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?

Bristol. You’d get a lovely Victorian terrace in a nice area with your budget. Won’t need a car - fast links to London. Buzzy and diverse with lots to do.

Rochester, medieval city with castle on a river, 6 grammar schools, 40 minutes to London with trains every 10 minutes alternating between Victoria, Kings Cross and Cannon Street/London Bridge. Cannon Street in 40 minutes with regular peak time trains. Coffee shops, bakeries, micro pubs, gyms, pools, sailing, tennis all walking distance.

For 850 you could just scrape a house in Worcester Park, New Malden and you’d be within 20-25 mins of Waterloo.

Cambridge, definitely. Or Oxford but Cambridge is nicer, imho.
Bristol or Bath
Leamington Spa is nice but small, also you'd really need to be able to drive to get to other places.
Bedford would be massively disappointing even after zone 6.

850k Worcester Park, 5 beds, garden near train and parks

https://www.primelocation.com/for-sale/details/61732124/

Bristol is very expensive £850k will buy you a nice semi or terraced

@IrisVersicolor thing is- she might be somewhere like that now!! Which is why I asked where she is- otherwise I would say maybe surbiton/kingston - ? Kingstons a pretty 'in its own right place' !

Cambridge: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/122605508#/?channel=RES_BUY

Or Teddington https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/121109381

Canterbury is great for families but to get a large garden you would need to be in one of the surrounding villages, which all have transport links and aren't far from the city center, as it is such a small city. Why don't you go to all the places in your list for a day visit and decide?

I personally hated living in Folkestone because it feels so empty of life even with the cafes crammed in next to each other in the creative quarter, and it's always windy, but some DFL's rave about it. (Possibly kidding themselves? I am not sure). I couldn't find much to do for kids there in the winter.

I came on to suggest this. My DB lives there and we love visiting. Really nice buzz in the town. He drives to work (SE London) and SIL commutes by train. They call it Sunny Tunny

Maybe look at surrounding areas like Beckenham, Penge, Crystal Palace, West Wickham - so many parks and good schools. Or you have Orpington, Chislehurst, SevenOaks too.

Guildford?

She said zone 6, my first suggestions are in zone 4.

Kingston, Teddington, Surbiton, Hampton are zone 6 but they’re definitely not cultural wastelands with no parks. So I think it’s unlikely she’s there.

Zone 6 could be Orpington or Hatch End…

Bristol

I lived in Bristol. Absolutely hated it. The affluent areas are totally up their own arses, and the rougher areas are really rough. I always found Bristol to have a really disconcerting atmosphere, and really hated it. Bath is lovely, but maybe a bit quiet if you’ve come from London

Folkestone is very cool. Harbour arm etc is great for food etc. Bit rough and ready in places at night? Great beaches.

or go the other way and St Albans? Easy for Blackfriars. Cinema, leisure centres, good shops, market etc. your budget would get you a house - not in the centre but not too far out.

I'm surprised you can get anything in Guildford for that money! There are lovely houses, but I always assume they'd be over a million.

The problem with Worcester Park/New Malden/ Cheam and the like is they no longer seem to have their own identity. They all just merge into one with horrendous traffic to boot. Worcester Park esp has got dire over the years. The high Street used to be lovely now it's a scruffy mess. When little pockets of suburbs get like this you find kids activities get stretched too, so Brownies is in Cuddington, nearest soft play in New Malden, 'normal' supermarket North Cheam etc.

Kingston does have an identity of it's own ..Will agree there. Guildford , Godalming , Petersfield possibly a bit quiet for what OP is looking for ?

Colchester.
Wivenhoe

Hitchin in Hertfordshire :)

Not sure about the other places but your really need a car to get the most out of Winchester.

She said she didn't want to be overlooked.

Come to the coast. Brilliant for young kids. Always something going on. Take up watersports hobbies, live music on seafront, veggie cafes , tons of attractions, loads in the surrounding area.

Houses like this in your/under budget.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/123319769#/?channel=RES_BUY

Moving is so expensive and disruptive, need to give the current place a fair crack of the whip for say a year or two, properly trying to settle in.