Reigate, Leatherhead or Epsom to move to?

[ArKla]

Hello!

Based on budget, schools and transport links to London, we are considering Reigate, Leatherhead and Epsom to move to.

Could you please share your thoughts on these areas? What you like and don’t like about them?

We’d like the area to have a few cafes, pubs and maybe a few shops too. Which one has more things to do with kids and friends? Are they all similarly safe? We’d like a place that’s relatively calm, but still has things to offer.

Regarding schools they all seem to have great state and private ones, so perhaps not a decisive factor.

From a quick visit, Reigate seemed lovely although the Main Street on the town centre was quite busy / noisy. Epsom seems bigger and more spread out? Leatherhead we are about to visit.

Thanks in advance!

I think Reigate is the nicest. Epsom is fine too. If you're commuting to central London regularly, Epsom has a better commute - trains go to London Bridge, Waterloo, and Victoria. Reigate trains only go to Victoria and are slower. Though personally I'd choose Reigate of the three.

I don't know Reigate that well, but I'd always chose Epsom over Leatherhead. The Leatherhead one way system is awful and some parts of the town are liable to flooding.

Epsom is the busiest and suburban. Reigate town centre gets very congested when the motorway is disrupted.

Reigate traffic can be awful. Apart from Priory Park, is there much for kids to do in Reigate?

I'd go Epsom.

Depends what they are into. There are activities based in the park, including playground, skate ramp and parkruns, plus a sports centre towards Redhill, clubs like Old Reigatians rugby, hockey, cinema etc

I don't know Reigate well but I think the commute is harder if you need to travel to London. Epsom town centre is pretty basic - you can get chores done but it's not "fun" if that makes sense. But it's certainly more useful than Leatherhead which is v basic and a bit depressing.

Epsom has a fairly wide variety of pubs and restaurants. There's stuff to do on weekends and it's close to various parks and good outdoor spaces. It's also within the M25 which I think makes it a bit easier and more convenient. But you'll get much more for your money in Leatherhead, so that might also be a consideration.

I would choose Epsom too. Lots of cafes, pubs and restaurants, good trains into London and I like the atmosphere more than the other two, but that’s a personal thing I guess.

Check where the ulez area is proposed to expand into, some areas on the edge of London may find themselves inside it. Could affect a commuting route or house location.

I would encourage you to join the Facebook pages for Reigate & Banstead Police, Tandridge Beat and whatever other ones cover Leatherhead and Epsom, as you will learn a lot about the areas from their pages.

For example, in recent weeks both Reigate & Redhill (which is the town next to Reigate) have had dispersal orders placed on parts of their towns over weekends in a bid to curtain disruptive gang behaviour. More of an issue with Redhill I believe, but then people "move on" to Reigate, particularly around Priory Park/Morrisons I believe.

I don't think it's an all the time issue, but something to be aware of and probably similar situations in most other towns.

The app called Nextdoor is also useful to join if you see looking for general information. There's also a Facebook page called Love Reigate which is useful.

Having said all of the above .......

At top end of budget for houses, Reigate I have some personal knowledge of. Some lovely roads, good private schools and close to the motorway/airport. The high Street has a good mix of shops, coffee shops and eateries and restaurants and I think has a nice vibe to it. Great Everyman cinema. Priory Park has a playpark and Pistachios Cafe, Sundays Park run, lake/pond, swings, skate park.

Thanks all, that’s very useful. Leatherhead doesn’t sound that great, so we’ll focus on Epsom or Reigate. We’ll visit again to get a better feel, although still difficult to judge from just a few hours around.

Epsom has very distinct parts to it. The College Area is probably the nicest part- it feels more villagey though is still close to the station for commuting. The town centre is much busier and more suburban than it was when I moved to Epsom 20 years ago.

Epsom can be the best of both worlds if you find the right house.

Thanks @Movinghouseatlast ! We’ll take a look at the college area. That’s a good point actually - which areas would people suggest we stroll around (in both Epsom and Reigate) so we get a feel of the nice places we could look to rent/buy eventually.

We will visit the centres again too, but I assume there’s neighbourhoods that people would prefer to live and others that might not be as beautiful / safe?

thanks again everyone!

I used to live in Reigate and was put off by it being almost exclusively commuter. Absolutely soulless all week and then busy all weekend.

Reigate def the best of the three. Leatherhead is a shithole, desperate in terms of shops and eating out. Epsom not great but a bit better.

In Epsom also look around the Common area and up toards Epsom Downs. Both are lovely. Have a walk around Worple Road/Chalk Lane too- some beautiful roads up there.

Also, look at Ashtead or Ewell in Epsom. Epsom still local town centre but there are some lovely areas around there, good schools etc.

Only driven through Leatherhead. An old friend is in Reigate & it's nice around there, good primary schools but she complains about traffic & lack of space.

A friend moved to Ewell (is that in Epsom?) for a bigger house, garden & secondary schools & lower crime. She seems very happy & we met up in Ewell village & it seemed nice enough.

And the Ewell friend initially wanted Reigate but her journey/travel was better from Ewell.

Have you looked at Sutton eg Carshalton Beeches or Kingston/Sutton borders eg New Malden & Worcester Park. Good schools & commute & cheaper then other areas

Thanks @doorheckk . We visited briefly Ewell when we had a first look at Epsom and it felt very small/isolated. I would prefer an area that would have a few (not many) nice shops, cafes, pubs at a relatively walking distance. Maybe I got the wrong impression, but Reigate and Epsom gave me a nice lively feeling and vibe (without being hectic).

re. Sutton, we only visited the centre and it was way too busy and hectic for our taste. I could have a look at Carshalton Beeches though if that’s calmer.

Borders of Kingston I think seem still more expensive or less value for money let’s say (but that’s from a quick research online on house prices).

thanks all for your comments, it’s definitely interesting and helpful!

@Movinghouseatlast thats great, we will definitely have a look at these areas.

how about Reigate - do people suggest any specific neighbourhoods/ streets to have a look for nice places to live?

thanks a lot!

If you feel Ewell is isolated I'm not sure carshalton beeches would work. There is a couple of small parades of shops but it's more residential.

Carshalton village is quite nice. But again fairly small.

@ArKla I don't think I know Epsom very well & confused it with Ewell! I've definitely been to the racetrack a few times.

Sutton centre isn't great but Sutton has some nice areas, a big attraction is the schools. Agree with pp that CB will likely feel too isolated for you as well.

Kingston borders have more of a London feel I think which is of course reflected in the price but still good value compared to other areas a bit further in.

What is your budget? Reigate is very variable in price. Croydon Road, Nutley Lane, Furzefield Road, Waterlow Road, Chart Lane, Wray Lane are nice areas to look at but it depends how near station, schools etc you want to be and your budget.

It sounds like you pretty much want to live in a town centre. I would consider Ewell to be an extended part of Epsom, but your'e right - the actual village is quite small and basic. You'd have go into Epsom for anything more substantial. It's a 5 minute drive or a 25 minute walk but if you want something that's just a 10 minute walk into town, then yes, stick with Epsom "proper". Broadly speaking, I'd stick to South/South East/East side of Epsom vs North/NorthWest/West side. Much nicer streets and houses and makes little difference ito school districts. Having said that, if you have a boy and you want him to go to Glyn, check catchment for the last few years as I think some years it doesn't cover the whole of Epsom so you'd probably want to be a bit more east/north east/north.