A move to Surrey

[fudge85]

Hi there

My wife and I are currently living in a flat i twickenham and are looking to upsize to a 3 bed house with a garden somewhere in Surrey.

The below list of considerations are what we need to take into account

-20min maximum walk to direct train line to Waterloo ideally under 40 mins

• Within a 45 min drive to Send near Woking.
  
• decent size garden to allow summer house - ideally south facing
  
• open plan living or scope to create to on groundfloor
  
• a decent town or village centre would be a nice to have
  

current locations we have been considering are below and our absolute max budget is 430K

walton
hersham
west molesey
staines
epsom
ewell west
Esher
Claygate

we'd be interested to hear any other options that may be viable and I relise my wishlist and budget may not be realistic but we will see

[asneakysnickers]

Merrow?
Guildford?

[TheRedHatofPatFerrick]

West Byfleet
Chertsey
Egham
Addlestone
Shepperton

[littlenicky61]

Worcester park

[Tryingtogetitright]

Ashford
Feltham

[Willswife]

I think you may not get the house you are after within budget in some of those areas, nice as they are (thinking Walton on Thames and Esher in particular). Hersham may be achievable.

Staines would be achievable, I lived very close to there for a few years and I was quite happy there but I know a lot of people say quite negative things about it.

Englefield Green is quite nice, you could use Egham Station or Virginia Water but those stations aren't within walking distance. Quite a lot of students as well as Royal Holloway is down the road.

[Willswife]

Shepperton is a good call.

[GU24Mum]

they're all pretty much the London side of Send but not necessarily on the faster lines. Brookwood/Knaphill/Goldsworth Park (near Woking) are on the fast lines but you probably won't get anything huge. You'll get something bigger in Farnborough and Fleet (though the latter may be a bit further) or something with more character (if that's what you'd like) nearer to Haslemere or possiby Witley.

[fudge85]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

We like Hersham and West Molesey and Walton a lot.

Are there any areas to particularly avoid in these locations? When i find what we want in our budget I worry that it may be a little 'dodgy'

[nobutreally]

I think either Walton or Hersham you'd struggle in that budget if you want a decent sized garden. You'd also want to think hard about school catchments if you have/are expecting a family : local schools are quite mixed and catchment makes a reasonable difference to catchment prices. For my money, Hersham has more of a 'heart'/community and is more affordable.

[lovescarbs]

Godalming!

-gorgeous town centre and community feel

• 40min on fast train to Waterloo
  
• 20mins drive/train from Woking
  
• 10min drive from guildfird
  
• as lovely as guildfird but smaller, slightly more country and cheaper!

[fudge85]

Thanks all

We have found a couple of lovely places near ‘the halfway’ in Walton on Thames.

Does anyone know of any areas that may be less desirable to avoid around there?

[asneakysnickers]

The Halfway is great - shops so nearby, a local supermarket and a charity shop to explore...I don't know the area well enough to know if there are any less salubrious areas, but I know two people who live very close and have never said anything. Good GP surgery nearby too. Walking to the station. Well done and good luck!

[nobutreally]

I don't know the halfway well, but I'd say:

• probably pretty reasonable price wise, as it's not in a centre, but near the station, and a few shops (inc a little Tesco) conveniently! If you are on the main road, it's a reasonably busy one.
  
• are schools an issue? I think you'd probably be catchment for BellFarm as primary and Two Rivers as secondary. BellFarm is a lovely, nurturing sort of school - but historically results haven't been great . Two Rivers has just re-opened with a lovely new building - historically has not had a great reputation - although on the up and new building may make a difference to its local appeal. Neither are the 'sought after schools' in the area though tbh. You might get into Cardinal Newman (Catholic) or Ashley (CofE) if you fulfil faith criteria but not sure of the catchment on those atm.
  

(if you are looking private there's a small private primary up the road from the half way towards walton)

• there is a small area of ex-council housing near the half way which might be more reasonable - it's a lovely little estate, no issues but not aesthetically the most desirable stock so might explain prices.
  
• going towards Walton from the half way there are some nice big houses - certainly no issues that I'm aware of
  
• there is some redevelopment going on between the half way and walton station - not sure what is planned/what the timescale is tbh
  
• walton station is great - regular, efficient trains into waterloo
  

HTH!

[fudge85]

Thanks all

We have seen two places well inside budget in Home Farm Gardens which is a private estate and therefore share of freehold. The places are great size wise and have loads of potential. The price is so reasonable we’re a little worried but it may be the outside not that pleasing to the eye and near the road.

Any experience of that area?