Places to live while commuting to London

getmore4less

Although the OP said Liverpool street they did not make it clear where they are really going in London.

If using any other onward transport(other than a short walk) there may be other options that work.

Kim_kim

kinger101 wrote: »

OP - rework your budget to include rent + rail travel.

I'd then focus solely on trains arriving directly at Liverpool street. There are so many, that it isn't necessary to go through the hassle (and additional expense) of jumping on the tube at rush-hour.

Next time you at Liverpool street, just grab as many timetables as you can for all the national rail services arriving there. Work at the commute times vs housing + rail costs, then do a recky one weekend at the shortlisted areas.

You might also want to consider likelihood you'll get a seat on the train. It will decline the further in you are.

OP I would do this, find out what trains go straight to Liverpool Street and work back.
The only thing I disagree about, the further out, the more chance you’ll have of getting a seat, as it fills up as it nears London.

kinger101

Kim_kim wrote: »

The only thing I disagree about, the further out, the more chance you’ll have of getting a seat, as it fills up as it nears London.

I think you've misread.

es5595

You've got a lot of good advice re areas, since you're planning on commuting, once you've narrowed it down to a few areas, I'd have a look at the train companies you're using and their delay minutes / right time arrivals over the last six months/year.

It's all very well having a quoted time of 35 minutes to Liverpool Street, but when they only make this 80% of the time, thats one day EVERY week you're going to be late to work and late home. And some are a lot worse!

That said, Chelmsford is a lovely place to live, and with regards to a train seat, three trains each morning peak start from Chelmsford so you can be sure to get a seat. Slightly further afield, Witham and Colchester both have good service frequency and the housing prices you're looking at.

Cookiez

Thank you everyone for your suggestions, I will take a look at all of them. It has already been a great help!

My top priorities for picking an area would be having public parks or public woodlands accessible by foot, bike or public transportation and being a nice area in general with a low crime rate. I'm also looking for something more further from London, rather than closer, as I'm trying to move somewhere calmer and a bit away from the crowds.

Regarding the travelling costs, it will depend a bit... If it's expensive (e.g. >£150/month), then the budget to spend on rent won't be as high as the one I mentioned above. The sum of rent and travel costs should not exceed £1900 (e.g. a 2-bed house costing £1700/month with rail costing £200/month would work). Liverpool Street or London Bridge would both work as final stations.

Thank you also for the suggestion to check the train companies history and the railway routes. I will make sure to check that.

Any other suggestions you can offer are very much welcome!

hazyjo

If Liv Street or London Bridge, you'll find other stations would work such as Fenchurch Street, Cannon Street (do they still go into there? Not sure) or Moorgate, etc. All easy walks. I go into Fen St and walk to Liv St.

Some tube stations should also be considered as there are many in the City. There are some lovely areas on the Central Line. Pretty much everything after Woodford or Hainault are nice.

As much as I moaned about Brentwood, it also had a lot of plus points. Shenfield too.

My Leigh on Sea ticket is around £3500 a year. Fast trains take 43 mins to Fen St station. Chingford is £1700ish and take 30 mins to Liv St station.

Cookiez

Thanks for the tip, hazyjo. I wasn't aware there were trains coming into Cannon Street and Fenchurch Street, that would work even better for me than London Bridge.

I'll check those towns as well.

EssexGirl

On the Fenchurch street line are Stanford le Hope & East Tilbury. Both have lovely walks around and to a nature park, forts. Laindon has woods close by and neighbouring Basildon has a huge park with a fab Olympic size pool.

Lokolo

Check out http://www.commutefrom.com/ for commuting distances. But obviously this shows peak times. My peak train time is 23 minutes. But this is only once an hour, and is usually packed full.

TripleH

agrinnall wrote: »

Cheap compared to London perhaps, but both are anong the most desireable, and hence costly, places in the north of England.

Whitby?? Nightmare to get to, beautiful yes, highly desirable in the North is news to me. I understand about Harrogate but won't choose to live there.

To the Op, does it have to be Liverpool Street? I assume you work in the City? There might be other stations you can consider?