London is a great place to run your business. It’s also very expensive, with exorbitant rent prices that show no signs of slowing down. Thankfully, there is a way to have your cake and eat it, as long as you don’t mind a bit of a commute.
Commuter towns offer a more affordable alternative, ultimately providing greater value for money – and a better night’s sleep.
We’ve done some research and come up with a list of the top 5 commuter towns that’ll have you wherever in London your business is located in under an hour.
St Albans, Hertfordshire
This beautiful cathedral city in Hertfordshire is just a 20-minute train ride from the capital. It boasts many green spaces, including Verulamium Park, as well as a number of highly rated local schools. In terms of cost, it is on the pricey side, with the average house price coming in at £636,754.
There are also several handy co-working spaces for the days where you don’t need to commute in, but also don’t want to stay cooped up in your house. For example, there’s Queens House on Victoria Street and bubbleHUB on Stonecross.
Esher, Surrey
This one’s a little further away, located about 30 minutes from Central London, and is also considerably more expensive (the average house price over the last year is £994,798).
Nevertheless, there are a number of popular attractions nearby, not least Chessington World of Adventures. There are also many schools in the area rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.
When it comes to business facilities, there are some options (e.g. Regus on Hersham Road), though not quite the same range as in St Albans.
Epsom, Surrey
Also in Surrey is Epsom, which has a similar commute time to Esher’s. The cost of living is much lower, however, with the average house price over the last year being around £500,000.
Epsom also benefits from local family-friendly areas like Epsom Common, Horton Country Park, and Hobbledown Adventure Park and Zoo (to name just a few).
There are different coworking spaces on offer (including the local library!) which offer a range of facilities, including Global House Business Centre on Ashley Avenue, and Nammu on the High Street.
Watford, Hertfordshire
Harry Potter fan? In addition to being the location of the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, Watford has the fastest commute time on this list, coming in at just 16 minutes! It’s also relatively affordable, with an average house price of £474,202 over the past year.
There’s a plethora of working spaces available, too, including YoooServ on Clarendon Road which offers a concierge service, and onsite cafes and gym facilities as well as the usual meeting rooms and workspaces. There’s also a FigFlex Office at Oak House on Reeds Crescent – just to name two!
Roydon, Essex
Around half an hour away from the hustle and bustle of the big city, Roydon is a lovely village in the Epping Forest district of Essex, a 30-minute train ride from Central London. What about the cost, though? Well, the average house price isn’t the lowest of all the ones mentioned here, but it’s also nowhere near the highest, being around £550,000.
There are naturally a lot of green spaces to be enjoyed, such as the Hunsdon Mead Nature Reserve. Although Roydon itself doesn’t have dedicated coworking spaces at the time of writing, options include Greenway Business Centre in nearby Harlow, or Hoddesdon Enterprise Centre.
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