I live in St Albans, I can commute to Wembley by car or bike in about 30min outside of rush hour, about a hour in it. Or a train into central London in similar time.
We’re renting, and its a bit steep at £1350 a month, but we have a bungalow with 2 bedrooms, 2 gardens, a driveway and garage in a nice area, same money would get us a 1 bed flat in London.