I've not done it but my brother commuted from Winchester train station for years... from Southampton. All the way to central London. Of course, he looked like a zombie most of the time and he worked on the train too. It's possible to do, although I tend to think it's not the ideal solution.
Hitchin is on the same line as Stevenage. 3 minutes away from Stevenage. 25 mins away from Finsbury Park and 35 minutes away from London Kings Cross. Direct line to London Bridge as well. As good as any other line.
I live in Earlswood, next to Redhill. Redhill is probably one of the worst, ugly and poverty towns ive ever seen. Trains are always late, it is meant to take 35 mins to London, it always takes an hour if they bother to run. Don't move to Redhill.
I live in a commuter town, all of my rental property is in commuter towns apart from one in Liverpool (lol long story). I also stopped commuting as I thought the saving on the annual ticket and being home to put the kids to bed was worth the drop in salary. I definitely don’t miss London Transport
I bought my house in 2019 in an area 45 min from London for £296000. Its has 4 bedrooms a garage, garden, 2 car drive and carport. Id be lucky if I could buy a 1 bedroom flat above a chicken and chips shop in a grotty area of London for that price. Fortunately I am an electrician and was able to pick up my business in my new area and its going well. my wife and children are all happy and we have many great neighbours some who are from London also. My mortgage is half the rent I was paying in London and is not just going into a black hole, I get to leave somthing for the kids. People who stay in London are crazy, I mean it is not easy to just up sticks and move out but it should definitely be an aim. Even prices up here have gone up a lot, my house is now valued at £335K
You can't beat going out of London going west. The Thames Valley with all the Thames towns and villages, very close to the Chilterns. I grew up in Bray/Maidenhead and whilst Maidenhead may not be the best the most attractive town centre in the area, it's what is around the town within a short drive that makes it so appealing - The Cookhams, Bray, Taplow, Cliveden, Burnham Beeches, Holyport, Waltham St. Lawrence, Pinkney's Green, Marlow, Ascot, Hurley. Aston, Sonning, Windsor, Henley. As a friend of mine who used to play cricket for Chiswick once said - "Me and the lads always were happiest when we played teams going west out of London. It was always the loveliest part of the Home Counties to see from a bus. Pricey though.
I live in an area close to Stevenage called Hitchin. I'd recommend it above Stevenage. Beautiful area. Diverse with some great schools. Great restaurants and links into London. Would benefit from some more schools built.
I'm planning relocate from Berlin to London area and as far as I've researched it seems like when living outside London, the money you save on rent goes to public transportation. Am I wrong?
It depends on where you live & work. Bought a home in a town just outside of Colchester from London and all the money we saved in the difference between rent and mortgage we spend it on a car (didn’t need one in london) and my commute to London 2 days a week. As it’s also a bigger place than our London flat, so the council tax and bills cost more. So whilst I love where I live and feel we made a great decision in leaving London it is absolutely not cheaper, just a better quality of life due to cleaner air, access to the countryside, nicer atmosphere as people are friendlier and access to nature based activities.
I’m surprised you put Stevenage over Bedford they aren’t far from each other and Bedford has a quick train into London it might be the same line as Stevenage actually. I’m not sure if Stevenage has improved much but growing up I saw Stevenage go a bit down hill with some of its amenities. Bedford is a lovely market town and has had a lot of funding put into it over the years alongside plenty of events including the Bedford River festival. I used to rent a flat in the centre of town just before Covid. I’ve noticed even over that short period of time a lot of the rental properties and new rental developments are becoming more geared towards commuters. There’s a whole bunch of expensive flats fully furnished on short term lets, that specifically state ‘ideal for commuters’ and they know they can charge a premium for it too.
Hey Erin 👋🏾. We didn't quite pick Stevenage over Bedford. We just picked Stevenage for this video. For a part 2, we'd learn more about Bedford. We appreciate you sharing. Very helpful 😊
I wonder if this would make a great regular series but instead assume people are coming in to Paddington, or Waterloo. An episode would be Five great places to buy or rent if you're commuting into London on the Waterloo line. If you're commuting in, you really want to come into a station that's close to your work because as good as the Underground and Elizabeth lines and the buses in London are, it's easy to look at a map and think it won't take long on public transport. I think the best solution for young professionals is probably to take advantage of their youth and lifestyle. Share a house with friends, live as far away as you can reasonably do with commuting, or start campaigning for tiny flats to be something developers can legally build (currently there are slum landlord protections in place which make them a non-starter apparently, which is insanely outdated because they'd be a perfect solution to first time buyers and young people and all our housing problems tbh).
Peace! I'm an African American and I would like to live in England someday. This is a well-done video and I am happy to see a lovely couple presenting this valuable information! Hope to meet you folks one day! Cheers! ✊
Both of us work in london. I did the maths. More or less the same monthly including the travel cost. Tbf you’ll get bigger house outside london just need to sacrifice travel time.
I'm in Rochester not far from Chatham - get in while it's still affordable. Lots of property development happening in the area and it's a university town (Kent, Canterbury Christ and Greenwich) which is great for rental properties also.
Medway towns is one of the worst deprived areas, and sadly it’s getting worse…people maybe be moving into Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham but the area is not improving its services, infrastructure or well being / health indices, and with recession and inflation it looks like it will all get worse…
There is a whole pile of London people that have moved to Bristol and have driven up our house prices whether through purchase or rent. Lots of them commute either by train or they drive.
Yep, just this week moved to Dunstable (Conveyancing took longer than anticipated but got there in the end. Just so pleased to be out of London. 2 bed with garden for £210k!! WfH so it made sense to buy and move. So grateful to the Almighty for helping me finally get on the housing ladder after 10yrs saving hard. It’s been worth it!
Do your research - if you’re Black moving out of London means being aware that much of out of London areas are racist, and if you have children please consider their safety and how they might feel travelling to school etc… I’ve moved back into London after finding the racism hard to stomach…you may want space and a bigger house, but being spat on and racially abused will take its toll on the family…
I brought a property in cardiff 5 years ago but I feel like relocating to london but it's so expensive.. I'm not sure if maybe I should relocate to Gillingham Rochester, Kent if I go back to work in London
This is a great video. However I know a couple of these places very well and wouldn’t recommend them as nice places to live in at all - that’s why they have stayed affordable. And as somebody else said demographics is important, my friend moved out of London to an area I grew up in and I only had one black person in my school year - it’s not diverse at all!
I think Reading shouldnt be on the list at all. According to the crime rate stats ive seen, yea youd be better off in Grimsby. In fact, Reading was rated the 12th worst place to live in the UK for 2023.
@@TheHumblePenny It is. I moved to Bracknell in Berkshire from west London and like the proximity into London but also the ‘countryside’ aspect of the area.
Loved this - such a helpful video, especially for me, as a first time buyer exploring options! (Outskirts of Ldn or further away?!?!) I’m hoping to purchase my first property mid-late 2023/ 2024 depending on how this economy goes 😂 I hope to see more videos like this, thank you both so much ❤😊
Housing price, not too bad. Commute cost, terrible. What on earth is the country doing in terms of public transport? Money spent on commute is even more than food consumed.
Good choice, however, you missed out the vibrant South West. With very good connection good to mention the 3 towns of Walton-on-Tames, Weybridge and Woking, on the same train line, fast train to London Waterloo, good schools,... Epsom is also a very good place I am still wondering why you missed the South West
Great video! Some advice for future videos, sometimes it may be difficult for some viewers to comprehend some of the statistics, for example when mentioning x crime rates per 1000, is that considered high or low compared to other areas or the london average?
Great video but i need advise I have a job offer in Stevenage but found a place to rent in hitchin . I am mot finding no reasonable place to rent in the town i live . Do u think its wise
Don't, you will regret it....The UK as a whole is going down the drain...!!!...NHS deliberately being destroyed, cost of living...for the tax you pay in comparison to the US, the return isn't worth it...Never mind the weather, the UK has just become a depressing place to live...
Honestly I wonder why people don’t look on the west coast mainline instead. Rugby is a 50 minute commute to London You can find a beautiful spacious newly build one bedroom flat from 600-800 pounds per month. There really isn’t a difference between 35mins and 50mins. I’ve lived in the south as well. But living in the midlands allows you see the whole country more!
Yes, that's right. Sorry I've just read the video title again. 🤦♀️ An up-and-coming area in London though with lots of green spaces and particularly after the crossrail. 🙂
Happy I came across this channel. Lived in W. Ealing, Shepherd's Bush and Islington while studying twice and looking to invest in up-and-coming locations to commute into London or near Universities.
