From Oz to ???

[charmag]

Hi there, we are hoping to move back to the UK after 10 years in Australia. My parents live in Sussex and hubby will need to work in London so we are looking to locate ourselves somewhere in Sussex, Hampshire or maybe Surrey with good transport links to London. Our children will be 6, 4 and 2. We are looking to locate close to or in a village with a family friendly and lively vibe so that we can feel part of a community. Any advice on where to head to or where to avoid would be much appreciated. TIA.

I would recommend Petersfield in Hampshire. Lovely market town, great schools, mix and independent and good high street shops and restaurants, very picturesque at the foot of the South Downs, surrounded by beautiful countryside. Lovely surrounding villages too. Guildford, Chichester, Winchester, Portsmouth and Southampton close enough for larger town needs. Waterloo just over an hour away iirc. Good luck with your move

I agree with Ickypop....look very closely at the rail lines into London - you either have the Portsmouth to London Waterloo line (which includes Petersfield, Haslemere, Godalming etc) or you need to go east and try to pick up the Brighton line (although this is run by the hideous Southern Rail)......

You could look at places on the mid line, which runs Chichester through Horsham and Gatwick, but this line is much slower and more disrupted.

Which end of Sussex are your parents in?

Thanks for your responses. My parents are Liphook. Yes would need to avoid the Southern railway line. The news of how bad it is has even reached Australia!