Questions about moving out of London

DonDaddyD

Right then.

If you lived in London,wanted to move out of London (property between £250,000 - £300,000) but retain the ability to commute into London were would you move to and why?

If you wanted a little ethnic diversity but did not want a city, where would move to and wouldn't move to and why?

When people refer to it being a different way of living what are they refering to?

BelgianBeerGeek

Define "commute"

drays

Paris.

Commute by Eurostar.

DonDaddyD

If you're wondering...

I am considering it but I would need to jump through many a hoop and over many a hurdle to do it. Essex is being debated but can't see it being a realistic option (watch me move to Essex and the removal of my nuts). I don't like or know anything about the North West of London (thar be globins and by 2017 most it will be Heathrow...). That leaves South West and South East of London.

Ethnic diversity would be nice, but not the London kind.

Discuss.

DonDaddyD

BelgianBeerGeek wrote:

Define "commute"

Train or car. Cycling to and from the trainstation is an option.

Kieran_Burns

Don - you have to state how long a commute you would find acceptable and how much are you willing to pay?

You can make London in less than 2 hours from mine as I'm within spitting distance of East Midlands Parkway. That much would get you a good sized 4-5 bed detached house with garage in these parts.

cyclingprop

Anywhere on the Bedford-Brighton route gives you 24h trains quite often.

How green an area do you want? Or is cusp-of-city-and-country preferable?

DonDaddyD

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Don - you have to state how long a commute you would find acceptable and how much are you willing to pay?

You can make London in less than 2 hours from mine as I'm within spitting distance of East Midlands Parkway. That much would get you a good sized 4-5 bed detached house with garage in these parts.

Fair point, I have no concept of how much it costs these days to commute by train (£33 return Derby to London - when I went Uni there). Assume my given option would be to drive and that I wouldn't want to spend more than 1hr (1hr 15/30mins tops) commuting.

Any additional info about train fares would be greatly appreciated.

Derby does make me think though....

DonDaddyD

cyclingprop wrote:

Anywhere on the Bedford-Brighton route gives you 24h trains quite often.

How green an area do you want? Or is cusp-of-city-and-country preferable?

I'm thinking village, or new build on the cusp of the city. There is no point leaving a City like London (as great as London) to move into another City.

I'm open to rural and country and cusp-of-the city suggestions.

greg66_tri_v2.0

It can depend on whether you want your mainline rail terminus to be close to where you work (eg commuting into Paddington but working in Canary Wharf would seem to be a bad idea). OTOH, if this is a long term plan, then maybe that should be regarded as an issue over which you have to be flexible.

Surrey/Hampshire into Waterloo is pretty convenient; Beds/Bucks into Euston ditto.

Whatever you do find somewhere that has a reasonably quick service. As an example Sevenoaks in Kent has trains that go Sevenoaks-Waterloo East-Charing X, missing out about 15-20 stops on the way.

I'd aim for 1 hour on the train each way, max. Use that plus the train journey convenience to identify the band in which you'd be living then select towns from the band.

You know how much an annual rail season ticket is, right?

As for ethnic diversity, I'd say if you're going to move out, get your fill of it in London and leave it there. Outside London if I think ethnic diversity somewhere like Luton (no thanks) comes to mind.

rubertoe

To many variables to your question, You could commute from Holland if you like.

I'm moving "out" but not to far - it will still be commutable by bike, but it will be outside of London (which i virtually live on the outskirts of anyway) and the otherside of the M25. House prices are the reason for the move. I pay a stupid premium for living in a London Borough and I can get a much better sized house for a massive saving by moving 4/5 miles away from where I live now.

rjsterry

Pretty much anywhere in the south east is commutable by train to a greater or lesser extent. Prices vary depending on the speed of trains into London and how nice it is. I think you might find life in the sticks a bit pedestrian compared with South Wimbledon. Zone 5 is slow enough and TBH, you don't need to move much further out before you start seeing an improvement in £/sqft. But it is patchy: stockbroker/footballer belt is comparable with central London. Make yourself a shortlist of locations and spend a few weekends driving around, having pub lunches and peering in estate agents' windows.

Kieran_Burns

Which is kind of my point (ish) I'm sat by the M1, with the mainline to London on my doorstep, EMA within a stones throw, the M1/M6 link (A50) 1/2 mile away and 3 cities v close (Derby, Nottingham and Leicester) for city life.

I'm also 400 yards from the countryside and have 'proper' country pubs all over the bleeding place.

I do not like city living and am very much a village type at heart but I don't have to compromise on getting to places

tailwindhome

DonDaddyD wrote:

Ethnic diversity would be nice, but not the London kind

Eh?


Hey ITB. Guess who's coming to dinner.

DonDaddyD

Thanks Greg,

Whatever you do find somewhere that has a reasonably quick service. As an example Sevenoaks in Kent has trains that go Sevenoaks-Waterloo East-Charing X, missing out about 15-20 stops on the way.

I'd aim for 1 hour on the train each way, max. Use that plus the train journey convenience to identify the band in which you'd be living then select towns from the band.

Is there a map of the train routes and the predicted journey times into London?

As for ethnic diversity, I'd say if you're going to move out, get your fill of it in London and leave it there. Outside London if I think ethnic diversity somewhere like Luton (no thanks) comes to mind.

I want some, but not too much...

asprilla

DonDaddyD wrote:

Is there a map of the train routes and the predicted journey times into London?

Not one I could find.

However, some lines are better than others and despite it's faults SWT do operate a decent service on the Woking / Guildford line which runs fast in a morning missing out a load of stations (notably Clapham, Earlsfield and Vauxhall) which speeds up the route. Walton to Waterloo, for instance, is 25 minutes in a morning compared to 35 minutes at normal times.

However, being on a good line comes at a price; the lines mentioned as good are also the most over-crowded in the UK.

Also, whilst improving, the home counties are prime Daily Mail territory so don't expect too much in the way of diversity.

cyclingprop

http://www.commutermaps.co.uk/

roger_merriman

DonDaddyD wrote:

Thanks Greg,

Whatever you do find somewhere that has a reasonably quick service. As an example Sevenoaks in Kent has trains that go Sevenoaks-Waterloo East-Charing X, missing out about 15-20 stops on the way.

I'd aim for 1 hour on the train each way, max. Use that plus the train journey convenience to identify the band in which you'd be living then select towns from the band.

Is there a map of the train routes and the predicted journey times into London?

As for ethnic diversity, I'd say if you're going to move out, get your fill of it in London and leave it there. Outside London if I think ethnic diversity somewhere like Luton (no thanks) comes to mind.

I want some, but not too much...

TFL has maps and using various sites you can work out journey times.

If it (place) has good rail connections then it will cost.

if you do mean truly out of london then expect, to be the only black man in the village, even in the leafy SW suburbs it's a sea of white.

rubertoe

DDD could be the ethnic diversity

el_presidente

I did this 6 months ago. Sold our tiny 3-bed semi in S. Ealing and for the exact same money bought a detached 4-bed in a village near High Wycombe with a double garage and a 50m garden that backs on to a field full of lambs (the lambs are temporary). Already I have no idea how we ever lived in the old house.

I work in the city, my commute used to be 50mins each way on the bike and effectively free; now it is 1h30 each way on my folding bike & train - 25min ride to High Wycombe station, 35 min train ride, 25min ride from Marylebone to the office. Cost is £305 per month. I do miss the old commute; the folder isn't great to ride. I drive to the station on average once a week when I get fed up with riding or if the weather is horrible.

DonDaddyD

OK thanks guys. While you'll won't get London levels of diversity I think places like Essex, Red Hill, Dorking, Leatherhead et al (around the M25) are seeing an increase in ethnic diversity. Much like white folks that are leaving London, 2nd generation minorities, like me, are doing exactly the same thing. Obviously the geographic area means we are spread thinly but 'we' are moving out. Many of us can't afford London, or are also wise to the fact that there is a better life to be had outside of it.

Also, I'm tired of being asked by new minorities (Polish, Romanians ect)
"Where are you from?"
"London"
"No, where are you really from?"
"England" (I'm born here, I've spent all of my life here, I speak no other languages and I've been to France more than I've been to Jamaica)
"Sigh..." <<eye role>>

It is actually rude to ask the question and not accept the answer as though I should be from somewhere else or don't know my heritage. Truth is there are Black and Asian people living here with no link (possibly none living) to the Country where their ancestors or great/grandparents came from.

Then you have to consider schools in London and the type of kids being sent to these schools in areas where you can still buy houses for around £250,000. I'd argue that's why there is a noticable increase in the number of kids from ethnicities other than 'white' entering private education. So f*ck that, I'm fooking off out. If I had to be honest I don't want to live in a place where I'm the only one and people are crossing the street as I walk past or the pub literally freezes as I walk-in, but the alternative isn't all its cracked up to be... There's more, I have to think about my son and both sides of the argument - being the only one vs being one of too many, but it is a debate for the pub.

DonDaddyD

el_presidente wrote:

I did this 6 months ago. Sold our tiny 3-bed semi in S. Ealing and for the exact same money bought a detached 4-bed in a village near High Wycombe with a double garage and a 50m garden that backs on to a field full of lambs (the lambs are temporary). Already I have no idea how we ever lived in the old house.

I work in the city, my commute used to be 50mins each way on the bike and effectively free; now it is 1h30 each way on my folding bike & train - 25min ride to High Wycombe station, 35 min train ride, 25min ride from Marylebone to the office. Cost is £305 per month. I do miss the old commute; the folder isn't great to ride. I drive to the station on average once a week when I get fed up with riding or if the weather is horrible.

This is what I'm talking about, that's what I want.

rjsterry

rubertoe wrote:

DDD could be the ethnic diversity

Quite. If you want Surrey village, then at the risk of invoking a Little Britain sketch, you might stand out a bit. I'd maybe have a look at the very outer London suburbs - the kind where you can see fields over the back fence, but are still in touch with civilisation.

bigmat

South East London / North Kent border is a nice balance of rural and city living. I can still commute to central London by bike but schools are better, life is a bit more chilled out, there is a proper community and you have decent access to the countryside - I'm no more than 30 minutes ride from fields full of sheep and winding country lanes. Also within easy strike of village pubs etc. Train links are pretty good in to London Bridge and Charing Cross. Prices where I am (Beckenham) might be a bit steep for what I think you probably want, but there are other areas a bit further out that might hit the spot.

rubertoe

rjsterry wrote:

rubertoe wrote:

DDD could be the ethnic diversity

Quite. If you want Surrey village, then at the risk of invoking a Little Britain sketch, you might stand out a bit. I'd maybe have a look at the very outer London suburbs - the kind where you can see fields over the back fence, but are still in touch with civilisation.

This is me, but again it comes at a premium. move the other side of the M25 and I dont pay a premium.

Ben6899

rubertoe wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

rubertoe wrote:

DDD could be the ethnic diversity

Quite. If you want Surrey village, then at the risk of invoking a Little Britain sketch, you might stand out a bit. I'd maybe have a look at the very outer London suburbs - the kind where you can see fields over the back fence, but are still in touch with civilisation.

This is me, but again it comes at a premium. move the other side of the M25 and I dont pay a premium.

I was gonna say; "that's Barnet!"

How about Welwyn Garden City? How do house prices stack up there?

el_presidente

DonDaddyD wrote:

el_presidente wrote:

I did this 6 months ago. Sold our tiny 3-bed semi in S. Ealing and for the exact same money bought a detached 4-bed in a village near High Wycombe with a double garage and a 50m garden that backs on to a field full of lambs (the lambs are temporary). Already I have no idea how we ever lived in the old house.

I work in the city, my commute used to be 50mins each way on the bike and effectively free; now it is 1h30 each way on my folding bike & train - 25min ride to High Wycombe station, 35 min train ride, 25min ride from Marylebone to the office. Cost is £305 per month. I do miss the old commute; the folder isn't great to ride. I drive to the station on average once a week when I get fed up with riding or if the weather is horrible.

This is what I'm talking about, that's what I want.

High Wycombe is ethnically diverse, at my kid's nursery there are all sorts of different ethnicities both with the kids and the teachers. No-one would give you a second glance.

il_principe

Oof. Whilst most placed on the Sevenoals line are very nice, they will also be very expensive. Very very expensive, thanks to the good trains. I'd consider Kent of I were you. Some lovely parts and stay close to the HS1 line as that gives you an uber fast train commute. Be warned that HS1 has already inflated house prices along its route.

Coriander

DonDaddyD wrote:

Is there a map of the train routes and the predicted journey times into London?

My brother used to have a book that was called something like the Daily Telegraph's Commute Planner. It did everything you're looking for - by towns it listed the length of train journey, frequency of service, property prices, description of towns and areas, etc.

No idea if it's still produced, though...

okgo

Pretty much all the places mentioned in this thread are going to be out of budget unless you want a shoebox aren't they?

junglist_matty

Cambridge to London Kings Cross train journey is 35mins on the direct trains.... House prices in Cambridge are not that cheap, but it's a pleasant city (sorry, large town) with plenty to do, good culture.

If you want cheaper houses and rural, there's no shortage of stereotypical English villages (hundreds of thatch roofs and quaint olde English brick buildings, village pubs etc.) that are within a 5-10 mile radius of the "city" centre and train station.... You could get yourself a good size rural house with massive garden for well under £300k around here.

Plenty of people I know commute to London for work from here.... It's really not a city!