Where should I Live?

[WheresWallyWally]

Hello!

I live in Surrey with my dh and ds, and potentially more mini me’s coming along in the future. We need more space and are looking to make the big move to our “forever home”. We are open to where this might be and I am hoping the Mumsnet hive mind can help me focus on which area would fit our criteria.

So we are looking for the following:

1. A “picturesque” village or small town. We are looking for somewhere that has at least a pub and a shop that sells the basics as I can’t be relied upon to remember everything in the weekly shop.
2. My dh currently works from home however we are mindful that this may not always be the case so would ideally want to be no further than 1 hour away by train from London. However, in saying that we have considered places in Somerset so can relax this a bit for the perfect location.
3. Must be in the catchment area of a decent secondary school. It dosn’t necessarily have to be Ofsted rated outstanding but it does have to be considered a school with a good reputation. This is really important to me and unfortunately we won’t have the money to consider independent.
4. Im sure there are many beautiful places that would meet this criteria so to give you an idea of budget, we have £850k but for this we would be wanting a 4 bedroom house with at least three of those bedrooms being a decent size. We would also want this house to have character rather than a new build.

Please help Mumsnet, you are my only hope! (Apart from google).
Thanks x

West Sussex

Yep, was going to say Guildford & Villages but you’ll get more for your money over the border in West Sussex. More for your money house-wise, but fewer amenities. We chose amenities rather than house size, with 3 kids we want lots on our doorstep :)

Thank you. We live near Guildford currently but know we will struggle to find the house we want with our budget so casting the net further afield.
We would some amenities within walking distance - a pub and a place to buy emergency groceries as a minimum. I don’t know West Sussex well- is there a village or small town that would fit the bill?

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/property/5332718-west-sussexhampshire-village-life-wheres-nice

Thank you the link, lots of places to look up!

Sevenoaks or Tunbridge Wells, or the villages surrounding these?

I see. I grew up in somerset and am raising my kids near you. I would not want to raise my kids (and teens) in somerset, personally. Do you have experience of rural living? If so and you feel it's right for you then ignore me!

Hi op check out haywards heath. Its definitely a country town with a fast train into London. It has everything and the village of Lind field is attached to it and picturesque. 40 mins to London. You may find a wreck within budget as it is pricey.

Thank you! I know very little about Haywards Heath so will do some investigating 😊