trains that go into Waterloo. Will your DH definitely always be based there? I've changed jobs (within London) and even in the same job the organisation has moved offices (within London).

Do also check the cost of the commute - even for the same distance or time the costs can be very different on different train companies.

I'd move to London!

But I have friends in a village near Sevenoaks and they adore it there. Fast train into central London is less than 40 mins, even from their small village. But it is all rolling countryside and fresh air.

Surrey (I know you already live there) has lots of nice villages that are well within 1 hour - anything along the slow lines from Waterloo to Guildford. Amazing country walks, pretty pubs, good food shops, clean air, safe environment.

Sevenoaks/ Westerham. Mil lives there and it seems really nice.

For sure! I got the impression tho that the op wanted a lot of space for her money hence the move. A terrace or bungalow might not be the dream.

St Albans is pretty conservative and would likely have the same vibe as you have now. What about somewhere like Lewes or Forest Row? Hassocks and Petersfoeld would be worth exploring too.

Or back to London? £850k would still get you a nice house and good schools in SE London, zone 4/5 (25 minute train to Charing X) and very easy to get out to the Kent, Sussex countryside and coast.

North Herts - Hitchin/Letchworth/Baldock/Royston

For DS, the top priority is being in the catchment area of Sandringham. He’s living in a first time family home there atm.

Lots of people live in the Victorian terraces around the city centre, like the Conservation area, Fleetville, etc, don’t they?

People suggesting Midlands towns and cities are correct in saying that the trains can reach central London in just over an hour but this is only the case if everything runs to plan. Also, it is very expensive for a season ticket plus the daily strain of commuting around 100 or so miles five days a week plus the journey to and from home. My suggestion would be Essex. There are some beautiful, hidden gems in this county. Colchester, Marks Tey and Kelvedon all have many services an hour to London and there are some lovely villages nearby. It is 45 minutes by train from Colchester to London Liverpool Street and 30 minutes from Chelmsford. Although it is not a cheap county, it is more affordable than most of the other home counties, including neighbouring Hertfordshire.

Also, Essex has a very good reputation for education.