Where to live in London (or out of London)?

[gottasmile]

Hi,
I'm currently in Canada and will be moving to London with dh and 2 dc this summer.
I've found out a lot about finding a school for ds from mumsnet, now I was wondering if anyone had any advice on where to live??

My dh will be working near Victoria station, so we were thinking either somewhere near Pimlico station, or somewhere in Surrey (direct train line to Victoria)

Can anyone recommend somewhere in Surrey? There are so many towns, when you don't know the area, it's hard to work out where the really lovely places are. (I've googled different areas, but it's still hard to tell!!)

Thanks!!

[tootsieroll]

Guildford is a nice (but pricey) commuter city. Good schools for the children (and university if you stay for longer!), cathedral, cinema, restaurants, riverside walk, hospital, decent high street with market days and direct line to reach Waterloo Station in about 35min on a regular basis (change there for Victoria station). Kingston upon Thames is also good living - it's sort of Greater London/Surrey.

[CantucciniVS]

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[LesbianMummy1]

my dad lives in tolworth trains are half hourly to london victoria has most things in easy distance various schools etc cheaper than central london

[gottasmile]

Thank you!! Schools are the main priority, I would really like to find a good one. Green is nice too. Guildford sounds nice, it seems like it has all the ammenities but not too big?

I'll check out the other places mentioned too. I was looking at houses in Sutton and they seemed nice, but as I said before, it's hard to get a feel of the place just from a map.
Thanks again!

[tootsieroll]

I think Guildford is the biggest town/city in Surrey, population around 65k. Still lots of green spaces around though.

[gottasmile]

Thanks tootsieroll. Seems perfect. I was just looking at houses in Kingston Upon Thames and the houses are very nice. I can't wait to see it in person!
Thanks again for your advice!

[mumoverseas]

Guildford is lovely (I was born there and lived there for 20 years) but it is very expensive.
Looking further out the other side of Surrey you have places like Merstham, Redhill and Horley. They are all on the mainline to Victoria by train and are much cheaper than Guildford. Even further out, just over the border with Sussex you have Crawley which is again a little cheaper.

[gottasmile]

Can I just ask what Merstham, Redhill and Horley are like in terms of green areas and schools? More than anything we'd like to live in a place that's very child friendly and safe. Thanks!

[RatherBeOnThePiste]

One vote here for Richmond

[gottasmile]

I like Richmond a lot, I had a friend who used to live there and her kids were really happy there. The problem is we're not sure if we'll find a house which will fit my dh's grand piano (he had to go and buy the biggest one possible...grrr!!) What do you think???

[RatherBeOnThePiste]

I'm sure you could find the house to fit the piano in Richmond, but not sure at what price

[tootsieroll]

Yup, I second Richmond too (also pricey!), I only didn't mention it as I wasn't sure about the connection to Victoria. Also great schools as far as I'm aware, and very child friendly (lots of young families). Just an idea about space: my friend lives in a victorian terrace with off street parking in a quiet residential area, just off the high street, with open planned living room (minimal furniture), costing about 800k, and it would struggle to fit a full sized grand piano

[gottasmile]

That's what I thought..... I think we'll have to go out a little further to fit it in.... or he could sell it! (It's his 2nd love though!!) I'm about to check out Belmont and Bandstead now....

[mumoverseas]

Like most areas Merstham, Redhill and Horley all have the cheaper and more expensive areas.
Out of the three, I'd say Merstham has more green areas (it is right next to Reigate, parts of which are very 'fieldy' and has lovely parks (Priory park is lovely) and is also the nearest of the three to London Victoria.
Why don't you have at www.rightmove.co.uk at all the areas suggested above to see what house prices are in those areas and what is affordable and not

[CantucciniVS]

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[CantucciniVS]

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[gottasmile]

Thank you, Mumoverseas and CantucciniVS - I definitely will. That's all I seem to be doing these days, but it's so important, we're going to be in England for a while, so I want to live in a nice place!!

Just a quick question, I saw that there was an industrial estate (Longmead) quite close to Banstead. Does anyone know what they're like? Is there a lot of pollution around these areas?

[gottasmile]

CantucciniVS, don't worry about the typo, I saw it on a map - didn't think twice about it!!!

[CantucciniVS]

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[gottasmile]

Thank you, I'm pretty sure we'll end up round your parts!!! thanks for all the advice!!!

[2old4thislark]

I love Guildford but don't live there - has everything - countryside and good schooles amenities.

Walton-on-Thames is very nice. Fast train in to Waterloo - not sure if it stops at Vauxhall for connection with Victoria Line. Walton has a newly done up town centre, River Thames, green spaces and nice houses.
Nice place to live.

[gottasmile]

Thanks 2old4thislark! I'll take a look! I really like the idea of green spaces and good schools. And of course a good commute for dh. thanks so much.

[2old4thislark]

Where you choose to live may depend on whether you're goind to send your children to state school or go private. Most areas that you'd look at will have great state primary schools but sometimes good areas lack a decent state secondary school. Prob because a lot of children in that area go private.

Shepperton has good state primary and secondary and Sunbury-on-Thames has 3 sate secondaries (2 church ones)! Both areas are on the River and suburban with some green spaces and lots of amenities. Shepperton has a great community feel with a small high street of local shops and a few restaurants.

[gottasmile]

We only need primary for now and will probably opt for state school....

[2old4thislark]

No probs then. If it's a nice area the local primary will be great. Local primary schools usually reflect the local people, if you see what I mean.

This weekend, on my work travels I have been to Ashtead and Tadworth, both in Surrey. Both lovely - Ashtead has a georgous little high street and very green, on the edge of Epsom downs. ooh Epsom very nice too! The views from Epsom downs are incredible - you can see London on a clear day. Tadworth's lovely! I travel around Surrey for work and tbh it's all lovely! All these places will have trains into Waterloo and then yr dh can get the tube to Victoria.