Moving from London to Surrey - how did you find it?

[Housemove11]

So it looks like we are moving from London to Surrey, 40 mins on the train away. I'm terrified, husband is very excited. I've lived in London for almost 30 years, got married/had kids/best friends who I have known for 35 years are here. We are in a flat here, great neighbours, lovely school, community feel.

We need more space as the children are getting older and sharing a room, husband is now permanently working from home. We've seen some lovely houses with enough room and huge gardens etc.

My work is in London but is sporadic, so I'll be commuting in but on a part time basis. We'll be half an hour from my brother and his family and closer to my mil who is lovely, and it will be nice for the children to see her more often. There are lots of rational reasons why this is a good move but I am utterly heartbroken about leaving. Talk some sense into me please!

Where in Surrey are you moving to? Have you factored in schools etc? The new environment you end up in can vary wildly, depending on your chosen location. The key thing is that london is always there to visit and you will
Build up a new network very quickly (probably through your children). Just make sure you get involved in something- anything- and you will meet people, build relationships and start to enjoy your new life.

WHere about in Surrey? A lot of it is pretty much London suburbs anyway!

You will eventually find it the same kind of stuff but just with loads more space!

We moved from zone 2 to the london/Surrey borders a few years ago. I hated it for the first few years - very "brexity" and suburban. It has grown on me through lockdown. I appreciate the green spaces nearby. We've made some local friends (all london refugees who moved out for the same reasons you are talking about) and I can definitely see the merits for kids out here in terms of having an outdoorsy childhood whilst still being within easy reach of london museums, theatres and do on.

We've checked schools and we'll do a bit more research on this - we are in a bit of a catchment black hole for secondaries where we are at the moment - it's another of the main reasons we are moving.

Thinking of Epsom at the moment as it is reasonably close to mil and DH is concerned about her getting older and needing a bit more help, schools are good, it seems to have a useful high street. And we would be closer to my brother so we both get to see more of our families.

You are right about building up a network. I've just realised I am feeling nervous about leaving my friends (they have been a second family to me), meanwhile my children are really excited about making new friends!

Epsom is virtually London - much of it is very suburban. It adjoins a London Borough in the north.

I moved from Battersea to Surbiton, and spent the first year whining about it. 😆 But it was honestly amazing. The parks, the schools, the people... I lived there VERY happily for 20 years.

I’ve been to Epson a few times. It’s ok. Wouldn’t say its high street is anything special, though. I’d live in Thames Ditton. Small, flourishing, right by the river, near to lovely schools (Hinchley Wood secondary or the local grammars), near to beautiful Bushy Park, and only 20 mins on the train to Waterloo.

You are all right, London will still only be a train ride away... I guess it's unlikely we will ever come back to live so it's the end of this chapter of my life. I thought I would be here forever.

Thatotherposter - we have been looking around Thames Ditton as well, I was concerned about the Hinchley Wood secondary having feeder primary schools that have waiting lists for Yr 6 so I'm trying to work out if we don't get into the feeder primary how much that would affect whether you would get a place at the secondary. But it is a lovely area, you're right!

I’d phone the schools admission team and ask them. I’ve always found them amazingly helpful. You could see if the secondary was oversubscribed.

Which schools are the feeders - is it Thames Ditton Juniors? My DS1 went there, it’s fab.

I honestly can’t recommend the area enough. I lived in Long Ditton, but all my friends lived in TD, and it’s just such a cool place. LOADS of fun stuff going on. Mainly young families, with ties to London, so you’d make loads of new friends.

Also, it’s a really popular area for prep and grammar schools, so waiting lists etc often empty when kids get into those.

I lived in London (Notting Hill) for 30 years and moved to Esher (loved it) and then onto rural Surrey a few years later. Absolutely one of the best decisions I have ever made. Our quality of life is brilliant.

Epsom is 'ok' but there are loads of better Surrey towns you might want to consider. Guildford is great!

Surrey has lots to recommend it and I am sure you will settle down. But I have to admit that while I wouldn't move because overall, things work much better for us here, I do sometimes find it a bit frustrating. Our school is pretty much 100% white, split about 2/3 with middle class English people and 1/3 working class people and never the two shall meet. and the lack of diversity in terms of race, background, experience does annoy me. Having said that, I realise now that we made the mistake of picking a very small school - one of those ones with a catchment zone the size of a shopping mall and with a supposedly brilliant reputation. In retrospect, I wish we'd picked something bigger. A lot of the bigger schools have mixed reputations but I'm increasingly starting to realise that's often just pure snobbery.

Epsom is nice enough and the high street, while not exciting, is very practical and useful. The best thing about Epsom vs a lot of other places in Surrey etc is the commute to London is among the easiest and best in Surrey. 35 minutes to Victoria or Waterloo with, I think 8 trains an hour or more. Schools are also generally pretty good, even the "less good" ones and there are good options for both boys and girls for both junior and high school.

The worst thing is that it is a bit if a black hole when it comes to anything "exciting". Restaurants are almost all chains, the theatre is very much a poor cousin compared to even those in say Richmond or Guildford or Kingston etc. But then, a trip into London for the evening is entirely possible so perhaps it doesn't matter?

@Triffid1

Surrey has lots to recommend it and I am sure you will settle down. But I have to admit that while I wouldn't move because overall, things work much better for us here, I do sometimes find it a bit frustrating. Our school is pretty much 100% white, split about 2/3 with middle class English people and 1/3 working class people and never the two shall meet. and the lack of diversity in terms of race, background, experience does annoy me. Having said that, I realise now that we made the mistake of picking a very small school - one of those ones with a catchment zone the size of a shopping mall and with a supposedly brilliant reputation. In retrospect, I wish we'd picked something bigger. A lot of the bigger schools have mixed reputations but I'm increasingly starting to realise that's often just pure snobbery.

Epsom is nice enough and the high street, while not exciting, is very practical and useful. The best thing about Epsom vs a lot of other places in Surrey etc is the commute to London is among the easiest and best in Surrey. 35 minutes to Victoria or Waterloo with, I think 8 trains an hour or more. Schools are also generally pretty good, even the "less good" ones and there are good options for both boys and girls for both junior and high school.

The worst thing is that it is a bit if a black hole when it comes to anything "exciting". Restaurants are almost all chains, the theatre is very much a poor cousin compared to even those in say Richmond or Guildford or Kingston etc. But then, a trip into London for the evening is entirely possible so perhaps it doesn't matter?

The best thing about Epsom vs a lot of other places in Surrey etc is the commute to London is among the easiest and best in Surrey. 35 minutes to Victoria or Waterloo with, I think 8 trains an hour or more

My train from Guildford to London takes 36mins, there are 8 trains an hour at rush hour.

Epsom is basically like a London suburb, but greener. The downs are really nice to walk on.

You are pretty much in spitting distance of London with easy trains to Sutton, Croydon, Wimbledon, Waterloo, Victoria, etc so you can easily go and see your old friends very easily. You can also take the train the other way for Horsham, Guildford and Dorking.

I live 2 stops north of Epsom and Cheam starts on the top of my road!

Community wise it is incredibly close (you always see people you know, lockdown walks often saw people to chat too) but at the same time London (pre pandemic) is very easy to get to. Quick train and you are at Southbank and can easily access the West End/Shops etc.

Sundays (at least before this all happened) no congestion charge so easy to drive to London Zoo/Westfield

Very easy traffic routes we are 15 mins from the A3 down to the coast and to get onto the M25

Kingston is a easy drive to get to as well and schools are v good around here including access to the Sutton Grammars

My train from Guildford to London takes 36mins, there are 8 trains an hour at rush hour.

I used to have to travel to Guildford fairly often (I didn't live there though so it wasn't daily). I NEVER managed to get a fast train at a convenient time. But possibly I was just extremely unlucky? And I have a vague memory of a friend having to leave london much earlier after a night out as otherwise she couldn't get a train home (but that was a few years ago and I could be getting confused about exactly where it was she lived ie near guildford vs actually in Guildford).

Having lived near Epsom, I'v also benefited from being able to take tube to New Malden and then cab from there so have never had the same issues with absolutely having to get the last train.

We moved from South West London to Reigate and we love it. It feels very safe, with a good sense of community.

We’re still within walking distance of great restaurants, nice shops, gyms etc. But also very close to the Surrey Hills AONB and beautiful walks. It’s really been the best of both worlds for us.

@Triffid1

My train from Guildford to London takes 36mins, there are 8 trains an hour at rush hour.

I used to have to travel to Guildford fairly often (I didn't live there though so it wasn't daily). I NEVER managed to get a fast train at a convenient time. But possibly I was just extremely unlucky? And I have a vague memory of a friend having to leave london much earlier after a night out as otherwise she couldn't get a train home (but that was a few years ago and I could be getting confused about exactly where it was she lived ie near guildford vs actually in Guildford).

Having lived near Epsom, I'v also benefited from being able to take tube to New Malden and then cab from there so have never had the same issues with absolutely having to get the last train.

I don't seem to have any issues with my three times a week train but I do catch the 7am ish and return at around 6pm.

Well your nights are clearly a lot wilder than mine if the 1am train from Waterloo to Guildford was too early for your friend after your nights out in London

@shoesaregood

We moved from South West London to Reigate and we love it. It feels very safe, with a good sense of community.

We’re still within walking distance of great restaurants, nice shops, gyms etc. But also very close to the Surrey Hills AONB and beautiful walks. It’s really been the best of both worlds for us.

Reigate is lovely

We moved from SW London to Berks / Surrey border. So much happier. Best of luck with it all.

Thanks for all the comments - they're really helping in deciding where to go. If I didn't have to commute to London it would be a lot easier! Also, good to know you can still have a social life

I’m in Epsom. Schools are great and it’s a good combo of being v.close to lots of lovely countryside but I can be back in Clapham/Balham (where I used to live) in about 20/25 mins on the train.

High street is uninspiring but has everything you need, I used Ashtead and Banstead a fair amount too for zero waste shop, better indie coffee shops etc. There are a couple of good local farm shops, vegan market and farmer’s market in Epsom every month and a regular fruit and veg market, coffee van, bread stall, couple of street food things every Sat and some are there every day. Lots of chain restaurants but also good independent alternatives for pretty much every type of cuisine, two independent butchers, Waitrose and a decent sized M&S food.

It wasn’t a difficult transition for us at all, it feels basically the same but with more green space and fewer people.

I'm in Epsom and agree about schools (all are really good but the very best have very small distances for getting in) ...and the full of chains and bit crap High Street. I grew up in zone 4 so know what you mean about moving out of a London Borough but I have been here many years and love it. If you need any info re the Epsom area/schools etc please feel free to PM me...good luck