Moving back to the U.K. but to where?

[KobaniDaughters]

We’ve been expats for 5yrs and looking to move back to the U.K. possibly as soon as this summer. For various reasons we won’t be able to do a reccy before the summer so trying to decide where to live from abroad is tough, would love any thoughts and opinions to look at from far away. If we move early 2022 we can reccy this summer but for school reasons I’d rather come back for the start of the academic year so assume we can’t.

Needs:
1.5hrs by train to London
1.5-2hrs drive from Horsham/Guildford area
Close to a reasonable sized city
Small town or big village
Good local primary and secondary (D.C. would be entering yrs 5&8) but not grammar (don’t imagine DC1 would get in and we’ve missed the deadline for the tests anyway) that DC can get to Independantly
Good sense of community/things to do/cycling clubs/opportunities to meet people (we’re very social)
Liberal leaning
Be able to rent a 4bed detached house for under £2500pcm or buy a 4bed detached house for under £600K (pref rent but there seems to be nothing on the market) and need dedicated office space

We know and love Sussex, and pockets of Surrey and Hampshire. Would be happy to live in a town or village close to Horsham, Billingshurst, Chichester, Winchester. I don’t know Oxfordshire or Wiltshire at all and would love to find out more about both. I’m assuming East Anglia and Cambridgeshire would be out of the question due to distance to Sussex.

Have been looking at the Hassocks/Keymer/Hurstpierpoint area but houses are few and far between

DH would be working remotely, I am a freelancer with some work remote and other projects would be in London so I wouldn’t have to do the commute full time. Ask away any other questions that might be relevant! I’ve been on Rightmove for YEARS but feel free to send any specific ideas...

I was going to suggest the Hassocks/Hurst area till I saw your budget. That does make it tricky. I am nearby and the housing market is on fire - places are selling before they reach RightMove, often going to sealed bids. But if you don’t have somewhere to sell you are in a good position, so it would be worth contacting local estate agents to let them know you would be ready to go if something came up at the right price.

If you can increase your budget a bit, this is on the market in Hassocks for £640K.
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/104535689#/

@VenusClapTrap - a very good friend of mine - they live in Hurst and daughter went to ( is it called the Holt) But an expensive area - I agree with you )

Have you thought about the Cotswolds, particularly Stroud? It was voted best place to live recently apparently - 1.5 hours on train to London, couple of hours drive. Large village with farmers market etc but close to Cheltenham, Bristol.

Houses are well within budget for Stroud, just had a look!

Actually there are a few 4 bed houses in Hassocks under £600K too. I didn’t look properly.

Basilisk Stare I don’t know somewhere called The Holt? I’m the other side of Hassocks though.

Hassocks schools are excellent.

Lewes are surrounding villages worth considering too. You won’t get much for your budget, but there are some 4 bed houses available. Lovely area and good schools.

Leatherhead, Bookham, Fetcham, Dorking

Good commute, within reach of Horsham etc, good amenities (shopping, leisure centres etc) and great schools in amongst fabulous countryside

@VenusClapTrap my son's godfather's daughter ( I realise that is not the easiest thing ) went to a school near Hurst - Woking / Wokingham ? It was called the Holt and they liked it - Sate school

I keep a super close eye on Hassocks! To be honest we’d probably rent on arrival anyway (just less hassle from abroad) but that market is utterly dead - literally I’ll do a Rightmove search for the whole of sussex for the parameters we want and 11 houses will show up

@InglouriousBasterd

Have you thought about the Cotswolds, particularly Stroud? It was voted best place to live recently apparently - 1.5 hours on train to London, couple of hours drive. Large village with farmers market etc but close to Cheltenham, Bristol.

This does just about fit in your parameter for time to London/Guildford and def within the affordability criteria. Happy to tell you more!

Might I suggest south Buckinghamshire? Somewhere like Amersham or High Wycombe.

@KobaniDaughters

I keep a super close eye on Hassocks! To be honest we’d probably rent on arrival anyway (just less hassle from abroad) but that market is utterly dead - literally I’ll do a Rightmove search for the whole of sussex for the parameters we want and 11 houses will show up

Have you actually registered with local estate agents? Because my experience here is that properties are being snapped up before hitting Right Move. If you’re not on the estate agents’ list of buyers in a position to move quickly, you won’t even know these properties have come up for sale.

@VenusClapTrap no we haven’t yet. We’re not entirely sure when we’ll move so trying to figure out exactly where and then that’s a really good idea, I’ll get in touch with agents directly

@SummerSazz and @InglouriousBasterd I always think of the Cotswolds as being quite far and rural. I don’t know Stroud at all so very happy for more info

@EscapeDragon I have family in Amersham actually, could def find out their experiences though their children were privately educated

@VenusClapTrap we need to be in a detached house annoyingly

Was going to also suggest Wokingham, recently voted the healthiest place to live by a recent Sunday times survey. We have lots of green spaces and good facilities. Town centre has had a revamp in the past 2 years and is great. @BasiliskStare there's a small village called Hurst near Wokingham and The Holt is a girls state school in Wokingham (not Woking).

@Normandy144 - you have it - Thank you - my friends live in Hurst and their Dd went to The Holt - they like both the area and the school. I think nowadays boys can go to the 6th form.

Not suggesting you should not but why do you need a detached house rather than just prefer it. Although in lots of these locations detached will be perfectly doable I should imagine - please don't say if that question is too intrusive.

@BasiliskStare no that’s ok. DH has severe misophonia and it creates quite bad anxiety in him, not sharing walls or floors makes a huge difference to his quality of life.

The concession we could make is 3 bed so long as we had an dedicated office and it was closer to London and Sussex

Ok so slight update, could prob go up to £3000/pcm to rent and could do 3 bed if more like max an hour from London but would need dedicated office

Also just bumping

That Rightmove app/aspect looks good. How come no one ever thought of that before?

Sorry if I've missed it but could you explain your criteria.

Where in London will you be occasionally commuting to! And how often? This makes a huge difference, because if you are coming from Surrey, many trains go to Waterloo. But that's no good if you need to get to Canary Wharf, via Stratford.

What is the Horsham - Guildford connection? Eg just say Dh's parents live there? In which case would you really be going all the time?

If you really like Sussex, is it really worth looking anywhere else? Just rent. Get the kids into schools. And then buy, later, with the compromises you will inevitably have to make.

@Oblomov21 - That is a good point because I think most Sussex trains go into Victoria & Surrey I think go into Waterloo. So area in London which you need to get to @KobaniDaughters may be more taxing depending on which station and where you need to get to.

But I agree if you have - maybe not overtly , but secretly , your heart set on Sussex , look up schools and then work back from that. Or if you only need to be within a decent day trip of Sussex then you can expand the area.

It must be a hard decision , my only grandmother sucking eggs advice is - narrow down the areas as soon as you can - otherwise you may disappear into a RIghtmove vortex

I’m a freelancer so honestly any London train station because I could be working anywhere in central london depending on the job but Waterloo and victoria tend to be the most convenient

@BasiliskStare I’ve been in a Rightmove vortex for about a year!

Yes family are Guildford/Horsham way but very close family we would see very often and if we lived more than a few hours drive would be visiting over night regularly

I do like Sussex but it’s just so expensive so am really up for hearing of areas that are maybe a little further out - I did a Rightmove search county by county and for example Hampshire and Oxfordshire there are tens of houses that fit our needs and budget but only 11 in the whole of Sussex and they’re tiny!

Oh sorry @Oblomov21 to reiterate criteria:

1-1.5hrs by train to London
1.5hrs by car to Horsham
4 bedrooms
Dedicated office space
Small town/big village or outskirts of a city
Detached
Good schools particularly secondary and preferably lots of them in case we can’t get first
choice
Strong community
Liberal leaning

£3000/pcm rent max