Big move to Sunbury (Surrey) + baby. So scared!

[nerdymum]

Hi All,

We are expecting our 1st at the end of May and we are moving out of our rental property in Chiswick (no way we could buy here with our budget). Found a great place in Lower Sunbury but getting very scared as our lives will change so much. I'm scared I'll feel lonely and will struggle to settle. House in perfect and area is lovely but I'm scared rather than excited and overly stressed out just 8 weeks away from delivery :(
Have you done the move and enjoyed it? Do you live in Sunbury/Walton/Weybridge?

Sorry if I sound too sad! :(

[SageYourResoluteOracle]

You're moving to a lovely area with plenty to see and do and a good sense of community. Honestly- you'll be fine! We've been in the area for over 18 months and are now really settled.

You've got Piglets play place/farm in Hersham; Hobbledown farm in Esher (better for 3+); the Everyman cinema in Walton; lovely river walks; a great park in Walton; Garsons Farm (garden centre with ace gift shop and restaurant); The Anglers pub on the river; good schools...

You'll make friends - honest! In fact, we've found people here to be really friendly compared with Putney where we used to live (outs self...ach, whatever). Moving is hard and overwhelming at the best of times but you really will be okay!

[specialsubject]

that's a distance of what, 10 miles so not exactly isolating you from your current friends, although there is the horrific local traffic to contend with.

but it is a lovely part of the world with everything you could need or want. Give my love to Hampton Court Palace!

[nerdymum]

Thank you so much for your replies! SageYourResoluteOracle, superthanks for the tips, I'll definitely check them out!! :)

I think I'm just a bit overwhelmed by all the changes that are coming our way and, even though it's a year away from now, coping with my commute, work and the little one. Your words make me feel more reassured about the move, thanks so much!

I keep thinking to myself that Weybridge is nearby and has a great high street, Walton is round the corner... and the area will be safe and green for our DD to run around and enjoy.

Thank you again xx

[WingsClipped]

We moved from West London to Lower Sunbury a couple of years back. It's great here and tons to do with a little one. I love being so close to the river and it always makes me smile even just driving past during a dreary day like today.
There's the lovely cafe in the walled garden, little Italy is a real little hub for all the locals and Sunbury park feels a million miles away from London. There are family friendly and very decent local restaurants and pubs- can recommend my favs the Italian in Sunbury, the Turkish restaurant in Walton and the Red Lion in shepperton which is in a lovely spot by the river. There are all the lovely places nearby as mentioned by Sage and we love cycling along the river to bushy park in the summer. Walton has a farmers market every month and good selection of shops. Kingston is only 15mins away for more shopping.
There's a great sense of community in Sunbury and everyone I've met is friendly and stops for a chat. It's a really wonderful place to live with kids. Hope you settle in well

[specialsubject]

the area is expensive and busy for a reason; it is a lovely part of the world and you've got London on the doorstep if you have to.

don't forget the river, the parks and all the goings-on.

[suzyrut]

I'm not surprised you feel scared, that is a lot to take on in one go no matter how happy the circumstances. Sill I just wanted to second everything everyone else has said it is a fab place with lots of lovely places and people.

Once you've had your baby and are ready for it there are lots of mother and baby groups you can go to in the area. It is a great way to make some new friends and you'll find a lot of people in very similar circumstances to you. Most of the friends I'd made had moved out of SW London for a bigger house/better schools etc. when I was on maternity leave a few years ago in the area.

Really good luck and get as much help as you can with the move!

[bognorbanana]

We've just moved to Lower Sunbury from SW London. We love it. It really does feel miles away from the big smoke
Very leafy, great sense of community and from what I hear good schools too. Kingston and Walton are within a 15 min drive for shops ,chain restaurants,cinemas etc
It's a great place to bring up young kids. And for the price of of two bed apartment in zone 2 you can find a decent size family home

[nerdymum]

THANK YOU so much for all your sweet comments. I think there are so many changes coming are way, but thanks to all your comments we feel more reassured that we are doing the right thing.

DH still worries about my future commute as Walton/Hersham have better and faster train connections, but we love the house we found and the area looks great for long walks with the pram.

Thank you again!!

[bognorbanana]

Fast train to Waterloo is just 26 mins from Feltham. And Cross rail 2 is coming admittedly not for a few years
Are you buying or renting?

[nerdymum]

Bognorbanana, we are buying scary

That was one of my options, to cycle to Feltham. I'm also considering taking motorbike lessons and get a 3 wheeler piaggio mp3

[bognorbanana]

Great news. Cross rail 2 is sure to add to property prices in the future.
Off to Google 3 Wheeler Piaggio mp3....(smile)

[WingsClipped]

I commute into Waterloo as well but it's really not that bad. Being so close to the end of the line has its advantages in that there are ALWAYS seats when you get on. And once you have children, commuting becomes time to do home admin, read in peace, simply stare into space or even a quick nap if you've had a bad night.

[MadameCholetsDirtySecret]

I grew up in Lower Sunbury. I have great memories of sunny days by the river and playing in Sunbury park.

[nerdymum]

Bognorbanana, can be driven with a B1 license!
WingsClipped, thank you for sharing that! Also I think that being near Feltham is quite convenient, hope the area around the station is ok.
MadameCholetsDirtySecret, hope my DD can enjoy the same memories :)

[MrsDarcy4092]

hello!! we moved over a year ago from East London to Walton and...we love it!!!

we were so scared too. Especially as DH works in london and worried about his commute plus the change of lifestyle and the people not being so friendly and blah blah... we didnt need to worry. its a fab place to live! loads going on in the area especially as you have kids (we don't). You will love it!

[velorbi]

We moved from Brixton to Sunbury 2 years ago just before babies due date. I've lived in inner London all my life and here it's really just a suburb of London it's not proper Surrey.

Lots of people move here to have babies for good reason. In lower Sunbury the walled garden, meadow and park are really nice, we go there nearly everyday and there's plenty of baby and toddler activity near. If you drive everything is easy to get to, 10 minutes to Kingston or Staines when there's no traffic jams.

If you are used to cycling and using the river path, forget it as river access this side is very poor. There is talk a bridge might be built to connect to the river path on the other side in the future. Overall it's a very pleasant place to have family apart from the awful condition of the roads and dreadful driving. I wouldn't want to cycle Sunbury to feltham station ever, Sunbury to Hampton isn't too bad for the area but it's not nice when you have cars overtake at 50 (40 mph limit ) on Thames street .

[bognorbanana]

NerdyMum,have you moved? If so how are you finding it? Hope the relocation went smoothly for you!

[nerdymum]

Hello!

First of all, thank so you much to all of you for your sweet words. Sorry I didn't reply to the most recent messages - Mumsnet emails ended up in the wrong folder

Bognorbanana, the paperwork for the new house has been dragging a bit and I'm due in 2 weeks (eeeek!) so we are looking at moving sometime in June. We want to change carpets and give the house a lick of paint. I'll message you once we're there!

Already moved my gym membership to Virgin Sunbury - Aren't I optimistic?

xx

[nerdymum]

Hi, not sure if anyone will pick this up but I just wanted to say that we FINALLY moved to the area a few weeks ago (took forever!) and although I find the area a bit quiet is very peaceful and people seem very friendly.
Have also joined Nuffield to get rid of the baby fat (hope floats).

Thank you again for your advice and comments xx

[ElenaJo]

Hi nerdymum, how are you? how has it been so far? We are thinking of making an offer on a house in Sunbury. We are currently in Barnes where we can't afford much.
Our daughter is 11 months old and we think moving to Sunbury into a nicer bigger house is going to be a good move for the family, but I'm so scared to leave the convenience of living in London close to everything. How are you finding it there?

[nerdymum]

Hey @ElenaJo , sorry I didn't reply sooner! I feel your pain about leaving a lovely area like Barnes. We are settling in well, actually.

I'm sending you a PM with more info x

[KellyBird1980]

Hi nerdymum, Im not sure if this thread is still open but we are in a similar situation moving to Lower Sunbury with a 2 and a half year old. We have been in Scotland for the past year and a half but before that we were living in Twickenham. Im super nervous about the move and settling in to an area I know nothing about - in particular the street we are looking to buy in and surrounding neighbourhood near Kempton Park

We have put an offer in on a house off French Street and while I hear only good things about Lower Sunbury as a whole, I think our preference was to be over the other side closer to Green Street and the village centre.

Does anyone know what the French Street side is like? We are looking at moving to a close called Bowater Gardens if this helps - would be grateful for any feedback or inside knowledge!!! x

[MummyNessi]

Hi Nerdymum,
How do you like sunbury?
We just added sunbury to our search area and went to have a look around, it seems to be a really lovely village! Can you please list your pros and cons? I would really appreciate it!
We initially started looking at east Mosley, Esher, Hampton as we need to be not to far from hampton court and esher. But as far as I can tell lower sunbury seems more pittoresques to me and we would get more house and garden ( we really want a large garden ) for our money.
saw some property's for sale on the avenue.. haven't visited jet but plan to this week. Is that a nice road or is it very busy?

[velorbi]

The Avenue isn't busy it's the poshest street, French street is quiet too with much smaller houses and no off street parking, Thames street is too busy with motor traffic and very narrow. We live at the end of The Avenue where the shops are and it's much busier than when we moved here a few years ago, the pubs and shops are all quite busy now. I don't think you can call Sunbury a village by any stretch, it's just another car dominated suburb in reality. If it works for your commute it's a nice enough place to live.

[PaperdollCartoon]

Just came across this. I grew up in Sunbury and am just about to move back there! DP and I went in search of something different (we’re both Sunbury natives) but after a few years away miss it a lot. It’s a really lovely place to grow up, easy to get wherever you want to go but still quiet. I definitely didn’t appreciate it enough in my younger days.

Schools are good on the village side. Only downfall is the doctor’s surgery which is wildly over subscribed, they keep letting more and more houses be built but no more provisions are accompanying them. Spelthorne Council really need to address this soon.

KellyBird the French street area is lovely. Closer to the river and both Chennestone and Beauclerc are brilliant schools. There’s shops and cafes at the river end of the Avenue as well as Green Street.