Oh, where to go?

[SidandAndyssextoy]

Our house in SE London is now worth an improbable amount. I want to leave my decently paid job and retrain, so three years unpaid with childcare to cover. Our mortgage is on the high side as we've had to borrow extra for major repairs. So the obvious thing is to cash in and move out. But where, where, where? Commutable in less than an hour, place we can buy a four bedroom house for £600,000, some life to it, a place where the newsagents sell more than two copies of the Guardian every day.

This area of Guildford is very popular for families. It has good local schools,and is not far from the station. The journey to Waterloo takes about 40 mins.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-41758078.html?premiumA=true

Cambridge seems the obvious choice. Although you won't get anything marvelous for 600k. It's a nice town though and brimming with Guardian readers :)

Commutable to where?

Watching with interest as looking for a similar kind of place. (although we have a pressing need for a decent secondary school as well)

We're considering Ware, Harpenden, St Albans, Welwyn Garden City, Royston in Herts. (You might think Ware and Royston too quiet though) Hitchin?

Have also looked at Thames Ditton/Hinchley Wood, Esher/East Molesey, Weybridge. Wondering about Epsom but no idea what it's like.

Not sure £600k will go very far in any of those places though. And can't vouch for the Guardian sales figures either which is my main worry.

Harpenden St. Albans Hitchin all brimming with guardian readers! Lovely places and if you look around at propery very affordable. Wgc is good too but do good for schools IMO. Hertfordshire is generally good bet but is pricey in parts - St. Albans is basically London prices

Sorry, commutable to SW1 ideally. We also need good schools, secondary and primary.

I come from SW Herts so I know the schools are top notch round there.

I'll look at suggestions.

Cambridge isn't really on the list as I don't think we'd get enough for our money. Oxford is a possible but the schools in the area we can afford appear to be dreadful.

That's interesting overthemill - a friend gave me the impression that Harpenden would be mainly bankers and yummy mummies/ladies who lunch... who I am sure would all be totally lovely but I wondered if we would feel v much the poor relations.

Harpenden is expensive and full of rich people but still a number of guardian reading folk!

Caversham nr reading? Good schools, reading to paddington is 30 mins. Schools are full but new free school opening and lots of movement in the area so I would guess places open up. Definitely guardian readers around

We are also looking for the same place, commutable to London, good school and Guardian reading, and house price in same region as OP.

Maybe we should all select somewhere, move there and increase the Guardian readership.

In the event of that not happening we are going to pay crazy London prices for a weeny flat, on the plus side our school are good.

The Graduand, that is very weird. A friend recommended exactly the same area to me this afternoon. Are you she?

Sympathies to others coping with the same idiotic market. I don't want to leave the area I love, but can't justify being very short of money in a very overpriced house. Although obviously not the world's worst problem by the power of a million.

Caversham has a Waitrose - you get your Guardian for free there.

That's more than I dared dream of.

I once went to Hazlemere in Surrey and at the station on the way back I bought the last Guardian at the newsagent. He was unwilling to sell it as he only ordered two a day and the usual buyer of the second copy hadn't picked it up.

Not me, used to live there but not recommended it to anyone recently. Seem to remember you were even able to sit and read the Guardian while drinking coffee or wine in Alto Lounge

at Haslemere! same applies to Winchester (well slightly less as what could beat Haslemere in proud conservatism!)
Mind you, I'd never advise Weybridge/Guilford/Esher etc as all quite 'Hyacinth'. At least Haslemere has prominent people living there .

Hazlemere, not 's'!

No, Haslemere is right! I was wrong.

I've been doing lots of looking, and also looking on train lines. Does anyone know how Hayward's Heath or East Grinstead might work for us?