Commuting to London!!!!!

Ok I really would like to live outside of London since I have small children.  I found this nice school for them in Tonbridge, kent. But when I looked at how expensive the train monthly pass would be for my husband to travel to London I was shocked. I'm italians, trains are so cheap in Italy!
Anyway,  am I missing something like a special discount for commuters? It seems like it would cost me less to live in London....... I am just so tired of big cities ( I am in LA).
What do you do? Do you all live very close to London if you work there? Is there an other way that I don't know about it?
Please let me know what you think is best
Marilena

Commuting cost around London are expensive.  Generally, if you can pay up front, the cheapest option would be the annual (Gold, I think) card option, though not sure if that is a London Transport scheme only.  South East Trains may have something similar.

I live in Northwest London (zone 2) and buy I monthly tube pass for zone 1 and 2 (I work in zone 2 in the Docklands, but have to travel through zone 1 to get there) as I don't want to pay the annual cost up front, even though it is cheaper.  I pay 83 quid a month for my pass.

A colleague of mine lives closer to Southampton, but still commutes to London everyday.  His commuting costs are very expensive, but he is able to afford a 4 BR home that has a front and back yard for his kids to play in, which if he was living around London, he would not be able to afford. 

It is all about trade offs.

bvamin

I know there are zone 5 and 6.   Are those more livable for families or it is still too close to London?  Actually to say the truth I don't understand what is consider London.  Do you consider London everything that is reached by the TUBE?
I have never been there and when I will come to look for a place to stay I will only have a few days so I really need to know at least the area where to look.
I really appreciate any advices
Marilena

My DH and I live in Chelmford about 30 minutes away from London and he pays 65 pounds a week for his weekly commute.

Do you consider London everything that is reached by the TUBE?

No, parts of the Tube extend into Middlesex, Essex and Hertfordshire.

Yes, the trains are expensive here - welcome to the crazy world of the UK's privatised rail network!  If your husband can travel after 9.30am, it will be much cheaper - otherwise you're stuck with paying those crazy prices - sorry!

Anyone in Kent with bright ideas on how to get into London from Tonbridge for less??

We had the same problem years ago. When our oldest was getting close to school age we started to look outside of London. We also looked near Tonbridge. We wanted a small village with a good school. But when we started to consider the pros and cons of commuting from outside London,I was put off. Unlike most of western Europe, British rail is still stuck in the 60's. The trains are over crowded,undependable and expensive. We ended up in Blackheath just 12 minutes by train to London bridge station. Even being this close has its commuting problems.
There are some great areas that are still inside London like Richmond,St Johns wood, Dulwich, Hampstead,Blackheath. They have a small village feel, but they come at a price.

john

Oh, I forgot to mention that most major UK employees offer interest free loans for staff to purchase season tickets for travel.  When I worked in London, I had an annual travelcard, which my employer paid and then I paid back monthly.  Whenever I used public transport for work purposes, I could then claim back the cost of that trip from my employer - which represented a big saving.

Anyway, your husband's employer may offer something similar - if you don't ask, you don't get!!

The last poster said that trains here are stuck in the 60s, well, things have improved and while far from perfect, I would say that the trains are better than they have been in the past (but still damn expensive!).  You'll find some lines better than others.

By the way, I am now living in Leeds, where we have a great local train network and it's relatively cheap too.  Hooray for Leeds! (I don't miss the London commute!!)

Chris

There are discounts for monthly/annual passes with most train companies, but it's still expensive.  Some companies offer a season ticket loan (ie they buy you an annual ticket and you pay it back each month, this allows you to make quite a saving on the ticket price) or even buy a season ticket as part of the remuneration package - might be worth your husband talking to his emplyer about that.  i used to get a season ticket loan from my work, it worked out at £13 per week, opposed to the £20 a week i would have paid otherwise.

oh, Yorkshire you beat me to it!

I live in Zone 4 (Finchley Central), just one stop outside Zone 3, which bumps my monthly card up to £112.  But as stated above, there are some lovely, village-y type areas within these zones; of course all depends on budget. 
I really like the area I'm in, it feels very suburban (Church End, near Hendon).
I'd rather pay more to live closer into town, than more for transport.

When I worked out the costs of commuting, it was less than living in London.  The savings in rent and council tax made up for the higher travel costs.  We were still £100 a month better off in Kent.

I'll definally have my husband ask about those loans to buy the annual pass. 
We will probably look in Kent  and maybe convince his boss to open up a office in Yorkshire!!!!!!!!
Thank you
If you have more advices just let me know
Marilena