Best places to live in Surrey

[KJ8889]

Hi! New to the UK :) I’m from the US and we have a 1 year old daughter. We are in Twickenham/Richmond now but looking to move to Surrey for more space ! We are both city types (I’m originally from NYC) so looking ideally for a place that has great schools, great commuter link, buzzy but friendly, etc. walking friendly if that’s a thing! I’m a bit nervous to drive (on the other side of the car and street!!) but would love all of your thoughts would be so appreciated as we are so overwhelmed by how many towns there are !! Thank you so so much!!!

Omg we are in the same boat! I am currently in Essex but desperate to move into the Surrey area to a 3 bedroom house but the prices are unbelievable. Me and my husband both work near Waterloo so the commute from Surrey train stations is ideal but our maximum budget is £600,000 and it doesn’t seem to buy very much at all! There are quite a few lovely villages in Surrey that I’ve found but don’t have train stations. Finding the search really disheartening :(

Guildford is good, but pricey.
If you want Waterloo, Woking has a good, fast train link, but the town is less good.
Chobham is lovely, but expensive and you’d need to travel to Woking for the train.
I don’t know the south area of Surrey well, but there’s the Dorking area, with the Surrey Hills on your doorstep.
Camberley is less expensive, but train links are less good.

What's your budget? And what kind of property are you looking for?

£3 million ?

I agree that Guildford is a good bet. Transport links are good - with trains to Gatwick as well as Waterloo, and in the other direction Portsmouth.

If you're sporty, there's a leisure centre, which includes an ice-rink, a newish sports park, and an outdoor pool. If you like the arts, there is a theatre, the G-Live arts centre and frequent concerts at the cathedral and other churches.

The schools are pretty good and there is also a university, which helps add a bit of youth to the town and gives it a bit of a buzz.

It's also on the edge of lots of beautiful countryside and there are plenty of National Trust type places within a few miles (and the RHS garden at Wisley isn't far away).

Finally, Guildford always seems safe to me. My daughter has recently moved there and I don't have any worries about her walking around at night by herself.

Go and take a look!

Guildford is the only place I would consider. Everywhere else is small & suburban with not much going on. I lived in Surrey for 2 years for work reasons, moving from a small city, & it was dullsville.

As a generalisation, Surrey gets better as you head east and south. Avoid the NW bit by the Hants border.

Except Hart area is very popular and Fleet has a fast train line to Waterloo.

Woking is a good bet.

Massive leisure Centre with pool, badminton, exercise classes etc.
Bowling alley in town and OK shops.
Two excellent theatres, a big cinema and great restaurants.
Wisley gardens and Horsell common on doorstep for great walks. Also Basingstoke canal running through the town.
Direct bus to Heathrow on the hour.
Direct train to Waterloo in 30 minutes.
Guildford a 15 minute drive away with access to more theatres and good live music.

The town itself isn’t the prettiest but if you can afford to buy in Hook Heath, The Hockering or Pyrford you’re good.

If you’re willing to go to a smaller town, Cranleigh has all you need.

Agree on Woking if you want fast and easy links to London, Horsell is a lovely part in close reach of the station and walking distance from the town, Common etc

Good advice above.

Wherever you are in Surrey you will do a lot better if you can drive. Get some driving lessons in to sort out your confidence and be aware a smaller car is much easier to navigate our little roads/parking spaces with than a silly big Chelsea tractor.

We moved last year from teddington to weybridge and absolutely love it. Depends what you are looking for really - we wanted a period house somewhere that didn't feel too dissimilar to teddington/twickenham area in terms of things going on, just slightly cheaper. It is v expensive still but by comparison to teddington our house was a bargain.

Fast train to London, nice high street with cafes, shops and pubs etc, good local parks and walks and good schools all walking distance from us. It def feels more suburban than rural surrey but that is what we wanted. Also lots of young families seem to be moving here.

We used to live in Egham and I loved it. There is a train station and, no idea what it’s like now, but there used to be lovely restaurants. It’s also very close to Windsor Great Park which is beautiful for long walks.

Hi just wondering where you ended up? We are also in the Richmond area right now and I am from the US as well! And we lived in NYC before moving to London so we are quite similar!