Possibly relocating to Surrey

[GirlInterrupted]

We are possibly moving to the UK from ROI and just looking for some advice. Will be working in Surrey, Feltham. Just myself and DH, both early 40's. Will definitely be renting (with pets) We are currently living in a tiny rural village. Would love to move to a nice, medium sized village with shops, cafés, nice walks, etc. Prefer something a little more quiet with a community spirit, rather than buzzing, our children are adults, so not interested in school catchment areas, etc. We have absolutely no idea where to start looking! Was Looking on rightmove and the rental prices are insane compared to what we are currently paying and all the places seem to be in bigger towns. Was really hoping to get a detached house with a nice private garden that is not in an estate within an hour's drive of Feltham. Any advice will be appreciated!

@Markesmithh

I hate Surrey, full of absolute wankers (helpful)

True. I grew up in Woking, couldn't leave fast enough. Guildford is nice though.

Feltham is horrible, dont be tempted by lower prices, planes take off every 90 seconds in normal times and 3rd runway planned. Excellent trains so you can widen your search. Surrey is mind numbingly expensive. Try Berks and Hampshire.

Aldershot? May as well stay in Feltham. Not Aldershot, cross off list.

Totally agree with zing and the bridge issue. Even more so depending on what happens to the awful planning application for monstrosity opposite Hampton court palace being decided in the next couple of weeks by Elmbridge.
Good luck op.

Cheaper bits of Surrey like West Ewell are probably too far from Feltham to be a realistic daily commute (traffic is terrible) so I would look out the other way - North and West of Feltham as others have said- if you like peace and quiet though? Then check the flight paths into Heathrow as, it’s fairly quiet at the moment- but it will pick up again soon…

Just a thought op but have you thought of Chiswick or Putney and commuting out so against the traffic?

@GirlInterrupted

Thank you guys so much, this is exactly the kind of real advice I was looking for! And just one more question please? When on a motorbike, is it legal to filter through traffic? Would that help reduce the commute times? I have Googled, but different sites give different answers, what is the weather really like? I mean would we be naive to think that DH can commute on the bike from say March to September ish, to reduce commute times (if allowed to filter)

That wouldn't be a problem, one of my colleagues bikes into London from near Reading in all but the worst of the winter months (November to February usually) but I'd find somewhere near a railway station for the rest of the year, I moved from Yateley as it was taking me 70 minutes to commute by car to Staines - that was 20 years ago and (pre-covid) it hadn't got better

@RosesAndHellebores

Just a thought op but have you thought of Chiswick or Putney and commuting out so against the traffic?

It's a nice idea in theory but please don't try this. I commuted 'against' the traffic from Putney for 10 years and it was still awful, but just not a horrific as the other direction.

Given the OP's wish list, aside from somewhere on the doorstep of Feltham like Hampton, I would definitely be looking out of London. M3 corridor is a good bet, or anywhere local as many pp have suggested (north of the river) or not needing to cross a river bridge (such as Horsell). South of the river will significantly add to journey times and probably won't bring anything better in terms of accommodation options.

Hi OP, yes motorbikes can filter the traffic and there’s no reason he couldn’t commute by motorbike all year round. Beware - it’s cycling central in SW London / Surrey. A lot of people (MAMILS ) cycle to and from work. The weather will be noticeably drier than in Ireland, I would think.

Thanks again guys, a lot to think about

@HeronLanyon - what monstrosity is it?

Hijacking thread about but we have been looking in Molesey (“borders” shall we say…). It’s a massive change for us as we’ve lived in central and then east London (West Ham) for all our time in London.
We were looking outside London but then it became clear my parents had no real intent of moving closer to us so we’ve decided to stay close to family in London and to our friends etc but be on the right side of London to see them. It would take an hour of them visiting us too.

Anyway, our daughter is 2.5 and I’m mainly nervous because it’s hard to find what there is to do with her locally in Molesey - if there are any toddler pre-school groups etc (I work part time). It’s obviously a LOT quieter and less busy than where we live now so trying to imagine what our lives might be like over that way! If you or anyone else can put me at ease then let me know…

(I settled on Molesey as it seemed much less posh than other areas but with access to green spaces and a friendly feel).

@Rhubarbcrumblerules

Consider north east Hampshire, has access to M3 and possibly more house for your £ than surrey. It's a stones throw from Surrey border, Yateley, Farnborough, Fleet (possibly avoid Aldershot)

Is Aldershot really THAT bad? Keep hearing mixed reviews- some think it will be the next Bracknell.

@vinicunca

Hi OP. If it’s just the two of you and you want a villagey, community feel, could I recommend places along the river going westwards from Richmond? Richmond is obviously super-expensive; but it gets cheaper as you go down through St Margaret’s, Teddington, Hampton and beyond. All these places have character and a villagey / community feel. You have Richmond close by (beautiful) and also all the shops and facilities of Kingston just over the river. It is expensive, but “location, location, location” as they say! The river that way is truly beautiful and well worth the extra. The parks and general landscape are lovely. There’s gorgeoys riverside walks and pubs / restaurants everywhere and it’s very green. The river makes the pace of life feel less hectic, somehow. You won’t get a house with a garage for your budget. But I had a quick nosey on Rightmove. There was a 2-bed apartment with a back garden going right into the river and it had an underground parking space. It was in Strawberry Vale, I think and about £2,500 per month with an underground parking space where you could put the motorbikes. I think, if it’s just the two of you and the kids have gone, you’d have a better lifestyle somewhere like that because so much is within walking distance. Central London also very accessible. Also, very close to Feltham.

Places like Egham, Virginia Water, Oxshott etc are basically the Surrey commuter belt. Lots of big, multi-million houses in private wooded plots. Esther has a town centre that’s kind of villagey, but again prime commuter belt.

I agree with a pp you could get more for your money in NE Hants, but towns like Fleet and Farnborough are proper suburbia and a bit on the bland side, imo.

Also traffic in London / Surrey can be a total nightmare. Somewhere that looks like it has good road access to Feltham could take hours at peak times. This is why I’m suggesting it might be worth just paying up to live on the river side of Feltham (ie Teddington, Hampton etc) because you could cycle or even walk. You don’t need much space if you live in a place that makes you want to go out and about. Much easier to meet people too, I think, in that kind of community than full-on suburbia.

Good luck!!!

You sound like u know these areas well! Which towns have more amenities ie gyms, chain shops, restaurants, cafes etc in order of preference out of: Bagshot Farnham Farnborough Aldershot Camberley Basingstoke

I'm in Reading and it's probably a bit big for me or just not what I imagined it to be - not very modern or car friendly

@mrsmalcolmreynolds

A PP mentioned Aldershot - it'll be cheaper than the other places mentioned but there is a reason for that. It's not dreadful, but pretty down at heel. Camberley or Frimley?

Down at heel? Does it depend on which part of Aldershot? Surely it can't be worse than Reading or Basingstoke?

@longwayoff

Aldershot? May as well stay in Feltham. Not Aldershot, cross off list.

Please can u elaborate??? I was planning a move there

Aldershot - I live in a town near there abc we change a vowel when referring to it. NE Hants or edges of Berkshire could be a good shout OP. What about Farnham?

I worked in Feltham for about 4yrs & lived in Byfleet, Surrey. Took me about 15 mins to get to work. Sunbury is just down the road from Feltham but is quite pricey...

Zombie thread!

Hi, My husband, our 2 kids and I are living in Whitton/Twickenham and we love this area but we are looking to buy a 3 bed property and the houses here are way over our budget. We recently viewed a property in west molesey and we liked it. The only issue is that we don't know the area at all. By the look of it it is very quiet and looks like there's not much to do. I am worried we'll have to take the car everytime we need to go out even to find a coffee shop. we work remotely so we don't have to commute to London everyday only occasionally for meetings etc. Also looking for good primary schools, could only find 2 chandlers and hurst park primary schools.
Any advice, opinion on the area of west molesey/Fleetside.
Is is multi cultural too ?

Thanks

@Markesmithh

I hate Surrey, full of absolute wankers (helpful)

Good thing you aren't there then, it's obviously too nice for you.