1 hour commute? Post Reply

[educadoralisa]

I currently live in Putney and work in Clapham Junction, however as single mum I find living in London too expensive. Do you think 1 hour commute it's too much? Do you have any ideas where could I live? I do appreciate any advice.

[Elli2009]

I moved from Earlsfield to Guildford, best thing I ever did. We went from a 2 bed flat to a 4 bed house for the same money. It's a lovely area to bring kids up and only 25 mins to Clapham Junction. I work near Waterloo and it takes me 45 minutes door to door. Couldn't recommend it enough!

[fionapm]

We moved from Balham to a village outside Guildford; there's a handful of pretty villages like Shalford, Bramley, Wonersh, Shamley Green etc within a ten minute drive of Guildford. A fast train is 32 mins to Waterloo. I think trains to CJ are about 40 mins at peak times.

Docking is also lovely, and there are nice villages like Ripley and Send near Woking. Woking itself is a bit mixed.

[Lauholl900]

I moved to Ewell Village from Balham and really love it. I was a bit lost as to where to head to after Balham and it took a good 18 months of driving around SW London until we came across Ewell Village. We moved there because of the good commute into the city and excellent primary/secondary schools (we didn't want to move again for a long time!) It's also next to Nonsuch Park which I love and has a number of little shops for all the essentials. Epsom is a 5 min bus ride or 20 min walk for more shops and you can also take a bus to Kingston. Ewell Village is 5 mins walk from Ewell West station (Zone 6 so you can still use Oyster) and 10/12mins walk from Ewell East station. From Ewell West there are 4 fast trains (35 mins) and 2 slow (45 mins) every hour at peak times direct to Waterloo (and 4 off peak taking 33 mins). The line goes direct to Clapham Junction, taking 21 to 25 mins. From Ewell East station you can go direct to London Victoria, trains take between 32 and 45mins or direct to London Bridge taking 40 to 45mins (direct trains to London Bridge are only in mornings & evenings though). After a late night out my husband usually gets the Northern Line to Morden, then takes an Uber which takes 10/15mins to the village, also handy if the overland ever goes down! You get a lot more for your money as it's zone 6, but there aren't always a lot of houses available which is a problem. Not sure how old your children are but there are lots of baby groups in Epsom and the village, and a number of fantastic nurseries. I know how hard it is to make the decision to move so good luck!

[SWlover]

Hi..

Of those of you who have responded saying they have moved out of London and love it.. what's the commuting cost like? Does what you get for your money out of London plus what you pay for the commute equal similar to what you would pay to live in London anyway?
Xx

[S_D1234]

Recently moved from Clapham Junction to Ewell Village...we're very happy here...it was a great move for us but totally depends what you want! I used the school checker site "Locrating" to filter places out.

Travel cost has doubled...annual ticket is £2400 (z1-6)...no comparison for us though as a detached house here is 650-750k, we would have needed millions to afford the same thing in Clapham!

Ewell Village is a conservation area so leafy green with some v old historic parts... the London Loop footpath goes from the village through Hogsmill nature reserve onto Horton Country Park...fab for joggers/bikers.

Top 10% state schools...neighbours' children go to mix of Glyn, Rosebery, Wallace Fields and Ewell House Grove Infants (which is turning into a Junior School). There's Ewell Castle in the village for private & Epsom College nearby if your're £££... the village is also in the catchment for the Sutton Grammers (if your child is a genius)

Don't go expecting Trotters or JoJo Ma Maman Bebe and the like though... they've not got here.....yet

Hoping crossrail 2 happens too as Ewell West station is currently on the plan...years away though!

xxx

[sid_seal]

Hello,
I don't know the age of your kid(s), but something you may wish to take into account, depending on the flexibility of your job, is the after school/holiday provision in the area.
I have several friends/acquaintances in Guildford and from their experience it looks like things are a lot more tailored around families with a stay at home parent than in SW London: my friends' child didn't start full days in reception until late October, which had a massive negative impact on their family organisation - and on their finances!
(having said that, S_D1234's post made me want to move to Ewell tomorrow! )

[Braintrainer]

Hi,

As other posters have said you need to look at the whole package but CJ is perfectly located for commuting.

For example, in 25 mins you can get to Farnborough - not as up market as Guildford but more affordable and on the up. And 15 mins on the train from Farnborough North to Guildford if you need Jo Malone. I have a place in Frinley Green 3 miles from Farnborough with a mooring on the Basingstoke Canal at the end of the garden.

You need to research the timetable though - at peak times some destinations don't pick up at CJ and you would have to go to Waterloo first to pick up

[educadoralisa]

Thanks for your advice... I will have a look around the areas you mentioned. My son is 12 yo and I would like to keep him in his school as it is near my workplace and I don't need to think about after school options.

[educadoralisa]

Thanks everyone for your help. I will have a look around that areas.. my son is 12yo and I would like to keep him in his school as it is near my workplace.. but not sure if it's possible...

[flapjack]

There is a site called Mapumental that is great for checking commuting times to a specific postcode, such as your workplace or your child's school.

We are moving out of London to a village outside Guildford. Our budget was a little over a million, and we needed at least five bedrooms; so Nappy Valley was not going to work, really. In the village we found a seven bedroom farmhouse with 11 acres of land, well within our budget, and the commute is about 65 minutes to our child's school; from our current NV flat it takes us 35 minutes to get to school already. So it was not a difficult decision.