Advice on moving to Surrey

[Ajfarmer]

We are planning on moving to Surrey end 2018 from South Africa. The main criteria is that we are fairly close to rail links to London as I have a daughter who is ready to fly the coop in 2019 and we want to make it easy for her to get home!! My son will be 16 and he is homeschooled so I'm looking for friends for him close by.
Safe areas are obviously essential with character and friendly people.
We have a fairly healthy rental budget and I would also like to have shops and entertainment easily accessible.
My husband liked the look of Ripley but I'm not sure?
Would really appreciate some guidance

[GU24Mum]

Woking is pretty much the best station for commuting - it's got the fast trains and lots of them. It's certainly not the quaintest of town centres but not as hideous as its reputation sometimes suggests. There are areas in Woking which are nice (Hook Heath for example) and then other places (such as Ripley) which aren't too far for commuting but have a different feel. You should feel at home here as there are quite a few South Africans in the area as well. Good luck with the move!

[Ajfarmer]

Thank you,

[PurpleWithRed]

Need a bit more in the way of information. Is someone going to be commuting to London? are you looking for rural or town? house or flat? is a garden important? What caught your husband's eye in Ripley?

[Ajfarmer]

My daughter may need to stay with us and commute to London initially and I'd love to be fairly rural but close enough to amenities for my son! Garden is very important as we have dogs. My husband liked the quaintness of Ripley - or what it looked like in the photos.

[FannyFanakapan]

Take a look at Farnham or Godalming for that olde worlde charm and lots of things to do.

[PurpleWithRed]

Any of the Surrey Hills towns/villages might be options - Farnham/Godalming/Dorking all have reasonable links to London; Godalming has reasonable public transport links to Guildford which might be better for your son.

[Pixiedust1973]

Im in Reigate. Its close to Gatwick airport, the M25 & has fast trains direct to London from Reigate & Redhill, which is only a couple of miles away! Its a lovely little town & id highly recommend it!

[Ajfarmer]

Thank you everyone! You've all been so helpful.