To not have a clue where we should move to. Have narrowed it down to somewhere with easy access to Waterloo or Victoria. That still leaves most of the South East!

[TheSnickeringFox]

My dh is trying to persuade me we should move to Surrey. Has anyone seen the thread on Surrey in Property/DIY? It's bloody terrifying.

We are very definitely lower to middle middle class. Our income is most certainly double, not triple figure and we are not professionals in the strict sense of the word.

The only thing we can agree on is that we need somewhere with easy train access to Waterloo or Victoria for work. Other than that, who knows?! Currently in London btw so realistic about house prices. Realistic as in we know we are looking for a maisonette.

So, any ideas about where might be a good match and we won't be laughed out of town? Somewhere with young families on a not sky-high income, somewhere nice to walk the dog...?

what about this?

Oxted (Surrey - not read other thread so no idea what it says, but it'snot all bad...) is quite nice. Hurst Green is just down the road. good schools, good transport (not far form M25 for car links, 30 mins on train to London Bridge. Change at East Croydon for trains to Victoria). great for the airports.

New Malden/Worcester park has plenty of Japanese shops and services.

Zimm, we are in South Guildford. We have been looking for a property to buy for a while and have found some good value for money places around Onslow Village and a bit further out around Farncombe and Godalming.

If you dont mind driving to the station (which has cost implications) then places like Chiddingfold, Witley ect have some nice houses at reasonable prices we have found.

I guess it depends on your persective though. We have sold our inner london flat and are using that to fund our purchase in Guildford. So are moving from an inflated property bubble to an area less so iyswim.

Yes, we are sort of looking in the Norbiton-ish area - lots if Japanese and Koreans round that way. It's just a bit too London for me. I'd like some more green.

those links are cheap.

How about Cheam?

I live in Worcester Park.. tell me where all the Japanese shops are please? :)

New Malden has a very high number of Korean residents and korean shops though.

Worcester Park is an ideal location, 25 mins from Waterloo or Victoria, and ten minutes drive to open countryside, or Richmond Park.... 40 minutes drive to the coast.. and easy access to the M25 too.. suits us perfectly, and its not a bad area at all.

Yep sugar, we were renting in central London (1100 a month rent for a one bed!) so everything seems cheap to us. Many conversations a la "look! Two bedrooms for only 15 gabillion pounds! Bargain!"

Yep, New Malden is the Korean part of town. There's a nice Japanese supermarket very near Norbiton station. Otherwise over Acton way.

Come to the Isle of Wight it may sound bizarre, but if you live in Ryde Waterloo is 1 hour 20mins from the town. You get the cat to Portsmouth and then train to Waterloo. There are a growing number of people doing this. House prices are very good, the weather is better than the mainland and we live by the sea. Oh and the dog walking is amazing.
Alternatively most of Hampshire is in range of Waterloo - Basingstoke 45 mins on the fast train. Again loads of excellent dog walking

I don't live there but Worthing is lovely. Similar to Brighton, but quieter and cheaper.

Roehampton is great, you should be able to get a 3 bed maisonette for your money and you'd be right next to Putney common and Wimbledon common, and about 20 mins walk from Richmond park. There's no tube close by which is why it's cheap but there are loads of buses, you have a choice of two that go to Barnes station and two to Putney station in 15/20 mins and from there it's 20 mins on the train to Waterloo. It's about 10 mins in the car or 20 mins on the bus to New Malden which has a wonderful Korean supermarket which stocks a lot of Japanese and Chinese food.

Redhill isn't the loveliest town in the world (I'm a Horsham girl originally), but it has good schools and transport links. I work at Waterloo and it takes me about 50 mins in morning and an hour in the evening. I can change at either London Bridge or Clapham Junction. Victoria is just over half an hour away. You could probably get a 2 bed in a decent area for £240k.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-34453706.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-34218458.html?premiumA=true

I think the second one is near me LOL.

There was a 3 bed flat in a fab school catchment within your budget a few months ago in Guildford. I think Oxted is well outside it (it seems outside ours and we are quite a bit bigger).
Surrey is nice not like the weirdo on the property thread, but it is expensive, but there are some fab schools (be careful of woking on that count). My DD has friends of 7 or 8 nationalities at her school btw, so its not as mon-cultural as first appears. Brighton is good too, if you get in the right areas for the right schools.

Bits of N Hampshire are nice, with reasonable house prices and trains to Waterloo - Fleet, Hook, Farnborough are all worth looking at.

I think Redhill or Horsham would be good options. You could also look at North Holmwood (near Dorking but cheaper).

Your seriously going to let one thread put you off Surrey? Without visiting?

Surrey is a big place with lots of very different town and villages each with their own character and people of all walks of life.

I would suggest looking at this site: www.commutefrom.com/ to give you ideas.

Also we nearly went for Faversham in Kent- lovley area, house prices cheaper than Surrey some really nice schools and lots of commuters.

I live in North London but if you go out a bit towards Enfield and Enfield Town you can get an overground train into Moorgate in around half an hour. Train also goes to Highbury and Islington which is on the Victoria line so you could probably get to Victoria in around 45 mins. You can get houses in all price ranges there.

ps seing some of these posts where other people live has made me want to move!

Sevenoaks is becoming silly money when it comes to house prices. I don't think £250000 will do it. Try further out. East/West Malling or Maidstone.

I'd also suggest Oxted/Hurst Green. Don't live there but have visited often as two families we know moved there from London. Easy commute, nice countryside, good state schools. Also seems to be quite a mixture of houses, not just huge expensive places.

Do you want to move outside London? That involves high travel costs.

What might you budget be?

Try Streatham Hill - not fashionable so a bit cheaper than cpmparable areas. has excellent primary schools, a v good state secondary, nice parks close by, v good community feel.

for example

opposite and 'outstanding' primary

opposite a nice park

big plus garden

Excellnt transport routes - loads of buses, Thameslink from Tulse Hill, Victoria from Streatham Hill, both 10 mins walk.

Another vote for Woking here. There is a good variety of housing and green spaces galore (Horsell Common, Chobham Common, Virginia Water, Surrey Hills, RHS Wisley...) within easy reach, it's pretty multicultural and the transport links to Waterloo, M3, M4, M5, and M25 are great.

For that money you could either go the Hounslow area route (which is quite frankly, unpleasant but you might like it..) or go a little further afield into sussex or surrey. The trouble you've got is, the nicer areas are expensive precisely because people want to live there but not have too scary a commute.

Would you consider going up into Herts? I think it might be more reasonable price wise. Maybe Luton?

Re Sevenoaks - how many bedrooms, how long a walk to the station are you prepared to do, are you happy for modern property or do you want something with character?

this for example is 3 beds, on for £330k (so you'd probably get it for less) is under a mile to the station, I think that road is in the catchment for an outstanding primary school (I have a friend living in another on that street, but catchments change). If you're prepared to do a longer walk to the station, the prices drop considerably.

Tonbridge is cheaper, but it's a longer & more expensive commute. (Sevenoaks is about 30 mins to Waterloo East)