If the concept of living somewhere with fresh air, neighbours that actually acknowledge your existence, and pint prices that don’t resemble the cost of a small mortgage sounds appealing to you, then it may well be time for you to vacate the capital cityfolks. If, however, you still need to reside within relatively easy reach of London for your work (and -let’s face it – your sanity); one of the city’s surrounding commuter towns is probably your best bet.
But with the plethora of places buckled into the capital’s commuter beltit’s pretty darn overwhelming to work out which of them will offer you the best value for money. Fear not, though. The property pros over at Savills have kindly done the research for us, and have recently revealed the best value commuter towns within 30 minutes of London. And we’re about to point you in their very direction.
The new study took the average property prices and train ticket costs in 350 locations and compared them to the average cost of owning a property in Zone 2. The research also took into account data from the Index of Multiple Deprivation (which looks at the likes of crime rates, employment, and education) to ensure that quality-of-life was being considered too. And once all the numbers had been thoroughly crunched, three areas topped the commuting charts.
Shenfield, Essex
Posh and peaceful Shenfield led the pack, offering the best value for money over all. The average three-bedroom house in the Essex town will set you back £427,000whilst a yearly train ticket will cost £4,008. Despite both of those figures still seeming pretty high, living in Shenfield will supposedly cost you 45% less than if you were to reside in London’s Zone 2. It takes 51 minutes to reach Bond Street from Shenfield on the Elizabeth Line. But if you work in the city, a national rail train would whizz you from Shenfield to Liverpool Street in just 23 minutes.
Twyford, Berkshire
The charming village of Twyford came in at second place, also offering a 45% saving on what you’d be forking out in Zone 2 of London. The average three-bedroom house in Twyford costs £461,000. And a year-round season train ticket can be snapped up for £4764. The Lizzie Line can get you from Twyford to Bond Street in 55 minutesand a local train could ferry you into Paddington in a rather impressive 31 minutes.
Woking, Surrey
The third spot on the list of the best value commuter towns within 30 minutes in London was snapped up by Woking. No stranger to a commuter crown, the Surrey town was named the best commuter town of all in a recent study. Woking offers a 43% saving compared to Zone 2, with an average three-bedroom house setting you back £479,000and a season train ticket costing £4260. The train from Woking to Waterloo takes just 24 minutesoffering commuters a far speedier journey than many London suburbs can.
The Berkshire towns of Maidenhead and Furze Platt nabbed the fourth and fifth spots on the list. So, if you are considering venturing out of the capital sometime soon, you now know where to go if you – like Hannah Montana – want the best of both worlds.
