London commuter towns: recommendations?

[Peanut]

Dear forumites,

apologies for the long radio silence; it's been a bit full-on recently. My legs are getting very wobbly indeed and I'm about to bite the bullet, get a wheelchair, and move to a bungalow or something similar. Steep Victorian stairs and MND really don't mix ...

Suitable properties seem to be rarer than hen's teeth, so I'm casting the net wide, but will have to commute into London once or twice a week for work (as long as the old brain still works ok). So I'm looking for recommendations location-wise - somewhere with a wheelchair-accessible station within an hour of London, and probably not too hilly generally. Any suggestions (or warnings) greatly appreciated!

Cheerio,
Peanut

[denise]

Hi peanut.

you could look at out of kings cross where you have welwyn garden city, knebworth, Stevenage, Stevenage is first stop out of London. Hitchin, letchworth, Royston up and onto Cambridge.

long time since I lived in the area but Stevenage is a fairly modern station.

have to say those trains used to be very busy.

[Barry52]

Hi Peanut,

I used to commute to London Kings Cross from Peterborough 58minutes on the east coast line and very reliable service and some trains stop at Stevenage but property is more expensive. When I lived in Hampshire I would commute to London but the service was slow and unreliable. I believe the same is true from the west. Happy house hunting as it is a big decision many of us have to make.

[Shaun]

Hello peanut ,
barry makes a good point, check the train services to where you need to get to, might help you to choose an area to look at.
I used to commute from Essex (Leigh on sea) to fenchurch st, on c2c quite reliable, often and cheap
also commuted on GWR to Paddington , so that’s slough, reading, expensive fare though and standing only after reading,
I currently drive to Wimbledon from Wiltshire, as no direct train route , all being well two days a week when we go back to normal
As you have probably worked out the further away from London the cheaper the property, but train routes can be a bit more difficult
shaun

[Peanut]

Thank you all! Yes, we've been thinking about the London-Cambridge corridor, or London-Tunbridge Wells (Sevenoaks, Orpington). The Venn diagram doesn't have much in the intersection of spacious, commutable and affordable ...

[denise]

Stevenage has a lot of ex council houses. Only 30 mins from London. Its not easy my son spent forever looking.

[matthew55]

Surbiton, Kingston upon Thames, Richmond and surroundinareas. .👍😁🤗😍x

[Peanut]

Lots of parks in the Kingston area - nice! Will check out prices ...

A bungalow just went up for sale in my neck of the woods - very rare around here in terrace territory and on for one measly million. Ah ha ha ha.

[matthew55]

I grew up in Bushy Park, The River Thames and the King's old gaff! 🤔😍🤗👍 xxxxx

[Boiler68]

Hi Peanut

Went to visit daughter on West End before lockdown and as hubby is in powerchair, had to navigate Tube. There is a list of all stations that have wheelchair users in mind (some have no lifts etc). Certain spots on platforms for wheelchair users to board tubes at. I found it helpful. https://tfl.gov.uk/transport-accessi...voiding-stairs

[Peanut]

Hi Boiler68,
that's a useful one, thanks. For train stations I also used the National Rail Accessibility Map (National Rail Accessibility), but as far as I can tell it's not always up to date, so I end up checking individual stations as well.

[LindaB]

I grew up in Bushy Park, The River Thames and the King's old gaff! 🤔😍🤗👍 xxxxx

That's my neck of the woods I'm near Henry's out of town pad. 🤴

[LindaB]

Peanut Chichester is a great town & would be my choice if I had to move. I say town but really feels smaller than a town. The commute to London I think is one and half hours...sorry I don't know about access though. Good luck 👍

[matthew55]

I went to Broom Road Boys school. The year I left they were girls in the first year. Lived on Kingston Rd and loved the area. 🤗😘😍😁xx

[LindaB]

I went to Broom Road Boys school. The year I left they were girls in the first year. Lived on Kingston Rd and loved the area. 🤗😘😍😁xx

Is that Teddington? It's a lovely area to be fair 👍