Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Does this mythical location exist?

14 replies

LittlePickleHead · 11/07/2013 21:36

We are currently on the market and are starting to realise we may be priced out of our current SE London location for our next move and have to look further afield. I don't really want to leave London, and all my browsing of various locations of Rightmove has left me quite uninspired s I could do with the collective wisdom of Mumsnet to see if a move out would wok or if we should compromise on what we can buy here to stay put.

DH and I have composed a wish list that our ideal location to commute from would fulfil - does anywhere fit the bill?

  • pretty town
  • good schools
  • less than 1 hour total commute to west end
  • period property (don't mind doing work) for under £425k
  • ease of visiting family (located in west country and n. west England)
  • lots of baby/toddler groups and easy to meet other mums
  • good local amenities e.g. Independent shops/restaurants, swimming pool, parks, cinema etc
  • lots going on so we won't miss London!

Can anyone help?

OP posts:
WhatKatyDidnt · 11/07/2013 22:57

Not sure how many bedrooms you need, but would Oxford fit the bill?

DisappointedHorse · 11/07/2013 23:04

How about Horsham in West Sussex?

I'd say it meets most of your criteria and is on the main London line, about 40 minutes to Victoria.

AngryFeet · 11/07/2013 23:08

Reigate? Second Horsham.

Original poster
LittlePickleHead · 11/07/2013 23:16

I had thought about both Oxford and Horsham but its the commuting time that puts me off - seems to be about an hour on the train on both (so not taking into account the journey either end). Horsham does sound lovely though so I think we'll take a trip there to see what it feels li.

About to look up Reigate now!

OP posts:
PanicMode · 12/07/2013 05:42

Tunbridge Wells ticks those boxes - 50 mins to Charing X, great schools, community, amenities etc. only problem is the travel to the West Country (where my parents are), but we're 15 mins from the M25 so not too bad really.....

BikeRunSki · 12/07/2013 06:15

Holmfirth in West Yorks, apart from the West Country thing. I should know, I do that drive a lot...

WinkyWinkola · 12/07/2013 06:16

Berkhamsted or Tring.

ThisIsYourSong · 12/07/2013 06:22

Sevenoaks?

Believeitornot · 12/07/2013 06:47

Where in SE London where you looking?

Barbabeau · 12/07/2013 07:00

Can you not find anything locally LittlePicklehead? You live near me as I remember you from a previous thread.

I looked on Rightmove and pretty much everything for that price bracket seems to be under offer except for a (cruddy) house we looked at last year which was put back on the market about a month ago for £45k more!

If you're not wedded to getting something Victorian/Edwardian you often get more house, better layout, etc for less money. I thought we'd wind up buying a period house but I couldn't be happier with what we eventually bought.

Does shifting to the next postcode over make a difference? Get all the advantages of the local area but with slightly more house due to the postcode difference?

Original poster
LittlePickleHead · 12/07/2013 09:40

Barbabeau- at the moment there isnt really anything under £475k which is definitely stretching the budget too much. I'm looking at the neighbouring postcodes too but don't want to go too far out because of the school my daughter is at. There is just nothing coming on the market so the prices are really overinflated right now! Though that is good news for us selling, if we stay locally the extra money is totally negated.

I'm more open to a different kind if property but DH has the opinion that if you are spending upwards of £20k on fees and stamp duty, you have to really like the place, and I do see his point.

Some good suggestions, I think we need to visit a few of these places. The only one I have any knowledge of is Guildford, but wasn't sure we would be able to afford near to the good schools?

OP posts:
mummytime · 12/07/2013 10:26

Those houses are all in pretty desirable areas, I was surprised myself.

For primary none of the schools are "bad" whatever Ofsted might say. And even the less desirable secondaries are on the up (and the desirable one I didn't like is getting a new Head).

Speckledy · 12/07/2013 13:29

What about Thame? The train from Haddenham and Thame Parkway goes into Marylebone so is great for west end of London. Also near the M40. It may be a slightly smaller town than you're looking for and the more affordable period houses are mostly in the centre with no parking or in villages which may not be what you're after. The town centre is lovely though and plenty of baby/toddler stuff as loads of families. One thing some people like of being one of the nearby villages e.g. Long Crendon, Ickford, Shabbington is that although v near Thame (Oxfordshire) and within easy reach of Oxford you're just into Buckinghamshire so you are in a grammar school catchment for secondary.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page