Woking, Leatherhead or Tonbridge?

[Catholicmummy]

Hi I am looking for a good place to move to in Kent/ Surrey.

I have a lil one who will start school in September 2023 and hence we would like to narrow a place down before December.
I had a few places shortlisted
Can anyone who lives there please share their experiences? Ideally we are looking for a family- friendly, diverse area with schools and good connectivity.

The places I had in mind were

Woking
Leatherhead
Tonbridge
Redhill
Any advice would really be appreciated.
Cheers

Woking ranges from in town apartments through to smaller surroundings villages - each with their own characteristics.

It's a nice part of the country. Because of that it is overcrowded and the roads are a nightmare for traffic. However, apart from rush hour it's a nice area to live in with lots of entertainment from country walks to theatres and cinemas all within easy reach. Most schools are good.

What's your budget?
Where will you be working?
Where may you need to travel to, to see family etc?

They are probably the most important initial questions to start to decide on location.

All those towns have better areas and schools. What do you mean by diverse and connectivity? Tonbridge is a grammar area at secondary, the others not. Redhill town centre is redeveloping , again, but like many other small towns the centre is a bit run down.

I currently live near both Leatherhead and Woking and being honest:

I love Leatherhead for walks and it is a beautiful, affluent area that footballers live near. Also, Bocketts farm and near to Surrey Hills and Epsom etc. But, poor town centre- no clothing shops and lots of bargain shops, which I personally enjoy. However, there’s a nice Waitrose (a fave of mumsnet!).

I have lived in Woking itself and if
you’re after excellent shops, activities, restaurants and links to London that’s the one to go for. But not as pretty as Leatherhead and quite ‘concretey’.

@Catholicmummy have you visited these areas yet? A December deadline is not that far off in property terms,

Hi All,
Thankyou for your comments
Our budget is around 500 to 600k .. I agree we may be a bit late to finish buying a place by december.. but we are open to renting for a year and then eventually buying.
At the moment i have a job that requires me to travel to different areas -some of which are Redhill, Maidstone, Guildford, Brighton etc.
I am looking for an area that has good/ outstanding catholic( preferably) schools for my lil one as well as good train links to different parts of Kent,Surrey and Sussex.
Im keen for my lil one to be in a more culturally diverse school because I am worried about bullying or racism.. I dont know if I am overthinking it- but I want to make the best decision for my lil one and want her to have a happy school experience as well as be challenged to perform academically.

Hi All,
Thankyou for your comments
Our budget is around 500 to 600k .. I agree we may be a bit late to finish buying a place by december.. but we are open to renting for a year and then eventually buying.
At the moment i have a job that requires me to travel to different areas -some of which are Redhill, Maidstone, Guildford, Brighton etc.
I am looking for an area that has good/ outstanding catholic( preferably) schools for my lil one as well as good train links to different parts of Kent,Surrey and Sussex.
Im keen for my lil one to be in a more culturally diverse school because I am worried about bullying or racism.. I dont know if I am overthinking it- but I want to make the best decision for my lil one and want her to have a happy school experience as well as be challenged to perform academically.

St Josephs RC primary in Redhill and St Bedes are both sought after. There is a diverse Catholic community. The train line across to Tonbridge is not entirely reliable though, but mainline and GWR ok.

Thanks LIZS

If you want outstanding catholic schools then Woking has a couple of good primary catholic schools and St. John the Baptist which is a catholic secondary school. I recommend looking this school up as it's got one of the best reputation in Surrey for a state school.

Have you considered Guildford ? It's a really beautiful town

Tunbridge Wells has a catholic primary school I think St Augustines and St Greg’s secondary school . My friends who are catholic are very happy with St Greg’s .

I will be in a similar situation and also considered moving either to Woking or Tonbridge. Which one did you move to ? which considerations did you end up making?

I would prefer Leatherhead from that list. We recently moved here and it is brilliant, it ticks all boxes for commute, schools and the quiet life surrounded by beauty and I don't mind the city centre not having clothes shopping which I only go for occasionally.