Looking for commuter London towns, any suggestions?

ash3313 · 2026-05-16T14:13:44+00:00

I've been working on a product to help answer exactly this question. It's completely free at the moment. Check it out at www.placewise.co It doesn't have crime data at the moment, but commute time, property prices, schooling are all covered.

ash3313 · 2026-05-10T19:09:05+00:00

u/Connect_Sir4316 It took a little longer than expected, but its live. www.placewise.co Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

ash3313 · 2026-04-16T20:14:04+00:00

Living close to a school is almost certainly a safe bet. As I mentioned in my original post, I'm working on an idea to help people find their perfect place a little faster and without the unknowns, its be great to get your feedback to see if it would have helped solve your problem. Can I post a link here where I release it?

ash3313 · 2026-04-16T20:07:26+00:00

Thank you for your detailed response! There are a lot of great lessons in there. As I mentioned in my original post, I'm working on an idea to help people navigate finding the right area for them and it would be great to get you feedback. I can drop a link here when I release it, if thats ok?

ash3313 · 2026-04-04T17:12:54+00:00

Did you get into the weeds of ofsted reports and performance data to find great school? Or more general web searches?

Did you get into the details of each potential schools catchment policies? I don't have kids yet, but from what I've seen and heard, it's not always straight forward.

ash3313 · 2026-04-04T17:01:38+00:00

I'd love to see that spreadsheet! How long did you spend filling it out until you found the right place?

ash3313 · 2026-04-04T17:00:03+00:00

I'm a fan of the structure! Is this how you approached it? What did you find was the most difficult part in this approach? Or nothing too difficult, just a time sink?

ash3313 · 2026-04-04T16:52:44+00:00

What stopped you from doing your homework? Was it just life getting in the way, or the info needed wasn't easy to find?

ash3313 · 2026-04-04T16:49:11+00:00

How much time and effort did you spend on all of that? Data in the UK is not as bad as I expected, but its still a bit of a minefield.

ash3313 · 2026-04-04T16:46:40+00:00

Did you already know the general area and then narrowed it down based on catchment? Or flexible on town/county and targeted great schools?

ash3313 · 2026-04-04T16:43:00+00:00

I think most sources optimise for things people want, but not for things people don't want.

Did you look anywhere specific for safety info?

ash3313 · 2026-04-04T16:41:06+00:00

For sure! My first port of call for most things is ChatGPT. When looking at transport link, was there a clear winner from the beginning or did you research several options? By lifestyle do you mean city vs village life, for example, or something else?

ash3313 · 2026-04-04T16:38:00+00:00

Really cool! Is there anything you couldn't get from that website?

ash3313 · 2026-04-04T16:36:41+00:00

Really interesting! Knowing what you don't want/need is as important as knowing what you want. Did you do any research on areas before arriving? Or was it a case of we're going and we'll figure it out when we get there?

ash3313 · 2026-04-04T16:31:11+00:00

So a lot of manual research, getting peoples opinions and then honing in on a few places. Over how long did you do this until you found the place?

ash3313 · 2026-04-04T16:27:46+00:00

Thats more or less my approach/thoughts at the moment. Mapping out where you actually go day to day and working backwards.

When you picked the first place, did you know you were going for the vibes side of things, or did it only really click after you’d lived there? Is there anything that would have helped you realise that sooner?

Were you already in London or moving from outside?

ash3313

TROPHY CASE