britwhore

Or Ewell.

Bermudashorts

An hour would be a dream commute. However I also think it would be a heck of a commute fom Bucks and it would take well over an hour to get to Canary Wharf. I would think two hours would be nearer the mark, once you consider getting to station, parking up, getting into london, transferring across London etc.

What about Hertfordshire? We lived in the middle of nowhere (village in middle of attached pic), but we could drive to a stop on the Stansted Express train line in 20 minutes and then had fast and frequent train service to London Liverpool St taking about 40 minutes.

Pistolpete2

The spot looks idyllic but what happened when it snowed heavily and the snow-ploughs were not covering your area pronto? Is there a reasonable chance of this type of thing happening such that it could be a factor, particularly if your boss/employer was not always the accommodating type.

Can one count on shops in the area for that forgotten bread or pint of milk or does one these days just pick everything up at the station outlet and always have a comprehensive list of needs?

This could be a reasonable solution if both of you are working but if one has to do the driving to and from plus take care of getting the young kids to and from school it can make for a very long day of driving quite side from the heavyish commute for the breadwinner, one would think.

As a retiree, this could be an interesting proposition for those that want London relatively close, if the winter risks are indeed minimal, but one obviously has to be able to have a car. BUT there's the Stansted Airport bonus.

One would think Bermuda must have been a dream of a commute into Hamilton from Knapton Hill after all of that.

Bermudashorts

They are pretty quick with the snow ploughs and gritters ewe found, did two winters there and there was this time when that 20 minute drive from the station became 3.5 hours!! But on the whole it was ok and I think maybe just one or two days were spent working at home.

Tesco was about 15 mins away, my village did not have a corner shop but many do. You learn not to forget the milk pretty quick really.

We only had one car, we used to either go to station together or when I was not working I would drive him to station and pick him up. Worked ok, occasional taxis helped, no kids to worry about.

Commute in Bermuda was twenty min drive along the ocean road from Southampton to Hamilton. Only 20 mins if you left before 7.15 though, leave it much longer and it was a frustrating hour, made for long working days whilst there (not as long as commuting to london though).

ergyngfeld

No offence but if you want to work in London, can't you just live in London? It's the plague of commuter-types and second-home-owners that are obliterating the very village lifestyle that you are looking for.

Bermudashorts

I expect cost is the deciding factor for many, do you know how much 3 /4 bedroomed house costs in London...?

I find your comment about commuters and plague to be rather insulting.

Nicola1

Thanks all, I'm going to look into these area's now. I'm looking up the housing and the OFSTED reports and it's so time consuming.

Ergynfeld, we're making a huge move from another country, and I don't envision bringing up two small boys within a city environment.

I've found some amazing country homes which is just way out of budget when exchanging our ZAR's for GBP's, but I do love the appeal of something like this (particularly the garden and views!):

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-...-22756092.html

Unfortunately, it seems to be attached to a rather dismal town.

And this one, but the school options aren't particularly attractive, but I do like the potential of this home:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-...?premiumA=true

Nicola1

And I just want to add my heartfelt thanks for those of you who've taken the time to reply and PM to me with assistance.

Nicola1

Can someone explain to me if there is an "hierarchy" amongst property types? The end of terraces/cottages/semi detached is all very confusing.

A good friend of ours (living in Bushey) said if we found a reasonably priced detached house it was probably in a bad area...they're reference guide is to look at 300k upwards?

CAdreaming

I lived down the road from Bushey and its a very expensive area - a detached house would cost a great deal.....even a one bedroom flat starts minimum 200k

CAdreaming

Just off the high street is nice but expensive...yep sorry trains do go to St Pancras not kings X
Shenley is nice...everything is expensive in that area but villagy and within easy commute to London

rebs

This is roughly how I would describe the conventional 'hierarchy', but it is a bit down to personal preference..

detached, semi-detached, end of terrace, terrace, flat/apartment.

I would say 'cottage' would refer almost to a style of property, rather than the type of property.

Rusty Chainsaw

There's some nice places in Surrey - I'm thinking places like Oxted or Banstead - far enough out to be pretty in that country-fied way, but still within the M25, commutable, and close to larger towns for shopping, etc (Oxted's a 20 minute drive from Croydon, and Banstead's a 10 minute drive from Sutton). Some good schools too. When we head back in June, we're going to be looking around Oxted. I used to live in Croydon, but I'm a little worried about living there again now we have a little son, after the riots and so on. The locals have started calling it "The Cronx", and with good reason.

Nicola1

Thanks Rusty, I'll look that up shortly.

ergyngfeld

What, Kedington? If you're after a village lifestyle then Kedington is the embodiment of it!