Where to move? One hour from London

[Mummypeach]

Hi All

DH and I are looking to move out of our tiny central London house but have no idea where to go! Can you help?

He'll need to commute to London everyday so we're looking for lovely places within an hour's commute. I'm freelance so can when work flexibly.

We have two DDs so schools are important (primary & secondary).

I love whitstable but commute is too long and schools not so terrific? I'd love to live in a town of that size and vibe - stuff going on, independent restaurants and shops, community and close to nature (doesn't have to be near the sea, but that would be nice).

House wise, we want to hold on to our current house in London for investment and can afford to spend about £500-600k on a new place.

Wish list:
3/4 bedrooms

A utility room!
Outside space
Space - apx at least 1,500 sq feet
One hour or less commute to London
Good / outstanding schools
Smallish town close but w/ stuff going on close to nature

Is it even possible to match our dream with reality?!

Which station does he need to get into?

He works in Soho - so any of them really. Victoria probably fastest but London Bridge /Waterloo also good.

Come to Brighton!

You can train from Colchester to Liverpool Street in 50 minutes if that's any help. It wouldn't necessarily mean living in the town, there are plenty of areas around there.

Winchester?

I like Brighton Pesto but looking on right move not sure we can afford the size of house we need / want? Also not sure I want to swap one city for another, even if it is smaller!

Are there any nice surrounding areas?

Mum - same to you, can you suggest any surrounding villages?

Take a look down the Brighton line (from Victoria) lots of nice places.
We're near redhill, and dh can get to London Bridge or Victoria in about 35 mins.

There is lots of nice land around Colchester, I'm not actually from there but know there's the Dedham area which is lovely. Or Bures.

Anywhere close to Basingstoke - 45mins direct train to Waterloo. Some nice villages around with Hampshire countryside in easy reach & some lovely parks in the town centre. Often overlooked & much maligned but worth considering.

Hook, Mapledurwell, Nately Scures to the east, Overton to the west.

Winchester - further out but agree it has good schools and a lovely feel. Lots of history, great shops, and countryside easily accessible. More ££ though?

Cambridge is 45 minutes to Kings Cross, or over an hour to Liverpool St.

There's a new train station opening Dec 2016 in the north of the city, which is cheaper area, but won't be for long once train station opens! The village of Milton is very near the train station (has a country park), and easy journey to new station from Histon/Impington too.

Schools in the area are generally good.

It's still pretty expensive here, so space might be limited.

Traffic is a nightmare, unless you are willing to abandon regular car use. Which is perfectly possible.

Thanks everyone...not heard or thought of some places mentioned so more research needed! Winchester is on my list...also Folkestone. Anyone have any thoughts on there?

Will hop in the car and scope places out but in meantime am rightmoving...

will need to hop

I don't commute to London so can't comment on how long it takes door to door. But Winchester is lovely. It's historic, with lots going on, good independent shops. Schools are great, especially the secondary. (All the primaries around the area is great anyway). You are also just on the doorstep to the new forest and south downs national parks.

Secondary, I'm referring to King's school. I think the others are good too, but not as highly regarded as King's.

Unless you are talking about independents. Then I assume you'll look at St Swithuns for your DDs.

Nope. We're public or state schools all the way HeadDreamer.
Thanks for that in Winchester...sounding more and more intriguing.

I was nosey...this house is quite nice for just under £600k www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-36645630.html

Dedham is lovely but you'd need to drive to Colchester and pay to park at the station, it's about 20 mins or so. Nothing in Dedham area for children really unfortunately as its a pretty spot.

This was discussed a while ago and the answer was........ St Neots.

But that poster only had 300k

Hitchin is nice. Good schools too.

Why so far out? That's a good budget but you could be closer in. It is a long commute

Oxted is quite nice - 40 mins in to London Bridge or Victoria on the train

Come to Tonbridge. (Or sevenoaks or Tunbridge Wells).

It's brilliant here.

We recently relocated from London to here (no family ties or anything like that-just liked the area).

There are trains every 10 mins and a 40min journey into London.

Schools are great. To be fair we moved partly because of schools at secondary stage despite the DC being young as we could see many issues with London schools. We have chosen to send the DC to an excellent prep but the state primaries here are great too.

Lovely community here. Great parks and playgrounds. Plenty of lovely coffee shops. Check out Finch House, Basil and The Bakehouse. Fab small independents.

Good housing stock and you should get what you wanted for your budget perhaps a little more.

Cambridge.

Ticks your boxes:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-55152746.html

Or
Lovely and more than you wanted but slightly over budget
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-51410302.html

or
On budget. Amazing potential and massive garden.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-55362758.html

You could get everything you wanted out here.

Those are some loooovely houses you all posted. Have briefly considered tonbridge, tunbridge wells, Sevenoaks et al previously but worried has too much of a suburban vibe? The schools, community, and housing stock turning my head though.

That Dedham house is lush too.

Any views on Folkestone?