The Maths Most People Don't Do
"We can't afford to live near the city, so we'll move further out."
It's the most common reasoning in property. And it's not always wrong. But people routinely underestimate how much a long commute actually costs — not just in money, but in time, health, and quality of life.
Let's do the maths properly.
The Financial Cost
Train commuting from a town 45 minutes outside London typically costs £4,000-6,000 per year for a season ticket. Over a 25-year mortgage, that's £100,000-150,000 in commuting costs alone. Add in the bus or drive to the station and you might be looking at more.
Driving isn't cheaper. At current fuel prices and insurance, a 30-mile-each-way commute costs roughly £4,000-5,000 per year in direct costs (fuel, insurance, maintenance). Factor in depreciation and the total is closer to £7,000-8,000.
So if a house is £80,000 cheaper in the commuter belt but adds £6,000 per year in travel costs, the "saving" evaporates in 13 years. And that's before you consider what that time is worth.
The Time Cost
A 45-minute commute each way is 7.5 hours per week. That's 375 hours per year — the equivalent of nine working weeks. Every year.
What would you do with nine extra weeks a year? See your kids before bedtime? Exercise? Start a side project? Sleep properly?
This is the cost that doesn't appear on any spreadsheet but affects daily life most.
The Health Cost
This isn't hand-waving. There's serious research on this. A 2024 study in the BMJ found that commutes over 30 minutes are associated with:
The effects are dose-dependent — longer commutes produce worse outcomes. And they don't diminish over time. People don't "get used to it" the way they expect to.
When Moving Further Out Makes Sense
It's not always the wrong choice. Here are the scenarios where it works:
How to Assess Transport Links
Before committing, check the actual transport options. Our area reports show transport connectivity scores, distance to nearest stations, and average commute times. The difference between a 20-minute and a 40-minute commute is much bigger than it sounds when you live it five days a week.