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!

@Smithstreet thanks. Good to know about kids not getting in year places. Sound like we’d need to move in time to apply for year 7 then. Hoping to check out these areas soon! Sounds ideal

[quote Mummyofthree80]@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.[/quote]
You're welcome.

Wallingford is a lovely small market town. Much more down to earth than Henley, not as posh but a lovely spot on the Thames and great community. Nearest trains are Cholsey and Didcot. Excellent Waitrose (!) Plus Lidl :-)

I wouldn't choose Didcot itself but the villages all around it (Blewbury, the Mortons, the Hagbournes, the Wittenhams, Clifton Hampden etc etc) are all very lovely and between Didcot and Wallingford you would have enough facilities.

Dorchester - lovely lovely small town/big village. Ditto Nettlebed and surrounding area (in the Chilterns).

Goring and Streatley are lovely but might be too posh if you felt like that about Henley! They sit on either side of the Thames north of Reading. Streatley is actually Berkshire and is smaller than Goring. I think you'd probably use Reading for major shopping/entertainment requirements.

Basically all the villages/small towns in South Oxfordshire are lovely if you want picturesque and relatively affluent but not tourist destinations like Henley. It would just be down to the right house, how close you'd want to be to a station and how rural you want.

Re Hassocks, it is lovely round there but you get a bit less for your money than over the border in East Sussex and it's a bit more built up, but the train line is brilliant compared to E Sussex and it would be an awesome place to be a teenager for access to Brighton.

The disadvantage of Oxfordshire over Sussex is the lack of sea and that it's quite flat. The South Downs and the coast are really fab. But it does feel a bit cut off compared to Oxfordshire in some ways. Fun fact - there are no motorways in East Sussex. Which could be a good or a bad thing!

Petersfield in Hampshire.
Lovely market town, easy access to Guildford, Winchester, Farnham, The coast etc.

Much sleepier than Reigate, much less traffic but full market town facilities and shops. Direct train to London 1 hour 10 mins.

Good schools. Nice housing stock at your budget in good roads.

Interesting I would like Reigate myself for the busyness that you want to leave. Problem being move my house to Reigate and it would be nearing double the price!

Hurstpierpoint
Horsham

I've just moved from Reigate to the Liphook/Liss area! Mainly for good state schools, less traffic and cheaper/bigger house. Happy to chat further if you like.

I know Reigate well... used to live there and have family that still do We moved first to Dorking & we're now in Ashtead - we love it, great train links to Guildford, Horsham & London, close to the M25 for hubby's work, good choice of infant, primary & secondary schools (both state & private) locally, good choice of shops, cafes etc. It is also rural enough for me to have my horses nearby & have beautiful places to ride them. Our children are 16, 13 & 3 and there is plenty for them to do - especially now the older 2 are confident & happy hopping on trains with their friends. However I also know the area around Hassocks (I lived in Hurstpierpoint as a child), went to school in Burgess Hill & later on lived in Henfield too. Lots of happy memories from that period of my life.

I used to live in Reigate until recently. It gets a bit trafficky at times, but to me its still a small town. I also lived in East Sussex. Heathfield, Uckfield, Wadhurst, Crowborough, Hadlow Down, Battle, Pevensey Bay, Cooden. Some lovely places. Take a look & see what works.

@MrsM36

I know Reigate well... used to live there and have family that still do We moved first to Dorking & we're now in Ashtead - we love it, great train links to Guildford, Horsham & London, close to the M25 for hubby's work, good choice of infant, primary & secondary schools (both state & private) locally, good choice of shops, cafes etc. It is also rural enough for me to have my horses nearby & have beautiful places to ride them. Our children are 16, 13 & 3 and there is plenty for them to do - especially now the older 2 are confident & happy hopping on trains with their friends. However I also know the area around Hassocks (I lived in Hurstpierpoint as a child), went to school in Burgess Hill & later on lived in Henfield too. Lots of happy memories from that period of my life.

I’m quite interested in Dorking for the future. Out of interest what made you swap Dorking for Ashstead MrsM36 ?

Reigate traffic IS awful!! As is the Surrey vibe. Try the villages around Tunbridge Wells / Sevenoaks Weald.

Thanks @Somebodyelsestrain I’ll definitely check out some of those places you’ve mentioned. Yes for some reason I’d prefer to be East Sussex to West. Maybe being in the South Downs it’s more protected from new big housing developments, but then might have to go where the schools are too - shame we have to think of these things!

@MrsM36 thanks, I’ve never been to Ashtead. I don’t currently own my own horses but would definitely like to live where there are some more options to ride.

@Boozeless yes it’s a lovely small town it’s just busy in terms of it feels less open into the country. Would love to be able to wander off down some footpaths and fields without having to drive there first. Although equally I need to make sure there are things to do for older kids too! Tricky balance.

Sounds like East Sussex could be a winner. My only reservation is it takes me a bit further from the north and it’s already a bit of slog to get up there! So Oxfordshire is worth is looking at too and maybe even Hampshire on the Surrey border. I feel Surrey is expensive and busy due to proximity to London but not discounting it entirely.
Thanks everyone - so helpful!

Petersfield is in Hampshire but right on the West Sussex border. Also good access to Oxfordshire as well.

The South downs is in West Sussex and East Sussex.

No don't do villages between Reading and Oxford.... this is where I grew up exactly. No bus or train service to my village. It was like being trapped in my parents perfect life and my worst!
I moved to a northern city uni at 18 and then to London. Never been home for more than a week since.

@YukoandHiro ah good to know. Yep ideally we’d be on a train line. The appeal with Oxford is the train back up to Manchester but then we wouldn’t want to live in the city of Oxford. I’ll see which towns / villages are on the train line into Oxford.
I do feel like buses and trains in the south east between towns and villages aren’t as well connected as they are in the north. I lived in a village growing up but the buses into town were very frequent and so were the trains into the city. I’m hoping to find a village / edge of a small town with excellent connections as I’d really like my kids to want to visit a lot when they leave home or even come back to live nearby.
Feel like we are slowly starting to narrow it down to a few places that meet criteria on paper to go and explore now.

Another vote for Petersfield

I would take a look at Petersfield.

I think I may be in the same Hampshire market town as
user1471542288 !

I think I'm not far from you if that is the case

Me too!

@Willow1981

I think I'm not far from you if that is the case

We moved from south London to a property right in the centre of town (2 mins walk from Waitrose!) and absolutely love it. Quite a few compromises, but so worth it. Easy access to beautiful countryside and a reasonable commute back to London if needed.

I'd vote for Petersfield. Nice small town, traffic is fine, things going on for all ages. Good connections to London and other towns. Beautiful countryside nearby.
I've friends in lindfield in Sussex and the traffic feels worse - it's right by Hayward's heath which has a much busier feel than Petersfield.

Alton is also nice and can access lovely countryside without having to drive. Very relaxed feel - mix of locals and people who've moved here - def not all down from London. Bus train links good. And better to get up north I would think.