Reading questions, plus travel time to london central

Hi everyone...

How is Reading as far as a place to live? Is it nice for a family with young kids (2y old son and 1month old daughter)? How about rental prices compared to other outer-lying areas of London?

We checked on the transport website and it said that from Reading central to Oxford circus was only 45 min (train, tube, walking). Is that accurate from your experiences? That's the outside time limit of a commute I'd like to have to Oxford Circus.

Are there other areas outside the zones of London that I should check out? As far as inside London, tell me about Morden and areas up that tube line and I've also heard that Herne Hill and Dulwich are nice? Any places taht are up and coming (good to get into now)?

I don't know much about living in Reading, but while the journey time doesn't appear to be very long (although you should be prepared for delays - which often happen on the trains here), according to www.thetrainline.com, the journey into Oxford Circus and back would cost you about $70 per day (!), whereas if you lived in London itself and took the tube to Oxford Circus, you would be looking at $5-$10 per day (although these prices may be less with a monthly/annual ticket).

The tube can be unreliable though, and sometimes journeys between stations just within zone 1 can take longer than 45 minutes - especially if any of the lines are closed or have delays - just a warning.

The cost of public transport - especially trains - is high here - I live just 2 hours away from London by train, but if I wished commute into the city (which I considered doing when I applied to one of the London Universities), it would cost me about $15,000 per year, which is probably more expensive than actually living in London itself!!

Also, it seems that average rent for a 3-bed house or flat in Reading would be around £200 per week or more (I've just found some 3-bed flats for £750 per week!) - which may work out at about the same price as living in Greater London anyway.

Reading is OK. The shopping in the town centre is pretty good and it is easy to get to London though it will cost you. There are some nice areas in Reading, but there are some really crappy areas, too. Also, the town centre is not fun most nights, especially weekends, as it's full of drunken uni students. But this is true of most cities.

Rent is also high as pointed out. You'll have to weigh up the cost of the area you want to live in versus the cost of commuting versus the time it takes. The classic London dilemma!

I recently moved to Reading, and we found housing to be expensive if you wanted what we wanted, but there are many far less expensive options. We wanted large bedrooms, a place with no stairs (I have knee problems, so we had to get a flat -- which means less space for your money, typically), lots of closet space and a washer/dryer and dishwasher. We got all of that, but we pay a fortune. If you don't have all those requirements, then yes, you should be able to find a decent 3-bedroom house for 750 to 850 pounds a month. I don't know where someone found a 3-bedroom flat for that price, though! If you want the mod cons, big rooms and built-in wardrobes, you'll pay a lot more. Check rightmove.co.uk and findaproperty.com. Depending on where you're moving from (are you coming from the States?), you may want to hire a relocation agent to sus out a nice area and a selection of properties for you to view when you arrive. If you're interested, I'll send you the name of company we used -- they did a good job and did it for less than some of the bigger agencies.

Because of my knee problems and the fact that I haven't started looking for work yet (we moved for my husband's job), I've not been out and about much in the town. But I can say it seems a nice place to be. There are some pretty park areas and it's easy enough to get groceries and other items delivered if that's what you like. There seems to be a decent amount of places to shop, including a Costco (but no Ikea). From what I understand, it's an easy train ride to London and costs about 13 pounds return fair.

Oops, I just noticed the other poster said the 3-bed flats were 750 a week, not a month! Now that I can believe! However, a 3-bed terraced house would cost more along the lines of 200 a week, as the other poster said.

Trains from Reading go direct to London Paddington.  At peak commuter times they are high speed & non stop and take about 20 minutes. At other times it's about 40 minutes.  From there it's about 15 mins by tube on the Bakerloo to Oxford Circus, so yes, 45 minutes journey time in rush hour is probably a fair estimate.  You can also get a bus from Paddington to Oxford Circus if you prefer, that doesn't take long either, unless it gets stuck in Edgeware Rd traffic jam.

Just a suggestion...Try using Right Move  (http://www.rightmove.co.uk) and a tube map. I looked at tube station areas on the central line loop (South Woodford, Hainault, Grange Hill, etc.) and found 3 bdrm house rental prices that went from roughly £880 to £2100. I'm sure you can find alot of  nice places close to tube stations in zones 5 or 6, which will allow you to use an oyster card and get a monthly pass. We looked in those areas when moving house, so I know they are decent enough. For other areas you might  have to go and wander the area a bit to get a feel for the neighborhood and see if it's a good fit for you.

Luck!