Potters Bar has been named as one of Britain’s best London commuter hotspots.
The town came 15th in the countdown of 116 commuter belt towns, thanks to its speedy rail link to the capital and relatively affordable season ticket.
Rankings on the Totally Money list were based on a combination of factors, including average house price, time taken to commute into London by train, season ticket cost and ONS data on resident satisfaction.
With rail travel from Potters Bar to Kings Cross taking just 18-minutes, the town had the joint shortest commute of all 116 towns analysed, level with Ebbsfleet in Kent.
The £2,220 price of a season ticket also contributed to the town’s high ranking – it’s the fourth most affordable on Totally Money’s list.
The other factors taken into account were Potters Bar’s average house price of £510,539 and life satisfaction score of 7.65 out of 10.
The new countdown is overwhelmingly Hertfordshire-centric, with Cheshunt topping the list, while Waltham Cross (2), Hatfield (4), Broxbourne (6), Watford Junction (7) and Hemel Hempstead (10) all made the top 10.
Cheshunt is close to the many family-friendly attractions around the Lee Valley, including Fun Junction, Lee Valley White Water Centre and Capel Manor Gardens.
It is also 26-minutes from Liverpool Street by train with an average season ticket cost of £2,288, the fifth cheapest of all towns reviewed.
Hitchin (20) and Baldock (25) also made the top 25, followed by Bushey (26), Stevenage (55) and St Albans (67), among others.
It wasn’t good news across all of Herts, however. At the other end of the spectrum was Harpenden, behind Virginia Water in Surrey and Ascot in Berkshire.
An average property price of £808,357 and rail season tickets costing £3,940 are both factors in the upmarket town’s low ranking.
Mark Moloney, CEO of TotallyMoney, said: “With London property and living prices showing no signs of cheapening, the study provides would-be homebuyers with data that can guide decisions on where to buy property, without sacrificing the excellent job opportunities only the capital can offer.”
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