Where to live in the South East?!

[Mummyofthree80]

Hi,

We currently live in Reigate, Surrey which is a wonderful place but it just isn’t “me” and I don’t see myself settling here long term or growing old here. It is very busy with young families which is great in some ways as we are a young family at the moment and there are excellent primaries, but it is too busy for me and I don’t find it particularly relaxing with all the traffic and maybe too skewed towards young families.

Ideally we’d like a property with a bigger garden, a driveway and a greener outlook for the money we have spent. The traffic / pollution gets to me a bit too but maybe that’s a problem in the SE in general.

I think a village might be better suited than a town and perhaps somewhere less hectic, less expensive and less busy than Surrey.

My husband is from Surrey originally, I’m a northerner, so when we moved out of London this seemed a logical step but it doesn’t feel like a permanent home.

Priorities are good state primary and secondary schools, countryside on our doorstep but with a decent village centre (co-op, cafe, pub, park etc…) , horse riding, transport links to a larger lovely town / city for shopping and days out and that the kids can access easily as teenagers. I also want to live somewhere down to earth and friendly.

We are tied to the SE for the foreseeable due to DH’s job.

Areas considered are East Sussex villages as easy train to Brighton. Also consider Oxfordshire, Hampshire… but we don’t know these areas at all. I like the idea of living in one of the national parks so that the countryside is protected from new developments but a place where my children can find good jobs nearby and move back to after university if they go and if they wanted to move home after. We might be expecting too much here. :)
Any recommendations welcome. Thanks!

Does your husband commute to London? I like Petworth, Midhurst, Arundel, villages around Godalming and Haslemere and Chiddingfold but may be too far out for you, plus expensive.

Alton.

Come across to Dorking! Much less traffic than Reigate.

But more seriously Lewes is lovely and easy to get to Brighton. And I second Haslemere.

Lots of building in Battle.. train to London 90 mins

If your children are nearing teen years, they won't thank you for moving to a village, very little to do and you'll be driving them around all the time unless there's an excellent public transport service. I'm sure there are towns where you'd find a compromise though. How about somewhere like Guildford which would have lots of lovely countryside nearby, good train links to London etc?

@MrsJamin yes it’s tricky as ideally the village would be on an easy bus or train to the nearest town for older teenagers to get to. A Guildford village on the train line could work, I just don’t know any that fit the criteria and have that village centre with nice country walks. We do really like Guildford for shopping, it has a nice feel about it. One to consider definitely but not centrally maybe in one of its villages as it’s too busy I think for us.

Villages around Canterbury in Kent are lovely. You are within an hour of London, near the coast and Canterbury is lovely and in the Kent Downs.

I was going to suggest Faversham near Canterbury, would tick all the boxes, fast train into London, near Whitstable Canterbury etc

If you want somewhere on the guildford train line look at liphook and liss. Villages with activities. Bohunt is a good secondary school & 6th form.
Edge of the southdowns and cheaper than haslemere.

@Willow1981 thanks, I’ll have a look at Liplock. I think I’d like to move out of the Home Counties. I feel we don’t need to be in expensive busy commuter land but we can’t move too far due to DH job. It’s tricky as I don’t want to move somewhere that’s got only those who were born and bred there but equally I don’t want to be surrounded only by ex-Londoners so somewhere nice with great schools but not too up itself or busy. Liplock and Liss sound like a good place for us to look around.

I am a bit biased as grew up in the area.
Both minutes from the A3 but goy that small community feel.
As PP said, midhurst and Petworth are both lovely but no train line.

Another one suggesting Lewes for you Op - or surrounding villages.

How much is your budget and what kind of house/plot size are you after? That might dictate a little where you can go.

@Henlie thanks very much! We’d need 4 double bedrooms at least ideally, plus parking and a big garden would be lovely if we can so the kids can spend time at home with a ball and not always need to be out and about. Our budget is about 900k.
I think I feel quite drawn to East Sussex due to the south down and proximity to the coast. It’s just a bit further from the north which is the only issue but as we are miles away anyway a few more won’t make much difference. Maybe a village connected to Lewes would work. I quite like peace and quiet whilst having the option of nice cafes and restaurants close by. The good secondary school catchment would need to be a safe bet and sports clubs for the boys in the nearest town or village. I’ll have a look into schools there. I’ve only been to Lewes once and did like it.
Do you know the areas around Hassocks as I’ve heard schools are good there? I guess I’d like a village with a bit of character and friendly without cliques and the expectation to be involved in everything. Thanks for your great recommendations!

We moved from Dorking to Horsham last year and found it a easy move. Feels like Surrey but more relaxed. We enjoy being closer to the coast, still have countryside on our doorstep and live in a bigger house as your money goes further. I feel like our quality of life has improved even though it's a relatively small geographical move. Even if Horsham isn't for you I do think the villages is Sussex could work.

Oxted is a nice town with a big green park in the middle. Busy without being overcrowded and not totally young family focused. Also v easy access to London for work and older teens

Also agree with not subjecting a teen to a remote village. That was my young years and it wasn't great

@YukoandHiro Agree I wouldn’t want it to be remote. I grew up in countryside but with excellent bus links on the main road and train links out of town to a major city. I guess I’d like something similar for my kids so we can be straight out on walks but they can still meet their friends easily enough either by bus or a 5-10 min drive away. The issue is it feels quite claustrophobic in a Surrey town I feel and for the money we could have some more space a bit further out but where we are now then we’d lose the good secondary schools so we’d need a lovely decent sized village or to live on the outskirts of a nice town that is in catchment of a good secondary (seems hard to find) but also in a short bus / train ride of a decent town / city for the kids to be able to go to independently in a few years. Oxted seems nice - we went out for lunch there recently and I liked how it doesn’t have traffic queuing through it’s centre, it had a lovely feel.

@SurreyMay we like Horsham villages too - especially on the west side.

I don’t know about Surrey, but Wye in Kent sounds like it might tick your boxes. Right on the downs, lovely village, nice pub, private schools and outstanding state primary, but also has a train station to take you to both Ashford and Canterbury.

I know Reigate well and totally get you. It's a nice town but so busy compared to other bits of the South further from London.

I know both Oxfordshire and East Sussex really well too. Both are lovely and definitely feel more rural than Reigate.

To be in easy reach of London South Oxfordshire, the towns and villages between Oxford, Reading and Henley are all perfect. The river Thames and the Chiltern Hills are both glorious. It's also nice to have access to Oxford as you get museums, theatre etc without having to go to London. Trains are fast and frequent into Paddington.

East Sussex is also really lovely, although the trains are a bit more hit and miss depending on what bit of the county you're in. The South Downs, Ashdown Forest and the coast make it a really special place to live. Houses get cheaper the further East you go. Lewes is eye wateringly expensive but other small towns (Uckfield, Crowborough, Heathfield, Battle) are all nice and much more affordable and there are loads of gorgeous villages.

We have chosen to be in a small market town that has ok train, good buses, cinema, pool, countryside close by and a bigger city within reach and london not too far and it works well with older children.

I second the suggestion of one of the villages in the Lewes area, it's where I am based. Obviously don't want to be any more specific.

We settled her for access to great schools, and we have a station in a neighbouring village, which is only a short walk, which opens up transport links to London and Brighton. Best decision we've ever made to live here.

Sorry I don’t know Hassocks that well @Mummyofthree80. But have a look at Ringer and Uckfield. I think you’d get what you’re after for your budget. Plus both have good secondary schools….especially Ringmer. Uckfield has a direct train to London Bridge too. Plus both towns have a bus that goes into Brighton.

Hassocks is a great location, as is Hurstpierpoint and the surrounding villages. There is the train to Brighton which takes 10mins so good for older teens and getting independent. Lots going on and right on the Downs. The schools (and the secondary in Hassocks in particular) are very very popular and I know of a number of people who have moved to the villages outside of normal entry times and not got spaces (and still on the waiting list years later) so that is worth thinking about depending on the ages of your children.

Worthing
Goring
Eastbourne
Lewes

Hassocks is lovely, lindfield would also tick all your boxes

@Somebodyelsestrain thanks! Oxfordshire would actually be quite a nice base as there are trains to family in Manchester from Oxford. Also not too far for DH to commute either given he doesn’t commute everyday anyway.
I have been to Henley once and whilst beautiful I don’t think it’s very me - it seemed maybe a little too posh and very traffic busy. Nice to visit occasionally rather than live in / rely on. Are the surrounding villages a little more down to earth in South Oxfordshire? I just looked up a property near Henley that looks amazing but if I’d have to going into Henley for shopping and going out then I’m not sure…
So far I think with the help of this forum I’m liking the sound of Hassocks area in Sussex and South Oxfordshire for links to the rest of the country plus the beautiful countryside.
Are there any villages in particular south of Oxford that you’d recommend?
I’ll try organise some fun days out with the family to explore further.