To want to move from Surrey to Chichester for a better life for my kids?

[Mixedupmind]

Having a debate with my husband and very confused
We currently live in Carshalton Surrey
We have 2 children, aged 3 and 4
I'm a stay at home mum and hes self employed, we privately rent our 2 bed terrace for £950.
Recently I've been thinking we should move out before they start school for a nice quiet little village lifestyle / school, we could afford a 3 bed house for what we pay now and the schools are smaller and obviously less crime / trouble
His concern is the opportunities are less, the secondary schools don't seem to achieve as much as London schools and he fears the kids will be coming back to London for work.
Can anyone offer any advice?
Tenancy ends in August and son needs to be in reception next September so really it's now or never.

Lived near Chi for a while and have friends and family in the area.
Houses are expensive.
Friends left secondary school unable to read and write and do basic maths.
A friends dc is currently at a different secondary in the area and is unable to read and write.
I moved away before I had children and although I visit the area I would never go back to live with dcs.

I live close to Chi, it's ok, not amazing. Bit insular, but pretty I suppose, but you'll pay well over the odds to live there.

I'd reconsider somewhere else.

We moved from Chessington to Chichester when our dc were similar ages to yours.
I was quite happy with the schools tbh but this was a few years ago,things might have changed.
I love living here but the housing is expensive and when dc were teenagers there wasn't a vast amount for them to do.
One dd has moved back to London now but she's 25 so you don't have to worry about that for a while!
Its a big decision to make though, we upset our families because we moved away.

I live in one of the villages just outside of Chichester. I've lived here my whole life except for a spell at uni in Kent and for a few years in after that. At first we couldn't afford to buy a house in our village so went over Yapton/ Barnham way but we did miss it. I am now back on my childhood housing estate. Very modest house for the price but I love it. We look over the South Downs and the trundle and it is beautiful. I know I will be here for the rest of my life.

DD1 went to an excellent infants school in Chi which is still very good. She then went to the local village school for juniors and DD2 went there too. Most of the schools here are pretty good - not perfect, but certainly OK. Midhurst Rother College is also very up and coming if you live to the north of the city and on a direct bus route. I went to Chi High and loved every minute. I have friends with children there now, very happy. DD1 is at Chichester College which I would say is outstanding and has just about the best results of a sixth form college in Sussex.

Nightlife was a bit boring when I was a teen but DD1 who is 18 has loved growing up here and never seems short of things to do. There's a good cinema/ bowling complex which didn't exist when I was young and seems to be many more happening bars and restaurants. DD1 is out living it up many weekend nights and seems to have a whale of a time. They rarely seem to need to go outside of Chichester.

Shopping is not too bad but not the most exciting. However, there are most of the big retail shops in town (no Primark to the DDs disgust!), a big Tesco extra just outside, and also a Sainsburys, Waitrose and Lidl, so you're quite spoilt for supermarket choice. There's also a fairly new John Lewis at Home and a BHS home both of which have some lovely things. Chi is quite good for small independent shops too which give it a bit more character than a lot of the town centres. There is also the Cathedral and beautiful market cross.

I don't reckon your rental will be much less because Chi is expensive. I know someone renting a 2 bed house on the cheaper estate behind us for £750 but most of the 3 bed houses on our estate go for over 1k a month. Houses come up for rent/ sale fairly rarely here so you have to snap quickly.

I would do it! I've lived in other places and we've considered other places but for me there really is no place like here. Feel free to PM me and I can be more specific. :)

Crime is higher in Chichester than Carshalton. You aren't really near enough Croydon schools to worry (although there are some good ones in Croydon) and the schools near you are good with some great grammars.

You are near London, Croydon is getting a Westfield in a few years, transport is good, lots for kids and teens to do. Your rent sounds very reasonable for Surrey.

Sorry OP but I think you would be mad to move. Unless something is making you very unhappy where you are I think you are making problems where there are none!

Chichester? Depends... do you like Hollyoaks?

Seriously though. It is nice for a day trip, but I wouldn't want to live there. City is very much an overstatement.

I agree that Sutton is not what it used to be but as someone else said, the schools in the borough are excellent and I definitely would not be moving away from them if I were you. Croydon is nearby but it comes under a different borough entirely. Do you live in a nice part of Carshalton?

Err cheerup I think you are confusing Chichester and Chester. Or I'm not getting your unobvious joke

For some reason I thought Croydon already had a Westfield lol (must be confusing whitgift). I know Guildford has. I drive past it to go to uni.

Guildford doesn't have a Westfield

They are starting to build Croydons in the place of current Whitgift Centre at the end of this year or next I think.

Wouldn't you be better to look at secondary schools, Then you are in the catchment for somewhere good and not worrying about whether or not your DCs will get a place. I know it seems premature but it's not easy to move 12 year olds from their pals.

Thanks for all the advice
It's very confusing and feels like I'm weighing up good schools against a good life :(

Chichester school are not that bad ffs! I went to 2 of the big 5 high schools one was awful, one was excellent. Southbourne have an excellent high school for instance and I have never, ever known of someone coming out of school unable to read or write!

We have a great award winning college and university.

We're not all anal people who don't like non locals.

Write up a pros and cons list OP.

Chichester is expensive inside the city walls but there is lots of surrounding lovely villages that are cheaper and still nice.

Southbourne community college, must have changed a lot then!

It used to be really bad when I was younger, then it went into special measures and now it's incredibly highly rated.

My DC1 will be going to high school in a couple of years so vice been checking these things out.

I went to the girls high and hated every second I was there,
Then I went to Westergate and I loved it, really loved it.

Bishop Luffa was the school to be at when I was a teenager but now it's got less than great rep.

I used to live quite near you (DS1 went to Sutton Grammar) and now live near where you want to live. I'd say it's a great place for us, not so great for our four teenagers. Chichester itself (we're about 10 miles away) is a great town, and I love being near the sea, but don't forget that once children are past primary school - which will go in a flash - they want to be able to hang out with mates and have nothing to do with their parents. Being in a rural area isn't so great for that. We don't have a train station - there are buses but they can be feckin useless - and we do spend a fair amount of time ferrying them around, which is boring and irritating for them and us.

I know my DS1 (who lives overseas now) loved growing up within shouting distance of London. Don't underestimate the value of teenage independence. I grew up in south west London and used to go shopping in town with my mates from the age of about 12, without grownups I mean, and I loved it.

My three teens have grown up in Carshalton and have had an excellent education. Seriously...Carshalton has the villagey feel and is very family friendly. As others have said, it's close to Central London but cheaper because it has no tube station. Kids get Oyster cards and can travel by bus for free till 18 or so. Mine have made their own way to school since year 7. There are parks, library, leisure centre, library all close by.

I'd think hard about moving but you're right that now is the time to do it, if at all.

I moved from Surrey (Kingston, Surbiton, Addlestone split over 10 yrs) to Chichester 7 years ago and I love it. We traded a flat in Surrey for a house with garden and have had both children since moving. We live in a village on the outskirts of the city which has a good cycle link, bus route, walkable etc.

In my experience facilities are excellent here, very good hospital, doctors who I don't wait long for appts, the primary schools are mainly excellent and small with good community feel. I was especially impressed with my care when pregnant with both children. Was very lucky to have the same community midwife throughout for both and hospital care excellent.

I admit that secondary education is the weak area but it is changing and improving and has done a lot in the short time I have been here. A free school has recently started so will be interesting to see how that develops in the next few years. The 16+ further education college has just been graded it's second 'outstanding' in a row.

The town is beautiful and loads of open spaces for the kiddies.

I have never felt like an outsider and found employment relatively easily (administrative roles).

The local leisure centre is excellent and a real family hub.

I have found people friendly and the pace of life less stressful than when living and working in Surrey. I love the fact we know our neighbours and can call on them for help, which we didn't have, despite trying, when living in various properties in Surrey.

The transport links are good (unless you want a fast commuter train to London!) and the opening of the Hindhead tunnel on the A3 has vastly improved the drive time back up to see friends in Surrey, and DH's commute.

Some parts of the city can get crowded in summer, but is comparable to when I tried to get in and around Kingston for the whole of December to shop! And various events at Hampton Court etc etc.

I don't worry about what my children will want as teenagers as their lives could take them anywhere. I lived near London and wanted to get away as a teenager (but am a bit weird like that!) so they might take after me and be happy staying around Chi. And if not we will do our best to support them wherever they want to go.

The move has really worked for us and I am so much happier since moving.

Happy to answer any questions if you want to PM

Oh, also, imo crime is really not an issue compared with areas I lived. I witnessed the aftermath of a stabbing where I used to live and wouldn't walk late at night on my own, but down here I regularly forget to lock my car since developing my baby brain . I feel very safe.

Sorry this was a bit long..!

When I read moving from Surrey to Chichester I thought you were mad, now I realise that you are proposing moving from the concrete end of Surrey to Chichester I find myself asking why you are asking, surely it is a no brainer.

Thankyou for the recent responses
I will attempt to email the above poster although have never done that before so I hope it works!
Yes it's the concrete part I'm afraid :(
I can assure you if I was further out, banstead / Reigate etc this thread would not be here!

Hello neighbour down the road in Carshalton, greetings from Hackbridge!

I moved here 3 years ago and made the conscious and informed decision to come here because of the reputation of the schools and all the green spaces nearby. I agree, Sutton has gone down but sadly so have most places due to Government cuts. I think the best bit about round here is all the parks and the easy access to places. If my kids want to look round the Science Museum to look at stuff for projects for school, I can easily be there in an hour. If they want to go to the seaside, the south coast is only an hour away. If I want to do decent girlie shopping, Westfield White City takes about an hour by car.

I have lived all over the country from rural Cumbria, to Cheltenham, to central Manchester and this is the first place I've felt I've really wanted to put down roots.

Also remember that once you leave London, it's pretty hard to get back. I have a friend who moved to Exeter who wanted a quieter life and better house but it hasn't worked out for him and can't afford to come back.

I know it's not perfect round here, but there are an awful lot of good points, even if it's a handy place to get out of! Good luck in your decision x

Hello hackbridge neighbour!
I totally see what you're saying, the schools are very hard to beat.
Secondary's seem slightly more varied however, still on the whole seem to be pretty amazing.
I grew up in battersea, schools weren't brilliant so this to me is a massive improvement.
But the lifestyle in these further afield places just seems lovely, little villages where everyone knows each other.
Although maybe that's just a little dream in my head!

This is meerkatwhiskers. Lost my login as couldn't reset my password

I was in Chichester today. If it has a great point, it's the nearby beaches. We went to bracklesham with the dog and had a paddle in the sea. It's got sand too (not like the beaches at my end of the county which are all pebbles). 6pm traffic was dire though. I live in a much bigger town and it was far worse than ours (mines the biggest town in the county). Not as bad as purley way though or the A217 at rush hour.

Looked at house prices too. Quite expensive to what I'm used to. But then so is carshalton

Chichester is expensive and REALLY up itself. If it were a person it would be Hyacinth Bucket.

Opportunities for work or kids, from your dh? Do you have to be near London?

Stroud has lots of outstanding schools, even Cirencester, if you like the Cotswolds and cheaper housing. What about dorking? Reigate etc?

If its the rent, could you but a little flat somewhere you and dh like, rent it and that's your place when you retire?

You need to make a list or mind map of your motivators, and separate them out.