Moving, but where to?

[Diddums]

Being a South African, I'm not all that clued up with the UK (yet). I currently live in Streatham, London. I pay stupid amounts of money for rent and bills and at 30 I'm not getting any younger so it's time to sacrifice the London lifestyle for something cheaper and start saving for a house and whatnot.

I have a decent job in London so ideally I'd like to keep it. I'd like to live about an hour by train from Central London, I work literally on top of St Pauls tube station so any main city station is fine.

For reference, I pay 1200 a month rent, 180 a month council tax, gas and leccy, and of course I'm extremely limited to car choices because of where I live (insurance love London residents).

So GD, where to? I'd prefer a place that's a bit respectable, I have no qualms paying a but extra for a neighbourhood that's isn't too shabby.

The way I see it, I will be paying through the nose for travel but this will be offset by cheaper rent / council tax and car insurance when I decide to get another car.

Any ideas?

 

[Diddums]

Cheers guys, I'll have a look at your suggestions once I've had a good sleep.


Of course I'm always open to dos / don'ts, so if anyone else has anything to say, I'm all ears!

 

[Diddums]

Thanks for all the replies folks, lots of things to consider / digest. It's definitely a move I want to make but I want to do it right first time, no regrets. Might take another year but at least once I pull the plug, it'll be the right plug

If you want to escape the London money vacuum, you need to leave it entirely. Moving to Zone 56 and commuting in will land you with a season ticket that will wipe out most of your savings. A 12 month season ticket for St Albans to London is £3,000 more expensive than an annual travelcard.

This is something I've considered as well. Thing is, I earn a decent living in London, my salary for my job is about 60% of what it currently is outside of London. My employer also has tons of good benefits which I'm not willing to forfeit at the moment.

I also had a sniff at a supervisor role last night so I might be pursuing that.

Let's just say that having been a supervisor for my current firm in this location would be an opportunity I could never pass up, it'd pretty much be a free pass to walk into any job in my industry worldwide, and that's not something I can pass up on.

That said, it's very tempting.

 

[Diddums]

I have a similar dillemna (just taken a job in the city) and found this site really useful; http://commutefrom.com

Top of my list at the moment is Fleet (allegedly best region to live in the UK) although I have a few other criteria limiting me like my wife's commute to Southampton, proximity to family etc.

Have a look around Ashford in Kent maybe as it has superfast train to London (don't be fooled by the distance).

Oh what a fantastic site, thanks for that.

I need to set up a proper plan for this, ie. travel time, costs involved, what the area is like, expected rent and bills, etc etc.

I really need a place with a garage or shed or something. Not having any hands-on hobbies sucks