Farnham or Haslemere?

[boythenboy]

Just wondering on whether anyone can give me their views on living in Farnham or Haslemere. We are moving down from Wandsworth (Northcote Road) and have two young boys. The house is now under offer, so we are house hunting like crazy.

We have a nice budget, so could get something decent in either place but just wondering which town is going to suit us best. We would ideally like to state school them but could probably suck up private school fees if we had to. Husband will commute into Waterloo and the train times are about the same from both, but is one line better than the other?

Is there a different 'feel' to the towns? A couple of people have said to me that Haslemere has an older vibe and can be a bit snobby? Is there a decent amount of stuff to do with young kids in both places?

Thank you in advance!

You would need to look at schools and their admissions policies, and if going private, transport and the chances your boys will get in.

And the commute from both is crazy if you are used to Wandsworth. Perhaps rent first?

Farnham for me (having lived near both but not in either). Better shops, better community feeling, more reliable (if slightly slower) trains.

Come and join me in godalming! Commute faster than either place (from Milford, godalming or farncombe) but H and F are both in easy reach. It's lovely here, loads of schools, friendly, beautiful. Bit small but everything will feel small after London.

Farnham has a greater choice of outstanding state schools and shops.

Both are nice in their own way. Faster trains straight to Haslemere I think but as someone above said, parking there can be a nightmare.

Godalming is nice as someone above said and Farnham has a wider choice of shops etc than Haslemere. There are some nice villages around both if you don't want to be in town.

I love Farnham not so keen on haselmere

My sister parks on the roads around Hasemere station for free everyday. So parking is not too much of an issue IMHO. Haslemere is a village and Farnham is a town. Depends what you want?!

Grew up in a little village just outside Farnham and loved it, so that gets my vote. Much more going on for your sons than Haslemere.

Thanks for the feedback - seems to be a very personal thing. Guess I need to go and spend lots more time looking round them both. Godalming is also on the list, but haven't found a house there yet which fits the bill. But we will keep on looking.

My friend lives in Haslemere and loves it. She has 2 sons and they are both doing well at school.

She loves the community feel and has made good friends.

Farnham is very popular and as a result over recent years it's becoming a challenging to get parking for the station, places at schools, increased traffic, access to GP etc. Family homes in the good state schools catchment are in high demand so prices can be high. What is your budget as that will be a significant factor?