feelbritish

I had the same opinion and have just returned from staying in the Essex/Suffolk countryside where a lot of people commute from towns like Halstead and Sudbury. The villages and towns out there are wonderful and people very friendly. Forget the Essex jokes because that should read "greater London" not Essex.

On the Bucks side, try looking at Marlow, I lived there and in the morning and evening there is a train that is a fast direct one in under an hour otherwise they are not bad. You would come into Paddington and then take tube. Marlow is a wonderful town although can be busy and congested, but where is it not like that in England, you just have to take that. There are also lovely villages around in that area. However, think about your family if you move to a village as you will need more than 1 car and if your children want to play with friends from school you will be doing a lot of fetching and carrying! choose an area and then rent first because purchasing a house is not simple like in the States or Canada, they have this wonderful "chain" that can break at any point in the sale.

Remember the closer and easier you are to your commute and London the more expensive the houses get, while further out houses are much cheaper! Swings and round-abouts!

quoll

We live on the Liverpool St - Cambridge line, just outside Cambridge and it is a really nice area to live - takes just over the hour into LS on that line from here but anywhere down the line - Gt Chesterford, Audley End, Saffron Walden, Elsenham etc would be nice places I reckon. Mind you, the property prices reflect the proximity to the rail line.

Pistolpete2

Some really useful points in here feelbritish.

The area around Sudbury and up to Bury St Edmunds is one that I have a particular interest in but I'm not going to be a commuter but will want easy access to London on a day-trip basis. I will hopefully not have to have a car so public transport and the expected maintenance thereof in my area without relying on local council support will be key. There is good bus service from Bury to Colchester via Sudbury.

I know of energetic commuters who live north-east of Lavenham in Kettlebaston who commute to Liverpool Street for the City insurance world, out of Stowmarket.

There's an important flip-side to the commute bit in that for those NOT wanting to commute, ideally they should NOT be paying for the commutability, just as they should not be paying (in the property price) for being in the catchment area for good schools if they do not have kids at school age. These are both big cost issues these days- sorry to go on about Kent now but it is where I mostly lived and where I still hang out so that's where I can come up with examples from - Cranbrook in Kent is a good school-example. Even good access to quality restaurants, supermarkets (Waitrose in particular) and farmer's markets can attract a house-price premium though not as much as in the bull market / bubble up to 2007. Funnily enough, for instance, Tunbridge Wells in Kent yearns for a Waitrose (has a Sainsbury's) while definitely more down-market Ramsgate has one and has had for quite some time.

Elsewhere on BE yesterday (MBTTUK over 50s) there was discussion of a NatWest expat survey which showed that expats typically still yearn for the English pub life and this too can be an important point for some when considering where to buy. Living NEXT to a pub is not a good idea at all, for obvious reasons. You will note that when looking at property on Rightmove, the pub located slap-bang next to a property is NEVER visible on accompanying photos and is only revealed when you take a look-see on Streetview.

Note that Marlow has the only gastropub (The Hand & Flowers) with two Michelin stars. Of course gastropubs are not everybody's idea of the requisite neighbourhood pub per se, particularly because they tend to alienate many locals who are simply looking for a decent pint in a social setting. There are major national restaurant players like Marco Pierre White who can see the potential in good local pubs which have decent restaurant sections, buy them up and turn them into a generic brand thus depriving the locals of their local in what is becoming a much more sparsely populated pub world. According to CAMRA (The Campaign for Real Ale), the pubs that typically survive are those that serve a decent pint of beer and a good variety thereof in spite of the drink and drive and smoking laws.

The Independent newspaper last week published a Top Fifty Country pubs listing. For some, this can be a useful guide to good village areas that can support what will by necessity, one would think, be thriving country enterprises. As I recall, there was not one which was really commutable to London.

Except maybe this one:

http://www.thesunatnorthaw.co.uk/

and one in Hedgerley near Slough.

Nicola1

these are the area's that keep coming up and below is a few of the houses that I've seen to give you an idea of the greenery that I find so appealing:

Finchingfield (http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-...-22804974.html)
Marsworth
Thaxted
Saffron Walden
Wendover
Sawbridgeworth
Hyde heath
Tring
Bishops Stortford
Oxted
Matfield
Lechlade (http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-...-37740872.html
Kedington (http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-...-22756092.html)
Halstead (http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-...-22984890.html)
Deal (http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-...-37758761.html)
Beaconsfield
Streatley
Charing (http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-...-22604589.html)
Amersham
Great Missenden
Berkhamsted
Little Abington
Ongar
Royston
Epping
Chalfton St peter
Weston on the Green
Hurst Green
Charlbury
Swaffham Prior
Kidlington

I haven't checked the OFSTED reports for schools in all of these area's, it's just a preliminary list at this time. We'll be coming back in July to have a proper look around, but need to narrow our list down considerably.

Nicola1

Thanks for this, will definately have a look. My kids are very small still, so I'm currently doing all the fetching and carrying

As I've never previously purchased in the UK, I'm not sure what the "chain" refers to?

Nicola1

Pistolpete, thanks for your reply, I so enjoy reading your posts and can see you've put much time and thought into your replies. I will certainly read it properly and look into your area's.

Pub life isn't important to us. We don't really have that culture here, I don't drink at all...not sure if we'll be socially reclusive if we don't join in???

Pistolpete2

The pub "culture" is unique to the UK which is why Brits often yearn for it when they are away. It can form the focal point of the village scene but there are other "avenues" such as the church or the village hall or even the post office/village store plus as a previous poster mentioned, there may be connections through your kids' school which can all be important.

I mentioned the top fifty country pubs because they seemed in their success to offer some sort of stability and kind of gives a sense of the community that is able to sustain it. It makes little sense taking a hard look at a place on merits which will possibly disappear at the blink of an eye. Gastropubs also slant the pub culture away from purely booze and more towards eating and this can be good for families as many offer kid's menus. It's a controversial area though as Britain is not typically as kid-friendly as say France or Spain or the US so kids need to be well behaved in these mostly adult establishments or other patrons can get tetchy which can make for a poor overall experience.

feelbritish

Nicola, just realised you are from SA, as I am too. Moved to UK in 1998. I know some of those areas, Halstead we have just returned from and it is very nice although maybe a bit quiet. I lived in Marlow so know the Bucks area well too. As I said before, some areas are expensive and if you can get a detached house for around 350k pounds then look into the area very well indeed. Our house in Marlow is end of Terrace, (value about 300k pounds) which basically means that all the houses are attached in a row and it is the end one which has a side entrance so slightly larger garden. At least that way you can access the garden from front down the side and not have to walk through your house. A "chain" is when you purchase a house and that person has purchased a house and someone is purchasing from them and one of the buyers pull out of the deal, leaving everyone in the lurch. You do not sign a Deed of Sale like in SA where it is completely binding, purchasers and sellers can pull out at the 11th hour. It is nail biting stuff! Also remember houses are much smaller than in SA and you have to adjust your expectations, less cleaning of course because you are on your own there! lol
One suggestion is do what I did, rent in an area you think you will like and get to know it first before buying a house. I do not think that house prices will rise in the near future. Where are you from in SA?
pm me if you want any more info