Good areas within commuting distance to London?

pinkteapot

catkins wrote: »

Renting and buying are definitely cheaper in Colchester than Chelmsford. For the price of a 3 bed terraced or maybe semi in Chelmsford you can get a 4 bed detached in Colchester

Yep - mum lives in Chelmsford and her 3-bed link-detached is worth the same as our 4-bed detached in Colchester. We're a 15 minute walk from Colchester station; she's a 25 minute walk from Chelmsford station.

However, Chelmsford is 30 minutes from London Liverpool Street and Colchester 65 minutes. Chelmsford is therefore wildly more popular with commuters and so has significantly higher house prices.

I don't think there's anything to choose between Chelmsford and Colchester in terms of 'niceness'. Both have some iffy estates (what town doesn't?). Comparing Colchester to Harlow is a bit harsh!

Lots of nice villages around both towns but if OP wants to be accessible to the West Coast then Essex isn't for him/her. The one thing I hate about Essex is being so out on a limb. We spend most of our holidays in the Lake District and it's a bit of a faff from over here. If work didn't tie us to this area I'd be somewhere like Derbyshire - within a 3 hour driving radius you can reach much of England.

catkins

Ellejmorgan wrote: »

No I don't agree, I was born in Colchester lived there a long time and I know Chelmsford just as well, my daughter lives there..

Neither one is more expensive than the other, it's about which part you live in of the towns..

I know 3 couples looking for properties - 2 to rent and 1 to buy. They all say Colchester is much cheaper but as they all work in Chelmsford are not too sure they want to live in Colchester.

The ones that want to rent say they could definitely rent a 4 bed detached in Colchester (no not a horrible part) for the same rent as a 3 bed terrace.

I never cease to be amazed at prices in Chelmsford whether it be for rent or buy. Mind you there are no really horrible places in Chelmsford - Melbourne is probably the worst part but is not actually that bad - I know about 6 people that live there

pinkteapot

catkins wrote: »

I know 3 couples looking for properties - 2 to rent and 1 to buy. They all say Colchester is much cheaper but as they all work in Chelmsford are not too sure they want to live in Colchester.

My mum did it the other way round - lived in Chelmsford and worked in Colchester. That daily drive up and down the A12 is pretty grim and both towns have bad traffic in rush hour. If they work in Chelmsford and can afford to live there, I'd highly recommend it!

Prices are so high simply because it's so popular with commuters. My trains into London for work are lovely and quiet. Until Chelmsford when half the bloomin' town boards the train. London salaries keep house prices higher there. As you head out of London along the trainline, prices get progressively cheaper. Same applies on most routes out of London.

Ellejmorgan

catkins wrote: »

I know 3 couples looking for properties - 2 to rent and 1 to buy. They all say Colchester is much cheaper but as they all work in Chelmsford are not too sure they want to live in Colchester.

The ones that want to rent say they could definitely rent a 4 bed detached in Colchester (no not a horrible part) for the same rent as a 3 bed terrace.

I never cease to be amazed at prices in Chelmsford whether it be for rent or buy. Mind you there are no really horrible places in Chelmsford - Melbourne is probably the worst part but is not actually that bad - I know about 6 people that live there

I don't agree, it would need to be exactly the same spec property, worth exactly the same amount of money to be a fair comparison..
Think of some areas there ie ST Johns, are you telling me it's cheaper, Welshwoods too costs a packet to live in, Roach Vale isn't cheap either...

I'm not going to argue the point any further, I already know the answer....

daisiegg

Tropez wrote: »

Thank you for the kind offer! I shall keep it in mind

I've been hitting the search engines since I was informed of these sinister shenanigans and I shall make a note to check the local news for these areas. You're absolutely right that it is a great way to get an idea of an area.



Yes, I would need to go back home quite regularly, to visit friends and relatives. I would be heading north west from Essex, I believe. The West Coast Main Line really does not follow the west coast at all! I don't mind train journeys so much provided that they are simple and don't involve waiting around for extended periods for connecting trains. I would say that if I could get to Euston easy enough from wherever I may locate to then that would be fine.

I have absolutely no idea how these zone things work in London so may I quickly thank you for reminding me to check!

Do you have or intend to have children? Then you'd obviously need to consider quality of schools.

It is 15 mins on the train to Tottenham Hale from Harlow, and then another 15 mins to Euston on the Victoria line...but if you were going to live in Harlow, don't! Check out Sawbridgeworth and the other surrounding villages. Lovely.

daisiegg

peachyprice wrote: »

I think we must have differing ideas of what a 'gorgeous' area is. None of those parts of Harlow do it for me.

Totally agree! Harlow is a horrible place. Every time I go into the town centre I vow never to return. (I'm allowed to say this...I was born there!)

Plus, you wouldn't want your kids (if you have them) going to school in Harlow.

peachyprice

daisiegg wrote: »

Check out Sawbridgeworth and the other surrounding villages. Lovely.

Now we're talking!

Tropez

Thanks for the further responses, everyone. I can see Harlow and Colchester appear to be quite divisive

To answer a question that has been asked, no, we don't have children or any plans to have any, so schooling isn't a concern of ours but with that in mind schools that have, shall we say, a reputation for being attended by unruly pupils would of course be off-putting as I wouldn't really want to live close by but then I wouldn't like to live close to a main route used by pupils walking to and from school anyway.

And thank you all for the further information.

Ellejmorgan

daisiegg wrote: »

Totally agree! Harlow is a horrible place. Every time I go into the town centre I vow never to return. (I'm allowed to say this...I was born there!)

Plus, you wouldn't want your kids (if you have them) going to school in Harlow.

To make a reasonable comparison you would have needed to attend every single school in Harlow..
My 6 year old has just been assessed to having a reading age of 9.5, so the schools can't be that bad can they...

Harlow is a good place...
Like anywhere it has it's good and bad areas...

Unlike some of you I do actually live here so I do know what i'm talking about...

I do agree with the town center comment though we do need better shops, then again I love shopping in Leeds...

catkins

Ellejmorgan wrote: »

I don't agree, it would need to be exactly the same spec property, worth exactly the same amount of money to be a fair comparison..
Think of some areas there ie ST Johns, are you telling me it's cheaper, Welshwoods too costs a packet to live in, Roach Vale isn't cheap either...

I'm not going to argue the point any further, I already know the answer....

They are definitely cheaper than the equivalent parts of Chelmsford