Moving to a Surrey Town

[Samara26]

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. I'm not finding the traffic an issue, but you can't just park up near where you want to be

Farnham is very nice but I wouldn't call it particularly modern. Not as many shops as Reading but a fair number of restaurants. It's a bit crowded and I'm not sure you'd find parking much easier.

Basingstoke is modern in a very dull way.

Aldershot and Farnborough are dumps.

Never been to Bagshot or Camberley.

Incidentally, Basingstoke, Aldershot and Farnborough are all in Hampshire rather than Surrey.

@Ellmau

Farnham is very nice but I wouldn't call it particularly modern. Not as many shops as Reading but a fair number of restaurants. It's a bit crowded and I'm not sure you'd find parking much easier.

Basingstoke is modern in a very dull way.

Aldershot and Farnborough are dumps.

Never been to Bagshot or Camberley.

Incidentally, Basingstoke, Aldershot and Farnborough are all in Hampshire rather than Surrey.

Thank you. At least I didn't say Basingstoke was a dump? Do you know Tilehurst or Didcot at all? Anywhere you'd recommend?

Take a look at Newbury perhaps?

I don't think any of the places on your list are great TBH.

High Wycombe has a good shopping centre.

Just as we were leaving the area, Bracknell was getting a massive update to it's shopping centre and it has great facilities and is car friendly.

Maidenhead/ Windsor?

I would choose any of those 4 over the ones on your list.

Didcot has had huge investment over the past 20 years.
There are lots of new, modern houses. It also has a shopping area which includes a big Sainsburys, plus loads of chain stores. Also a cinema and Arts Centre.
Swimming pool and library are in the older part of the town but both good.
Didcot Parkway ideal for quick travel to London, Oxford and Reading.

@Samara26

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. I'm not finding the traffic an issue, but you can't just park up near where you want to be

You are choosing somewhere to live on the basis of parking for your convenience?

Maybe OP has mobility issues/is a wheelchair user?

Aldershot town centre isn’t great but there is a lot of cash being put into it at the moment.
Farnham is lovely but parking isn’t brilliant.
Basingstoke has a lot of amenities but the town centre itself is meh, just lots of shops without much character. There are some beautiful surrounding villages though which are very pricey.
Farnborough town centre is better than Aldershot but a place to ‘nip into’ rather than spend a nice afternoon. North camp, ash, mytchett, frimley etc as another poster mentioned are all nice places with good connections. It’s worth noting though that parking isn’t great in any of these areas unless you can afford a house with a driveway which can be quite expensive here. Farnborough has a direct train to waterloo.
Bagshot is quite posh in terms of houses and restaurants, but I don’t know much else about it.
Camberley is nice, again houses can be quite expensive, the town centre is pretty good and it has a brand new leisure centre.
I’ve lived in three of the areas you’ve mentioned and currently still live in one so know them reasonably well!

For starters half of those are in Hampshire, not Surrey but regardless Farnham is the only one I’d consider living in. It’s a beautiful town, lovely green spaces, nice shops, lots of restaurants. Downsides are that the train to London isn’t that quick, the traffic is terrible and house prices are really, really expensive.

I know a few people in Didcot and they like it a lot, but find it is quite quiet. You're within very easy reach of both Reading and Oxford by public transport.

Tilehurst is really just a suburb of Reading. If you don't like Reading, you won't like Tilehurst.

Thatcham or Newbury might be an option?

Yeah live in ash and then you can have a choice of underwhelming towns to visit that are all nearby

Lots of nice walking and stuff around there too

Also, but on the other side, Oxted

Farnham best of those but expensive and lots of traffic around shops.

Farnham is the prettiest town out of these but it has a one way system and so traffic is often abysmal.
I've never had a problem finding parking, there are a number of car parks around.

Agree with PPs, Farnborough and Camberley have what you need but aren't beautiful or affluent towns, nearby Fleet is affluent but not good high street etc

Bagshot is quite nice but not really a town centre. More a collection of small shops and boutiques.

I live roughly between all these places and will go to different towns depending on what I need that day. Camberley is probably the best shopping/nice town balance.

I think you've got to decide what is most important for your needs and push for that.

I've just moved out of Reading town centre (Tilehurst side) to be closer to family/friends near Hook. I'd say that if you're finding it difficult to just park up and nip into places in Reading then none of the others are going to be for you either really. Farnham is the 'nicest' place you've mentioned but even so some of the surrounding bits get a bit less nice - Upper Hale/Wrecclesham etc. I'm closer to Basingstoke now and really dislike it over Reading. At least Reading has a bit of semblance of culture (or tries to) - Basingstoke is really soulless ha. Bits of Farnborough aren't awful - had a friend who lived in Southwood and that was nice. What about Fleet/Church Crookham?

OP what is your budget? Finding somewhere reasonably priced with parking could be a challenge depending on what you’re willing to pay.

I've been to all of them except Bagshot and I have lived in Farnborough.

Farnborough is dull as ditchwater. The whole time I was living there it didn't even have a cinema (I hear it has now), the shopping is boring, there is no cultural scene whatsoever, no nightlife. I think it suffers from being too close to London and the assumption that anyone who wants a bit of excitement will be willing to travel there (to be fair, it is only about an hour on the train). The main reason we moved away was increased activity on the airfield which meant the air always stank of aviation fuel. On the plus side there are a few nice green areas along the Blackwater River which means you don't have to walk that far to get out in the countryside.

Farnham is pretty and kind of villagey in character, with one of those very wide old market streets. I like it aesthetically, but I wouldn't have been happy there in the long term as I do prefer more of a city vibe (this may not be an issue for you).

Aldershot is best known as an army town but the town centre isn't bad (or wasn't when I lived in the area) and it felt a bit more "alive" to me than Farnborough.

Camberley is like Aldershot without the army.

Basingstoke would be my pick, mainly because it's bigger, but as I said, I am a city girl at heart.

If you like small places I'd suggest also having a look at Fleet. I always rather liked it visually, it has fairly interesting shops for its size, a lovely nature reserve at Fleet Pond, and it isn't much further away from London than Farnborough by train (next stop along on the direct line).

I also liked Woking (where I used to work) but it might be the sort of bigger place you are trying to get away from.

Reading has decent park and ride services so I am not sure you really need to be able to drive into the centre unless you have mobility issues. On the basis that you do, Farnham is ok, it has the central car park and has reasonably decent shops despite covid and the death of the high street. But it is very expensive.

Bagshot is a bit small. As a pp said Bracknell has had a massive update recently so might be worth looking at - or somewhere like Martin's Heron which is just outside.

Aldershot and Farnborough are not very nice. There is some lovely housing stock in each but the town centres are grotty.

Basingstoke has nice villages around it. You could look at Hook which is on the main line for London as well as Southampton and Winchester with a change at Basingstoke.

Fleet is a nice place to live - town centre a bit boring but generally quite decent and the house prices are lower than in neighbouring Farnham. I always laugh when people try to divide it into Fleet and Church Crookham - it really isn't big enough to split up like that! People are always moaning about the parking though - but that's not because there isn't enough of it, they just don't like having to pay for it. You can't afford £1 to park when you pay ££££ to lease your SUV...

Camberley is ok as well and is a bit cheaper because not on main line to London. Also has a new leisure centre.

I am guessing Wokingham is outside your budget. You could also look at places like Twyford.

One other option, going a bit further out but it is hilly so maybe not the best choice if you do have mobility issues, is Overton.

Also, have you considered Staines? People will laugh but it has good amenities and allows easy access to London and Heathrow airport.

People have mentioned Thatcham or Newbury:

• Scratcham is a shit-hole and is one housing estate after another

• Newbury has terrible traffic issues and has been stripped of its lovely small market identity by Vodafone and is just another M4 corridor town these days.

Camberley is nice to visit, but it's near the big army base and I don't know if that would cause extra traffic or other issues.

Godalming or Guildford are great, might be worth a look if not too far.

@Samara26

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. I'm not finding the traffic an issue, but you can't just park up near where you want to be

I've been to all of those places, and live in one now - Basingstoke.

It's ok, pretty boring but everything is easily accessible- it's just a bit dull! We can't wait to leave the area in a few years (school days will be over), not because there's anything drastically wrong, it's just something and nothing!

Farnham is probably the prettiest of your suggestions. How about Alton?

I forgot to add - Basingstoke has plenty of gyms, restaurants and shops aren't too bad, albeit a few decent ones have closed down recently.

We tend to nip down to Winchester if we want somewhere a bit nicer to wander around - we live the Winchester side of Basingstoke, just can't afford the Winchester prices...

Camberley isn’t terribly affected by military traffic specifically (Sandhurst academy) but the road that runs alongside it is a pain and does get busy.
Ooo didnt think to mention Guildford! Really lovely city, big leisure centre and good shops, bars and restaurants. Driving around the centre isn’t bad at all.

I think it's a bit off to describe other places as a shit-hole and a dump tbh. It's all subjective and plenty of people live in these areas perfectly happily. And live there for lots of good reasons.
I'd be a bit miffed if you called my home town a shit-hole!