Where is nice to live in Surrey and why?

[Tigerlion]

We want to rent in Surrey from October. Where is nice to live in terms of good schools, things for children to do, good train links to London?
I have done a fair amount of research and there seem to be loads of nice places. It would really help to have some of your opinions. I have a 2 year old and an 8 month old.

Weybridge, if you can afford it: on direct line to Waterloo
East Molesey looks nice from where I'm sitting (Hersham)
Surbiton is nice, Kingston if you like it lively
Cobham (see Weybridge)

There are a few posters on here who live further out into Surrey, but I only really know the NE portion.

Reigate (train from Redhill)
Dorking
Oxted

depends on where in London you need to get to really as it can be a PITA to get across London once you are in IYSWIM.

Definately second what Legacy said, although schools in Reigate are very oversubscribed this year.

same age as my two! we live in redhill it's lovely, schools are great and its flat (well mostly!) so walking to town etc are ok.

train from redhill links straight to london IIRC

i would say it does depend on the money if you have loads as in a good few thousand a month rent to spend then it would be

Oxshott
Esher
Weybridge
Cobham

I grew up in Dorking and the schools are brilliant I believe St Pauls is in the top 5 in Surrey (the Royal Kent in Oxshott is Number 3) its a lovely area there are direct trains to London both Victoria and Waterloo the town is really nice with a new leisure centre and a few big parks!

I live in Leatherhead which is Dorkings poorer sister! its still quite nice again trains straight into London, leisure centre good schools St Peters (which I am sending my DS ro is rated number 14 in Surrey)Ashtead next door is really nice again some decent schools and nice walks!

Reigate is another nice one but no direct route by train would have to go from Redhill (not quite as nice) the schools are good nice big park, really good high street.

Or you could look at some of the villiage outside Dorking as there are quite a few that are still really villiage Brockham being my fav would have to drive to Dorking for the train but the villiage is lovely!

Hope thats some help

redhill is lovely! but im on a tight budget so compared to Thornton heath West Croydon im living in a palace!

Local state primary schools in East Surrey are generally good but the secondary are very variable. The better one in Redhill is very oversubscribed and Catholic biased. You can't rely on living locally to the Reigate primary schools to get a place at a good one ,a lot of people this year had the threat of 4 yr olds being bussed to Epsom as their choices were full but LEA have laid on temporary classrooms for this year at the last minute, causing resentment amongst those whose children got places originally as they feel their children's education amy eb affected by overcrowding. Secondary pupils are being bussed from a wide area(such as Lindfield) to Horley having failed to secure their choice of school.

Fast trains to London run from Horley and Redhill via Croydon and slower from Oxted, Merstham and Dorking. Redhill, Reigate and Oxted have cinemas, swimming pools in Redhill, Oxted and Horley, there are a lot of mother and baby activities in the area too. If you can get hold of a copy of The Grapevine (which is online too iirc) it will give you some idea. hth

Stacey MIL lives Thornton Heath know what you mean Redhill is just bigger less villiage than Reigate thats all sorry didnt mean to put it down

Redhill is about to be regenerated - again ! It has more of a commercial centre than Reigate.

Banstead, Carshalton Beeches (actually London Borough of Sutton, but geographically it's Surrey), or NE Surrey - Chertsey, Shepperton etc
Has anywhere caught your eye, Tigerlion?

We live in Hampshire but pretty nr Farnham which I really like - good shops and nice town,lovely countryside and by all accounts good schools. Station to London too.

Are you in Reigate Bellie?

I'm not, but a friend of mine who is said that the "schools oversubscribed" thing was a bit of a red herring really - the actual issue was that a bunch of middle-class families didn't get their first choice of a rather nice, well-ofsted-ed infant school, and there was an initial cock-up which meant they were offered places miles away. However they were all subsequently offered other "less popular" schools in reigate, but refused, and instead lobbied for an extra classroom at the 'nice' school, which they then achieved. However that 'new' class is now not even full!

In addition Legacy I believe some were trying to claim priority under the sibling link , but their children would have already left the school for a junior one by then.

I live in Carshalton village and it is totally lovely. 25 mins to victoria, lovely shops a pond, good schools and reasonably priced houses.

Have to agree with chippyminton.

Banstead and Carshalton Beeches are top notch, but nowhere near anywhere fashionable, so they are really cheap compared to say Kingston or Guildford.

The schools are good and rental/sale prices are reasonable. The train links to London are an issue. For faster train links you could try South Sutton. There are some good value places and the schools are excellent.

Don't tell anyone else though. Don't want prices to go up here.

Weybridge is very nice, around and about is quite a dump though you def need to work out whereabouts in London you need to get to and work out from the main line station

Just decided to buy in Carshalton (currently in Streatham Hill) for all the above reasons - transport links, good schools, pretty village, reasonably-priced houses... (and fewer police sirens day and night we hope! )

I know you weren't asking this but I was being nosey looking at some of the area's mentioned and found this house - WOW

beter not show my dh that, he would be likely to get wine cellar ideas!

West Byfleet is nice, lovely little school and a train line into Waterloo.

never seen that house in my life! lol

didnt think you were putting us down! just being a bit silly!

carshalton is lovely but it depends how near to wallington as wallington can be a bit of a dump (coming from a girl who went to wallington girls school)!

Message withdrawn

Foghorn - I drive past that every day LOL! It's not quite as it looks - on a fairly main road. They've been trying to sell it for ages!

Wow - so many responses - thanks! My DH needs to get into Waterloo and would prefer to walk to the station so we can't be out in the middle of nowhere. My PIL live in Camberley so I don't want to be too far from them as they are great with childcare. We have considered Farnham which seems really lovely and I have also seen nice houses in both Godalming and Haslemere. We want to be somewhere where I don't live in the car so a town would be ideal but where we also feel we are in the country.

Never lived out of big cities my whole life and quite apprehensive about having to move with the two young ones but I suppose children are a great way of making new friends, aren't they? Has anyone else had the experience of moving out of a big city to the country and if so, was it a positive experience?

Lou33 lives near Godalming, I think.