Living in and around Basildon - an ideal commuter base
Basildon and its surrounding towns of West Horndon, Laindon and Pitsea have a lot to offer commuters. Excellent rail and road links put it within easy reach of Southend and Chelmsford and house prices are very reasonable compared to the rest of Essex. Part of the green belt, you’ll find plenty of parks and nature reserves nearby. Basildon town centre itself is getting a £1 billion investment, but it isn’t lacking in amenities currently; there’s a good choice of shops, a market, entertainment park, and huge sporting village which is a real draw.
Facts
Commute time to London: 30-35 mins
Annual train ticket: £2,940 (based on Basildon to London Fenchurch Street)
Average house price: Two Bedroom Flat £179k; Semi-Detached; £326k
Did you know?
The state-of-the-art Basildon Sporting Village is home to the South Essex Gymnastics Club, which includes Olympic gold medallist Max Whitlock.
Affordable housing
With its handy transport links the town has become a bit of a property hot-spot but it’s still very affordable compared to the rest of the county, and has been rated second place in the top 10 commuter towns (based on cost of housing and cost of season ticket) in an article by the BBC. Average house prices in Basildon are around £260k, compared to the much larger £354k average for the rest of Essex making it ideal if you’re looking for a bargain.
Great transport links to the city
We have three stations in the borough of Basildon, and close by is West Horndon (which just dips into Brentwood) with approximately 6 trains an hour running into London’s heart with journey times between 30 to 35 minutes. Laindon and Pitsea stations are close to more quiet residential areas with a good mix of contemporary and period properties and good sized family homes. You can connect easily through Barking, Limehouse and West Ham to the London Underground, Overground, and DLR networks for onward journeys into the city.
Outstanding schools
Schools have a good reputation in the area. Beauchamps High School in Wickford and Mayflower High School were both rated as ‘outstanding’ in their last Ofsted inspections.
Things to do
From culture and sports to the great outdoors, there’s more going on in Basildon than you might think.For entertainment hit up the Festival Leisure Park which has a cinema, bowling alley, two nightclubs and plenty of chain restaurants. Towngate Theatre shows a mix of local and West End productions. Athletic types will love Basildon Sporting Village which has two swimming pools, a regional gymnastics centre, eight sports halls, an indoor climbing wall and an athletics stadium. Nearby Langdon Hills Country Park has acres of woodland and meadows and stunning views over the Thames Estuary – ideal for walkers, cyclists and horse-riders alike.
Other locations to live in
All along our route are areas that could make the ideal home with fast, direct trains into London. Here some other guides to living along our route.
