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Original poster

good area to move to in SW London or Surrey commutable to Waterloo

37 replies

IWannaBeLikeYou · 09/06/2007 17:00

We currently live in zone 3 SW London, good area, but a bit pricey. We rent, so we would like to move a bit to the south, south west. We will still rent at first, with the plan to buy if we like the area and we can afford.
We have a 3 year old DC and a second on the way, so it has to be a family friendly area with good schools and nurseries, safe and clean, etc.
And it has to be in good commuting distance to Waterloo.

We have Guildford and Surbiton in mind, but want to hear more opinions.

Many thanks.

OP posts:
warthog · 09/06/2007 17:15

wimbledon is great. you have the common, the village is lovely, and the town centre has lots of shops.

CarGirl · 09/06/2007 17:18

Weybridge is very nice so is West Byfleet and Woking is okay too all a fair bit quicker than guildford too.

Original poster
IWannaBeLikeYou · 09/06/2007 17:27

warthog, that's exactly why we lived in Wimbledon for many years, but as I said it is and has become a bit pricey especially if you want to buy a decent house.

I'm hoping somewhere down SW would be more affordable ... but I would like to have most of the benefits we have in Wimbledon.

Don't mind if we have to drive to the shops, but good schools and commuting are important.

OP posts:
policywonk · 09/06/2007 17:35

I think you might struggle to find somewhere in SW London/suburbs with good schools that's a lot cheaper than Wimbledon, to be honest (although I don't know your budget). When we moved out this way I was idly thinking of Surbiton or Kingston, or Twickenham or Hampton, but when I looked into it, all the places near good schools were pretty darned expensive. We have ended up in Hersham, which is near Walton on Thames, in order to be near a good primary - but I must say it's a rather dull place to live, and the secondaries around here are not great.

lemonaid · 09/06/2007 17:42

MrsRecycle keeps plugging Ruislip on the SW London meet threads.

Original poster
IWannaBeLikeYou · 09/06/2007 20:35

Weybridge sounds good, but in the UpMyStreet profile appears as "Couples with children - Medium". Is that true?
Also are there good primary schools in Weybridge?

Also seen (online only) some nice newly build houses in Ripley (Guildford). Anyone knows anything about that area?

OP posts:
MadamePlatypus · 09/06/2007 20:42

Surbiton has good train links. Berrylands is cheaper than Surbiton 'river roads'.

Kingston is nice because of park and river. Prices really vary. Areas between Kingston and Wimbledon like New Malden/Motspur Park/Worcester Park are cheaper than Kingston and Wimbledon and have links to Waterloo.

We live in a 2 up 2 down near park in Kingston (with 2 under 4's), but its worth it for us because of lovely park.

policywonk · 09/06/2007 20:44

Weybridge is teeming with little 'uns. I think the primaries are pretty good around there.

CarGirl · 09/06/2007 20:44

I live walking distance from Webridge it seems to me full of "wealthy" couples & families and lots of ladies who lunch! There are several good public schools and one very good state primary. Lots of nice housing walking distance from schools & train station. Many couples who live there have at least one of them working in town. Walton def up and coming with big improvements in the town centre.

Ripley is lovely but you would have to drive to West Byfleet, Woking or Guildford to get the train which would add to commute time and cost.

warthog · 09/06/2007 22:14

sorry wannabe, didn't realise you already lived in wimbledon. how about cobham? otherwise kingston is lovely, or new malden.

jura · 09/06/2007 23:55

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Twinklemegan · 09/06/2007 23:56

I used to live in Dorking. Easily commutable to Waterloo and a nice area too.

Original poster
IWannaBeLikeYou · 11/06/2007 13:37

Thank you all very much. This gives me some directions and I'm currently making a list of places to visit.

BTW, how is Guildford? I would like to have a look around Guildford as well. Are there areas in Guildford we should "avoid"?

OP posts:
pagwatch · 11/06/2007 14:21

Hi
I live in Guildford.
Don't be fooled by Guildford by day ( which is lovely). The large selections of pubs etc near the station mean I spend most of the summer listening to drunks screaming, vomitting etc as they stagger home. Seriously lots and lots of noise and my kids are at the front of the house - I have to keep the windows shut even in summer. It is also seriously expensive. You would probably want to look at the other side of the high street from the station - Pewley downs etc. HighStreet to station is about 10 minutes so add on time from there. Alternatively up the Farnham road ( behind the station) is nice too. I guess I am saying be careful if you look at the centre of town. Although being able to walk to the shops is great. Being able to choose from loads of really nice resteraunts and theatre and cinema and walk home in 10 minutes is great too. Schools are pretty good although mums I know had nail biting time to see where they got in. If looking at private some seriously good school too - especially for girls.
Oh and as for commute - husband is on train before 7.00 am and still doesn't get a seat.
HTH's

Oblomov · 11/06/2007 14:36

Oh where to live - there are so many nice places : most of the recommended already -
Kingston , Hampton, Weybridge.
As pagwatch says the commute is a nightmare -I had to go up to Waterloo to do my accountancy studying and it was awful. Everyone says that whatever line you are on, its horrendous.

Oblomov · 11/06/2007 14:37

I used to work in Weybridge. It is still lovely and I would buy there if I could afford too - the report is rubbish - it is totally family orientated.

ComeOVeneer · 11/06/2007 14:40

Just moved to Thames Ditton. DH commutes to Waterloo daily. It is lovely we got almost double the size house for not a lot more we sold or small 3 bed house in North London. 10 mins from Hampton court and Bushy park. 15 mins drive to Kingston for shopping. Good state schools.

lou33 · 11/06/2007 14:45

i am near guildford, godalming way, that's pretty nice and about 45 mins to waterloo

ComeOVeneer · 11/06/2007 14:46

dh has never complained about the commute and always gets a seat.

Oblomov · 11/06/2007 14:49

COV, I would love to like in Thames Ditton.

CristinaTheAstonishing · 11/06/2007 14:50

We are in Wimbledon and have just started looking in Raynes Park, New Malden, Berrylands, Surbiton and Kingston. These are the areas we know already but we may have to look further if we can't find anything suitable. Good luck.

Mumpbump · 11/06/2007 15:00

Do you definitely want Waterloo? If you would be open to commuting to London Bridge - where you can hop on a train to Waterloo East - I would suggest Reigate and around Redhill. There are some very nice villages...

BreeVanDerCamp · 11/06/2007 15:02

Farnham.

55 minutes to Waterloo.

thequeenofcontradiction · 11/06/2007 17:21

Surbiton's good, the bits nearer to Kingston are a bit studenty but it's a short commute to Waterloo.

We're renting in Richmond atm - it's way too expensive, and if we weren't leaving the country soon we would go for somewhere like Thames Ditton or Hampton.

zizou · 11/06/2007 17:24

twickenham! 30 minutes to waterloo!