Moving to Guildford and commuting to City

[Pigface1]

Hi everybody

DH and I are contemplating a move from south-east London to Guildford. We both work in the City but the main attraction of Guildford over other places around London is that DH could work locally for 2-3 days p/w because his company has offices there. We're also very outdoorsy and like the idea of being closer to the countryside - and we're desperate for more space. In our area of London 2 bed properties are going for the best part of £1m...!

We don't have any children yet but would love to at some point.

I was wondering whether anyone here lives in Guildford and if so, what they think of it? If you moved out of London, are you glad you moved? What areas of the town do you recommend looking at for houses? Does anyone do the commute into Waterloo and how do they find it? Is the train uncomfortably crowded like the tube in the mornings? Is the service reliable?

Sorry for all the questions. Any responses gratefully received.

Thank you :)

[hhorvath]

I used to live in Guildford and commute to Marble Arch for a (crappy) job.

The commute was OK, I've had worse from Hertfordshire. Service was reliable in 2013, but I spent a year using Southern rail in Sussex and anything looks good compared to them!

Guildford is very expensive. There are cheaper houses in Park Barn, but it's not as "nice" as elsewhere. I used to rent a room in a 3 bed there for 350 a month, but it was a great deal for the area.

Lots of drug use in the pubs and on nights out, but I guess that's more or less the same everywhere.

Good shops.

A basically soulless but OK enough place to live.

I lived in Shalford briefly, which is a village nearby. Godalming is also nice.

[hhorvath]

If you do move, the Keystone pub is nice.