Moving to Horsham or Reigate

[Kat8019]

Hi, we are really struggling to make an informed decision between 2 great places to live. Horsham or Reigate. We are in our late 30s and have a 15 month old boy and need to move out of London for more space. Both places have fab schools by the sounds of it. Reigate we can afford less house for our money than Horsham - a period smaller property versus a larger new build in the centre of Horsam. Be lovely if anyone has any pros and cons of Horsham and best areas to look at for school catchments. We have found a new house just off Brighton Road in catchment of Kingslea. We are just having a wobble before we spend so much money on a property. Horsham does seem full of lots of young families with lots to do which is perfect as I'd be a SAHM for a while. Do people tend to stay long term until their children have grown up? Would love to settle somewhere now and make a base. Would love to hear from anyone how they find Horsham family life and any one who has made a similar move and how they find it? :)

Horsham is great. My eldest two went to Kingslea and it's a lovely school.

There are LOADS of London escapees here. It's a fab place to raise kids. Lots of toddler groups and things to do with a little one, and you'll find lots of people in your exact situation, late thirties, small child, SAHM.

There are very few areas to avoid, all the schools are excellent.

You get more house for your money in the villages, we're in Southwater which is fantastic and only five minutes drive out.

It's definitely an area that people move to long term, and is a popular choice with former Londoners, with good reason.

Thank you Reality, your post is really helpful. We are so nervous about the move. We are going to increase our offer on the house tomorrow but are so nervous, especially about paying a premium for a new build. We'd hope to get into St Mary's primary or Kingslea so great that both are fab schools nearby. We keep preferring Horsham and then wondering if Reigate is less of a leap as closer to London and my husband is from Surrey (only 30mins from Horsham though), but everything points to the schools situation and longer term family life being easier in Horsham. We are excited about the potential move too. Great to know there are loads of SAHMs in similar situation. Great that you are enjoying life in Southwater!

Hi Reality, hope you don't mind me asking. We are really nervous about the price of the new build in town and are considering Southwater. If we were to go towards Southwater, the primary school seems quite big - do you know if you get into the infant school then you are automatically into the junior or if you'd have to reapply? Also how is the traffic in Southwater during school runs/rush hour with all the new developments and growth in the village? The house we are going to view if near the park. The park sounds amazing and access to the Down's link. So nervous about leaving London so just trying to ensure we have enough on our doorstep to do as a family but also with access to countryside.

Oh the park is fabulous.

The infants and juniors felt too big for us so our youngest is at Castlewood, which is lovely. It has a real 'village school' feel.

As far as the academies go there was a bit of a hoo hah about admissions because they changed the criteria, putting attendance at the infants BELOW all the other criteria for admission to the juniors. They then changed it again after pressure from parents so now it's only looked after children who have priority. Anyway, that's a long winded way of saying, yes, you do have to reapply but it's almost guaranteed you'll get a place.

I know plenty of parents with children there and it's a great school. Just very large (four form entry).

Traffic is better than it was now they've finished mucking about with the roads and roundabouts (it was HIDEOUS for the past year or so). A few queues at rush hour, but nothing dreadful.

It's a great village, it has a semi rural feel (lots of great dog walks if that applies) but with plenty of facilities. There's a Co-op, a few restaurants, several pubs, hairdressers, a library, leisure centre and of course the country park.

Thanks again. I feel the same about the school size, as it is one of the reasons we'd like to move out of London as the schools are so huge. Well, that and the fact we can't afford a family house! :) My nieces go to a little village school in Yorkshire and I keep comparing. It's so tough finding somewhere to move to. The house we are seeing is not in catchment of Castlewood (I think it's only a mile away though) but hopefully that wouldn't mean we wouldn't get a place.

Good to hear there is plenty going on in the village. I love walks and as our little boy gets older, hopefully we'll be able to go on some lovely walks and bike rides. Fingers crossed we like this house on Saturday as we can't wait to move and have a garden, in time for Summer.

Thanks again!

Hi,

I realise I'm on a fairly old thread but how did the move go Kat8019?

We're in a similar situation, hoping to move from London to be nearish to Ardingly College. We did a reccie of local places and liked Horsham. Drove through Haywards Heath too. I am not a big country person, so I like being in alking distance from some amenities without needing car for everything. Any opinions on these? My kids are 7 and 3.

Thanks so much & hoping you can help since you're a few months ahead of me!

Hi Fidesetopera, we haven't moved yet but we are moving to Reigate. We did really love Horsham though. We were looking in areas close to and walkable to Horsham town centre as we decided it was too much of a risk to move to the country yet. We chose Reigate as it has a similar feel to where we live in London now. However I still wonder if we should have gone with Horsham. It felt like more of a leap but think long term it would have been lovely. I did lots of research and both areas seemed great for raising a family with good schools

Thanks! Good luck with Reigate, I've heard its lovely, just that bit too far from the school.
We checked out Lewes today and it was fab, but again, too far.
Think we will settle on Horsham. Now just need to look more that the streets around there but we really liked the centre,shops,cafes.
All the best with your move x

Thank you, good luck to you too! We really liked down by St Mary's church area of Horsham just the other side of the church outside the town centre. We also liked Lewes a lot but it was too far out also. I'm sure you'll love Horsham if you do end up there.

Both Reigate and horsham are lovely. We live in an outlying area of horsham and it's great, good shopping, fab restaurants and on a sat lots of things like fresh bread or cooked sausage stands. It's a town centre but feels quite villagey still. Both are great but quite different in feel.

Hiya, we're thinking of moving to Horsham. Can anyone tell me a bit about areas / schools? We're looking to be in the town and have seen a lovely house near Kingslea and near Heron Way. Does anyone have any experience of living in these areas?

If you need to commute to London then definitely Reigate (or Redhill) . If you don’t then Horsham as it is a beautiful decent size market town with amazing facilities and lots of things to do for families

Hi @Martinachick - Is the commute from Horsham to London Bridge also quite bad? Thanks in advance.

Hi, yes horrible. Tiring and life consuming. How many days a week you / your husband would be commuting for ? If more than 3 times a week I would not opt for Horsham. Please take a look at Redhill, especially the area bordering Reigate and near Redhill Common. Roads: Fengates, Grovehill road, Whitepost Hill, Lynwood Road . Amazing elegant Victorian villas.

That's a shame!!! We would be commuting 4 times a week. We are looking at Horsham because we googled and there's direct train to LB. Is it because of how sloooow and unreliable the train services are?

Yes too slow, unreliable, expensive the usual. Redhill where I live is half an hour closer to London and set for growth and regeneration. I was considering Reigate or Horsham and chose Redhill but on the borders with Reigate so I can walk to Redhill station and get to London Bridge in half an hour .

@littlecontis just reading this old thread And wondering if u ended up in Horsham..please let me know how you found it...I'm also ij between reigate or horsham anf will need yo cpmmute to London Victoria 3 times ...please advise