London is not much better. E.g. from Hammersmith (a posh, well connected area) to Old Street (aka “Tech City”), this 14km journey is 46 mins from underground st

London is not much better. E.g. from Hammersmith (a posh, well connected area) to Old Street (aka “Tech City”), this 14km journey is 46 mins from underground station to underground station, both are north to the river. https://tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/results?IsAsync=true&JpType=publictransport&InputFrom=Hammersmith%2C+London%2C+United+Kingdom&Modes=bus%2Ctube%2Cnational-rail%2Cdlr%2Coverground%2Ctflrail%2Criver-bus%2Ctram%2Ccable-car%2Ccoach&From=Hammersmith%2C+London%2C+United+Kingdom&FromId=&PreviousFrom=Greenwich&InputTo=Old+Street%2C+Old+Street+Station&To=Old+Street%2C+Old+Street+Station&ToId=1000169&PreviousTo=Old+Street%2C+Old+Street+Station&TimeIs=arriving&Date=20170531&Time=0900&IsMapRequired=False&Mode=bus&Mode=tube&Mode=national-rail&Mode=dlr&Mode=overground&Mode=tflrail&Mode=river-bus&Mode=tram&Mode=cable-car&Mode=coach&CyclePreference=AllTheWay&WalkingSpeedWalking=average&JourneyPreference=leasttime&AccessibilityPreference=norequirements&MaxWalkingMinutes=40&WalkingSpeedTransport=average&InputVia=&Via=&ViaId=&PreviousVia=&NationalSearch=false&WalkingOptimization=false&SavePreferences=false&IsMultipleJourneySelection=False&JourneyType=&IsPastWarning=False https://tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/results?IsAsync=true&JpTyp... Sure, you can move around to carve down 10 mins, but then you give up to live in realitvely nice, convenient area populated middle class people and yet not as expensive as Chelsea or Chiswick. If you live further, your journey time from station to station is not much longer, but only if you are lucky and there is no delay in the service, which happens almost daily.