Living in Surbiton anyone?

[GreenwichVillage83]

Can anyone share any intel about living in Surbiton please?

We have 1 young child, currently TTC another. Husband has to commute to City and works late so we don't want a really long commute - ideally 45 mins or under. I wfh. Currently living in a small flat in Blackheath. Houses here are small or v v pricey and secondary schools not great. We don't want grammars or private.

Priorities are schools (state secondaries, not Catholic), green space and the usual wish list of pleasant quality of life.

Surbiton has been suggested by a colleague of DH as a (relatively) affordable option, with good commute. I never knew anything about the place and always thought it was just a surburban sprawl but this guy said it's very pleasant.

Not sure on budget - this would be in a couple of years time. But somewhere between 750-£1m for ideally 3 beds. Roughly speaking.

Is this an area worth looking at?

its a very nice area with the river and parks, and a good train service. Not cheap though!

If you're not planning on moving for a few years, I'd say wait to decide where to live to see if your priorities change.

Surbiton is pleasant, but I wouldn't class it as affordable. And while the train is quick from Surbiton to Waterloo, the Waterloo & City line isn't great - when I used it a few years ago, it was always packed and unpleasant. I'd suggest somewhere with a direct train to London Bridge, Cannon St or Moorgate instead, unless you particularly want to be in SW London?

DH was living there when I first met him. It's a very nice area. Close to the river, nice centre. Whilst it's a little more affordable than central London, it's not inexpensive and there are more slow trains than fast trains into central London - it's not a speedy commute.

You might find you get more for your money in leafier parts of Essex and a commute straight into Liverpool Street.

When I say "affordable" I obviously mean in a London context! We don't want to live outside London or too surburban, and DH's job means commute of 45 mins or less. Ideally we would love somewhere like Blackheath but we can't afford 3 beds and enough space here, plus secondary schools aren't great.

Looking for somewhere with a similar vibe but cheaper and with better secondaries.

@sarahb083 that's helpful to know about the W&C line, thanks.

Those SE train lines going into Cannon St etc don't really work for secondary schools however as it's grammar school territory.

This article might be useful:

Location lowdown: Surbiton, southwest London

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/17a55eca-e407-11eb-afdb-c7b01afbcfc5?shareToken=163f6c654b4633a1bb3761b5975d62d9

Its seriously expensive. It's also very congested with traffic, constantly.

It's also very yummy mummy. Be prepared for meeting stay at home mums with hedge fund husbands.

And the go-to farm shop which you'll soon discover but I dare not name charges Fortnum's prices.

It's also very sniffy about which school your child attends.

And yes, I used to live there for quite a while.

Yep, but I think this is probably true of all the desirable areas which tick the OP's boxes.

Don't be put off by the W&C line comment. It's is packed but it does move. I'm a short arse/armpit height, so I particularly dislike it (fortunately don't have to use it often) but it's bearable. Get DH to try it out at peak times before deciding if somewhere on a Waterloo line is in or out.

Thanks, yeah I mean Blackheath is quite yummy mummy too. I don't pay much attention! Are there other normal shops as well as the farm shop?

Does it feel very suburban? Also what are the secondaries like and can anyone recommend particular roads or roads to avoid?

I'll obviously go and visit myself at some point.

I live here and love it, 20 mins on the fast train into Waterloo, lots of families and good community feel. all primaries are excellent and also good secondary's - I have children in both - also a couple of grammar schools. Lots to do locally with children. Which part are you looking at for houses? I think with that budget you could probably get a small 3 bed nearish the station or a 5 min bus ride (ellerton, Douglas road etc) are all desirable.

There is a bit of traffic which can be frustrating but you are also close to a3, m25, kingston, hampton court etc.

Surbiton high street has a Sainsbury’s, marks and Spencer's and Waitrose as well as a refill shop. Not quite sure on the farm shop app has spoken about unless they are referring to the one in esher or perhaps I just am not well travelled enough down the high street.

Lots of coffee shops, a vets, few nice pubs, could of nice lunch spots and restaurants aswel as a macdonalds, clarks, opticians etc.

Living in Surbiton sounds like a fate worse than death. Suburbia surbiton

Personally I like surbiton and it's great for kingston and shopping- they are virtually joined. I can't imagine it's any cheaper though than Blackheath -although personally I much prefer it

Why don’t you look into South East London. Forest Hill and around. Like Blackheath but without the yummy mummies. And with excellent schools

Surbiton is nice, I would say it's suburban though.

You would get a good house in your budget.

Not sure on secondaries if you don't want grammar, private or catholic though.

I grew up in Surbiton. Parents sold their 3 bed semi for £700,000 last year so you're within price range. I loved it - shopping in Kingston is great. Surbiton has enough shops and restaurants of its own though. Direct trains to Waterloo. There are state grammar schools (Tiffin's) at secondary if your kids are gifted, other state schools are good. Easy travel to great parks - Richmond, Bushy, Nonsuch.

We literally did the same move last year - lived near Blackheath as husband worked in Canary Wharf (but now the city) to move to surbiton (berrylands part) because I grew up near there and it’s closer to family and friends.

I wouldn’t class it as particularly affordable tbh - in fact I’d say it’s the opposite compared to other parts of This part of London and is known to be pricey because it has such great transport links

Some of the naice houses are £2m+ If not more- although you may be able to get something within your budget in berrylands.

I do love it though. It’s great for families - so many activities, a really fast train into waterloo (I can time it so I go to the city in 35 mins as the trains to Waterloo can be 17 mins or so).

nice high street, close to lovely parts of Surrey, close to Kingston which has hundreds of great shops and amenities ( literally it used to be one of London’s biggest centres )

good for primary schools, has some decent state options including grmmars like tiffins - but does also have a lot of private schools in the vicinity

in fact Kingston borough is known as one of the better boroughs for schools inc private - but a lot do go private as it’s close to eg esher

it’s a bit yummy mummy but not quite in a Blackheath sense - I’m about to start my second Mat leave and I’m pretty sure I’ll find some mums to meet easily.

there are parts that are suburban - but we don’t care. Our house is a semi, has more bedrooms, tons more space and a much larger garden than we could have ever got in Blackheath or hither green

there is lots of green parts though

overall I’m really happy with our decision.

that said, I’d also say it’s not known as an affordable option at all in Sw London - in fact possibly the opposite so that bit is confusing

Can't stand Forest Hill, sorry.

Also what great secondaries are there in SE London that aren't religious, apart from Charter in Dulwich?

Not really a fan of south London generally - it's all a bit disconnected. Having moved here from N1.

Looking around for a better option. Concerned Surbiton will feel suburban though.

@Namechanger355 all really helpful info, thank you.

I think I meant affordable when compared to either Blackheath village or parts of North London where I'm from (Angel / Camden etc).

One question though - I've realised there's no bridge near Surbiton so is it the case you'd have to trek through kingston to get up into the park? If so that's a real negative. We love being a 10 minute dog walk away from big green space. In our case we can reach Greenwich Park easily and of course the heath itself. Was hoping to access Home Park / Bushy Park on foot but perhaps not.

We made the move, but went to Liphook which is a fast train. To London. Great schools and life quality. Houses are cheap but rising fast

It’s totally different to Blackheath where you have one large space and the smaller Greenwich park - and then not much other green space given you are in zone 2 there

everything in surbiton is more spaced out (only way you can fit in larger houses) and on the whole it’s just a lot more green - there are plenty of smaller parks and playgrounds around for dog walking and then Richmond park and bushy are a short cycle or drive away.

and surbiton has access to the river so you can ride on the boats or walk along the river to Kingston

and you have lots of green areas around - lots of nature reserves near berrylands and you are on the doorstop of Surrey countryside if you want to go for a drive to one of the sweet little village nearby

in terms of affordability I get what you mean - but then the average family house in surbiton is bigger than the average family property in Blackheath - and that comes at a price

for a budget of 700k - 1m you could get something decent at the higher end but we did struggle to get exactly what we wanted at the 1m budget

@GreenwichVillage83 How about Bromley, Beckenham, or Crystal Palace?

I think moving to Surbiton for the commute is risky - it's currently 20 minutes, but it's quite far out and there's no guarantee that the train schedule won't change. We live in Zone 6 south London (like Surbiton) and the number of trains from our station has halved in the past few years, and journey times are now longer.

That's unlikely to happen in Surbiton. The reason there is the fast train to Waterloo is it's a stop on the Portsmouth and Basingstoke line.

I agree it won’t happen with surbiton as it’s a hub

but id also mention to Op that comparing Blackheath to surbiton is like comparing apples and oranges - I love both but for very different reasons

Blackheath is gorgeous but it’s a little village in inner london - everything is within walking distance but the housing is smaller (flats or terraced) and there’s less space. Can get a taxi there from central in about 20 mins.

surbiton isnt inner London - it’s a town that is much further out but there are just good transport links - there are suburban parts and quintessential villagey parts/places nearby (eg long Ditton and Thames ditton which are beautiful). Housing stock is bigger and more spaced out (semi or detached usually) and you will probably need to drive more.

i miss aspects of Blackheath but for me surbiton feels more grown up and matches what I want from my lifestyle right now - it doesn’t feel like London in the weekend. but that may not be the case for others

so Op would suggest you visit and explore all of the areas for yourself