Chesham's broadband is better than its transport. The town has its own branch of the Underground. Buses come about once an hour at peak, and gigabit broadband reaches most homes. Nearly two in five workers do their jobs from home. The broadband takes more of Chesham to work each day than the trains do.
The town has its own branch of the Metropolitan line, which joins the main line at Chalfont & Latimer. The nearest National Rail stations are at Amersham, Berkhamsted and Great Missenden. At the 2021 Census, about 1% of working residents went to work by train and about 1% by bus. There are 127 bus stops. The national transport timetable data gives the average stop about 23 departures on a weekday, roughly one an hour at peak, and 90% of stops have at least some weekend service. If you'll be relying on the bus, check the timetable at the stop nearest the house, because an average across 127 stops can hide a stop with almost nothing.
Most of Chesham's workers don't commute by public transport at all. At the 2021 Census, 38% worked mainly from home, just over 42% drove and 7% walked. About 15% of households have no car, while 42% run two or more. Railway promoters sold Chesham to commuters as Metroland in the 1920s, and a century later more than a third of its workers don't go to an office at all.
The Department for Transport models the trip to the nearest town centre at about 9 minutes by car, 13 by bike, 17 by public transport and 25 on foot. These are averages for the area, and the public transport figures date from 2019. A doctor's surgery is about 8 minutes by car, 14 by public transport and 19 on foot, and a food shop 8 minutes by car or 16 on foot. The nearest centre of employment is about 12 minutes by car and 22 by public transport. Hospital is where the times stretch out, at about 25 minutes by car and 58 by public transport. Distances to fixed places don't move, but some bus services have been cut since 2019, so the public transport times have probably got worse rather than better. Without a car, getting to hospital takes most of an hour.
Gigabit broadband is available to about 83% of Chesham, and superfast to 99%. Every postcode has a 4G or 5G signal from at least one network, and 98% get every network.
Road noise is the price of a valley with a main road running along the bottom. Every postcode in Chesham is close to or above 65 decibels, the level at which the government's noise mapping counts road noise as significant, and the loudest band reaches 75 decibels. Railway noise doesn't reach that threshold anywhere. None of this tells you how a particular bedroom sounds with the windows shut. The Bovingdon stack, where aircraft circle while they wait to land at Heathrow, is directly over the town, and no road-noise map counts aircraft.
There are 9 public charge points in Chesham, with 15 connectors, and 2 of them are rapid. With only two rapid units, charging is something most owners will do on their own drive.
For most residents, a typical working day means a desk at home or a short drive. Chesham works well for people whose work comes down the fibre, and it is fine for drivers. For anyone who needs a bus to the hospital, it is hard work.
Chesham is better connected than average, mainly because of its broadband rather than its tube line. Anyone who commutes from the spare room or the driveway will rarely feel the gaps.