Moving from US, working in Farnham. Where to live?

[Lcbeec]

Hello mums. This is my first post; my
family and I are considering a short term move to the U.K. from NYC. He will be working in Farnham. We I’ve found only a few properties for s short let.
One is in a guildford near Burpham. I’m concerned about thr commute. Does anyone have any experience with driving around there at rush hour? I’ve been told it could take 20-40 min to get to Farnham and I’m assuming the same amount of time to get back? It seems like the Hogs Back road can be a nightmare. But I’m not quite sure how bad that is as I’m used to nightmare nyc traffic.
The other options are in Elstead and possibly Woking.
I’d love to have things I can walk to with the kids as I’m quite used to walking to do all of my errands (although I’d also have a car). Guildford was appealing as it seems like there is lots to do, but I don’t want to have my husband sitting in an hour of traffic 2x a day.
Thanks!

Have you offered to pay for a professional clean at the end of the residency? That might oil the wheels?

Also google “serviced apartments” then guildford or Farnham (if you haven’t already!) - these are designed for shorter business related lets and are fully furnished and equipped. You may sacrifice space though

Good luck!

I know there are certainly plenty of serviced apartments near Woking station, and probably in Guildford too. Burpham is lovely but the ‘wrong’ side of Guildford for Farnham really in terms of traffic so I wouldn’t have thought ideal. You would be going against the flow of traffic though on the Hogs Back. It’s a lovely area to live!

Brookwood and Bisely near Woking has new flats being built and some rentals so might be worth a look.

@magstermay oh I know I agree with you in that it’s not ideal with traffic. However I have about 3 possibilities on my list now and all have their drawbacks (I’d have to rent linens and whiteware, live in a very small village and drive to everything, or DH would have a hour commute via train and walking). So I guess there are compromises with every choose. I’m hoping he can either leave a little earlier or a little later and miss some traffic; it appears hogs back may be less of an issue than the A3/A31 merge.
@homebythesea good idea on the professional clean
I actually got a lot of great interest by joining the local Farnham mums FB group. So great suggestion!

FOr such a short time I’d stick to living in town and not be isolated with small children in the sticks (picturesque as it may be). This will also enable you to travel to zlondon, the coast etc to get the most out of your stay. An hour commute really is quite normal. How exciting for you all!

@homebythesea that is exactly my thought. It also allows us to not have to rent two cars. I am excited about it; I’ve always wanted to live in the U.K. we live in a very urban area in nyc now so I’m also looking forward to a bit of suburban/urban life and having a garden! And I discovered waitrose delivers groceries so I’m a happy one right about now!

Have you considered Haslemere? It's definitely not suburban, but would be an ok commute by car and is on a train line to London too. Much smaller and more rural than your other options though.

@maggiefs I’m actually quite open to anywhere within a 30-40 min commute to Farnham. The harder task has been finding a rather large (3-4 bedroom) serviced/fully furnished property to rent for a short period of time.

How old are your dc? Do you really need a 3-4 bed house for such a short period? If you are coming in the summer there are plenty of parks and open spaces in the area.