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 isn't lovely. It's stuck up and full of stuck up people. Crap traffic because of the one way system.

I live between Guildford and Ash and it's nice.

Gym and amenity wise out of the list Farnborough isn't bad but yes, the town centre is a bit run down - but that's probably true of a lot of town centres now.

Guildford and Godalming are both very nice. I've lived in both.

If your budget allows, wokingham would suit your requirements the best in the local area.

@2reefsin30knots

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.

Thank you. Bracknell, Maidenhead and Windsor seem to be more expensive than Reading and I'm looking at a max budget of 375k for a decent size 3 bed semi or end of terrace. Parts of Reading do come up in that budget but there aren't many houses available atm and I'm trying to buy before the interest rate shoots up again. Bagshot is another option but sounds congested

What about West Byfleet? It's quite nice and the next stop on the train to Woking which has all the amenities

Aldershot town centre is pretty grim sorry, there are lots of new builds gone up and still going up and more regeneration promised as ever. The area is fine otherwise, lots of lovely areas to walk which are used for military training,but accessible to the public. It's near to Farnborough and Fleet and Farnham. Aldershot has had a big Morrisons and a Tescos.

Farnham is nice, but some work is also being done on it. It is small, posh, it has shops like sweaty Betty and fat face, but has an annoying one way system of it's own. Nothing like Readings. No shopping centre. It's supermarkets are Waitrose and sainburys.

Farnborough is ok, the shopping is a bit limited, but again they are re-building restaurants. It's centre piece is Asda.

Basingstoke is the biggest, nicest shopping centre ( although Farnham shops are lovely they are a high street setting) Although the edges of Basingstoke shops are little grim, it seems to go on forever. I'm not sure on its supermarkets as only really go there if I need big shops like Next.

Camberley high street is quite pleasant too. Only been a few times recently, but nice enough. Has some massive retail park type places with a giant M&S.

It depends what sort of thing you are after, a few cafes a post office? Do you need schools?

Farnham will be the most expensive. Prices will tell you what you need to know.

@IamnotSethRogan

What about West Byfleet? It's quite nice and the next stop on the train to Woking which has all the amenities

It's nice enough, but really it's commuter place. If you don't need the train to London then I wouldn't bother. Also having seen your budget update, you won't get what you need in Surrey, North Hampshire is a better bet.

@VanillaAndOrange

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.

Thanks, this is all really helpful. I'm definitely not a village type, but I'd be ok with living on the edge of a busy town or with good access into one. Camberley is unfortunately out of my budget, which is 375k for a 3 bed semi with a driveway. There's a house in Bagshot which is very close to Camberley, Ascot and Bracknell so that might work. I was really looking at Didcot for fast trains into Oxford and Reading but door to door it's probably more like 30 mins. Basingstoke is a definitely an option but it concerns me about the number of people who say it's rough

@JuergenSchwarzwald

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.

Thanks ps I don't have mobility issues, I just like to park and go as I'm a bit impatient

@YellowLemonshade

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!

That's fair enough and sorry if I offended anyone. I lived in crawley before which everyone called a s-hole, but it was my s-hole haha

Basingstoke and reading are very similar I would say. Go and visit it.

The A30 is a pain in the proverbial.
Fleet is mega expensive and the high street is poor. Train services to London are OK, but the bus services locally aren’t.

Farnham has lovely properties, awful parking in town and a one way system.

I’d go for Guildford if you can afford it. There’s a Park and Ride for getting into the town centre and better shopping,

I agree with sofakingcool about Winchester

I quite like Basingstoke. Controversial, but it's in a good spot for things to do both outdoor and indoor, has pretty good public transport and is surrounded by pretty villages. It has a fantastic library, a railway going most places, an old part, and things to do for kids.

You don’t live a million miles away from any of these places - why not just take a trip to each?!

I moved out of Aldershot four years ago and by that stage I was really sick of the town centre which was at least half empty and attracting anti-social behaviour.

The housing stock is very good, as is the train and bus service, and the place does have a soul, unlike Farnborough which is a bland low budget new town, but it's just becoming so grotty.

Farnham is the nicest, Camberley is OK and I wouldn't discount Fleet or even Frimley.

Farnham, of the places you've named- but the one way system is a nightmare! It's also not the friendliest tbh.

Aldershot I would just avoid full stop. I've heard nice things about Camberley. Would suggest looking closer to Guildford if poss.

I think every one has said pretty much what I would about all those areas.

You're in Reading, did you look at Bracknell? Got to admit, after the refurb it's not bad at all.

Basingstoke is a definitely an option but it concerns me about the number of people who say it's rough

@Samara26

It's got rough pockets, like most areas, but equally some really nice bits and is surrounded by some lovely villages which have easy access to Basingstoke town centre

@Samara26, I think I was the only person who used the term shit-hole and it was about my home town. Don't think you said anything offensive? X

The thing is, since you drive, living in most of these places will mean you have easy access to all of them if you’re in the mood for different things! I mean Farnham and Aldershot border one another, so you could live in Aldershot and still be in Farnham town centre in 10-15 minutes (in good traffic). And there are plenty of places to park in Farnham town centre, but none of them are free, FYI.

I wouldn’t suggest living smack bang in the town centre of any of them tbh (in Guildford and Farnham the students take up most of those properties anyway!), but you’ll be able to find options within your budget in most.

And all the towns in your list are in Surrey and Hampshire, which are relatively affluent areas, so to be honest the towns pps have labelled dumps are actually not that bad, all things considered. Like anywhere, each will just have “better” and “worse” pockets!

Farnborough is not a dump, has a vue cinema, some resturants and chain pubs, good parking, better shops than aldershot but not as good as camberley or basingstoke, sports centre and swimming pool being torn down and rebuilt but will take a while. 10 mins drive from Camberley, Fleet, 20 mins to Basingstoke. on fast train less than 40 mins to London.

Farnham - pretty, expensive, smaller shops, should be getting a new cinema if they ever finish it, traffic can be a nightmare and only due to get worse due to all the additional houses being built

Basingstoke - good shops, cinemas, resturants, swimming, ice skating etc out of town. probably has rough parts like all towns, Chineham is nice

Aldershot is worse than Farnborough for shops but does have cinema, swimming poos and lido.

Dont know much about Bagshot but dont think it has much in the way of shops.

Guildford is too expensive (and when there was a thread on here about where the locals were most stuck up, it came very highly!)

Alton is a good suggestion and is prettier than Fleet but less expensive than Farnham.

As it happens, I've been to Reading this afternoon since commenting today and covid hasn't been kind to it. I can sort of understand why you want to move, although there's more to a town than the town centre. It is very well connected though.

traffic can be a nightmare and only due to get worse due to all the additional houses being built

I think that applies everywhere these days! Except perhaps Wokingham where they seem to have a massive amount of developer funds and have built or are building loads of new roads.

Where do you work? How many days commute. This will affect recommendations.

@Oblomov22

Where do you work? How many days commute. This will affect recommendations.

I'm Remote at present but need to be around an hours commute from london for a max of 1-2 days per week travel in to future proof my career and job stability. I'm a contractor so never know where next contract will be but london is always a good back up plan, if I really have to!

@JuergenSchwarzwald

Guildford is too expensive (and when there was a thread on here about where the locals were most stuck up, it came very highly!)

Alton is a good suggestion and is prettier than Fleet but less expensive than Farnham.

As it happens, I've been to Reading this afternoon since commenting today and covid hasn't been kind to it. I can sort of understand why you want to move, although there's more to a town than the town centre. It is very well connected though.

Tbh Farnham wouldn't normally be my thing, it's a little bit 'twee' for me and kind of in middle of no where, although 15 mins from Guildford isn't bad.. I just saw this duplex there and I was very tempted but it is right next to the bypass which you could hear and would create a lot of pollution. Sold now but it was right on the very edge of Farnham in Runfold.