Suitable London commuting Areas

PotentialLondoner

I have recently got a job in London, due to start in about 3 months time and am perplexed about the best way forward. I live with my wife and son in Wiltshire and we really don't want to move house as my wife works and my son is settleds. As such we are considering buying a one bed flat (not a studio) somewhere for me to commute from during the week.
Money is a bit tight (we could go up to about 170K), so unsure where to start looking. I haven't totally discounted renting (but not keen on a shared house!)
Any ideas would be gratefully received.
Cheers!

LillyJ

With 170k I am not really sure of many areas that would be suitable (I only know the North West side of London and it's rather pricier than that).

However have you considered further out, somewhere like Leighton Buzzard? It's an OK area (as in not horrible, if I still lived back down South I would look at is as an FTB). Although it is probably the wrong side of London for Wiltshire tbh.

Although for some reason prices are really good compared to anywhere surrounding it. The train is pretty quick but pretty expensive so that could be an issuie. Where abouts in London is the job? The Leighton Buzzard train goes in to Euston.

mel19632

Woking is 25 mins into Waterloo and should be able to pick up a studio from about 150k or nice 1 bed really near station for 170-175k.

nice enough area as well

Also, is on train line through to Salisbury for when you go home!

Bf109

You need to tell us where in London you are working.

I would recommend renting a place rather than buying a place.

Honestly, its what we are doing at the moment.

Bf109

mel19632 wrote: »

Woking is 25 mins into Waterloo and should be able to pick up a studio from about 150k or nice 1 bed really near station for 170-175k.

nice enough area as well

Also, is on train line through to Salisbury for when you go home!

Woking is a good option but dont forget you have to pay for the trains - this can add up to serious money in the long run.

There are two of us living just outside of Zone 6. We plan to move into Zone 4 soon. That will save us £90 each per month = £180 per month total = over £2k a year savings total.

Treadmill

Peterborough is 45 Minutes to Kings Cross and 170K would buy you a nice 4 bed house here.

gingin_2

Do you have to buy? We are in a similar situation to you with regards to finding a small central place for husband during the week and are holding off buying.

One thing to consider is the further out you move, the higher your transport costs will be. You might get a one bed flat in Luton but your commuting cost might be £250 - £300 a month (total guess) as well as a fair bit of travelling. I would rent a midweek room in a houseshare for a while while you find your feet, it might not be ideal but you might be living with people in a similar situation. Not sure if you are working for a large company but the company might have some sort of notice scheme available.

Tiddlywinks

I regularly commute to London and would recommend first looking at which mainline station is closest to your place of work, look at those routes out and then plan from there.

I purposely chose an area where I could travel into Waterloo which is a lot easier than the Paddington route I used to take before I moved.

Commuting eats into your life and can be really tiring - the easier you can make the journey, the better your quality of life will be. The more changes of line, tube or bus involved in the journey then the greater the chance of delays / engineering works etc so try to get somewhere that gives you the most direct access.

Sorry if this is a bit obvious:o

Tiddly

lostinrates

Agree with all on all sides above lol. I asked a similar question earlier. Whther renting or buying you do need to focus the sear on where you get off the tube.

Living ar out could make up the difference in trvel costs of either option to be as high as living more centrally.

Also, I wouldn't rule out a studio if its mainly for you midweek only.....how often are you really going to cook at home? How long are your hours going to be?

Currently DH is a lodger. He works long hours, and usually eats breakfast, lunch and supper at his place of work or on business anyway. He barely sees his lovely landlady, who is a single professional. Because he is home riday nights and goes back Monday mornings we feel this has been a viable soltuion up til now (we are now looking into changing because we don't want to live apart). sharing with other single through the week professionals who want to live in the same way is not such a bad option particularly while you settle in to the swing ofLondon pace of life. (Whernever I'm back in London it takes me an hour or two to remmber to walk quicker and frown more sternly, lol)

Looking into some further out commuterville zone, depening where you are in Wiltshire you might not be saving ALL that much time buy opting to buy in commutable London suburbs.

I sympathise because we are struggling to come to terms with what we shoul do right now too.

Congratulations on your new job!

neverdespairgirl

PotentialLondoner wrote: »

As such we are considering buying a one bed flat (not a studio) somewhere for me to commute from during the week.

If I were you, I would rent (not buy) in central London, so as to cut down on travel costs. Which bit of London are you working in?

For example, where I live and work, WC1, renting is cheaper than buying. (WC1 is Holborn, Bloomsbury, between the City and the West End, legal & publishing London).

The cheapest flat for sale on RM is for £215k:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-19848290.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy

That would be mortgage interest-only payments of about £1,075 a month, plus service charge, maintenance costs, etc.

On the other hand, the cheapest to rent in on RM for is £120 a week (shared, though):

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-21210674.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=rent

or £205 a week (studio):

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-17664664.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=rent

or £220 a week (incl. hot water and heating)

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-20846261.rsp?pa_n=2&tr_t=rent

or £230 a week (1 bed flat)

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-17883727.rsp?pa_n=2&tr_t=rent

All the places for rent are much nicer in terms of both building and area than the one for sale.

PotentialLondoner

Thanks for all the advice.

My commute from where I live in Wiltshire is about 90 mins into Paddington. I then need to get over to St Paul's / Bank area.

Season ticket prices are scarily high (around £600 per month), but still cheaper than renting.

Difficult decision....