London vs the Commuter Belt: How to Decide Where to Live

The trade-off

Living in London usually means paying more for less space, with less time spent travelling. A commuter town usually means more space for the money, and more time and money spent getting to work. Neither is better in general. The question is which trade suits your job, your household and how often you actually need to be in London.

Cost the commute properly

Add up the full cost of a typical week, not just the headline fare:

• Fares. A season ticket pays off only if you travel most days. If you're in the office two or three days a week, price up individual or flexible tickets instead. Get current fares from the train company or National Rail for the exact journey.
• Getting to the station. Parking, a bus, or the walk. A town with a fast train is less useful if you live a long way from the station.
• Time. Two 50-minute journeys, three days a week, is about five hours a week, or more than 200 hours a year.
• Reliability. Check the last train home and how the route copes with disruption, not just the fastest timetabled journey.

Hybrid working changes the sums

If you're in London two or three days a week, a longer journey costs you less in total. That makes a town further out more realistic than it would be for a five-day commute. But office policies change. Before you buy somewhere that only works on a part-time commute, ask yourself whether you could manage it five days a week if you had to.

Compare places on the same measures

Pick two or three real candidates and compare them on the things that matter to you: sold prices for the type of home you want, schools, crime, green space and broadband. Check Local scores every area against its country's average on the same scale, so a London neighbourhood and a commuter town can be read side by side. Try Clapham Junction against Windsor or Slough in compare.

Running costs that differ

Council tax varies between councils, and between London boroughs. Some commuter-town homes have larger energy bills simply because they are larger. Factor in a second car if the town needs one. These differences can outweigh small gaps in purchase price over the years you live there.

Making the call

Do the journey at commuting time before you commit, ideally on a day you'd really travel. Then visit the town at the weekend, when you'd actually be living there. The best choice is the one that fits the week you'll really have, not the one that looks cheapest on a listing.