Living in London has many benefits, from its historic buildings and monuments, and its impressive parks and green spaces, to its enriching cultural hotspots and extensive selection of restaurants.
It’s also where many worldwide companies are based, and living in the city drastically reduces the amount of time it takes to commute to work.
Yet London’s house prices combined with the increase in hybrid working after the coronavirus pandemic, have resulted in many people moving out of the capital.
One of the biggest reasons for the exodus is house prices. The average house price in London is now £518,000 according to HM Land Registry, and while workers in London do earn more on average, this is still significantly higher than the UK-average of £282,000.
This means those living out of London can afford larger homes, and still be able to commute back into the city for work. However, there are pros and cons to weigh up before making the move (or staying put).
In this article we cover:
- Is it worth living in London or in a commuter town?
- Worthing, Sussex: a coastal town with affordable housing
- Hitchin, Hertfordshire: independent shops and cheaper houses than St Albans
- Woking, Surrey: great schools, low crime and cheap places to buy
- Chelmsford, Essex: city life that’s only 40 minutes from London
- Wigginton, Hertfordshire: village life with a 30 minutes commute
- St Neots, Cambridgeshire: a market town on the river with affordable housing
- Ryarsh, Kent: a quiet village with excellent transport links
- Our pick: What is the best value commuter town near London?
Is it worth living in London or in a commuter town?
There are lots of options when it comes to commuter towns and villages, where people can travel quickly into the capital for work but enjoy the benefits of life out of the city, including more affordable house prices.
Other reasons for moving out include more green spaces, better access to the countryside, lower crime rates and often a better work life balance.
However, the grass isn’t always greener and the cost of commuting also needs to be taken into account. A monthly season ticket, if travelling five days a week, can cost about £500 for commuters within an hour of London – that’s if the trains are running on time.
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Here we look at 12 of the best commuter towns and villages to consider if you’re thinking about moving out of London.
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Worthing, Sussex: a coastal town with affordable housing
The beautiful seaside town of Worthing has some of the most affordable housing on our list, with the average home in the past year selling at £396,795, according to Rightmove. It’s ideally located on the coast, giving commuters the best of both worlds: the chance to live by the sea but be able to commute easily into London or nearby Brighton.
The commute into London is just over an hour and a half, and a monthly season ticket will set you back £572.20. It’s the safest big town in west Sussex, with 100 crimes per 1,000 people, according to police statistics. You’ll find a good selection of schools, with 24 primary and ten secondary schools.
There are also many nearby tourist hotspots to visit, including Arundel and Chichester, and it’s only an hour from Gatwick airport.
Hitchin, Hertfordshire: independent shops and cheaper houses than neighbouring St Albans
St Albans is regularly voted as one of the best commuter towns to move to but just a little further from London you’ll find Hitchin. The Hertfordshire town bustles with independent shops and character. It’s very well connected, with regular trains into Kings Cross taking 42 minutes and it’s a stone’s throw away from the A1 and the M1 motorways.
Houses in Hitchin are priced at an average of £476,709 (compared to £633,175 in St Albans). A monthly train season ticket into London will set you back £475.10.
The area has an excellent range of schools, with 55 primary schools and 11 secondary schools across north Hertfordshire, six of which are rated as outstanding by Ofsted. For families with younger children, there are 92 nurseries to choose from. Crime is relatively low, at 65 crimes per 1,000 people on average, and it’s the 32nd safest town in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Read more: Subscribers to The Times can read more about moving to Hitchin
Woking, Surrey: a great selection of schools, low crime and cheap places to buy
The town of Woking is firmly located in the commuter belt south of London and you may well have passed through it on the train, even if you have not stopped there. But the large town offers a lot more than a passing glance from the train, with an impressive selection of shops, restaurants and you’ll find leading west end shows at the town’s New Victoria Theatre.
Houses cost an average of £598,122 which, although is more pricey than others on our list, the price reflects the fact that it’s only 35 minutes on the train to London. It has one of the cheapest monthly season ticket prices, at £391.
This Surrey town is on the border of the Surrey hills, with a lot of green spaces on offer. It’s also located near the towns of Epsom, Farnborough, and Guildford.
With 75 crimes per 1,000 people on average, it’s among the ten safest big towns in the England, Wales and Northern Ireland. There are 28 primary and 9 secondary schools to choose from, with five rated as outstanding by Ofsted.
Chelmsford, Essex: city life that’s only 40 minutes from London
Homes cost an average of £402,178 in Chelmsford, which became a city in 2012 to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
It might not be the prettiest area on our list but it’s convenient, with frequent trains into London taking 41 minutes.
For families it has an excellent range of schools, with 82 primary and secondary schools, eight of which are graded as outstanding by Ofsted. There are also 112 nurseries for those with younger children.
The crime rate is slightly higher than other commuter hotspots, with 127 crimes per 1,000 people on average. It has excellent transport links out to cities such as Cambridge and Norwich or down to the coast for weekend trips to the seaside spots of Southend or Leigh-on-Sea.
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Stroud, Gloucestershire: an independent town in the heart of the Cotswolds
Stretching the length of the commute to London is the market town of Stroud in Gloucestershire. It takes an hour and a half on the train to London but the benefits of this bustling town mean it regularly tops the list of top commuter destinations.
Houses are affordable in this former hub of textile production, at an average price of £380,736, according to Rightmove. Trains run regularly into London but it’s also easy to get to Bristol, Cheltenham and Oxford. A monthly full-time season ticket to London will set you back £1,207 – the most expensive price of our list.
There are 131 crimes per 1,000 people on average and the town has a strong local community spirit. You can find plenty of independent shops and restaurants prioritised over big brands and corporations.
In terms of schools, there are 77 to choose from in the area, with four of these awarded outstanding by Ofsted.
Guildford, Surrey: a blend of rural and urban living with excellent schools
Guildford is a popular town for commuters, with excellent links into London combined with beautiful countryside. The riverside town is just 30 minutes from London and is located near to the Surrey hills with plenty to see and do.
Its desirable location pushes up the average cost of homes, to £608,531 on average in the last year. A monthly season ticket costs £433.60 and it also has good transport links down to the coast and the South Downs.
It’s a firm favourite for families, with a crime rate of 90 per 1,000 people making it the 28th safest big town to live in in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. There’s also a good selection of schools to choose from, with 58 primary and secondary schools, eight of which are awarded as outstanding by Ofsted.
Wigginton, Hertfordshire: village life with a 30 minutes commute
If you’re seeking village life but you still need to commute into London, Wigginton in Hertfordshire is a place to consider. It’s a historic village just outside Tring with a strong community spirit where house prices are an average of £588,162. The higher price tag reflects the 36-minute commute into London and the fact the charming village is located along the Chiltern Hills, with plenty of green areas and access to the countryside.
There’s no train station in Wigginton, so you’ll have to go into Tring, which is a five minute drive. You’ll find a range of shops, restaurants and bars in Tring, where house prices are slightly lower at an average of £562,002.
The cost of a monthly season ticket is £507.30 and you’ll find Berkhamsted, and Aylesbury nearby while Luton airport is a 40-minute drive. Wigginton has one of the lowest crime rates on our list, of 35 per 1,000 people, and there are six local schools to choose from, one of which is rated as outstanding.
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St Neots, Cambridgeshire: a market town on the river with affordable housing
St Ives in Cambridgeshire often tops lists of the best towns to move to but nearby St Neots has a lot to offer and the house prices are more affordable.
The average house price is £320,496, one of the cheapest areas on our list, and it takes just under an hour to get into London.
A full-time monthly train pass will cost £609.50 and the town is extremely well connected with easy access to the A1 and M1 motorways and a 20-minute drive to Peterborough, Cambridge or Bedford.
St Neots is a bustling and growing town which is currently undergoing a massive market square transformation. There are 81 crimes per 1,000 people. Situated on the beautiful River Ouse, it gives commuters great access to the countryside while still being well connected to bigger towns and cities.
It’s popular with those looking for the great outdoors. The large nature reserve of Paxton Pitts is on its doorstep and England’s largest reservoir is just 15 minutes’ drive away at Grafham Water.
With 15 primary and secondary schools, two of which are graded as outstanding, the town is also popular with London commuters who have young families.
Reading, Berkshire: a quick commute and a thriving town
One of the best things about Reading is its transport links, and if you commute into London it’s one of the most well-connected areas to live. It’s just 24 minutes to London Paddington, although a monthly season ticket will set you back £537.60.
House prices are an average of £433,774 and it has an abundance of shops, restaurants and things to see and do.
The crime rate is 77 per 1,000 people and it has a thriving nightlife with lots of pubs and bars. It also has several smaller villages on its outskirts which are popular areas for commuters looking for somewhere a bit quieter.
For families, or those thinking about having children, there is a good range of schools. There primary and secondary schools (11 of which are private schools) and five of these are rated as outstanding.
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Ryarsh, Kent: a quiet village with excellent transport links and affordable housing
If you’re looking for a quiet village in the heart of Kent, you can’t go far wrong with Ryarsh. It’s a very small village (just 1,000 people live there) but it’s also historic and picturesque. Plus, it’s just 45 minutes from London Bridge.
House prices are surprisingly reasonable for this area of Kent, at an average price of £462,691. There are a number of new housing developments in progress, offering more homes for those moving out of London.
While it has everything a village calls for – including a lovely local pub, a farm shop, and a nearby forest schools – it’s also well situated for nearby towns and cities, and is 30 minutes from Sevenoaks, Tunbridge wells and Tonbridge.
Crime is unsurprisingly low in the district of Tonbridge and Malling where Ryarsh is found and there are 76 schools to choose from, seven of which are rated outstanding by Ofsted.
Leigh-on-Sea, Essex: a low crime seaside town with excellent transport links
If you’re looking for somewhere to get away from it all, Leigh-on-Sea is not to be sniffed at. Its sandy beaches are a welcome antidote to London’s busy streets and it’s easy to see why it’s often chosen by London commuters.
Homes cost an average of £455,720 and it takes 43 minutes to get into London on the regular commuter trains. You’ve also got Southend-on-Sea a stone’s throw away and London Southend airport for international transport links.
A monthly season ticket is £339 (one of the cheapest of our list) and it has a low crime rate, of 63 crimes per 1,000 people on average.
There are six local schools to choose from, one of which is outstanding. Grammar schools in the nearby area are rated highly and a big draw for families.
Cheshunt, Hertfordshire: value for money homes, a quick commute, and swathes of countryside to explore
If you find yourself priced out of London, Cheshunt is worth considering, with just a 30-minute commute into central London. It’s not only close to London, it also has easy access to the countryside.
It’s cheap too, when compared with the capital, with houses priced at an average of £437,202.
A monthly rail pass will cost £254 and the town is situated on the beautiful River Lea. It also has a lot of green space to explore, including the River Lee Country Park, which oddly has a different spelling to the river itself. One explanation is that the Lea is the natural river, while the Lee refers to the man-made navigation. There are 39 schools to choose from in the borough of Broxbourne where you’ll find Cheshunt, and three are outstanding.
The crime rate is higher than many of the other areas on our list, at 99 crimes per 1,000 people on average, but this is largely because of its proximity to London, as it lies just 12 miles north of the city.
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Our pick: What is the best value commuter town near London?
Moving out of London is a huge decision, and there will be plenty of things to think about. Of the towns and villages we’ve picked, our favourite is Worthing in Sussex. It provides, for us, an affordable place to buy a property, and the chance to live in a beautiful seaside town while still being able to commute into London.
For those that think the hour and a half commute is a little too far, and are seeking a quiet village life with a quicker commute, Ryarsh in Kent would be our second choice.
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