Good areas within commuting distance to London?

FatVonD

Do you still need to retain a connection to your current town? If so Chelmsford etc are in Essex so east of London so you'd need to cross town to travel back out west again.

If I were you I'd look for the first town inside zone 6 (so you can buy a Travelcard to minimise your travel costs) on the line you currently travel into London on.

Tropez

Ellejmorgan wrote: »

There are some fantastic areas around here, you are welcome to PM me if you want any further info or try search engines and look for our local papers online, it will give you some further ideas i'm sure..

I lived in Yorkshire before here I prefer it here though...

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.

FatVonD wrote: »

Do you still need to retain a connection to your current town? If so Chelmsford etc are in Essex so east of London so you'd need to cross town to travel back out west again.

If I were you I'd look for the first town inside zone 6 (so you can buy a Travelcard to minimise your travel costs) on the line you currently travel into London on.

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!

FatVonD

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!

Ahh, I see, by west coast I was thinking Bristol/West Country but then I am a southerner

zcrat41

Bedford/st Neots.

Both less than an hour from London and proper countryside. 0

lostinrates

We live in wiltshire, and my husband does not commute daily, rather weekly, but plenty of our neighbours do. Its an expensive business though!

I would address this differently. I would find out where the appropriate london station for the proposed relocation is and work out which direction to go in from there. The daily slog to london is going to be a bigger impact than the trips home imo.

The other thing is this 'hour' buisiness. Normally you get geographical limits...e.g. Ours is m25 (hence no daily commute for us) and not time ones. This is obvious, because an hour. Can be taken to cross london within zone two at times, even using tube. (there are many times i have accepted it would have been quicker to walk myself were i fit and able. So imo its an unfair guidance to give you. This is relevant both if its for short notice attendance (meetings, crises or unforeseen events, or whether its to do with out of hours transport provision,..e.g. Taxis after the tube stops)


Working out which is the appropriate mainluine station will help, because that will let you get 'as far away' within the hour. E.g. From our direction few trains go into waterloo, more into paddington, so extra time needs to be considered to get into the City fropm Paddington...where as both are 'London' the extra time can be considerable.

The reason going west is popular is both traditional 'social reasons' (cotswolds, and other weekend spots in the west) but also for daily road commuters there is some choice in much of this direction between m4 and a303.

That said, i know people who daily commute from somerset, and thats no closer than you are much of the time.

Not many people have the opportunity to get it as 'right' as relocators do, so looking now, and considering connections is absolutely in your favour for making a good choice.

barbarawright

I don't understand why you are expected to move? Surely where you live has nothing to do with your employers? How can they force you? Is it in your contract that you have to live where they tell you? I'm sure we all know people who commute huge distances - the employers don't care as long as they get to work on time. I work in central London and have several colleagues who live on the coast, for example.

PaddyPaws

I relocated from Lancashire 12 years ago for work to an office based in Milton Keynes. Although based in MK I have spent a lot of time working in client offices in London and it's an easy commute from here (most trains take approx 45 mins - some are quicker, a few stop at all stations so take just over an hour).

MK is also on the west coast main line, I can catch the 6:22am train and be at my daughter's in Preston, Lancashire in time to walk my grandchildren to school.

If you don't fancy MK itself there are many villages around here to choose from if you want to be a bit more rural but with easy access to the mainline train from here

(I laughed at the thought of moving to MK, having lived here for 12 years now I love it)

HTH
PP

gingin_2

I'm in Cambridge and OH commutes into central London, it's a 52 minute train journey, plus tube. Im a Home Counties girl so know a fair few areas around the M25 ringroad pretty well and none of those towns appealed - I find it dull, overpriced suburbia (sorry for my bluntness) and wanted the safe, friendly, green, active city feel that we have in Cambridge. There is just so much to do here for all ages. Downsides are house prices and the availability of housing, it's a very tight, frustrating market and the season ticket prices I think are over £5k now. The villages are nice and cheaper if you want space.

Previously we lived in St Albans, it did very little for me, the shops aren't great, the nighlife is poor, housing is expensive and small. Plus points are the commute into London is very easy and there are some nice country pubs in the outer villages. We tried Hertford too and we were gone after 9 months - just awful. I have family in St Neots, as mentioned before and that's reasonable house prices wise and you'll get the detatched with a garden easier than any where else. Surrey might also be worth considering but harder to commute home to via Essex.

duchy

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!

There's the newish rail link up from Kent into St Pancras a mere hop from Euston. Some of the towns and villages out that way might suit but a lot depends on where in London your company is planning to relocate to.

peachyprice

Ellejmorgan wrote: »

Epping, Harlow & Chelmsford are all ok with excellent links to the A414, and the tube is accessible in Epping..
Harlow is 25 minutes to North London on the A406

All have good parks & facilities great shopping in Harlow & Chelmsford both also have excellent leisure facilities including a new pool in Harlow & ice skating in Chelmsford..

Also not far from Stanstead Harlow is 10 miles away, it's known for being very green, lots of grass verges and trees as the town isn't all that old..

Housing in these areas are alright you would need to shop around for the best housing and do some research...

Chelmsford and Epping yes, but Harlow? A nice area?

OP, it also depends where in London they're planning on moving to. It's no good moving to the east to say Chelmsford if they're off to the west. Equally, St.Albans is fine, but if they decide on say Canary Wharf you've then got to add on the extra time travelling from Euston to there. You could end up adding another hour to your commute if you choose the wrong side.

They really need to give you some indication of where in London they may move to before you can narrow it down, just 'London' is too vague.