Page 1 of Commuting into London for work. Who here does it?

It looks as though my place of work is moving into Central London. Potentially Waterloo. That means I can no longer drive, and getting a 45 minute train is now the only option. Add the fact that I will have to drive and pay to park at the station to the mix, and my travel costs almost quadruple.

I am keen to move out of Sidcup, though definitely not centrally. So I am looking for a place to live outside of London, where I can commute easily. I thought that there may be some regular commuters on here who might be able to recommend some nice areas I could move my small family to.

I`m looking for a nice area, and will really consider anywhere. Ideally I would move towards where the majority of my family is located In Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, but that`s undoubtedly too far.

And ideas and advice welcome.

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I`ll be the wrong person to ask....I just can`t see how anyone would want to spend 3-4 hours of their day getting to work and back...especially into London.

So you leave at 7am to get a parking space and make the train, then get home at 7pm after rushing to the train only to find you have to stand up all the way home (and probably there in the morning too)

In bed by 10.30 as you have an early start the next day...too knackered to do anything at the weekend, you don`t see your kids if they are under the age of 7 as they are in bed by the time you get home.

Is any job worth giving up your life for?? Money can buy lots of things but time with your family isn`t one of them.

why take life so seriously..its not like you are going to make it out alive

Maybe going in the wrong direction for you, but you could consider Ashford in Kent area which would give you good access to super fast trains to St Pancreas (half an hour I think?)

I used to commute to Croydon for a short while, which meant getting up at 5:30 and getting home at 20:00. That was a laugh.

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I quite liked Sidcup when I stayed there 6 years back while at GSK Dartford.

I moved to Stone Crossing (they filmed the exterior shots of the last part of The Dalek Invasion of Earth in the quarry there), just outside Dartford, rented a one bed flat, 5 mins walk to the station & about 40 mins to London Bridge by train. The Lads of the Village pub just up from the station looks rough on the outside, but its a real locals bar (I settled in there very quickly & still miss it).



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Decades into the new era of miniaturisation, you can still encounter rastafarians & other technologically backward youths parading around with a full size boombox on their shoulder.


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This item was edited on Tuesday, 15th September 2009, 01:00

Quote:
I used to commute to Croydon for a short while, which meant getting up at 5:30 and getting home at 20:00. That was a laugh.

I rest my case!!

Farnborough in Hants (where I used to live) has a fast train to Waterloo. Never any seats left at 7.30am though.
Not a bad place to live but property is ridiculously overpriced.


why take life so seriously..its not like you are going to make it out alive

I travel from Basingstoke every day, about 45 minutes on the train. Rarely have to deal with the rush hour as I`m either in for 7am or 10am.


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Just out of interest, why can`t you drive into Waterloo?
Couldn`t you get yourself a car with Co2 levels that beat the congestion charge?
Or is parking a problem?
I can`t envisage having to rely on public transport, I`d rather compromise on the type of car I own than suffer packed trains. :(

kent is good -
you can get to waterloo in about 50mins from t-dub and you get a lot of bang for your buck when it comes to house prices
schools are good and all that sort of s*** too

chislehurst and chelsfield are closer - similar - but more pricey
sevenoaks is good - but there aren`t many properties near the station

(edit) i should add that i did it for a few years and now work from home
(edit 2) train tickets are not cheap

This item was edited on Tuesday, 15th September 2009, 11:01

Quote:
Or is parking a problem?

I`m guessing the Train might turn out cheaper...



My Photo`s
Now with added Tweet
"But you`re not Judge Judy and executioner...."

"You don`t need eyes to see, you need vision..."

Have you considered 2 wheels rather than 4?
Cheaper, more fun and not even that uncomfortable in bad weather with all the modern clothing, heated gloves and socks etc.
Free parking in the bike bays as well.

If your considering Kent I`ll stick in a suggestion for West Wickham, about 4 miles from Bromley. I used to live in Coney Hall and I`d move back tomorrow if circumstances allowed.

Snaps

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I used to be with it, but then they changed what `it` was.
Now, what I`m with isn`t it, and what`s `it` seems weird and scary