I really didn’t expect those prices for “poorer” London – are those average prices of recently sold houses?

Detached 4 bedroom houses in Kendal for example are in the £250K to £750K range. (just did one search so there may be cheaper ones around) Go to one of the less attractive towns and you’d be looking at about half those figures.

Thoes prices for Newham sound about right. Very few (if any) two up two downs in rougher parts of london would be less thatn 250k. When I say rough I mean shithole.

we have relitives out in kent on a fast line(longfield) into london – 30 minutes. – i was down there a couple of months ago.

They live in half a house…. it cost twice as much as my house.

it really doesnt look fun living in that there london. i can see why moving out is appealing but equally i cannot see that sitting on a train for 2.5 hours of my day is any more appealing.

I’m with benp though that I’d rather live in london (ideally zone 4 or more central) as at least you can ride to work and the moeny goes into your house / flat plus you do get the advantages of living in London, which when commuting you loose many of.

Strikes me you are in a catch 22 situation with a reasonably long commute, still high house prices, and little free time.

I used to work in London and commuted from Taunton. Houses prices are way less, schools are really good, excellent biking nearby. The fast train takes 1hr45 to Paddington so you can work on the way in. And on the way back. If you can work at home one day a week it’s all good. Season ticket was £12k which is the sting. But houses are cheaper by a long way. In short, if you’re going to commute I’d do a long one but get a cheaper house.

I’m know lots of people who commute in from Grantham and that line is much cheaper and house prices cheaper still.

Oh and a chap I work with lives in the Pyrenees and works in bath. Flies in on a Monday works at home on a Friday. Has seven kids!

I know several people that come up from Brighton – but houses ain’t cheap there either.

Commute times from some of the cheaper parts of London can be as much as in Surrey anyway – Woking to Waterloo is 30 mins – I was 1.15 this morning which included a 20 min walk to the station and then the jubilee from Waterloo to London Bridge and walk to near Bank.

But when I was using my folding bike I would be around an hour d2d, which isn’t bad with 30 mins reading time on the train and then some adrenaline rush racing roadies from the lights in London.

Houses in Old Woking are a bit cheaper but no further from the station – and you can cycle to Tunnel Hill and even then to Swinley along the canal path, or a 30 min drive to SH.

Commute times from some of the cheaper parts of London can be as much as in Surrey anyway – Woking to Waterloo is 30 mins – I was 1.15 this morning which included a 20 min walk to the station and then the jubilee from Waterloo to London Bridge and walk to near Bank.

And there’ll be people who are out in Richmond who might be looking at the same journey.

Important to look at the whole journey time. My train journey’s nearly twice as long, but I’m currently 1hr20 door to door. 2 mins bike ride to the station, 55 on the train, 10-20 but mostly 15 mins bike ride to near Bank. Still a long time out of the day, though.

If you can get far enough out that you’re not bound by cycle policies (or get a folder), you can cut big chunks off.

Spoke to the boss and his first reaction wasnt great to a 4 day week but I think I have a bit of room to negotiate as there is a flexible working policy which mentions working from home and/or extended days for a 4 day week. He did seem happy with some flexibility so leaving at 4.30 might be possible which would allow me to get back by 6/6.30.

Will need to take a few more visits to see if anywhere really grabs us and drive down and back during rush hour to get an idea.