Cheapest town/ cities that are commutable to london

lr1277

Here are a few more things for you to think about.

If you are buying a house (though conceivably renting as well), as Kirstie Allsop said in one of her shows, you need to love the house. You have to feel whatever hardwork you are doing to pay for said house, is worth it.

Advantages of commuting:

You might be able to get some work done (if you can get a seat though that is not always necessary).

Yes housing/food costs and quality of life might/will be better as you get further away from London.

You could pay for your travel using an Amex. Then you could use any accrued points to go travelling. That may ease the pain of the commute.

Are season ticket loans still offered?

Downsides perhaps?

Time on train: you may not be able to get a seat till you are much closer to your destination

Do you need time to do other things like exercise/go to the gym, which you can't do whilst you are on the train?

Will your diet go downhill because you are eating on the train or in the station? And that might be after the sandwich you have at your desk for lunch.

WorldTraveller_2

Have you considered Crawley?  It's got a bad reputation for being an ugly new town but really isn't that bad at all and is very convenient.  We moved here from Sutton as we couldn't afford London house prices.  It's got some lovely parks, good shops and is very convenient for Gatwick, the south coast and London.   A lot of the uglier buildings in the town centre are now being demolished and new developments going up so will improve the appearance quite a lot.  The part of town near Three Bridges station is particularly convenient for London commuting and there are various different services.

Caz3121

not sure anyone will get an answers to the questions asked, OP appears to have a habit of not returning to threads
here is a previous thread  https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/79743733

[Deleted User]

sourpuss2021 said:

Luton?      

He said he is depressed,  not suicidal.

Sunsaru

[Deleted User] said:

sourpuss2021 said:

Luton?      

He said he is depressed,  not suicidal.

Could be worse, could have suggested Hatfield...

newsgroupmonkey_

sourpuss2021 said:

Luton?      

Leighton Buzzard. Nicer than Luton. Similar prices.

Half hourly train that takes 30 minutes into Euston direct.

The MP refuses to have a property in London, so that probably tells you something.

double_dutchy

If you go a little further out the trains are faster, so you can do Swindon or Peterborough - both about 70 miles from London, but with fast trains, especially Peterborough. Season ticket will cost more but you might be able to get cheaper housing.

RobM99

Basildon? The best thing - it has roads leading out!

Tiglet2

RobM99 said:

Basildon? The best thing - it has roads leading out!

OP did ask for cheapest towns/cities though.  Basildon meets that criteria!

Gavin83

I know the OP's only criteria was cheap and commutable but there are some awful places named here!

newsgroupmonkey_ said:

sourpuss2021 said:

Luton?      

Leighton Buzzard. Nicer than Luton. Similar prices.

Half hourly train that takes 30 minutes into Euston direct.

The MP refuses to have a property in London, so that probably tells you something.

When we were looking for somewhere to live we considered Leighton Buzzard. It didn't feel rough and the town wasn't run down but I found the vibe of the place a bit weird. It was certainly a step up from the nearby soulless city of Milton Keynes though.

double_dutchy said:

If you go a little further out the trains are faster, so you can do Swindon or Peterborough - both about 70 miles from London, but with fast trains, especially Peterborough. Season ticket will cost more but you might be able to get cheaper housing.

I'm not hugely keen on Peterborough either. It's often ranked as the worst place to live in the UK.

I live in Ely which is lovely and a similar commute in terms of distance from Peterborough. I wouldn't wish to do it more than a day or two a week though. It's also very close to Cambridge which has a lot to do and lots of job opportunities. Unfortunately Cambridge is extremely expensive to buy in otherwise I'd recommend that.

To throw another place into the ring I've always found Bishops Stortford to be reasonable. It is close to Stansted but I've never heard the planes. Would be best to check with someone who lives there if the planes are an issue though.