Moving out of London - Surrey or Bucks

[MirandasMumIsSuchFun]

Hi
We are looking to leave our tiny 2.5 bed terrace in West London and go out to either Surrey or Bucks. We like Epsom and my sister lives near there but don't know much about the area. We are also considering Bucks areas like High Wycombe, Gerrards Cross, Fulmer - anyone have any insight we have a 5 year old boy so need to look at schools/extra curricular activities etc, property wise we have a decent budget of £1.1m so hopefully we can get a decent sized house with a generous garden (mind you we have a patch of grass so anything will seem massive to us!) Also anyone else made the jump from London out - was it a huge adjustment? We are looking for a change of pace, breathe fresh air but would still like some options like pubs, restaurants, shops etc

One thing to mention is that Bucks is in the grammar school system, whereas Surrey isn't. Unless you're planning to educate privately its something to bear in mind. I live in Berkshire very close to the Bucks border, and parents here have the option of sending their kids over the border to Bucks if they pass the 11+, which might be worth considering? In Surrey I'd also look at Guildford, and in Bucks I'd also look at Marlow- both very child friendly, lots going on, and lots of nice pubs, restaurants etc locally. Personally I'd find Fulmer a bit quiet straight after London (although undoubtedly lovely!). High Wycombe itself is a bit of an urban sprawl, but there's some lovely villages on the outskirts, try looking at Penn, Hambledon and the Hughenden Valley areas. Finally, if you're willing to go a bit further out than the High Wycombe/Gerrards Cross area try looking at Henley in Oxfordshire, which is only about another 20 minutes further out, but has pretty fast trains into London, and is absolutely lovely with lots going on locally.

Marlow and Henley are both lovely. However depends whether you need to be on a good train line to commute back into London?
If so neither of them are ideal. Could look at Beaconsfield, Gerards Cross and Haddenham. Not in Bucks, but Tribg is also v nice

Sorry, should say Tring

thank you so much that's super helpful, I was worried Fulmer would be too quiet so a good suggestion, we do need decent transport links into London as I will be remotely working forever whereas my DH needs to go into the office 4 times a week still. I will check out Beconsfield and Haddenham and Tring.
Stupid question but I thought grammar schools were same as state schools - do you have to pay fees for grammar schools? Sorry if obvious I wasn't educated in the UK so not sure about this

Where (approx) in London does your DH need to be in London? I’d try and position yourselves so he has a direct train route in without having too many changes. Especially if he’s going in to London 4x a week.

He needs to get to Marylebone ideally his commute wouldnt be more than 1 hour if poss

@MirandasMumIsSuchFun you don’t have to pay fees for grammar schools but your child will have to pass an exam (called the 11 plus) to be accepted for a place and it can be very competitive. There’s an entire industry of private tutors aimed at coaching kids through the exam.

ah ok thank you @LiverLeona I had no idea, the school system here seems so convoluted - or maybe it's just my perception :)

The grammar schools thing is fairly simple. They take a test in year 6 and if they score highly then you have the option to choose a grammar school if you want to for secondary school. If they don’t get the required mark then you can choose only a non grammar secondary school.
This system can be great if you have a bright, academically focussed child who passes their 11+ test. Some are single sex, some mixed.
However, I would say the downside is that for the kids who do t get in to grammar schools the schools available to them can be poor in some areas of Bucks. So do look into secondary options when you think about area particularly if your kids are not in top 10-20% of their class. It’s a pain and feels ridiculous but you don’t really want to have to move again later.
Places like Haddenham are on the border of another county so you can then (usually) have access to non grammar school options across the border eg Lord Williams school in Thame which is rated outstanding.
Not all of bucks has this problem I’m sure but in some parts the non-grammar schools are not great.

@MirandasMumIsSuchFun

He needs to get to Marylebone ideally his commute wouldnt be more than 1 hour if poss

You probably want a train line that goes into Paddington or Marylebone- a lots of the train lines from the Surrey commuter lines terminate at Waterloo which will add to the journey times, and just getting through Waterloo and onto the tube can be horrendous in rush hour (well in normal at least!) Whereas trains from Bucks tend to terminate at Paddington or Marylebone.

thanks so much @Rainydays200 that's super helpful and very clear, I will have a proper look in the areas, thank you all so much for your help I haven't posted here in ages and so pleased that everyone is as lovely and helpful as ever :)

Denham is a nice village on the line to Marylebone if I remember correctly - not sure what the secondary school options are like though.

Look at Amersham, Great Missenden and Wendover which are all on a direct train line to Marylebone, and have good schools.

I live on the Chiltern Line. It has worked really well for us. Our fastest train is 18 minutes into Marylebone - rarely cancellations and generally get a seat - all very civilised especially if you just walk from Marylebone and avoid the tube network. It’s also a v handy location for driving. We can be in Baker St in 25mins if no traffic on the A40 - so good for theatre / museums / London life.

Or in Oxford in 30 mins in the opposite direction and also easy access to M25 and M4.

There are loads of after school activities in the area, great restaurants and independent shops and boutiques in Beaconsfield, Old Amersham, Marlow. Loads of beautiful open countryside hills and woodland to enjoy direct from your doorstep if you buy in the right place. PM me if you want.

I would also be interested to hear about Bucks, particularly in Burnham which is on the upcoming crossrail line and also has countryside on the doorstep.

I don't know Burnham particularly well, but feel free to ask if you have any specific questions

If you're DH needs to commute into Marylebone I'd stick with Buckinghamshire. From memory, the Surrey lines mostly - if not entirely - feed into Waterloo which won't be anywhere near as convenient.

@MirandasMumIsSuchFun

Have you considered Oxfordshire? It's 45 mins from Bicester Village Station to Marylebone. There are some beautiful villages around here.

You might also consider somewhere like Pinner. The Metropolitan Line from Pinner is about 30 minutes into Baker Street. I don't know the area well but we looked there briefly as it was near family and it strikes me you could get what you want whilst staying within the boundaries of London.

Pinner is lovely. As are Northwood and Ruislip (north). And they're on the Metropolitan line to Baker Street.