To think Surrey is the most boring place on earth?

@JassyRadlett 😂 you rumbled me! Many times I have whiled away an hour laughing at a “where is Kingston” thread. This one hasn’t gone off quite as I’d hoped though.

The criteria used on this thread is entirely arbitrary, no one criticising Surrey really knows anything about it.

I mean don’t let me stop you from needlessly projecting all your middle class bile onto our county, but if you’ve never been to the Surrey Hills or enjoyed an evening at one of the excellent eateries in Ripley, then please don’t comment, it makes you look as small minded as you most likely are

There is a reason property costs more in London and that is because it’s kess boring than everywhere else.

OP - Richmond is in Surrey and that’s not unlike Hampstead really, is it. Yes you r got the Heath, but they have the river. Similar shops and vibe. Personally, I wouldn’t live outside of London and if I had to I would go abroad tbh. However, there are FAR WORSE places than Surrey. I mean really dire.

No. Another saying Lincolnshire wins. Thank god my in-laws have moved.

I live in Wiltshire which is not exciting, but am from West Yorkshire which is clearly the best of all the counties.

I mean is there really anywhere in the UK that is actually super exciting to live? Our weather is shit and our politics are deplorable at the moment, not sure there is anywhere in the UK I could get excited about right now.

Surrey is fine, but it doesn't exactly have much "edge" and some of it is just horrible without being in anyway interesting.

I'd much rather live in Hampstead, OP!! 😂

I can say this now as I'm retired from being a private health professional and quite frankly am too old to care any more. I've worked all over the country. People from wealthy parts of Surrey, West Sussex, Brighton and places like that were an absolute nightmare, entitled, demanding, rude if they were paying for a service.
Give me decent working class down to earth folk any day of the week. The rougher the area the more I enjoyed working there.

IsabelleSE19 I didn’t say the South Downs were in Surrey,I said I missed being near them!!?

It’s a large and - I think - surprisingly diverse county. It has its upsides and downsides (just like absolutely anywhere).

Taken as a whole, Surrey really isn’t as affluent as you imagine - there’s actually a surprising amount of deprivation.

I don’t think it’s boring - there are definitely more boring parts of the country. It’s got some really wonderful countryside - the Surrey Hills are amazing. You can actually walk out into the Surrey Hills AONB quite easily from central Guildford. I can’t think of many other large towns you can say that for.

Oh dear! I feel all protective of Surrey now! I grew up in Ashtead and loved it and would happily live there again. You can't make OTT sweeping statements about anywhere. There was always plenty to do and great places to go and I don't remember anyone being dull and boring. You're wrong OP.

Nope, that award goes to Sittingbourne.

Dmil has moved to Surrey though, which is a very excellent reason not to visit. DSIL is Margot Ledbetter, but not as funny or self-aware.

I live in a posh bit of Surrey. I drove through Addlestone this morning though, it’s important to stay grounded isn’t it.

I’m so glad you didn’t stop. We don’t need pompous arseholes like you in Addlestone.

I still address post to Coulsdon, Purley and Caterham as Surrey Croydon I don’t though, it’s like it’s own mini City.

YANBU op (although I should mention I used to live in Hampstead and found the endless smug yummy mummies incredibly irritating too..)

@isabelleSE19 Maybe they are getting the South Downs muddled with the North Downs?? North Downs go for miles, but agreed nowhere near the South Downs! And you can see the Shard from the North Downs in Coulsdon.

Croydon's certainly got more going on - all the way from stray cattle and sheep rustling on its outer reaches to gangland warfare towards its most Northerly aspects.

It's not just the dire Brutalist expanse of the centre (which is being fairly comprehensively torn down and rebuilt) or the dilapidated social housing, it's also got areas of ancient woodland, farming, medieval buildings and utter peace and quiet. And a quarter of a mile from any of the southern borders puts you into in full blown farming country.

I think that's why some find it hard to adjust to not officially being in Sunrrey anymore - once you're living on the edge of the North Downs, it really doesn't feel like Greater London.

Dillyson, all counties I’ve lived in have been interesting in different ways, you just have to find the combination that appeals to you.
I need nature, hills, reasonable weather most of the year and access to at least one city with a decent arts/theatre life. I can cope without the sea if there’s a decent river and I like history.
So I could just as easily post a list of negatives about each county as I could positives.
I found London hard after 4 years because there were too many houses all squashed up together and no proper silence or stars. Norfolk and the fens are too flat. Lancashire it rains too much...Yorkshire winters can be very very long. Cornwall is a long way from interesting cities and is somewhat mono cultural. Oxfordshire is too far from the sea.
But I’ve enjoyed everywhere I’ve lived, and moved on.
Currently in Sussex and love it.

Can't believe a pp tried to claim the South Downs for Surrey! They belong to Sussex, a far superior county/ies

Is Croydon really exciting then? It sounds like the place to be if Surrey's status as boring or exciting rests on its shoulders.

In the case of Croydon, only if you are still living in the early 1960s

Oh Lordy, don’t tell me Macmillan’s been voted out? And is that nice man Douglas-Home still at the FO?

Ooh I have just slagged Surrey off on another thread.
Definitely not everyone there is as you describe OP but there is a “type” and it’s not one I felt terribly comfortable with, despite fitting in some respects the profile you describe.

How do you define boring though? Obviously a village will not be the same as living in London wherever you are in the country. The big advantage of being in a Surrey village is the fact you can get to London if you want a taste of London life. Guildford and other centres will have a different feel as well. Same as St Albans will be different to smaller villages in herts or Bournemouth will be different to a village in Dorset.

You get these posts every so often about Surrey being dullsville but no-one every really says what would be better in comparison.

Grew up in Surrey,left home to train as a nurse in London and never moved back.Lived in many places including Italy,now in the Midlands.I miss the trees,being near the sea and the glorious South Downs.

I don’t miss the traffic,always astounds me whenever I visit my brother in Sussex,it’s awful.

Couldn’t even afford to move back to the road I grew up in now.