do you live in kingston in surrey?

[zebramummy]

have recently starting to consider moving there and would be v grateful for some advice.

how cut-off it feels from london and which zone it is in (if any at all?)

i originally considered barnes though I was put off by the aircraft noise - does kingston have a similar issue?

what are the state primaries and secondaries like (ds is 4) and are catchment areas v tight?

is it all chain stores or are there some nice independant shops too such as cafes, ethnic food shops?

which areas or roads are a safe bet in terms of schools and moving away if i absolutely hate it?

i considered parts of surrey and herts (you may remember some previous posts) though i was put off by the whole 'white middle-class' thing. i want ds to grow up feeling that he is in a multicultural society and for him to be able to hold his own amongst the london kids!

many thanks

i totally agree about foxtons, i think they are partly responsible for everything being so bloody expensive. they put prices up and then everyone else follows suit. how big a property are you looking for? flat or house? what's on your wishlist of features?

lol @ the Korean New Malden thing. When I lived there as a sutdent many years ago the police came and asked if they could stake out our house as they thought the Koreans living bext door were running an illegal chicken sexing business Apparently they are very skilled at telling the sex of day old chicks - highly specailised area, and gang warfare had broken out among rival firms

chicken sexing - you learn something every day!!

secret ninja - basically a victorian house, 2 bed min (although prefer 3), semi or detached, would like a good sized garden although not many of the ones i have found seem to have big gardens or parking

good sized gardens at a premium here

school catchment is prob the main thing (as is no surprise i am sure!!). i do not drive and i am unlikely to do so (never had a lesson) which is not good news when you are considering moving out of london - i need to be able to get around, at least by public transport (though i would much prefer to walk)

well that's why Kingston is great, the schools are tough to get into but everything within reach is fab

it is a strange one about gardens - i have quite a big one in london compared to many of our neighbours & took it for granted that i would end up with half an acre with my eyes closed anywhere else. are big gardens more commonplace in surbiton then? i got that impression from a lady i once worked with; though she had had lived in surbiton for decades & may have bought when more affordable

my lack of driving skills ruled out most of surrey quite early on actually - even places like godalming, weybridge and leatherhead were discounted pretty early on

i guess it depends what you think is big! Surbiton probably does have bigger gardens i guess (you've seen The Good Life??). Berrylands is a good bet for semis with decent gardens that haven't been split in half for flats but is a bit suburban and not so near the town. we live in a 2 bed maisonette and have parking for 2 cars, a garage and a garden. the flats not massive but the extras it came with plus a big set of patio doors onto the garden did it for us. plus we are 5 mins if that to the station and its the friendliest road i've ever lived in. although that might be because the lady we bought the flat from knew everyone round here!

'All 30 something, all Guardian-reading, university-edcuated, libdemish, cycling, recycling.... arghgh'

I don't think so. My Tory-voting parents. both in their seventies, live in a street with lots of Germans. Their cleaning lady is Polish. The parish priest is Irish. They are going to dinner with Jewish friends down the road on Saturday.

Good primaries - Coombe Hill, Latchmere, Fern Hill. Though have to live practically next door to the first to get in!

Good secondaries - Tiffin Girls & tiffin boys (horrendously competitive grammars, lots of tutoring to get in), also Coombe Girls - not selective but high academic standards (the girls who don't get into Tiffin Girls tend to go here), two of DDs friends on our road go there, really pleased with it.

Have never had any problems with plane noise and have lived here 9 years.

maybe we should form a welcoming party for zebramummy if she decides to move here, it seems like there are enough of us!

Zebramummy, you know Kingston isn't actually in Surrey? It became a London borough many years ago.

no i never knew that lyra - i kind of thought it was both london and surrey at the same time - one of those overlap places on the london periphery like barnet up in north london/herts . still, i actually feel a bit reassured by what you have told me as i would only be moving within london and technically not leaving it!!!

secret ninja - thanks, a lovely thought but given the state of my house (have drawn up a mini to-do list today) and dh's lack of organisation, i really wonder how long it is going to take. dh is very keen too but we no longer make a dynamic team & we are really going to have to find a lot of motivation to see this through

time to get Phil and Kirsty in to do the legwork, perhaps - i heard that she comes on MN so, Kirsty, if you are around and looking ...

It's actually a Royal Borough and became part of Greater London in 1965. It annoys me when people say Kingston is in Surrey.
Oddly enough, Surrey County Council is still based in Kingston.

I've just come across this thread.
I live in NM, so have had a titter at comments on here!
Yes it is a boring high street- usual charity shops, korean hairdressers and a pig to drive down when the 213 bus is there!
But good schools, lovely houses in the Groves,going up Traps Lane, Rosebury Ave way. Great cricket ground, golf course and park.
I love Kingston for shopping and lunches- I can drive there in 10 mins- usually Seven Kings for me!
It is a nice part of the world- New Malden has loads of Koreans and Sri lankans, everybody seems to get on, nothing threatening.

deaddei - you missed the fact that in NM you often get large gardens !!

is it true that kingston is on flood watch though? anyone experienced this first hand? thanks

We had some flooding in summer 2007 when there was a heavy downpour. That's the only time I can think of. It's not a recurring problem. It's certainly never come up as an issue when insuring our houses.

Havent they spent millions building that flood defence thingy or updating the drains somewhere though?

my mum and das road flooded in summer 07 (i think) but thats the only time in 25 years.

I have a huge garden wheelybug- 110 feet1
Ridiculous size.