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?

Agree with Bristol. Lots of art and culture, some very 'hip' areas now close to the city with lots of vegan friendly places to eat. Still get a big city vibe but with closer access and a more polite feel to it. Direct trains/coaches daily to London and about a 2 hour commute so not too bad.for 850k you would get a great victorian house there.

Tons of Londoners moving to Bristol- They are after a Victorian house in a “Good” area according to an estate agent.

Bath is genteel- Bristol used to be like the rough sister!
Bristol is becoming much more gentrified now.

@oakleaffy I've lived in both- Bath was way nicer to live in for me as an over 45 at the time with a son still at home , but I guess it takes all sorts - we lived in what is considered 'a good area ' and I hated it. Managed 16 months and moved to Bath. In my experience A lot of the 'good areas' that have a lot of houses rather than flats and are not far out are teeming with students , noise,a lot of rubbish and general grot. I wasn't the only one who felt like this, a couple I knew who I would have thought it would suit (veggies, liberal, media workers) felt exactly the same and the areas they felt were tidier were for them too far out with no metro , needed a car yet horrendous traffic. I enjoy Bristol- for day trips though!

Highly recommend Kent - we love it here! Most of Kent is beautiful with great high speed transport links. We live in a small town called Hawkinge between Canterbury and Folkestone, which are each 1hr from London on the train. Hawkinge and Folkestone are 5-10 mins from the entrance to EuroTunnel if you fancy hopping over to France :)

Bristol! I live in Bishopston and it has great schools, the fab Gloucester Road with loads of independent cafes, shops, green grocers, several bakeries. Swimming pool up the road, cinema 15 minute walk away. That money should get you something pretty nice if Bristol isn’t too far.

Some of Bristol IS very litter strewn which is a great pity.
student places tend to not care much about litter.
Stokes Croft is horrid.
I think the older one gets the tidier one wants things.
In family areas ( Bishopston) it’s much better than some other places.
Stoke Bishop is really nice, as are parts of Clifton.

@oakleaffy we lived in Henleaze . I agree Stoke bishop is nice but for me has the same issues as we found in Henleaze , quite a way out and time consuming to get in and out due to no metro - . Clifton is nice but we could never find anywhere nice to live that was big enough and didn't have damp issues and we didn't want a flat. I don't hate Bristol- it just didn't suit me to be honest, if I was 22 or husband would have been happy with a little terrace house somewhere a bit more urban like Windmill Hill (he wasn't) - then it's totally fine

Hence why we went to Bath which is like a big Clifton I guess , but was easier to find far nicer condition houses on rental market of all types and a 12 minute walk to town.

I love Norwich! Eastbourne is good too and you could get a fab house there for your money!

Eastbourne has an easy commute to London on the train, or Brighton for different shops or nights out. Lots to do. Several places in the area to swim.

Both Norwich and Eastbourne have some lovely parks. Several of the Eastbourne parks have tennis courts in them and the beach is great. Norwich is vibrant with amazing shopping and loads going on food-wise, but Eastbourne also has some great vegan options for eating out and has so many places easily accessible.

I would recommend both places! I have lived for many years in both.

GUILDFORD Surrey. Great leisure centre with ice rink, 20 pin bowling, cinemas great road and rail links (40 mins London Waterloo) easy commute to seaside and both airports direct from Rail station. Outstanding schools, hospital and university. Farmers markets, all the shops you could wish for plus deliveries. Skatepark, castle, River Wey runs through town. Huge array of pubs/restaurants of all cuisines. Woking is a bus it short train ride away with 2 shopping malls, Portsmouth is on Waterloo line and Hedge End is a great shopping area too which is in same train line. Huge Tesco superstore in Guildford plus Waitrose and Aldi. Trains to Reading are very cheap. Godalming is a town a couple of miles outside Guildford, period houses farmers market twice weekly, Heidi cafe plus gyms, libraries and so much more. Can recommend. I live there. Horse drawn barge trips in summer too with a cute old fashioned converted VW ice cream, coffee and snack van on the tow path where you can feed ducks and watch the sunset.
Lots of cycle paths and nature trails and many recommended walks for dogs. Great WiFi too.
Come on down or ring for a brochures.

• actually 10 pin bowling. Curved screens are a curse. 🥴

@LoisLane66 I love Guildford - think it's the best place to live in south east!!

@Crikeyalmighty
😁👍👏

@LoisLane66 and a great theatre. The Yvonne Arnaud.

@lightisnotwhite
Oh yes, so much to offer and I haven't explored half although lived here for 12+ years. There's the Lido too and the Wey Festival and a roller rink besides ice skating and all the little cobbled back streets with numerous cafes and independent shops.
These are just a couple of photos (not mine)

@LoisLane66 I just love the look of that Ivy Asia!! Haven't spied one elsewhere- can't afford it- lol! But love the decor. It's got one of my favourite M&S s too.

@Crikeyalmighty
I've not been there but looking at photos it does remind me of Veeraswamy Regent Street. Very OTT and beautiful service. Used to go there once every 4/5 weeks with my now OH as he worked in the City before all this WFH lark. There's pretty much something for everyone in Guildford, food wise however, I do still enjoy going uptown to Borough Market but it wipes out my budget. 🥴🤣

Newbury in Berkshire - compact place (so easily walk/bikeable), but has swimmingpools (indoor/outdoor), multiplex cinema, loads of cafes and restaurants, parks with good playgrounds, softplay, farmpark, outstanding schools, 50 min to London, and loads of culture for a small town (International Spring Festival, Cornexchange and Watermill Theatre)

Can I ask what zone 6 London suburb town wouldn't have cafe, restaurants, pool/leisure centre, cinema, fruit/veg stall...?

They won't have them in walking distance of each other or where you live usually.

@BuriedTea I think I live near the OP based on her comments. We’re in Purley and don’t have a leisure centre (closed a few years ago, no plan to open a new one), no cinema, no fresh fruit and veg stalls. A few cafes and restaurants. We’re about 2 miles from purley, where we are there is absolutely nothing in walking distance other than a small co-op. Not even a pub! We moved here for the transport links and the green space and didn’t realise how much we’d miss amenities.

A friend recently moved to Z4 & she made sure the hight street was within walking distance but would need to travel for cinema. Plenty Z3 areas don't have cinemas either.

I am in zone 5 and am 2 mins from the cinema, library, 4 supermarkets, big shops etc. Not in walking distance of a public swimming pool though - that's a 10 min bus ride.

@sarahb083 But you won't be far off Purley and also Croydon with frequent public transport or bike if not driving. Unless OP is moving to a city centre location with residential housing even in a womderful market town you likely have to travel a little bit to get to cinema or pool and they are likely spread out.

Think in London 850k isn't going to get OP all that plus 100 foot garden (which will be a large semi or detatched). That would be in the 1.5m+ region in my area (also zone 5) especially if walkable to town centre and not requiring a bus transfer