Guildford / satellite villages move - local advise needed

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My DS has just been offered a place in RGS Guldford and we're now considering a move from London.. Need to find not only a good commute both to London (for myself and DH) and to the school but an area / village with nice high street shops and easy access to local amenities .. I know it's quite a lot to ask but if anyone has been through the same path already I would highly appreciate a local advice.

Guildford itself is the obvious answer, the train is only around 33 mins. You might need to live a little way from the station to get a nicer house - but some lovely areas backing onto the downs etc.

Other good commutes to London include Woking (26 mins) - areas like Hook Heath or Horsell are nice (Horsell is a 15/20 min walk to the station).

Or more villagey - Horsley, or further out, Godalming. But commute to London is longer.

I've been looking into commutes from around here recently, can you tell??!

I've lived in Woking since 1990, work south of Guildford, DH works in London, DDs went/go to school in Guildford. If you can afford Guildford itself then why not move there? Very good shops, reasonable trains, easy for DS and for parents' evenings etc. Pupils travel by train to RGS and the equivalent girls' schools from quite a few areas - the main ones are probably the Horsley area, Farnham area and Woking area. All these areas have trade offs in terms of shops, station location, convenience of commute and type of housing etc. Woking town centre is functional rather than "nice" but the trains are frequent though like cattle trucks, and some surrounding villages have nicer shops. You could look at Godalming or West Byfleet? Have heard that sometimes people rent locally for six months while they decide where to live. I grew up in London but am very happy in this part of the world - lots of variety so am sure you could find somewhere to suit your own priorities.

Thanks ! Guildford can be a good choice I guess is that I try to explore pluses and minuses of leaving busy London area to another city like environment..

Which part of Guildford would you suggest to start with please?

Also agree that renting first can be a good option and give us time to fit in logistically .. All depends whether property prices are changing rapidly

Slight bias here but we live just off the Epsom Road and its a great area. The Downs are a stone's throw away, you've got Merrow, Burpham and East and West Horsley and Clandon villages nearby, you can walk into town easily and London Road train station is within walking distance where you can either get a 5 minute train to the mainline station or a slower direct train to Waterloo.
Guildford itself has two great sports facilities - Surrey Sports Park and The Spectrum. Shops are great, plenty of nice pubs and restaurants, good cinema and a new entertainment venue GLive plus The Yvonne Arnaud and Electric Theatres.
It's a great place to live - where we are you have the feel of living in a village but with all the benefits of a large town on your doorstep.

Yes, I won't move from Woking now because we have too many links here, but I think if I had my time again I would consider Guildford - houses near the centre are significantly more expensive, but possibly not compared to London.
I would be reluctant myself to send a child to a Guildford school while remaining in London - it would tend to isolate them a bit socially because they would live so far away that friends would be reluctant to visit, and they would be doing a solitary train journey rather than joining one of the packs that get the train together (which is a great way to make friends and feel part of the community).

PS agree with Rachel that I would go for the eastern side of Guildford given the choice, probably.

Have you looked at East Horsley? Only two stops on the train to London Road, Guildford for RGS and a seat on the train to Waterloo for commuters. Lots of RGS boys (and girls at the Guildford schools) use this train line, so an easy, sociable journey for them.
Alternatively, Godalming, if you'd prefer something less villagey?

It depends how long a commute you're happy with - and budget of course!