Left London for the suburbs - hate it

[Whereishome22]

Feeling miserable about this situation so want to at least have hope on the horizon! Moved from a part of London I loved to zone 6 suburbs end of last year and absolutely loathe it. It's a cultural wasteland, nothing to do, need to drive everywhere (which I can't yet), takes ages to get into work, and no local parks or playgrounds (two small kids). Suffering serious buyers remorse but anywhere I'd live in London has shot up in price Vs here, which has stayed steady.

So I want to leave and start anew in a town/ small city and want your help!

Budget is £850k, need at least 3 bedrooms but ideally more/annexe. Want a house with period features (not cottage more Victorian/Edwardian/1930s), at least 100 foot garden, good schools (this doesn't necessarily mean grammar schools) within walking distance, things to do, cinema, swimming pool, fruit and veg market, actually useful shops rather than gift shops and to be able to get a nice coffee, vegan food every now and then. Family in the South so don't want to be too far from them (i.e. Wales, Scotland, NE/SW England) and will need to commute to London one day a week (but don't mind it being a long one)

Places on the shortlist are:
Folkestone
Norwich
Tonbridge
Faversham

Any other ideas?

You could just move out beyond zone 6? Zone 6 is a bit inbetweeny as it tends to take ages to get into the centre on public transport whereas further out on a fast train is quicker.

Which part of London do you need to access?

Am only keen on moving somewhere that's a place in it's own right rather than somewhere suburban again! Realised very much that it's not for me. At the moment I need to commute into Blackfriars but open to changing jobs to end up at another central London location to make things easier

There's nowhere in London that you would consider at your budget? I'd probably consider Brighton/Hove but nearish a station. Depends on where in London you need to access.

Where did you live before that you loved?

Cross post! Direct trains from Brighton to Blackfriars

Sevenoaks?

Lewes is lovely.
Winchester too.
Both within your budget

People leave London expecting the suburbs to be quieter. In fact, they are often noisier and more stressful. Developers have exploited the demand and built ghastly new build estates with endless red brick rabbit hutches jammed together. There is an estate near me that is the size of a small town. It’s SO vile and depressing. Like toy town. All the houses are tiny and cheap looking, and they’ve squeezed eight houses onto patches of land fit for only two or three. There is often a nasty atmosphere as well. When you jam too many people on top of one another they get on each other’s nerves.

I find affluent parts of central London and central Manchester quieter and less stressful than the suburbs.

If you find zone 6 dull then Tonbridge, Faversham and Folkestone are not for you. If you're considering going as far as Norwich then I'd look at Birmingham.

Your budget would get London z3 but not 100ft garden

I agree you need to a smaller city

If you find zone 6 dull then Tonbridge, Faversham and Folkestone are not for you

Agree, it's like moving back to the 70s in terms of social attitudes.

You need to get yourself down to Folkestone. Less than an hour to central London on the train. Has the feel of a nice zone 2 creative/arty community in town centre. Shitloads of nice cafes doing avocado on sourdough. And the sea.

Berkshire?

Why on earth did you move? To this house if it has no parks for your young kids?

Of you are missing the buzz then the 4 places you listed would be dead as a dodo!

100 foot garden is a big ask, you might have to compromise on that.

Sevenoaks
Oxted (possibly smaller than you'd like, though has a great leisure centre, cinema, and restaurants. no clothes shops though)
Tunbridge Wells
Guildford
Godalming
Farnham
Winchester (nice though v expensive)
Petersfield

Winchester

Bath or Bristol? Great train links to London, you've got a healthy budget for a 3 bed house there, lots to do

Tunbridge wells is lovely.

Brighton & hove or maybe Warwick? - leamington spa?

By lovely you mean middle class, right?

With that budget I'd move to Cambridge. I always felt that Cambridge felt like parts of London. You don't need a car, generally good schools, markets, lots going on etc. 50 mins to kings cross.

As a Londoner who moved to a town similar to those on your list I can promise you it won't solve your remorse. You need another city or a complete change.

Second Bath or Bristol, great train links in, buzzy culture feel in Bristol & gorgeous town feel in Bath!

Small city sounds ideal. How about Cambridge? Prices are similar to London but you’d get something pretty smart for that money.