Where to Live: Clapham, Vauxhall, etc - Rail to work in Richmond

Hey Everyone,

The countdown is on for our move to London and we are looking for places to live.

I'm going to be working in Richmond but will have to travel into Central London from time to time so I was figuring that Clapham Junction area is good since the national rail can be about 15 minutes to Richmond from there.  The area seems a bit pricey and young (we're in our 30s) so I was wondering if there is somewhere else along the rail line that is comparable to Clapham.

We do like the idea that Clapham is a commuter town and alot of stuff is easily available within walking distance cause we are not going to have a car.

How is Vauxhall?  Looks closer to London and along the national rail line but it would mean a longer commute for me (I'm fighting the idea that my current commute is only 8 minutes in my brand new car that I'm going to store and could be damn near 30-40 minutes one way!! crazy!!).

I'm interested to hear everyone's opinions.  It seems as though we must try to find places that are close to tube and rail stations.  Sounds like taking rail above ground is a much less stressful ordeal than the tube?  I do love the tube but don't think I've taken the rail.

Thanks everyone,

Daniel

Just to put things into perspective for you, London is about 659 square miles and Clapham, Vauxhall and Richmond are all part of it.

Have you considered things along the District Line which is the tube line that goes into Richmond?  Have you checked the price of a rail card?  Clapham to Richmond is a short ride, but rail travel is still going to be more expensive than tube travel.

could be damn near 30-40 minutes one way!! crazy!!).

This isn't a crazy commute at all.  People living in the area you work aside, you will have a short commute.

the District Line which is the tube line that goes into Richmond

In this connection the District Line is one of the Underground lines on which larger normal size trains run, and it is mostly in open air like a regular rail line. It doesn't have those little trains that run in deep level round tunnels. Also London Overground runs to there from a lot of places in North and East London. Maybe some of the dvpetta's concerns about tube commuting could be reduced by knowing this?

near 30-40 minutes one way!! crazy!!).

Seriously, that's nothing.

It might also be worth mentioning that Richmond is not so much a terminus as a hub, transportation-wise. It is the end of the District Line of the Underground, and also the end of the London Overground orbital line from North and East London, but the South West Trains services the Waterloo/Clapham Junction ones actually pass through Richmond and go all over south west London and Surrey so you could commute to Richmond from a very large number of districts. I commuted from Wimbledon to Richmond for a year. It took about 40 minutes usually.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/passenger_services/maps/London_Connections.pdf

Have you considered things along the District Line which is the tube line that goes into Richmond?  Have you checked the price of a rail card?  Clapham to Richmond is a short ride, but rail travel is still going to be more expensive than tube travel.

A weekly travel card covers both rail and tube journeys within London, so you wouldn't have to worry about the cost differential.  And there are "fast" trains from Clapham Junction to Richmond which take about 10 minutes, so definitely preferable time-wise to the District line.

As for a good place to live, have you thought about Twickenham, St Margaret's or Isleworth?  All are in easy and quick commuting distance to Richmond.  They are well connected to London as well.  We live in Isleworth and don't have a car.  It takes about 15 minutes (depending on traffic) by bus (which are every 5-8 minutes during the week) into Richmond.  There is also National Rail into Waterloo and the Piccadilly line is conveniently close.  St Margarets is even closer, and Twickenham is well connected by bus and train.  Where in Richmond will you be working?

Have you considered things along the District Line which is the tube line that goes into Richmond?  Have you checked the price of a rail card?  Clapham to Richmond is a short ride, but rail travel is still going to be more expensive than tube travel.

Rail travel isn't necessarily more expensive.  I pay much less for my commute with a season ticket on the train than my husband does who has to have a travel card that includes tube travel.  I definitely prefer the train over the tube, it just feels like less hassle and is often faster, especially if you can get fast trains. 

Just to try to clear this up for you, London is huge!  It is split into zones for the purpose of travel prices which also serve as a good guide to how far something is.  If you will need to travel to Central London, that is zone 1.  Vauxhall is zone 2 and is about a 5 minute tube ride to Victoria tube station where you can change to other tube lines to more places in central London and to trains for places outside London.  Clapham Junction is zone 2, almost zone 3.  There is not a tube station at Clapham Junction, just trains, but the trains do go everywhere from there.

Depending on what you want though, I would consider living in Richmond itself.  Richmond is zone 4.  I've heard Richmond is a very nice area and there is both train and tube there so you can easily get to central London when you need to.  Richmond is leafy green whereas Clapham Junction and Vauxhall are more "concrete jungle", although there are parks nearby.

Remember to check journey times rather than distance for your commute as sometimes depending on the route it can take longer to go a shorter distance.  Check out http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/ for bus and tube travel and http://nationalrail.co.uk for trains.

I'd consider living off that branch off the district if I were you! Turnham Green is really nice, and has that awesome shopping street before you turn into Chiswick High street with a great butchers on it, there's some really nice houses around the green and generally it's a nice/safe area. You can hop on the District line and be in central London really quickly. Or you could consider Chiswick, I like Chiswick a lot. Just remember that Turnham Green itself is nearer Chiswick Park Underground station than Turnham Green station (for some bizarro reason )

Also, as someone else has suggested Richmond is really nice in itself, and yes a 35 minute commute is a dream, basically pretty much anywhere you're going in London is going to take you 45 minutes at least, that's the way it always seems to me!

Again, gotta say that you should check your commute. I also live along the national rail and tube and depending on my route, I choose different trains. If I wanna get to London Bridge in six minutes, I take the overground, if I need to get to NW london, I take the tube.

Just to add, though the overground is great, it can be a pain in the ass. Often, there are delays at the platform, the trains often run slow depending how many trains are ahead of you, and I find that trains aren't as frequent as tube. Tube there's usually a train going the route every couple of minutes (if it's running well), overground is usually at least ten to twenty minutes (if it's running well). Last winter when there was a lot of snow, my overground route into London was shut down, so I took a bus and went to the tube station, which ran the Jubilee line.

Just to add, though the overground is great, it can be a pain in the ass. Often, there are delays at the platform, the trains often run slow depending how many trains are ahead of you, and I find that trains aren't as frequent as tube. Tube there's usually a train going the route every couple of minutes (if it's running well), overground is usually at least ten to twenty minutes (if it's running well). Last winter when there was a lot of snow, my overground route into London was shut down, so I took a bus and went to the tube station, which ran the Jubilee line.

If they're living in Clapham or anywhere near Richmond it will be Southwest trains they'll be taking, which are MUCH more reliable than Southeastern (my guess is you use them if you're in Greenwich). I used Southwest regularly for a while to get from Waterloo to Wandsworth Town, as well as some other journeys here and there. Honestly one of the most punctual services I've ever used in the UK. But I'm willing to praise just about any train line as I rely on the Thameslink, which enjoys trapping people on trains for hours on end.

You can get used to a slightly longer wait for a train, though. You get to know the timetables so in the end you don't actually end up waiting for that long, unless there are delays. But some people will prefer the Tube with its more regular service so they can just show up as they like without having to keep timetables in their heads.

Although 30-40 mins on the train or tube may seem a lot, remember you won't have to put any effort into it, unlike driving!   So if you are feeling tired (or hungover!) in the morning, you can still get to work safely.   Plus it's a great time to catch up on reading, or watch the world go by out the window...

It might also be worth mentioning that Richmond is not so much a terminus as a hub, transportation-wise. It is the end of the District Line of the Underground, and also the end of the London Overground orbital line from North and East London, but the South West Trains services the Waterloo/Clapham Junction ones actually pass through Richmond and go all over south west London and Surrey so you could commute to Richmond from a very large number of districts. I commuted from Wimbledon to Richmond for a year. It took about 40 minutes usually.

This is a great map!  Thank you!

As for a good place to live, have you thought about Twickenham, St Margaret's or Isleworth?  All are in easy and quick commuting distance to Richmond.  They are well connected to London as well.  We live in Isleworth and don't have a car.  It takes about 15 minutes (depending on traffic) by bus (which are every 5-8 minutes during the week) into Richmond.  There is also National Rail into Waterloo and the Piccadilly line is conveniently close.  St Margarets is even closer, and Twickenham is well connected by bus and train.  Where in Richmond will you be working?

I'm not sure about the exact address but from the Richmond hub it's about a 5-8 minute walk to there so it's not too bad. 

We have looked at places on the district line towards Richmond but didn't read the greatest things about Hammersmith.  Will have to look into Turnham Green.  As for living in Richmond I have heard good things about the area but it seems far away from central London. I will have work in central London from time to time and I'm thinking that my wife may have work there as well so we're trying to split the difference geographically between Richmond and central London, hence Clapham.

We are big on living in a place where we have alot available to commuters without cars and a decent park nearby would be nice as well.

Thanks for the opinions everyone, appreciated!

We like Clapham cause it seems to split the distance between Richmond & Central London and seems like a good "commuter" town where people without cars can have everything they need.  Sounds like with needs like that I'm going to have at least 30-45 min commute.  When I was there last I stayed in Victoria which was a big mistake and that trip was like an hour each way if I remember correctly.

Does anyone live in Clapham and can give us some thoughts about living there?

Also, what kind of costs should I expect for the season/annual pass for the rail and what about the rail/tube costs for a year?

Thanks Everyone.