Kingston or Surbiton?

[sunshinefordays]

I would very grateful to hear perspectives on these two areas from anyone who knows them well or lives there!
Do you prefer one over the other, and if so why?

I previously posted asking for advice on slightly different areas, but we've now narrowed down our search to these two.

Some of our priorities include:

• Walking distance to station (we know Surbiton is better connected with trains)
• Close to parks/green spaces (Kingston seems to have the edge here?) - can you drive to Richmond or Bushy Park and park if you don't live within an easy walk?
• Nice amenities e.g. coffee shops/cafés
• Any leisure facilities like swimming pools/libraries
• Family friendly/safe feel to neighbourhood/community feel
• Good primary and secondary school options

Questions I have around both areas:

• is the traffic/parking bad in Kingston and is this a big problem?
• do both areas feel safe?
• has Kingston got more going on than Surbiton that would make it more attractive for young families?

We have a budget of potentially up to £1million (although who knows with the way the market seems to be going...) and ideally would want to be no more than a 10 minute walk to the train station.

We would hope for either 4 bedrooms or the potential to convert the loft further down the line to achieve this.

Many thanks for any perspectives!

I would vote for Surbiton for family feel over Kingston which to me is busier and more urban and has many more students. Surbiton is more suburban and geared towards young families. I live right next to Surbiton and absolutely love the general area.

Surbs seems to tick all your boxes however the secondary school options aren't as good as primary. Otherwise it's everything you want

I moved out of Surbiton last year VERY reluctantly after six amazing years living there - only left as was completely priced out when trying to upsize. I highly recommend it. I can't comment on schools, but it's a great place to live. We drove the 10-15mins to Richmond or Bushy park almost every single weekend for Parkrun/dog walks - you can park easily for free inside the parks. If you look more towards the Ewell road/Berrylands area you also have Fishponds and Alexandra parks on your doorstep for immediate green space. Try the Oakhill area to be close to the station too. There are almost too many lovely coffee shops and cafes in Surbiton to list - I'd say more good ones than in Kingston. And of course Surbiton station is very well connected. The Nuffield leisure centre near the river is decent and has a pool etc. I'd move back to surbiton in a heartbeat if I could afford a house there...

I too would vote Surbiton over Kingston. To me it has far more charm and is less busy. Excellent trains as well. Much more attractive High Street and whilst the shops may not be as useful as Kingston it’s so close that the wider range of shops in Kingston are easy accessible.

Kingston on weekend nights has a different feel to Surbiton as well.

My family is considering moving to Surbiton as well. Would love to know whether it feels safe at night at areas near the station? Thank you!

I think the faster train to Waterloo is a massive plus. The Kingston line takes twice as long.

Kingston has a lot of shops but I don’t like it all that much. It’s surprisingly scruffy given how expensive parts of it are. The one way system is always chock a block with traffic.

With Surbiton you get the benefit of proximity to Kingston but you can get out of it.

If I had to live in Kingston I would choose the northern bit where you can walk to Richmond Park near Norbiton station (which is a faster line than Kingston but not as fast as Surbiton).

Surbiton is nice but I thought there was a lack of secondary options?

Have you looked at teddington? You should find something to tick all boxes in teddington

Surbiton. It’s a lovely short walk along the river to get into Kingston.

I would love to live there.

Surbs ❤️ Kingston is just a few minutes away on the bus so it's so easy to get there if you need to for the shops.

For three years we lived a few roads away from the train station in a beautiful 1930s flat.

I miss it so much. I'd move back tomorrow if I could afford a house there. 😭

You do get crowds outside of the Wetherspoons at the weekends which isn't far from the station but otherwise I found it a quiet and safe place to live :)

We live in surbiton - bought recently after living in Greenwich as ftbs

it’s perfect. Fast trains, enough going on in the high street and the bars and restaurants in maple road are lovely

so many things to do with our toddler - nice parks, cafes, river walks, ballet, football

I’m about to go on Mat leave and there will be so many baby and mum classss around

kingston Is only a short walk or drive away for the shops but otherwise very busy

Richmond park is very close

the area around station is fine - it’s a really busy commuter station and always has taxis outside it

we actually bought nearer berrylands which is full of families and nice houses and even has nature reserves

lots of good nurseries, and primaries

enough options for secondaries - tolworth girls, Holyfield, - or can try for the grammars and there are obviously lots of privates

close to other parts of Surrey for the drive

have no complaints and can’t imagine living anywhere else tbh

I suspect the expansion of the ULEZ is going to impact badly on Kingston town centre. Surbiton is more of a local / village high street so will be more insulated, I think.

This article may be of interest to local parents who may have used this childminder.

https://news.met.police.uk/news/man-jailed-for-sexually-abusing-child-in-kingston-471327