Need advice from English board members

[A Lark Ascending]

The Chilterns arn't cheap! I had an uncle who decamped that way after making a fortune in the kitchen bakery business in Chelsea. It was very Horse and Hounds. Lots of celebrities live that way too.

You might try Milton Keynes - its about 30 mins north of Hemel or even Northampton (about an hour). Milton Keynes is a new town - I'd imagine there'd be affordable places there. Northampton is an older, semi-industrial town which I'd have thought might have reasonable property.

*********

A random search for "Renting Home Counties" produced this for Hemel:

http://www.primelocation.com/uk-property-t...emel_hempstead/

*********

Here's an example from Milton Keynes:

http://www.oaktree-property.co.uk/page00.asp

***********

And Northampton/Milton:

http://www.thomasandcompany.co.uk/back.htm

*********

These are all £500 pcm + I'm sure on the ground something cheaper could be had.

God! And I thought my mortgage was alot!

Edited February 18, 2005 by Bev Stapleton

[sheldonm]

A question to narrow down my quieries ......

What would be some good "countryside" locations to investigate that would not be too far from the Hemel/Sunbury/London area? Is it possible to live in a quiet, somewhat scenic area that is somewhat affordable, yet still be within an hour or so from this area? Its not looking like I'm going to be able to afford living in central London.

Sal,

Don't forget that I'll be coming to visit on a regualr basis, so you'll need some extra space! B-)

m-

[Phil Meloy]

Hi Sal - the guys are right about London rents these days but if you look around you can still find something. A good place to look is in Loot newspaper or TNT which is a London Australian magazine rather than high street letting agencies. It is better to rent privately dealing directly with the landlord.

Your choice of where to live will be influenced by whether you are working in Sunbury or Hemel Hemstead. Hemel Hemstead is slightly north-west of London while Sunbury is just outside to the west. If you are working in Sunbury, Richmond or Kingston upon Thames would be good spots to live. You could probably find a small flat for about £700 per month in these areas if you looked around. Both these have good links to central London. Both are close to the Thames as well as Richmond Park which is enormous. Richmond is actually the last station on the District line tube which is an added advantage. Clapham, and Putney also link to Sunbury by train and are fairly central in London. The advantage of all of these is that you would have a short train journey to work. Who wants to spend several hours a day commuting? From Richmond or Kingston it would also be a very short car journey to work. A new jazz gig has just started up once a week in the Grey Horse pub in Kingston. The closest tube station to Hemel Hemstead is Amersham at the end of the Metropolitan line. Have a look at a map of London and its suurounding areas to get a picture of things.

Edited February 18, 2005 by Phil Meloy

[sal]

Don't forget that I'll be coming to visit on a regualr basis, so you'll need some extra space! B-)

m-

Yep, I have the feeling I would have a lot of visitors! Hopefully, I'll be able to find some place that I can afford! What I need is for the dollar to gain some strength so I can afford the moving costs!

I really appreciate everyone's feedback! Its very helpful and I'm already looking at maps and websites.

[sal]

Hi Sal - the guys are right about London rents these days but if you look around you can still find something. A good place to look is in Loot newspaper or TNT which is a London Australian magazine rather than high street letting agencies. It is better to rent privately dealing directly with the landlord.

Your choice of where to live will be influenced by whether you are working in Sunbury or Hemel Hemstead. Hemel Hemstead is slightly north-west of London while Sunbury is just outside to the west. If you are working in Sunbury, Richmond or Kingston upon Thames would be good spots to live. You could probably find a small flat for about £700 per month in these areas if you looked around. Both these have good links to central London. Both are close to the Thames as well as Richmond Park which is enormous. Richmond is actually the last station on the District line tube which is an added advantage. Clapham, and Putney also link to Sunbury by train and are fairly central in London. The advantage of all of these is that you would have a short train journey to work. Who wants to spend several hours a day commuting? From Richmond or Kingston it would also be a very short car journey to work. A new jazz gig has just started up once a week in the Grey Horse pub in Kingston. The closest tube station to Hemel Hemstead is Amersham at the end of the Metropolitan line. Have a look at a map of London and its suurounding areas to get a picture of things.

Phil, I agree with you about the commute. I'm not looking to spend over an hour each way. The closer the better. I must admit that I'm quite intrigued by the idea of living in a more quiet, picturesque area. But the rent prices seem quite high out there as well!

[A Lark Ascending]

You might try this place, south east of London. Security is good.

[sheldonm]

You might try this place, south east of London. Security is good.

...I actually just put a down payment on the place!

[A Lark Ascending]

You might try this place, south east of London. Security is good.

...I actually just put a down payment on the place!

You did read the small print?

'Outside bath.'

[sheldonm]

You might try this place, south east of London. Security is good.

...I actually just put a down payment on the place!

You did read the small print?

'Outside bath.'

...oops!

[sidewinder]

[JohnJ]

The London area is totally ridiculous in terms of property prices, less so elsewhere in the South but still pricey by international standards. Herfordshire (where Hemel is) is a pretty afluent area - some ugly dull towns (hello Luton)

As a Lutonian I must say I resent all the digs at Luton.

Has anyone ever spent any time there? It is no better or worse than most large industrial towns and is actually a lot more cosmopoliitan than most with the large immigrant population and all the Chinese and other Asian students at Luton University.

Moreover, you have one of ther most reliable rail services in the UK (only 30 minutes to central London), Luton Airport (particularly good for budget airlines like Easy Jet) and a great professional football team, one of the most entertaining around (come on you hatters!).

[Phil Meloy]

You might try Milton Keynes

I can't believe you said this Bev.

[tonym]

You might try Milton Keynes, you won't like it, but you can try

I can't believe you said this Bev.

I dunno, seems like a fair statement

[Phil Meloy]

Phil, I agree with you about the commute. I'm not looking to spend over an hour each way. The closer the better. I must admit that I'm quite intrigued by the idea of living in a more quiet, picturesque area. But the rent prices seem quite high out there as well!

Yeah sal rents tend to be pretty high in the south east of England in general but you can still find reasonable deals if you look around. One good tip as regards commuting is when considering where to live make sure you avoid having to drive on the M25 to get to work. Officially named the London Orbital - nicknamed the 'Road to Hell', and frequently derided as nothing more than a very big car park, this is London's outermost beltway, the world's biggest ring road. The M25 runs completely around London and is to be avoided at all costs. Both Hemel Hemstead and Sunbury lie just outside it. To reach them from London by car you really want to be crossing the M25 rather than driving around it.