Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Local

Find conversations happening in your area in our local chat rooms.

Original poster

Moving to Surrey, Need help

36 replies

Rich9573 · 30/10/2021 23:33

Hi All, I am looking to move to surrey. I have a job in Woking but can work from home 4/5 days and my wife is looking to get a job in London. She cannot drive so we would need to be near the train station. Lastly we have a 2.5 year old son.

I've been looking at locations and have it down to either:

Woking, East Molesey, Weybridge, Walton-on-Thames or Ashford.

These all have good schools near the train station and have good links to London. I wondered if anyone has any recommendation for these areas? I went around Woking today and thought it was ok, nice sports centre though.

Thankyou in advance any knowledge on these areas would be really appreciated!

OP posts:
Sandsnake · 30/10/2021 23:39

Have you considered Brookwood? Fast train into Waterloo, with only stop at Woking (five minutes away via train). Not very big so station a very easy walk for your walk. Lots of community type groups etc for children and decent primary schools. Also, easy access to lovely walks / countryside etc.

TwigTheWonderKid · 30/10/2021 23:41

Where are you moving from and what do you like about the place where you live now?

CraftyGin · 30/10/2021 23:44

Anywhere in Surrey has good connections to London.

I am wondering how you came up with your shortlist.

needtodrinkmore · 30/10/2021 23:44

Depending on budgets out of your selection I'd go for Weybridge, lovely community and good train links, you could also explore Guildford, which is a great place to live and some really good schools also slightly more rural feeling.

StCharlotte · 30/10/2021 23:49

I've commuted to Woking and London from Guildford and my dad commuted from Haslemere. Both lovely places to live.

LittleMysSister · 30/10/2021 23:49

I'm in Ashford 😊 It has great transport links, a decent highstreet and good schools.

However, budgetwise it's not really in the same league as Walton-on-Thames and Weybridge? They are both way more up-market and any properties would be a lot more expensive there.

I have been local to here and the surrounding areas all my life and know them well, I'd say Weybridge and Walton (and Shepperton, but train to Waterloo is 55 mins from here) are 100% the nicer areas if you've got the budget...but they are pricey.

Weybridge and Walton are both easier journeys by car to Woking as well I believe, as they are a bit closer than Ashford.

I do like living in Ashford though 😊

brizzlewizzle · 30/10/2021 23:50

Have a look at West Byfleet/Pyrford too

CraftyGin · 30/10/2021 23:55

I think Ashford is great - lovely high street - and very nice residential areas. But surely TPA is wrong about the time to London. It can only be about 30 minutes on the Windsor train.

titchy · 31/10/2021 00:00

What's your budget and what are you looking for, both in terms of housing, and locality. Small community local coffee shop or big town lots of chains. Sports clubs or country walks.

Lentil63 · 31/10/2021 00:07

Woking has excellent links by train to London, a fabulous theatre/cinema, restaurants and shops. I thought about moving there myself but it just lacked a bit of atmosphere for me. Weybridge has some exceptional roads as does Walton on Thames and both have excellent links to London although Walton wins in that respect. Personally I find Weybridge a bit quiet and both Walton and Weybridge are super expensive; they also suffer from horrendous traffic at rush hours especially over Walton bridge.
We’re building a house on the towpath in Staines, good links into London from the station and also very close to M3 and M25. If you don’t need to go into London daily you could look at Datchet a whisp from lovely Windsor but cheaper and quite a nice place, it has flooded though. You could also look further west to the Wokingham/Reading area. You may wish to bear in mind that some places in these areas have grammar schools.
Good luck!

Talipesmum · 31/10/2021 00:51

What’s your budget / requirements? State schools? Religious schools?
We are in Horsell, which is a really nice way of living in Woking. Walkable to the useful town centre, but nice villagey atmosphere, great state schools, local shops, greenery etc. Woking is a v useful and practical town and is much better than it used to be, but it’s not very pretty for a potter round - Guildford or weybridge are better for that.

RoseRedRoseBlue · 31/10/2021 01:56

I love in Walton and absolutely love it, but whether renting or buying, it is exorbitantly expensive!

Original poster
Rich9573 · 31/10/2021 07:40

Hi All, sorry had to get some sleep and forgot to put all the information in. Also thankyou for all the replies so far.

Our budget is around £410k is max and we want 2 bedrooms (3 would be amazing but its out of our budget). We are currently living in Eastleigh. We want to move to a place with good connections to london and not super far from Woking as i will have to go there once a week and i'll be the one picking up my son from nursery. I'm not religious although raised christian and so don't mind too much about that (as long as they are not super strong).

Our son seems quite smart (I know...) so we wanted to move to an area where we could send him to the best school we could while being close to the train station. The work my wife will be doing will have her sometimes coming back at midnight (maybe walking) so i wanted it to be close and safe. So really i wanted her time to London to be under 35mins on the train.

When looking at the schools and proximity to train station with links and nearish woking these were the places i came up with.

OP posts:
Original poster
Rich9573 · 31/10/2021 07:48

Just to add Eastleigh was our first house. It was close to work and had good links everywhere so its been good. I think its nice to be near a big city but not in its so you get the best of both worlds. I don't think i want to live somewhere where i've gone back in time though, just not me :)

Thanks again. I was kind of looking at these but the feeling of the places seem really skewed. For example Woking wins best places to live etc but when you look at comments and forums no one likes it xD. I was curious what the real feelings are for these places. Once i narrow it down a bit i'll check them out.

OP posts:
titchy · 31/10/2021 08:17

So is your wife likely to need to catch a train home that leaves London at midnight? In which case you need to check the times of the last train - and where it goes.

Your budget is an issue.

So next steps for you - check what you can buy and where on Rightmove, and check last train times. If you picked E Molesely for example - the houses near Thames Ditton station are far more than you can afford, and the last train is 11.30.

Ironfloor269 · 31/10/2021 08:53

Woking has good primary schools but secondary schools are not great. We moved out of Woking for this very reason.

If you're thinking long term, Wokingham or Reading might be better for your son. There is a grammar school but even the state comprehensives are infinitely better than what Woking has to offer.

Twyford has a fast train to Paddington and about a 30 minute drive to Woking which is doable especially if you need to go to office once a week.

Original poster
Rich9573 · 31/10/2021 09:35

Thanks for the replies. Looked at the train times and they seem to all stop at 11:40pm but woking is a bit better. My wife will ask if she can leave earlier to catch the trains opening up all the options.

Thanks for the idea of Reading didn't look that way. Although it seems with traffic around 8am and 5pm etc it would take about 1hr which could work.

Below is a list of houses from each area as i was checking what is in budget:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/101109080#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/97031918#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/115395527#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/112946393#/?channel=RES_BUY

All seems like options right now and within budget. Tbh i'm liking the look of East Molesey, anyone have any knowledge of the area?

Thanks all again this is really helpful and i appreciate all the comments!

OP posts:
titchy · 31/10/2021 09:48

Is your wife going to be happy a) asking work if she can leave early, and b) walking a mile home in the early hours?

titchy · 31/10/2021 09:49

E molseley is great - but again expensive and train times and regularity are an issue - that line is often cancelled.

Waternoice · 31/10/2021 09:52

East Molesey is great. It’s got a sense of community and lovely accessible open spaces, as close to theThames and Bushy Park. The local schools are all good, theres a swimming pool, and it’s a short bus ride to Kingston for shopping, cinema, theatre. Hampton Court palace on the doorstep.
That flat is well lit walk from the station, 10 mins approx. The other late night option for your wife is train to Kingston then the bus.

KirstenBlest · 31/10/2021 09:55

Wokingham and Reading aren't great for commuting to Woking.

You could look at Camberley or Farnborough but I don't think you'll get a midnight train from London

KirstenBlest · 31/10/2021 09:58

You will be limited by budget but Staines and Woking are fine

Original poster
Rich9573 · 31/10/2021 10:36

She is going to talk to the guy later today. Its shift work (baking) so if she can't leave at 11pm that would be safer for her and enable her to get home.

Fingers crossed he says its OK and can have one of the earlier shifts.

Thankyou all again I'm kinda half set on east moseley. Expensive but it has everything we want and is nicer than woking. Also that property looks perfect as well with location and 3 bed rooms.

Gonna look what else there is but might scout out the area next Saturday 🙂

OP posts:
titchy · 31/10/2021 10:56

Which EM property? The two you linked to are in Woking?

OP posts: