Where to buy outside London?

demontfort

Try Arlesey in Bedfordshire if you want really quiet, it's a large village with it's own station and 40 minutes into Kings Cross but has limited housing stock. If you want to live somewhere livelier try Bedford also 40 minutes or less into St Pancras, the town centre is struggling but the riverside is very pleasant.  Otherwise Royston is a nice spot at the foot of the downs and has a 40 minutes fast train to Kings Cross and Cambridge is even closer. You'd get a decent house in all 3 for £300k or less.
Letchworth is also worth a look but pricier and you might even find a smallish house in Hitchin on your budget.

If you're feeling really adventurous and can manage a slightly longer commute, go north to Northants, Northampton, Wellingborough and Kettering all have stations less than 1 hour from central London and you'll get a lot more for your money.

penners324

Search on Rightmove would be a better option than just Google...

penners324

Eg I'm in Leighton Buzzard. 30 mins to 48 mins into Euston.

Lots of development happening on the outskirts of town.

Several good pubs, cafes, restaurants etc in the town centre.

There's a Waitrose, Morrisons, Tescos, M&S, 2x Aldis, 2 mini Tescos and a mini Waitress and a mini Sainsbury's 

getmore4less

Was going to mention LB as we go there for the Black Lion mainly & spoons for a cheapy).
Also a brewery that does decent beer and holds comedy events.

Overall a good market town in Beds close to the Bucks border.

Essentials on the doorstep with MK not too far for some of the bigger options.

Station on the Linslade side of town.
If you can find a bit more might squeeze a 3bed  
RM link

penners324

getmore4less said:

Was going to mention LB as we go there for the Black Lion mainly & spoons for a cheapy).
Also a brewery that does decent beer and holds comedy events.

Overall a good market town in Beds close to the Bucks border.

Essentials on the doorstep with MK not too far for some of the bigger options.

Station on the Linslade side of town.
If you can find a bit more might squeeze a 3bed  
RM link

Have you tried the Bald Buzzard?

getmore4less

penners324 said:

getmore4less said:

Was going to mention LB as we go there for the Black Lion mainly & spoons for a cheapy).
Also a brewery that does decent beer and holds comedy events.

Overall a good market town in Beds close to the Bucks border.

Essentials on the doorstep with MK not too far for some of the bigger options.

Station on the Linslade side of town.
If you can find a bit more might squeeze a 3bed  
RM link

Have you tried the Bald Buzzard?

Great little place not been since lockdown.

For our group it moved away from what we were looking for with the beer selections so it dropped off the LB crawl days, current opening times don't fit.
Prices got a bit peaky.

joshiesaunt

You might be able to find a two bed flat in the Bexley Borough - some fast trains for example from Sidcup to London Bridge are around 20 minutes.  Lots of green space, great schools and easy to get into Central London and out to the Kent and Sussex coasts.

joshiesaunt

So look in postcodes DA15, DA14, DA5 even SE9 (Eltham).

Mahsroh

Haywards Heath, West Sussex.

You'll get a 1 or 2 bedroom flat within your £300k budget, it's around 45mins/50mins on the train into Central London but there are also multiple options in terms of London stations (Victoria, London Bridge, Blackfriars, Farringdon, St Pancras).

Not sure how commuting costs compare with other areas you're looking at.