Not driving in Surrey

[Newmum111111]

Hi all,
We are currently living in London but considering moving to Surrey. Our DD is almost 2 yo. As I don’t drive we are looking for a property walking distance (1/2 mile?) to station and nursery / schools. Also a station that is 30-40 min commute from Waterloo. However, we are struggling to find an area with both a nursery + state primary & secondary schools sufficiently close. Would also consider private but we would like to have the state option. Also, even if this equation is solved, not sure what we can do (kids activities, groceries, etc) without being able to drive (at least in the foreseeable future). Any suggestion would be very helpful. Thanks

Can you learn to drive?

Alternatively look for a location with good bus links. A market town / sizeable town as opposed to a village will be better.

Have you considered somewhere like Epsom?

We are on the edge of london and Surrey and honestly it's hard. When we moved out here my husband didn't drive but he learned fairly quickly. We could walk to the station for work but pretty much everything else involved getting in a car. And we are not far out at all. There are buses but the frequency is much lower than where we used to live in london.

If you lived in say the centre of Guildford you’d be able to walk to nursery/schools (although check distances for schools as they can be small) and the station easily. Groceries would be ok too but you could get them delivered anyway. Activities might be a bit harder but you’d just have to choose what you do. There aren’t many buses so it is walk or get a train for further away places.

I was also going to suggest Epsom or Ewell

Oxted has it all.

West Byfleet has the station, shops, schools, park all close. Guildford is another option, but agree that you need to look at the catchments for schools. Claygate is lovely for station and shops, but not so close to the schools. Esher and Weybridge stations are both a long walk from the main shopping. Schools spread out too.

Try whyteleafe. It has 2 stations on 2 different lines.

East (and West) Molesey, served by Hampton Court train station,
Epsom/Ewell area
Woking if central

Oxted is nice too, I always think it would be where William Brown from Just William would have lived...
Surrey has lots of train stations miles from their town or village centre, so beware when looking at a place name.

Horsell, Woking. Close to train station, plenty of local shops, easy to walk into Woking or cycle to leisure centre / activities etc. Buses are utterly pathetic compared to London, but it’s pretty easy on foot or by bike.

Oh, and good primary schools and the local state high school is the best for miles if you aren’t catholic or paying for it.

I live in Epsom and hardly use my car although I do ride a bike a fair bit. Primary school is on our street and I am under a mile for the station and town. I get my food shopping delivered but there is an M&S Food and Waitrose in town. There’s also regular street food stalls and farmers markets in the centre. The train line goes into Victoria and Waterloo and some to London Bridge in about 35/40 minutes.
It isn’t chi chi like Reigate though if that’s what you’re after.

I think the bigger problem is that in many places in Surrey it isn't just the not being able to drive to schools etc. that is difficult, but many of the activities, the lovely places to visit all require a car.

It could be quite isolating for you if your child can't go on playdates or do birthday parties at places which are a drive away. I would think very carefully whether that would work for you if you aren't able to learn.

I used to live in London, and while I love it here, I would move back if I couldn't drive (and in fact have made a plan to do so).

We moved out from Wimbledon and I know another 3 families who did the same.

Agree. Somewhere like epsom is great if you are in power of where you go but the thing I would struggle with if I didn't drive is parties. They are not always on bus / train routes and even if they are you may end up hanging around as the time it takes you to get back and forth.

Also when they are older you don't want to have to drag a young one out on a bus to collect an older one in the evening.

I was also going to say Guildford.

Not sure about state secondaries but primaries and the grammar school all within walking distance of houses in GU1 plus train station that gets into Waterloo in that kind of time.

Also in central Guildford are playgrounds and supermarkets. Also toddler groups and such like.

But yes, you'll struggle with play dates and things like birthday parties.

Thanks to everyone for your precious suggestions and insights / reality check!!

Commuter villages Claygate and Oxshott have local nurseries and primary schools with nearby secondaries, lots of local shops, cafes, pubs, playpark etc and both are around 35-40 mins commute into central London. Epsom is a town, so has far more facilities - theatre, sports centre etc too.

Godalming/Farncombe. Loads of families with young kids, nice schools, plenty of houses walking distance to train, school and town centre. Easy to travel into London. Also check out Haslemere.

Not being able to drive would be seriously limiting IMO - is there a reason you can't drive/ learn- disability etc? Because it would extend your options tenfold.

You haven't mentioned housing budget...

Parts of Woking such as Horsell would work
West Byfleet I think would be ok.
Weybridge would ok
Walton and Esher less so, because the stations are out of the way

I've lived in a few of the Home Counties since leaving London (including Surrey) and to be honest the trade off of moving out of London is that life becomes more centred around driving rather than public transport. You get used to it. I had passed my test but never drove anywhere until I moved out of London, and was absolutely terrified! However within about six months I got used to it. Its not just schools- play dates, leisure centres, garden centres, country parks, children's activities, and even just getting to a nice country pub all tend to be reliant on driving once you move out of London.

Epsom would be a lovely place to live.