HELP Please... talk to me about Surrey!

[Doozie]

DH has just got a job in Croydon. We are coming from abroad and don't know SE London at all. All we know is we don't want to live in Croydon itself (would that be right?). Is it feasible to drive to work in Croydon? Can anybody recommend where to live? Are there lovely villages nearby or attractive towns on the direct rail line? Could/Would you live in London and commute?

Also we'll be after schools. Are state schools good (or does it depend) or are private schools the way to go? Is there a website that would list all the schools and academic ratings?

I don't know where to start!

Thanks!

Most [peoepl would live outside of Croydon rather than further into London gvienhte choice. Depending where in Croydon his work is would determine how easy it is to access from any given direction by car (can get very congested), rail or tram. Within 20 mins by rail you can easily be beyond M25 into Surrey or somewhere more suburban like Bromley/Beckenham/Epsom/Wimbledon which are comparatively less built up and more leafy.

Doozie - budget for housing will be the deciding factor really.

Agree that you probably don't want to live in London and commute out, though as you are coming from overseas, you might decide to buck that trend.

If money is no object (as if) then I'd look at Dulwich, personally.

You really don't want to live in Croydon ! The great thing is that rail access is super easy as several rail lines converge there, so you could look at the small towns/villages down the Oxted line, towards Redhill, or further into Kent/Sussex.

What sort of budget/requirements do you have, and how old are your children ?

We lived in East Grinstead for a few years, and DH commuted to Croydon for a couple of those, and it was no hassle, especially as he could walk to the office from the station

Thanks for your help so far.

DH will be working near East Croydon Rail.

As for budget we are looking at between 500k-600k. Is that reasonable? We have been given some advice by very well off friends but I fear their suggestions are well out of our league e.g. Barnes & Richmond. Unfortunately they don?t seem to fathom the concept of budget and affordability so it hasn?t been that practical.

I like the sound of small towns/villages and given our budget maybe this is the more realistic choice than living in London. Do you think we?d be able to afford a four bedroom house, big kitchen, garden for 500k-600k?

We have a 20mth old and another on the way. A few years before they are off to school but we don?t plan to move again for a long time.

Can anyone suggest property websites or websites that give an unbias overview of an area?

Thanks.

come out as far as Oxted, and there's probably something in your price range, slightly further out to Edenbridge, and there should be lots more.

Oxted is nice, and the schools are pretty good (I didn't go to school there, but my brother and sister did) My Mum is actually selling up just outside Oxted and her 4 bed bungalow is going for 400k, so you'll definitely get somewhere for 500/600k. The market seems to be pretty slow atm. Lots of nice villagey areas around there. Driving into Croydon can be a bit crap in the mornings, but lots of train lines into East Croydon.

You'll have a good choice in Oxted/Edenbridge/Lingfield area for that sort of budget - just had a look on RightMove, and it also shows the proximity to rail stations.

Lingfield is nice - DS went to nursery there, and would have gone to Notre Dame if we'd stayed in that area

Please please please don't buy into Croydon bashing! State-schools wise, you could probably do better, but there are a number of good private schools (Whitgift, Royal Russell, Coloma, Croydon High etc depending on your DCs' gender and ages).

Personally, to save your husband a long commute, look towards South Croydon/Shirley/Park Hill. There are lovely areas no more than about 15 - 30 minutes' walk to East Croydon station - look around the avenues near Lloyds Park, Sandilands and Coombe Road tram stop etc (though, ironically, the houses there may be outside of your price range!). A bit further (3 miles out) are Purley and Sanderstead.

Funnily enough, DH and I used to rent in Barnes before moving to Croydon. When we moved, I swore that we would be out of Croydon in 3 years and back in Barnes. 6 years on and counting, we're still here (by choice, as opposed to financial constraints) to the point where we've decided to stay here long-term so if and when we decide to get a bigger house, we will be keeping our search within Croydon borders. Admittedly, the road on which we currently live isn't the prettiest, but East Croydon is a 20 minute walk away, Park Hill, Lloyd Park and Ballards Plantation (beautiful green spaces) are just over half an hour away. Before DS arrived, we would spend weekends exploring Croydon and going for long walks through Croham Hurst (wooded area) and Ballards Plantation. Croydon town centre isn't what you would call pretty, but it's got tolerable shopping. Croydon Ikea is a godsend for when you need to pick up bits and bobs moving into a new home (it's very functional, convenient and cheap for what it is). We tend to use Oscar Dahling antiques shop on Cherry Orchard road when looking for more interesting furniture. Purley Way shopping area has the big warehouse-type stores (I don't like to think of how much money I've spent in the B&Q gardening centre over the years!). For everything else, central London is a 20 minute train ride away.

We couldn't live without our current neighbours who are brilliant (two of our neighbours are builders who have done lots of work and garden landscaping for us since moving in, one is a childminder who takes care of my 9mo DS etc). When DS is old enough, we'll be sending him to Royal Russell (another of our neighbours teaches there!) which I personally think is a fab school with huge grounds and great facilities (they cater from age 3 upwards). There are a number of wonderful Sure Start centres (Tunstall Road nursery being my favourite) which run baby and toddler groups.

I could go on and on, but I'll stop now It has its problems like every other area (personally, I would avoid the areas around West Croydon like the plague!) but, suffice to say, Croydon is not as bad as people make it out to be.

Thanks everyone and for Asana on the local expertise. I'm (slowly) doing my research on the internet as we don't move for another couple of months. This has been really helpful while I'm unable to see places for myself. I'm thinking we might have to reconsider our budget too.

Any other recommendations or suggestions - keep them coming!