Updated Oct 2023:
When we first published this article, it quickly became a very popular read and has continued to be read by thousands every month despite it being very out of date. There are clearly very many people thinking about this!
So, here is an update on where my thinking lies as thousands continue to look to move from the capital in an era when it is easier than ever to move further afield.
We get many candidates who are thinking about the move and many who have made the move - the reasons are different for everyone, but it is often a combination of cost of living, size of home, quality of life and a desire to see the countryside. Bristol and Bath (as well as other places) have long been seen as options for people that don’t want to go to the commuter towns in the home counties, perhaps because they don’t want to let go of the things that a city can give them - restaurants, theatre, sports teams etc. Whatever your reason for reading this, I can say that many people we know have made the move to the West and I don’t know any that regret it. From personal experience, I was living in London for many years, we had two children and then I didn’t enjoy it any more. I was over the moon with the move West and haven’t regretted a thing. I don’t think we will ever leave. I should stress, however, that whereas the original plan was to move to Bristol and work in London 3 or 4 days/week - that plan was ditched within 12 months of moving here.
But that was then and this is now. We now live in the digital flexible working world where things are moving so fast that Zoom now sounds dated. When I first wrote the article, my conclusion was ‘No, Bristol and Bath are not realistic commuter towns’. But that was the old world, when online meetings were just for tech geeks, working from home was never on the table, the Bristol to London line hadn’t been modernised and Crossrail (okay, the Elisabeth Line) hadn’t opened.
The average journey to Paddington is now 75mins from Bristol and 80mins from Bath. You can now realistically take the 7.30am train and be at your desk for 9am. The Elisabeth Line now gets you to Farringdon in 10 minutes and Liverpool St in roughly 15mins. The journey is now 30-45mins quicker than when I first wrote the article 6 years ago.
Would I do it on a daily basis? Not a chance! Taking into account that you have to get to and from the stations, this would still be a daily commute time of 4hrs (only less if you worked around Paddington). Your season ticket for daily travel is going to be around £10k.
Okay then, what about once or twice a week? Definitely, yes! With the majority of roles we recruit now being hybrid roles, Bristol or Bath are now feasible locations for London workers. The ideal situation would be to work once a week in London or twice with one night’s accommodation provided by your employer.
So, is it Realistic to Commute from Bristol or Bath to London? Yes and no. It is now near enough to pop over for a day trip without it being too taxing. ‘New normal’ work methods mean it is pretty easy to do one or two days/week in London and it is not impossible to do that without hotel accommodation. I couldn’t do more than two days, but maybe I’ve become too much of a laidback West Country person now! Commuting every day is not realistic.
It is also worth mentioning the cost. The return tickets are roughly £222 (peak), £90 (off-peak), and £65 (super off-peak). If you can expense your travel and accommodation, then don’t even think about it - the West awaits you with open arms. Move now! Think of the kids and the fun they will have!
However, if you are paying yourself, this is a much more costly travel process than living in London or a home counties commuter town.
In conclusion, if you have a flexible working arrangement where you need to be in twice a week or less, the journey from Bath or Bristol to London is perfectly manageable. If your employer won’t cover travel or accommodation costs and you’re not a top bracket earner, the journey could quickly break the bank. Visits to London at the weekend are now rapid and only £65 return so catching up with old friends and seeing new shows etc is still feasible.
I hope this helps! Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
Original article from 2016:
When we first moved to Bristol and opened our office out West, the plan was to continue to work in London 3 or 4 days/week. That process continued for only three or four months.
With Bristol and Bath becoming major destinations for those looking to escape living, but not working in London, we thought it would be useful to have a reference point for people looking to see if commuting from the West is a viable plan.
Firstly, on paper this doesn't look like a back-breaking journey - journey times are currently 80 or 90 minutes from Bristol Parkway or Bath Spa to London Paddington (105 minutes from Temple Meads). Parking is easy at each Bristol station, but varies from relatively cheap at £7/day at Parkway to £15-20/day at Temple Meads. Bath Spa has more difficult parking, but is more central, so parking should be less necessary.
The big news round these parts is that these train journey times are set to be reduced by a further 20 minutes when the Great Western Railway electrifies at some point (although recent news seems to be suggesting that the completion date will now be much further away than expected - 6 years longer!). That would put journey times from the West Country to London on a par with locations more traditionally labelled as commuter belt (I'm looking at you, Guildford).
Or would it?
When I was commuting on a more regular basis, it dawned on me that the headline 1hr 20mins train time was actually 2hr 30mins door to door from NW Bristol to Threadneedle St. This was therefore 5hrs/day of travelling. Yes, a lot of it was overland with various degrees of internet connectivity (Bristol to Swindon - none, Swindon to Reading - 3G, Reading to London - 4G), so work could be done, but it's the way back that kills you with a commute like that. Some wind down by watching a downloaded film, some refer to the evening London to Bristol/Bath trains as the 'Cider Express', and remain standing in the buffet car for the entire journey - not a good idea if you've left your car at the station.
But my problem was working in the City. I would argue that if your work was based in the Paddington area, then the West Country is a much more viable option than most of the other commuter-belt options out there. Both Bristol Stations offer Brompton Bike Hire which, for the more adventurous commuter, offers the option to get moving as soon as you arrive in Paddington ( www.bromptonbikehire.com ). And at £2.50/day, the Brompton is not only healthier, but cheaper than the tube. The Brompton would allow you to get to Marble Arch/Mayfair/Picadilly areas in 5-10 minutes from Paddington. I used to find that it would take me 25mins to actually get on the tube to the City. *can I just say that if 100 people read this article and move to the West with the Brompton solution in mind - there ARE NOT 100 Bromptons available!
What we did...
After 15 years in London, our plan when moving to the West was to keep our London focus. This was based on our understanding that London was the center of everything and there wasn't enough business outside of the City to survive. This was, of course, ludicrous. Yes, within 3-4 months of moving to the West, I was very tired of the commute, but I was also falling in love with the West and building an understanding of the markets out here. There are dozens of major financial institutions, law firms, consultancies and commercial organisations. Several industries have the West as their base and new tech sectors are booming. We have kept our core client base in London and still venture over for client meetings and candidate interviews, but I don't feel that ritually commuting to London more than 2-3 days/week is feasible for the long-term. Commuting to the City is a definite 'no'.
I'm going to offer you a breakdown of the costs of travel and accommodation next. Both obviously play a massive part in any decision-making. The cost of travel is almost certainly significantly higher than more traditional home counties commuter belt commuting.
Bath
Annual season ticket: £9,396 (+ car parking, bus or taxi)
New journey: About 60 minutes (now delayed by 6 years)
The exodus west has been under way for some time in Bath, which explains why its property prices have appreciated by 42 per cent in the past decade.
Many buyers come from London and are attracted to period properties, within walking distance of the station.
The ambience and the architecture draw incomers to the city centre. For those seeking bucolic charm, the nearby villages of Biddestone, Kington St Michael and Lacock fit the bill.
However, if you want more house for your money, try nearby Chippenham where the average price for a semi-detached was £205,072 last year and detached homes sold for £341,969.
Bristol
Annual season ticket: £11,120 (+ car parking, bus or taxi)
New journey: 60-80 minutes (now delayed by 6 years)
Bristol has one of today’s hottest property markets outside London, with prices up 46 per cent in the past decade, according to Knight Frank.
According to Rightmove, the majority of sales last year were terraced properties with an average price of £236,950. Flats sold for £193,459 on average. For a good value family home in an up-and-coming area, Toogood recommends Totterdown where a three-bedroom, period terraced house costs about £320,000.