What would you do? Ideas of places to move to in Surrey within 40mins Waterloo, Budget £850K

[perrinelli]

Hi ladies
Any ideas of good places in Surrey to move to, good train links to Waterloo (25 - 40mins), good access to countryside, somewhere we could be in walking distance of the station and buggy pushing distance of shops? 4 - 5 bedrooms and a nice garden?

I have a DD aged 3 and another due in a couple of months so schools will be an issue, we'd be looking at state primary and maybe private (the cheaper end) secondary.

Looked at Epsom, Weybridge, Esher and Guildford (only on internet) but so hard to get a full impression. So far it seems to me we'd get more for our money in Epsom, Weybridge might be just a bit too posh and in Guildford we might not be able to be that close to the station and feel semi rural.
Would love to hear your thoughts!

You may find this book useful, we did:

The Telegraph Guide to Commuter- land by Caroline McGhie

West Byfleet in Surrey. You can definitely get a house in your price range within walking distance of the station. Two fast trains to Waterloo per hour (27 mins) and two slow (about 45 mins). It is very easy to access countryside, semi-rural villages for weekend walking, etc. Good state school provision, not such good secondary unless you can look at faith schools (however that is years off for you, anything might happen) and a selection of easily accessible private schools. You can also easily get to Cobham, Weybridge or Guildford for a fix of shopping. Downsides? Quite a home counties, middle-class feel about it but then that is typical of many of the areas you are looking at.

Couple of examples of what is on sale at the moment.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-27122602.html
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-29344507.html?premiumA=true
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-32718668.html

Kingston!

Don't move to Kingston. There are some really rough types there.

Ack! And I was just about to compliment you on your Easter name too

I won the chocolate with it, cyb!

Hey! Well done!

Think you will need somewhere smaller than Kingston if you want easy access to country but also to be able to walk to the station, within your budget.

Claygate - abuts Esher but is cheaper and much more villagey. Still has 'real' shops, a big rec, pubs, commons to walk on. Trains are about 35 min to W'loo.

Thank you for your posts! Kingston feels too close to where we currently are (Earlsfield nr Wandsworth) and a bit too big. Hadn't thought of West Byfleet so will check that out but ideally we might want more frequent fast trains as 2 per hour isn't much. Will also checkout Claygate. Any thoughts on Epsom or Ewell?

I live in Weybridge. Is posh, but still very nice. Great state schools, nice parks, river walks, etc.My DH commutes in to East End every day. He bought a little moped to do the station run.

I really love it here. Is period features a deal breaker for you?

Woking. Great transport links, 6x hour fast trains 30mins to Waterloo, good schools, plenty of good property of offer. The town centre is a bit dull, but shopping is v good, 6 screen cinema, largest in the south east theatre, great access to walks/parks. It has its minuses, but who doesn't?

Not sure about Woking, we lived there for some years before moving to West Byfleet. Agree about good entertainment but I think the shopping is dire, shopping centre ok, but a dearth of nice independent stores or even high-end chains. I think it suffers from proximity to Guildford and Kingston who have all the big names. If you lived between West Byfleet and Woking, maybe parts of Pyrford, you could benefit from both stations if your husband was prepared to cycle or get a moped. I think the problem with many areas with more frequent trains is that property close to the station commands a premium and is less likely to fulfil your other criteria of closeness to local shops etc. However, you could look at the Park Rd, White Rose Lane area of Woking which would be walking distance to station and which has nice houses.

Agree about nice independent shops and high-end. But if that is important, I would be looking at Richmond side of Twickenham (Marble Hill area and St Margarets) and you won't find anything of decent size for 850K, unfortunately. I would be looking at Cobham, but I do not know what is the best station for London commute.

I would definitely look at White Rose Lane and all off it roads, very pretty.

You can't beat Woking for amount of fast trains to Waterloo. White Rose lane is lovely & so is Hook Heath, but neither that close for good schools which are supposed to be Horsell, Knaphill, Goldsworth Primary (not Goldsworth Park).

I do not know anything about the schools there but the closest to White rose lane are St Dunstans and Hoebridge. Are they any good?

Oh yeah, another area to consider is Virginia Water. I know 2 fast trains to Waterloo is not what you are looking for but hey, having Virginia Water park on your doorstep may sway you. It is very quiet on shopping and entertainment though.

St Dunstans is an over-subscribed Catholic school, Hoebridge is private. Horsell as an area has some lovely houses and parts of it are definitely walkable to the station.

annh ah, i see, thank you

Woking is big, and has a mixture of nice and horrid areas, but an unrivalled train service to London. My sister lives in Horsell and loves it.

How about Dorking? The train isn't quite so good, but it's a lovely friendly town, great schools including two excellent secondaries.

I don't know Epsom that well, but supposedly a good place to live (according to Phil and Kirstie, anyway).

West Byfleet??? Snoresville, very busy road going through it.

and agree, Horsell is really nice. Horsell common is great for walks, especially if you have dogs as it seems to be taking over by dog walkers.

sorry 'taken over'

What about Walton on Thames. Or East and West Molesey, train station is Hampton Court.

here

something like this in Walton, close to Ashley COFE, you need to be religious to get in, outstanding school. You get a lot more in Walton for your money than Weybridge.

can i ask why you need to move out?

for 850 you can get a five bedder with a decent garden in your area

i mean, like a hundred foot garden

terrace though