Help! Need to move out of London to a nice commuter town but don't seem to be able to afford any.?

Question

We've looked at Harpenden, Hertford, St. Albans, Ware, Kingston, Guildford, Surbiton... all seem too darn expensive. There must be somewhere outside of London which regular people can afford on one salary without it being rough..

We're renting, need a train line into London (King's x ideally) and want somewhere nice and baby-friendly as we're at that stage. Any ideas?

Answer 1

Late last year I moved out from renting in inner London to buying a flat within commuting distance, on a fairly limited budget (I certainly couldn't have afforded any of the places you name).

When I was looking I did a lot of research on the web, and found that the cheapest places were mostly new towns (not terribly nice places, generally) - like Crawley, Harlow, Basildon, Slough, Stevenage. I've relatives in several of these towns, and have been to a couple of the others, and knew very well that I had no desire whatseover to live in any of them. I did consider Brighton too - which would have been feasible, but only if I'd bought somewhere very small



The one agreeable, unrough, place I decided I could afford to get a decent-sized flat in was on the Essex coast, a 45-minute train ride from Fenchurch Street (most reliable railway in the country, nice, comfortable, airconditioned trains, too), was Westcliff-on-Sea. It's a pleasant enough place, and being right on the coast is a particular bonus.

Leigh-on-Sea, the next place towards London, on the same railway line, is nicer still, but a bit more expensive.

I'd have thought that Leigh was probably a slightly nicer place to bring up a family, but also that Westcliff would be acceptable enough, too, hopefully.

For later years, there are really very good schools in both places (which are in the same borough) - There was an Evening Standard survey a couple of years ago that apparently rated the town as, overall, having the best quality of life in the SE of England - and it is, all in all, a really agreeable place.

I seem to recall reading, I think on the Times website, this week, that Letchworth Garden City (from where you could get a train into Kings X) was relatively cheap, but pleasant, too.

Answer 2

How far from London are you willing to go?

Answer 3

Unless you have the money, or a decent income, you cant get a decent place.