Living in Buckinghamshire - what's it like?

Living in Buckinghamshire - what's it like?

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AdvocatusD

Original Poster:

2,277 posts

230 months

Friday 13th April 2012
quotequote all
Friday afternoon dream time...

What living in Buckinghamshire like for someone working in the City of London?

You'd need to commute by Chiltern I presume? Is it a pain or a good service?

What are the best parts? Gerrards Cross, Chalfont St Giles and Beaconsfield seem to be parts Google throws up. Are there particular pockets within there as well?

You can get a triple garage for so much less when move out of London!

Any dreamy properties spotted in the area recently?

Let's set a lottery win budget of £2m and see what we can get!

Munter

31,319 posts

240 months

Friday 13th April 2012
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Amersham is good as well.

I'd move back in an instant. Although I was not commuting on the Chiltern Rail or Metropolitan lines. Just commuting from Amersham to Chalfont St Peter. St Peter is nice also but no station.

blindswelledrat

25,257 posts

231 months

Friday 13th April 2012
quotequote all
I live in Great Missenden
Good, reliable trains and you always get a seat. Ive been commuting daily for 10 years now and I wouldn't even consider living in London.
Out there you are minutes from stunning countryside, but have everything you need, and London is an easy trip in if you still crave it.
Couldn't recommend it more.
Nice places are the ones you mentioned, Missenden and surroundings and also Denham.
Marlow and surroundings are also very nice but the rail links aren't nearly as good

Edited by blindswelledrat on Friday 13th April 16:42

TwigtheWonderkid

43,142 posts

149 months

Friday 13th April 2012
quotequote all
Some lovely spots in Bucks, but for a commuter into London, Beaconsfield is hard to beat. Gerrards Cross is a bit nearer to London and is very nice too but a bit too close to Slough for comfort. Plus Beaconsfield has more going for it, a lovely Old Town and a vibrant New Town, a choice of supermarkets, a few car dealerships, a night club, loads of eateries and of course that all important station (in the New Town). Marylebone in about 30 mins I think.

But....it ain't cheap. £2m gets you a very nice detached family home with 5 beds, but no mansion. For an indoor pool, snooker room and a tennis court in the garden you'll need £5m+.

The Moose

22,818 posts

208 months

Friday 13th April 2012
quotequote all
My house is in Beaconsfield. I don't work in the city, but a chap who lives with me does on a regular basis and it really isn't a problem at all. 25 (IIRC) mins to Marylebone which is unbeatable for the surrounding area.

Have a look at Seer Green, although I don't know what the trains are like from there (it's the same line, but the fasts may not stop there).

flyingjase

3,067 posts

230 months

Friday 13th April 2012
quotequote all
I live in a village in South Bucks, nearest station Princes Risborough. Fast train is 33 mins to Marylebone, otherwise you are looking at 40-45 mins.

I currently work in Liverpool St so have another 30 mins on top of that to get across town.

I'm keeping some seriously unsustainable hours right now so for me that is just too much and I have rented a flat on Bishopsgate during the week.

South Bucks is lovely countryside (watch for the HS2 route though) and as you'd expect the further you go out, the better value you get. We are 20 mins drive from Beaconsfield and I guess our house would be 30% more expensive there.

Taking the dogs for a walk past Chequers first thing on a Saturday morning makes it all worthwhile. It's also a great place to bring up kids.

essayer

8,974 posts

193 months

Friday 13th April 2012
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You'll deffo get a lot more for your money out toward Princes Risborough than you will in South Bucks, but it's longer on the train.

IMO Gerrards Cross is overpriced and lacking in much character or anything of interest; Beaconsfield has a better selection of restaurants and pubs and mainstream shops. Not really much to recommend High Wycombe.

If you like "character" properties then old town Beaconsfield has a lot of beautiful old houses (but gets busy in the evenings) as does the old town of Amersham. If you want a larger property out of town with a bit more space then look at the surrounding villages like Penn, Chalfont St Giles, Stoke Poges etc.

Sadly the area between Amersham and Wendover will probably struggle a bit for the next few years due HS2. A shame, as it's a lovely area.

What do you want, built up area or more of a 'country' property with a bit of land ?
Character property or new build
Schools .. ?

Bluebarge

4,519 posts

177 months

Friday 13th April 2012
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If you lived in Marlow, Bourne End, Bisham territory (southest of S.Bucks) you would drive to H.Wycombe to catch the train (about 10-15 mins from Marlow) or else take the train from Bourne End/Cookham and change at Maidenhead for the paddington line (not as good as Chiltern, but acceptable). £2m would get you something on the river (Thames).

illmonkey

18,097 posts

197 months

Friday 13th April 2012
quotequote all
flyingjase said:
I live in a village in South Bucks, nearest station Princes Risborough. Fast train is 33 mins to Marylebone, otherwise you are looking at 40-45 mins.

I currently work in Liverpool St so have another 30 mins on top of that to get across town.

I'm keeping some seriously unsustainable hours right now so for me that is just too much and I have rented a flat on Bishopsgate during the week.

South Bucks is lovely countryside (watch for the HS2 route though) and as you'd expect the further you go out, the better value you get. We are 20 mins drive from Beaconsfield and I guess our house would be 30% more expensive there.

Taking the dogs for a walk past Chequers first thing on a Saturday morning makes it all worthwhile. It's also a great place to bring up kids.
wavey

I do a walk every so often past it too. Sometimes stop off at The plough.

RC944

4,095 posts

218 months

Friday 13th April 2012
quotequote all
just moved to chalfont st giles... brilliant

schools
commute
countryside
houses

scored well on the most important things for me and mrs rc944 and rc944 junior 1 and 2

chalfont and lat station zone 8 gives access into town into marylebone via chiltern railways and met line straight to liv st. costs about 3g per year much cheaper than first capital connect

beaconsfield has benefit of quicker line into marylebone but i like the dual benefit of tube and mainline from my nearest station

take note of the current proposed route for hs2 as that will have a bearing on prices

check out hp8 and 2 mile radius in rightmove and 2m will get you about half an acre on a decent road

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 13th April 2012
quotequote all
I live in Penn, just 3 miles outside of Beaconsfield which is a lovely village and feels very much in the countryside.
There are 3 pubs, a football and tennis club and a couple of local shops.

I used to commute into the City.
The fast train from Beaconsfield into Marylebone now takes just 20mins.
A quick 5 min walk over to Baker Street tube and then another 20mins into the City (I used to work at Moorgate).



flyingjase

3,067 posts

230 months

Friday 13th April 2012
quotequote all
illmonkey said:
wavey

I do a walk every so often past it too. Sometimes stop off at The plough.
The Plough is my local, I can usually be found in there at some point over the weekend.......in fact I'll be there in a couple of hours time!

Puggit

48,318 posts

247 months

Friday 13th April 2012
quotequote all
I grew up in Seer Green and Little Chalfont/Chalfont St Giles. Good schools and connections to London, but as a teenager it was quite soulless.

omniflow

2,539 posts

150 months

Friday 13th April 2012
quotequote all
Futher out can be a quicker commute - due to "fast trains".

Some of the larger towns (e.g. High Wycombe, Aylesbury) are really not very nice at all.

Beaconsfield & Gerrards Cross are an "acquired taste" - try shopping in the Waitrose in Beaconsfield, and see if you feel like you belong !

Great Missenden and the surrounding areas are really quite special - I work in Canary Wharf and the commute is perfectly tolerable - I've been doing it for the past 11 years.

If you've got kids, then I recommend it 100% - if not, then stay in London.

illmonkey

18,097 posts

197 months

Friday 13th April 2012
quotequote all
flyingjase said:
illmonkey said:
wavey

I do a walk every so often past it too. Sometimes stop off at The plough.
The Plough is my local, I can usually be found in there at some point over the weekend.......in fact I'll be there in a couple of hours time!
Ah, lovely place to live. Never seen the Aston though!

Good walks around there, can never figure out the damn woods though, always get lost!

Piginapoke

4,714 posts

184 months

Friday 13th April 2012
quotequote all
Bluebarge said:
If you lived in Marlow, Bourne End, Bisham territory (southest of S.Bucks) you would drive to H.Wycombe to catch the train (about 10-15 mins from Marlow) or else take the train from Bourne End/Cookham and change at Maidenhead for the paddington line (not as good as Chiltern, but acceptable). £2m would get you something on the river (Thames).
I did this very commute for 3 years- Bourne End to Moorgate. A good 90 minutes, would not recommend

The Moose

22,818 posts

208 months

Saturday 14th April 2012
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omniflow said:
Beaconsfield & Gerrards Cross are an "acquired taste" - try shopping in the Waitrose in Beaconsfield, and see if you feel like you belong !
What's wrong with our Waitrose here?!?! confused

VMLondon

562 posts

174 months

Saturday 14th April 2012
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flyingjase said:
South Bucks is lovely countryside (watch for the HS2 route though)
THIS!!! I was looking at some land near Denham, all looked good, PP granted, existing dwellings, all seemed a good buy, until we found HS2 runs alongside the proposed house!!!

Please be careful when looking, it was almost too late for me!

Shuvi McTupya

24,460 posts

246 months

Saturday 14th April 2012
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How come nobody has mentioned Milton Keynes yet?

For £2 million you could own a street!


IAN1967

240 posts

169 months

Saturday 14th April 2012
quotequote all
Bandit said:
I live in Penn, just 3 miles outside of Beaconsfield which is a lovely village and feels very much in the countryside.
There are 3 pubs, a football and tennis club and a couple of local shops.

I used to commute into the City.
The fast train from Beaconsfield into Marylebone now takes just 20mins.
A quick 5 min walk over to Baker Street tube and then another 20mins into the City (I used to work at Moorgate).
I live in Tylers Greenwavey

Dont commute into town very often but when I do it's easy to park in a side road in Beaconsfield, if your early, then it's only 30 mins to Marylebone. or I drive to Ickenham and get the Met line in, again if you get there early parking on the main road is easy and free.

My commute is M40/M25/A3 to Tolworth and I can be on the M40 in about 10 mins.