Experience of Living in Rickmansworth or End of the Central Line?

datlex

Years ago I lived in Dedham easy access to the M40, Also easy access by train into central London.

AdrianC

datlex wrote: »

Years ago I lived in Dedham easy access to the M40, Also easy access by train into central London.

Denham, y'mean?

It's not on the tube, so a BIG difference in fares.

EachPenny

Is access to a tube station an absolute must, or would National Rail be an option you'd consider (subject to fare levels of course!)?

For access to Liverpool Street locations near the the Lea Valley lines might be attractive, TfL and the London Mayor are engaged in a 'power grab' when it comes to suburban rail services with London Overground already serving Cheshunt. This is having a positive impact on fare levels and service frequencies along with the increasing availability of contactless/Oyster fares. You might even want to consider somewhere between Cheshunt and Epping (for example) could give you a choice of routes in the event of service disruption.

One thing to bear in mind is proposals for Crossrail 2 would see TfL take over services to Broxbourne and beyond and linking directly to the West End. There is the potential for this to have a (positive) impact on property values longer-term, which might offset any additional costs in fares in the short to medium term.

Access to Stansted Airport, and remaining relatively close to family in Enfield might be a bonus too.

theGrinch

EachPenny wrote: »

Is access to a tube station an absolute must, or would National Rail be an option you'd consider (subject to fare levels of course!)?

Tube now or soon is essential.

We have looked at Brentwood and Shenfield (any views?) on the basis of Crossrail by 2020.

EachPenny

theGrinch wrote: »

Tube now or soon is essential.

Is that on the basis of fares, or convenience?

Bear in mind tube trains travel relatively slowly with frequent stops, the journey from the M25 to central London can feel like torture unless you are a fan of train travel. National Rail has fast and semi-fast trains serving selected stations.

For example, Rickmansworth to Liverpool St by Met line in the morning peak is around 55 mins. St Albans (further out) is 36 mins with a generous allowance to change at Farringdon.

warehouse

Rickmansworth is a very nice place to live. Think further ahead when kids arrive and the schools are d*mn good too.

Planet_Switzerland

No experience in living in those places, but I've always found when I've tried to go beyond Harrow on the Hill on the Metropolitan Line it's been a pain in the backside.


They always seem to hang around Harrow on the Hill for ages and I do find most of the time the trains go to Uxbridge rather than Amersham/Chesham, so as well as a long journey you're looking at potentially waiting a while for the train to turn up.


You also have Metropolitan Line trains going into Central London which terminate at Baker St which is another bottleneck to the journey if you want to go to Liverpool St.

apollo9

Just to add that if you are a mile or two from the station you could always cycle or scooter it there and the parking is cheaper.

I like Rickmansworth (live in Ruislip) as an area but after living in Denham (and dealing with NR etc) I much prefer to be near the underground.