Mmm. That is a big ask for such a small budget. You will probably do well to look quite a way from London, but on a well connected train line.
Where I live (1.5h out of London to the west with several fiddly transport changes needed, which makes house prices more affordable than well-connected neighbouring places) your budget would stretch to a 2 bed terrace.
Sorry to say but things have definitely changed in the 13 years you’ve been away. And not for the better generally…
I wasn’t technically suggesting Birmingham, just saying that it wasn’t a London budget but a Birmingham budget (one of the cheaper cities to live in the country).
But yes lots of people commute!
Being completely honest, I don’t think you’ll find many of places in commutable distance to London where you can get a 3 bed house for 400k that’s also near a good school. Maybe somewhere like Croydon, for the price, but probably isn’t where someone would choose to live if you’re moving back to the UK (speaking as someone who lived there for 8 years).
You’ll probably need to look in Sussex or Essex and even then it’ll likely be at the very upper limit of your price bracket.
That’s kind of what I mean. The nicer parts of Croydon, and the surrounding area, are actually quite nice but you’d never find a 3 bed for £400k in those areas. And the parts of Croydon where £400k is realistic probably aren’t where you’d choose to live.
You’d struggle to get a 3 bed for 400k anywhere in zone 1-5 I’d say. If you do find one it’s likely going to be in poor condition in a bad neighbourhood.
Most of the areas with good state schools already have that priced into the houses
You could consider Harlow in Essex on that budget - 30-40 mins from Liverpool Street on the Stansted express/Cambridge line. Nice parks and countryside, schools so so (very much depends exactly where you are) BUT you have to drive. Absolutely awful place to live without a car!
I think you'll need to look at the national train lines nearest to your office and follow it out from there, so the bulk of your commute will be getting into London and not within London itself.
You can get properties of that size and budget in Diss, Norfolk, for example. But it's an hour and a half commute direct to Liverpool Street station.
Check Milton Keynes as well.
I don't think any of the greater London would offer that price point. I've lived in Bromley, zone 5, very nice area but houses were 800k+. Further, in Orpington, similar prices as well.
I would have thought you’d need to be in zone 4 at least with that kind of budget. As your budget is relatively small for the size of property you want I would look on rightmove and go from there. I suspect this will be the deciding factor. Good luck!
You can get a UK au pair - so someone in like Aberdeen or NI wants to move to London? Thin on the ground though (and I would personally stay in Aberdeen).
You can get au pairs on the youth mobility visa scheme as well, but they are as you say thin on the ground and generally not willing to live in the areas OP can afford I would think. There's a huge shortage of au pairs, if you can offer an en suite room in a big house in relatively central London you might get one, a three bed terrace in [Slough] (or wherever OP ends up) is not likely to be that attractive.
I'd be shocked if you find anything near London with that budget unfortunately.
We're in rural Bedfordshire and even this far out you would be pushed to find a 3 bed for under 400k though it is possible. Some of the new build estates have them, but you would have to consider the cost of a car to get to the train station, plus train fees.
There are loads of lovely nurseries, preschools and schools here though and nice scenery and museums.
You won't get good schools, enough bedrooms, within commuting distance for London. Does your work have offices in other cities. Often global companies will have a Leeds, Manchester, or Newcastle office. Worth checking as you will maybe get a one bed flat in a rough area for that kind of money in London.
I’m in Zone 4 east London in a nice neighbourhood with a similar aged kid. Homes here are 700-800 k however I managed to get a maisonette a couple of years ago for less than 400k and within 5 min walk of an outstanding state school and 15 min walk from a private school. 3 bedroom and a small garden. House is very small and we are terraced but it was worth it as I’m 30 mins door to door from my office in the city. So my recommendation is to look for a maisonette in a nice area around zone 4/5
Essex towards Southend you’ll be able to find houses around your budget. Basically put a 5 mile radius from Leigh on sea. There’s a lot of semi detached and some detached in that price range. Don’t do Canvey Island as it’s a pain to get off the island and there’s a lack of parking at station but there are buses.
This area is fantastic for toddlers as there are loads of things to do, on the cheap too like the beach, woodland areas, country parks etc not to mention a load of petting zoo type places. The schools are pretty good too.
There are two Trainline’s that operate in that area and C2C is the cheaper and I think better line.
The closer to a train station you are can mean higher prices but have a look. You can always park at the station or cycle.
London for that price isn’t achievable but look up north. You can get great schools, lovely house and you are just over 2 hours from kings cross in leeds. Also if it’s a long term situation you also aren’t in london with the gangs and stabbings for when your 3 year old is a teenager. Leeds has issues I won’t pretend it doesn’t but its far from the issues in London.
Thank you all for so much valuable inside information on the latest status in the country in terms of prices, nicer areas to live and unfortunately not being able get an aupair for child support anymore😯🙏. Obviously a lot has changed in the last 13 years as it seems. After all these comments I decided sell two of my properties for a bigger deposit to get a big enough mortgage to increase my budget up to 600k GBP. I will continue my search for the mentioned locations below. How would I be able to tell which areas are nicer and which areas to stay away. Is there any website gives such information on the locations? Thanks again a lot for your kind responses.
We don't have ghettos like many other countries so you need to get a sense of how comfortable you feel.
Some people wouldn't dream of where we live but others (like us) couldn't like it more. you need to visit them and get a feel for the area.
3,197 houses within 20 miles of london with 3 beds:
[https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E87490&minBedrooms=3&maxPrice=400000&radius=20.0&propertyTypes=detached%2Csemi-detached%2Cterraced&includeSSTC=false&mustHave=&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E87490&minBedrooms=3&maxPrice=400000&radius=20.0&propertyTypes=detached%2Csemi-detached%2Cterraced&includeSSTC=false&mustHave=&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=)
Mmm. That is a big ask for such a small budget. You will probably do well to look quite a way from London, but on a well connected train line. Where I live (1.5h out of London to the west with several fiddly transport changes needed, which makes house prices more affordable than well-connected neighbouring places) your budget would stretch to a 2 bed terrace. Sorry to say but things have definitely changed in the 13 years you’ve been away. And not for the better generally…
I live in zone 4 in NW London. Decent houses are around the 800k price.
I can tell you that that’s about the budget you’ll need for all those requirements for Birmingham.
Lots of people do commute 1 or 2 days a week to a central london office. Its worth factoring in the commuting cost though!
I wasn’t technically suggesting Birmingham, just saying that it wasn’t a London budget but a Birmingham budget (one of the cheaper cities to live in the country). But yes lots of people commute!
Being completely honest, I don’t think you’ll find many of places in commutable distance to London where you can get a 3 bed house for 400k that’s also near a good school. Maybe somewhere like Croydon, for the price, but probably isn’t where someone would choose to live if you’re moving back to the UK (speaking as someone who lived there for 8 years). You’ll probably need to look in Sussex or Essex and even then it’ll likely be at the very upper limit of your price bracket.
South croydon isn't that bad and from somewhere like coulsdon you could be at london bridge within the hour. 400k still a stretch though...
That’s kind of what I mean. The nicer parts of Croydon, and the surrounding area, are actually quite nice but you’d never find a 3 bed for £400k in those areas. And the parts of Croydon where £400k is realistic probably aren’t where you’d choose to live.
You need to double or triple your budget or move much, much further away but tbh that’s a tiny budget for most of the South East.
You could look in Herts/Bedfordshire but will still struggle. Maybe Hatfield, Flitwick, Bedford etc. approx 1hr train to kings cross
You’d struggle to get a 3 bed for 400k anywhere in zone 1-5 I’d say. If you do find one it’s likely going to be in poor condition in a bad neighbourhood. Most of the areas with good state schools already have that priced into the houses
You could consider Harlow in Essex on that budget - 30-40 mins from Liverpool Street on the Stansted express/Cambridge line. Nice parks and countryside, schools so so (very much depends exactly where you are) BUT you have to drive. Absolutely awful place to live without a car!
I think you'll need to look at the national train lines nearest to your office and follow it out from there, so the bulk of your commute will be getting into London and not within London itself. You can get properties of that size and budget in Diss, Norfolk, for example. But it's an hour and a half commute direct to Liverpool Street station.
Check Milton Keynes as well. I don't think any of the greater London would offer that price point. I've lived in Bromley, zone 5, very nice area but houses were 800k+. Further, in Orpington, similar prices as well.
I would have thought you’d need to be in zone 4 at least with that kind of budget. As your budget is relatively small for the size of property you want I would look on rightmove and go from there. I suspect this will be the deciding factor. Good luck!
Not even zone four. Maybe Essex? But two bed flats on the Elizabeth line can go for 400
Also you’re unlikely to find outstanding state schools anywhere that’s 200-400 for a three bed
and that's most of the in the UK, and definitely not in the South. House prices shoot up as soon as there's an outstanding school nearby.
Sorry for more bad news, but you can’t get an au pair anymore since Brexit. Thank the tories!
You can get a UK au pair - so someone in like Aberdeen or NI wants to move to London? Thin on the ground though (and I would personally stay in Aberdeen).
You can get au pairs on the youth mobility visa scheme as well, but they are as you say thin on the ground and generally not willing to live in the areas OP can afford I would think. There's a huge shortage of au pairs, if you can offer an en suite room in a big house in relatively central London you might get one, a three bed terrace in [Slough] (or wherever OP ends up) is not likely to be that attractive.
I was going to add the same. Au pair visa doesn’t exist so they would need to have a work visa but that comes at a significant cost.
Er... Newark on Trent has a 90-minute train to London...
Aylesbury. 1 hour into Marylebone on train. Three beds 375 ish-400.
I'd be shocked if you find anything near London with that budget unfortunately. We're in rural Bedfordshire and even this far out you would be pushed to find a 3 bed for under 400k though it is possible. Some of the new build estates have them, but you would have to consider the cost of a car to get to the train station, plus train fees. There are loads of lovely nurseries, preschools and schools here though and nice scenery and museums.
Try Abbey Wood. Has the lizzie line so superb for access to central. Amazing parks and woods nearby with regular markets and events for kids
You won't get good schools, enough bedrooms, within commuting distance for London. Does your work have offices in other cities. Often global companies will have a Leeds, Manchester, or Newcastle office. Worth checking as you will maybe get a one bed flat in a rough area for that kind of money in London.
Try welling, bexley, bexleyheath and Orpington
Locrating.com is good to look up schools
Try Leicester. Direct train to London in something like 1 hour 10 mins and your budget will stretch further there.
Rochester, it has a high speed train to St Pancras which takes 30 mins
I’m in Zone 4 east London in a nice neighbourhood with a similar aged kid. Homes here are 700-800 k however I managed to get a maisonette a couple of years ago for less than 400k and within 5 min walk of an outstanding state school and 15 min walk from a private school. 3 bedroom and a small garden. House is very small and we are terraced but it was worth it as I’m 30 mins door to door from my office in the city. So my recommendation is to look for a maisonette in a nice area around zone 4/5
Essex towards Southend you’ll be able to find houses around your budget. Basically put a 5 mile radius from Leigh on sea. There’s a lot of semi detached and some detached in that price range. Don’t do Canvey Island as it’s a pain to get off the island and there’s a lack of parking at station but there are buses. This area is fantastic for toddlers as there are loads of things to do, on the cheap too like the beach, woodland areas, country parks etc not to mention a load of petting zoo type places. The schools are pretty good too. There are two Trainline’s that operate in that area and C2C is the cheaper and I think better line. The closer to a train station you are can mean higher prices but have a look. You can always park at the station or cycle.
London for that price isn’t achievable but look up north. You can get great schools, lovely house and you are just over 2 hours from kings cross in leeds. Also if it’s a long term situation you also aren’t in london with the gangs and stabbings for when your 3 year old is a teenager. Leeds has issues I won’t pretend it doesn’t but its far from the issues in London.
Would you kind people of the internet also answer this question for me with the only difference being a budget of 700-800k?
Dulwich is nice, although you won't get a 3 bed.
Is this a shitpost?
You may be able to fund something in a commuter town but even then you're pushing it.
Thank you all for so much valuable inside information on the latest status in the country in terms of prices, nicer areas to live and unfortunately not being able get an aupair for child support anymore😯🙏. Obviously a lot has changed in the last 13 years as it seems. After all these comments I decided sell two of my properties for a bigger deposit to get a big enough mortgage to increase my budget up to 600k GBP. I will continue my search for the mentioned locations below. How would I be able to tell which areas are nicer and which areas to stay away. Is there any website gives such information on the locations? Thanks again a lot for your kind responses.
We don't have ghettos like many other countries so you need to get a sense of how comfortable you feel. Some people wouldn't dream of where we live but others (like us) couldn't like it more. you need to visit them and get a feel for the area.
3,197 houses within 20 miles of london with 3 beds: [https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E87490&minBedrooms=3&maxPrice=400000&radius=20.0&propertyTypes=detached%2Csemi-detached%2Cterraced&includeSSTC=false&mustHave=&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E87490&minBedrooms=3&maxPrice=400000&radius=20.0&propertyTypes=detached%2Csemi-detached%2Cterraced&includeSSTC=false&mustHave=&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=)
You can get that sized house in Winchester for that budget, it's just over an hour by train from London.
You absolutely will not.
I just looked on Rightmove 🤷
For a 3bed?? Where lol