Where to live - london commute?

[TerrysNo2]

Hi all

Need some recommendations as to places to live. We currently live in Surrey and want to get a bigger house. Where we live now is quite expensive and we have no ties here so we can move anywhere. The criteria though is:

• located within 1 mile of a train station which is max 50 minutes to London
  
• preferably in a lively village (a few shops, pubs etc)
  
• good schools (DS will be going into reception in September)
  
• a "nice" area, something pretty would be ideal
  

So far we like Lindfield near to Haywards Heath.

We want to get a 4/5 bed house with a good sized garden and our budget is £500k max.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[unebagpipe]

Have you looked at Brockham, Bethworth, Bletchingley, Godstone? Not sure where you are now so hard to gauge what is expensive and what isn't!

[unebagpipe]

Sorry... See you added your budget to the end of your message! Oops! Still those villages should be within reach.

[breatheslowly]

Where in London are you commuting to? I would work out which London Terminus is the right one for work and work backwards from there. For example if you work near Waterloo then you are best off on a line to Waterloo rather than one which is 50 min to Kings Cross. You also will get a better quality journey if you are on a single train for 50 min (possibly getting a seat) than on a train for 30 min and tube for 20 min.

[TerrysNo2]

thanks Breathe, at the moment I commute into Waterloo but most stations would be fine, its usually only a tube journey to the city! When I said 50 mins I meant 50 minutes to a London terminal, happy to add another 20 minutes on top for the tube. Luckily I'm only in London 3 days a week so I don't mind a longer commute

[noisytoys]

Leigh-on-Sea?

[TerrysNo2]

is that in Essex? ideally we would stay away from going east of London (Essex, Kent) as they are very far from family. my preferred counties are Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and potentially Hertfordshire.

[noisytoys]

No good then it is Essex. It's very cheap (for a commuter town) and very pretty though