My husband and I are in our thirties, no children yet, but that is in the plan. We are currently renting and looking to buy a house. We have a medium/large dog and are in the market for a detached place with a private garden. Budget is £700k - £850k.
We are prioritising the usual things: good commute into London, good schools (likely State, not private), safety, green space, fitness activities (pilates, yoga).
We don't have much family around London and are flexible in location. Mostly looking at commuter towns (everything from Paddock Wood to Fleet). We've found a beautiful, modern house that's walking distance to the Salfords station in Redhill (with good links for our work, DH and I both work hybrid 2/3 days a week each). It ticks most boxes, but we're unfamiliar with the area and don't know much about schools.
The online reviews of Redhill as an area are quite mixed, leaning towards "avoid" from what I've seen. My questions are as follows:
- Any views on Salfords/Redhill as an area? Is it a bit rough? On the up-and-up? Anything would be useful.
- Are the outskirts of Redhill quite different to central Redhill?
- Anyone else recently been in a similar position (choice of house they really liked in a less popular area vs a house that felt like it was more of a compromise in a popular area)? Which decision did you go with? Do you feel it was a good decision / would you do it differently?
I'm new on Mumsnet, sorry for the long post and multiple questions!