Post-Covid world: where to move out of London? Weybridge, Esher etc?

[VL2020]

The most asked question ever on Mumsnet :) We are a family with a 4-year old boy looking to move to Surrey (mainly because of the transport link it offers). We don't know the areas that well but are looking for a commutable place to buy a detached house with a decent garden (as both work in London). Where is the friendliest commutable place? We are both Europeans hence looking for a more international place where everyone is welcome. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I’m continental too and have stayed in London. You can have a look in places such as Cheam Village, South Sutton or Carshalton Beeches. Edge of countryside, v leafy, plenty of detached houses with big gardens, pretty international and v family oriented with fab schools and lots to do if you’re sporty/outdoorsy.

Out in Surrey, I haven’t seen anywhere particularly international but I’m sure it’d be friendly as many people commute to London and are used to people from other countries. My favourite town is Reigate as it’s cute, has an upmarket feel and it’s on the edge of the Surrey Hills. It’s quite a compact town so you can walk from the High St to the countryside but still get a good selection of shops, restaurants, an Everyman Cinema etc. The trains go to Victoria but Redhill is next door with lots of train links (walkable from parts of Reigate, otherwise a bike ride/scoot etc).

Where (approx) in London do you both work op?

@JoJoSM2

I’m continental too and have stayed in London. You can have a look in places such as Cheam Village, South Sutton or Carshalton Beeches. Edge of countryside, v leafy, plenty of detached houses with big gardens, pretty international and v family oriented with fab schools and lots to do if you’re sporty/outdoorsy.

Out in Surrey, I haven’t seen anywhere particularly international but I’m sure it’d be friendly as many people commute to London and are used to people from other countries. My favourite town is Reigate as it’s cute, has an upmarket feel and it’s on the edge of the Surrey Hills. It’s quite a compact town so you can walk from the High St to the countryside but still get a good selection of shops, restaurants, an Everyman Cinema etc. The trains go to Victoria but Redhill is next door with lots of train links (walkable from parts of Reigate, otherwise a bike ride/scoot etc).

thank you for your thoughtful reply! Reigate is a bit too difficult (and expensive) commute wise... how are schools in Cheam/Sutton/Carshalton?

@Henlie

Where (approx) in London do you both work op?

me: Mayfair and DH to Fleet street (City)

@VL2020

The most asked question ever on Mumsnet :) We are a family with a 4-year old boy looking to move to Surrey (mainly because of the transport link it offers). We don't know the areas that well but are looking for a commutable place to buy a detached house with a decent garden (as both work in London). Where is the friendliest commutable place? We are both Europeans hence looking for a more international place where everyone is welcome. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

What is your budget?

@CraftyGin around £1.25m

Weybridge then.

Surrey is generally more expensive than the other counties that surround London. Surrey trains often go into Waterloo, which I don't think is particularly handy for where you're commuting into. If your main criteria are a detached house and a decent garden, you may be better off looking in Zone 4/5/6 of outer London, rather than going out to Surrey. Surrey house prices are quite high (especially near the commuter stations), and train tickets are very expensive.

Could you share your budget? Are you looking for somewhere leafy and rural, or do you want to be close to trendy bars and restaurants?

What about Tonbridge/Tunbridge Wells op? Frequent trains into Cannon Street and Charing Cross. Between 35-50min commute.

£1.25m would buy you a nice detached house with large garden in both those areas.

@sarahb083 thank you for a thorough reply. I prefer London while DH prefers rural settings as horses are his main hobby. We are trying to find a compromise by going for a commuter town, maybe we are wrong... Which areas of outer London would you recommend? We had a look at Sevenoaks in Kent but the prices are much higher than in Weybridge or Walton-on-Thames, we cannot afford to buy a detached house close to the station. Our budget is around £1,25m.

@CraftyGin

Weybridge then.

Do you think it is the best choice for the budget? :)

@Henlie

What about Tonbridge/Tunbridge Wells op? Frequent trains into Cannon Street and Charing Cross. Between 35-50min commute.

£1.25m would buy you a nice detached house with large garden in both those areas.

Tonbridge and TW are both lovely but look so far away from London to us, both foreigners hehe. It takes more than an hour to get to the office for both of us from T and TW. We did look at Sevenoaks but couldn't afford it :)

Have you looken at Esher?

@Rollingfog

Have you looken at Esher?

Have visited it last weekend and really liked it. Would you recommend the area? Are you local?

Merstham is very pretty and Redhill trains are frequent into London

This 4 bed house is rather lovely: www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/56636142?search_identifier=d281b14d8854d7712ad0a65c587f1a40

or this 5 bed which has a more contemporary interior
www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/51629345?search_identifier=d281b14d8854d7712ad0a65c587f1a40

South Nutfield is gorgeous
www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/56315613?search_identifier=04c8fd63187ea0580a1acf98d13ff98b

Horsell is a lovely village in walking distance to Woking which has excellent frequent and fast trains. Horsell has a little high street, pubs, schools (state and private) and a community feel. Plus close to country walks and the convenience of a town centre nearby. It attracts loads of young families coming out of London, and although properties tend to sell quickly there are often lovely houses on at your budget.

@sunshinesupermum very pretty indeed, thank you for posting the links to the houses! The commute is a bit complicated and expensive from there :(

Westerham (Kent) is lovely if that’s commutable ,

VL2020 - once you get to Redhill station (by car) the commute is an easy one - I suspect wherever you end up it will be an expensive journey :-( Good luck with your search.

Yes i would recommend it, I am local. It is quite international. Different feels in different parts. Thames Ditton, Esher, Esher or Claygate are all lovely

In Carshalton Beeches there’s a network of bridleways and stables to keep your own horse (doesn’t sound like you’ll have the time?) and generally quite a few horses that I see in the fields around here. For going on weekend hacks in the countryside or your son learning to ride, you’d be looking at a 10-min drive out as there are stables that organise that sort of stuff.

Other activities around Carshalton Beeches/South Sutton/Cheam Village-South Cheam are golf, bouldering, lots of tennis clubs, rugby, cricket, there’s a David Lloyd in Cheam Village (lots for kids) and lots of other things (ballet, dance, trampolining and gymnastics etc).

Carshalton Beeches has trains into London Bridge and slow Victoria trains (faster trains from Carshalton Station + Thameslink via City Thameslink). Sutton is on all those lines and Cheam has Victoria and London Bridge trains. It’s also a short bus ride/Uber from the tube on the rare occasion you stay out till 3am. All stations are zone 5 and it’s a 15-20 min drive to Wimbledon Village for a bit of ‘Londonness’ and fancy shopping.

Generally a brilliant area to live if you sort of want to be in London but sort of out of it (which was our conundrum).

www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/

State schools are as good as they get and there’s a wide selection of indies, too.

Oh, I’ll just add that’s there’s relatively little traffic around here and it’s easy to get to the Surrey Hills for hiking/mountain biking in 20mins.

@ allbeckypv thank you very much for your suggestion - will check it out, never heard of it!

@allFloralnomad the vineyard and brewery is lovely but difficult to commute im afraid. Are you based there?

@sunshinesupermum yes, indeed.... thank you!