For those who don't want to live in London, commuting is a necessary evil. Dinner parties in town are set alight on the topic, for which the shorthand is ‘doing the BM' (the Big Move).
‘These days, when both parents often work, the move to the country is more complicated,' explains Belinda Aspinall, who set up the website lifeafterlondon.com, on which people can share advice and tips on where and when to move. ‘It's not easy to juggle school runs with both parents doing long commutes.'
The good news is that it's perfectly possible to find rural (and cultural) idylls within an hour's radius of a London terminus.
For the purpose of this exercise, we've picked out the most attractive and convivial villages, towns and small cities that boast a fast and regular train service to the capital - that is, a choice of more than two trains taking less than an hour between 7am and 8am on weekdays - or amenities that simply can't be beaten.
We've taken on board an assumption that no one wants to drive for much more than 15 minutes from home to the station and have only included places that aren't just commuter dormitories, but which boast enough of a community spirit to support a village shop.
Season-ticket prices are for the journey to the London terminus only and are for standard travel (some routes have high-speed services that attract a higher rate).
The best places to live near London: Surrey
Discover the charm of Haslemere, Farnham, Chobham, Dunsfold, Windlesham, Frensham and Shamley Green.
The best places to live near London: West Sussex
Lindfield and Lurgashall offer a commuter idyll.
The best places to live near London: Kent
We delight in Langton Green, Cranbrook, Aldington, Penshurst, Westerham and Otford.
The best places to live near London: Essex
There is much to enjoy in Great Waltham, Stock, Terling, Earls Colne, Saffron Walden and Clavering.
The best places to live near London: Suffolk
East Bergholt and Nayland boast the best amenities here.
The best places to live near London: Cambridgeshire
Discover the charm of Grantchester, Cambridge and Brampton.
The best places to live near London: Hertfordshire
Much Hadham, Barley, Ashwell, Harpenden and Aldbury offer a commuter idyll.
The best places to live near London: Warwickshire
We adore Dunchurch.
The best places to live in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire
We delight in Amersham, Long Crendon and Haddenham.
The best places to live near London: Oxfordshire
Sutton Courtney, Dorchester-on-Thames, Henley-on-Thames, Sonning, Stratton Audley, Great Milton, Hethe and Blewbury are the dream locations in this county.
The best places to live near London: Berkshire
There is much to enjoy in Bucklebury, Bray, and Yattendon.
The best places to live near London: Hampshire
Overton, Winchester and Kingsclere offer a commutable country lifestyle.
* Search for the best country houses for sale in these areas.
The best places to live for commuters: West Sussex
Two villages in West Sussex have been selected for our list of the best places to live near London for
The best places to live for commuters: Cambridgeshire
Country Life selects the best places to live in Cambridgeshire based on quality of life and an easy commute into
The best places to live for commuters: Suffolk
There are two places in Suffolk on our list of the best villages and towns close to London.
The best places to live for commuters: Essex
Good trains from Essex into Liverpool Street mean the county has five spots on the Country Life list of the
The best places to live for commuters: Warwickshire
Just one village in Warwickshire made it onto our list as commutable by train within an hour to London -
The best places to live for commuters: Oxfordshire
There are a good number of villages and towns in Oxfordshire on our list of the best places to live
The best places to live for commuters: Berkshire
Country Life has identified the best places to live in Berkshire within easy reach of London for commuters.
The best places to live for commuters: Hampshire
Overton, Winchester and Kingsclere offer a commutable country lifestyle.
The best places to live for commuters: Kent
There are six villages and towns in Kent which made the list of our best places to live for commuters,
The best places to live for commuters: Hertfordshire
Here's our list of the most attractive villages in Hertfordshire which boast an easy commute into London.
The best places to live for commuters: Bedfordshire / Buckinghamshire
Country Life has identified the best towns and villages in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire for commuters looking for an easy journey
-
Tim Burton is selling the house he shared with Helena Bonham-Carter, a sublime home on the Thames that comes with three private islandsMill House in Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, might just be the perfect English country home.
-
Puffins and shearwaters, skuas and terns, gannets and gulls and guillemots and wings, these are a few of our favourite things (seabirds)From a heroic long-distance swimmer to a producer of spectacularly eerie sound effects, the seabirds seen swooping and diving over British waters have all manner of singular skills.
-
Tim Burton is selling the house he shared with Helena Bonham-Carter, a sublime home on the Thames that comes with three private islands
Mill House in Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, might just be the perfect English country home.
-
A spectacular tower for sale that's a blend of Victorian folly, architectural marvel and 21st century family homeHadlow Tower has space, and a back story of love, jealousy and intrigue.
-
A spectacular, light-filled home on the Isle of Wight where you can see the water from practically every windowPenny Churchill takes a look at the grand and impressive Fishbourne Quay House.
-
The former stables — and recording studio for the Pet Shop Boys — transformed with a magical blend of city and country aesthetic, now seeking a new ownerIn the heart of Clerkenwell, what was once a Victorian industrial unit is now a beautiful home.
-
The Good Life 2025? A development promising 'Britain's greenest homes' blends zero carbon, organic allotments and a touch of luxury in the Kent countrysideHartdene Barns, sitting on a disused dairy farm in Kent, is a vision of what sustainable living one day mean for all of us.
-
Breathtaking views and gardens that run down to the water's edge at this delightful home in CornwallThe Garden House in Polruan sums up the appeal of waterside living. Penny Churchill steps inside.
-
A 500-acre estate that spent 11 centuries in the same family, for sale for only the second time in its historyIn the beautiful hills of north Wales the Garthewin estate has come up for sale, including a great country house once restored by the architect who created Portmeirion. Penny Churchill takes a closer look.
-
'The city has always held an important creative space within our design studio': A luxury townhouse in Tokyo, courtesy of Aston MartinA new four-storey property in the Omotesandō district is the first single home private residence by the British ultra-luxury performance brand.
