Which area Hurst Green / Warlingham / Other?

[mittensandkittens23]

We are looking to move out of London and (slightly) further out into the countryside, however for the areas we would like to be in, we don't have the largest budget (700 - 800k) for a small detached (or maybe semi) house.

We're focused on the Southern train routes into London Bridge and don't want a huge journey in (ideally 30 - 40 mins on the train plus a walk at either end).

Areas we have looked at:

Oxted- Too expensive

Woldingham- Too small (there is nothing there at all)

Caterham- Trains slow and infrequent, also people have said near the station isn't that great

Lingfield- Fractionally too far and trains are less frequent than earlier stops on the line (Oxted & Hurst Green)

Three Bridges- Better value for money, but not super keen on Crawley

For now we are ignoring Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells (I know they are on a different train line, just mentioning as they are the obvious alternatives) as they are all too pricey for what we want.

Areas we haven't ruled out yet:

Warlingham- Trains are good as you have a choice of stations, however the village is a long walk from the station.

Hurst Green- Not much around, but the trains aren't atrocious. What worries us here are some quite intimidating areas (e.g. Coldshott Road and near the station with the little parade of shops).

We don't drive, so have to be near a station and we absolutely do not want to be in Croydon (Warlingham is the closest we would go)!

Any suggestions with regards to Hurst Green in particular and Warlingham too? Is there much anti-social behaviour, are there any parts to avoid?

Warlingham is a better commute as you have two stations on different lines and wider choice of schools. Also Hurst Green can be a fairly mixed area and more isolated. You need to cross the main road to get to Oxted.

I know rural is different but I know that school does have a fairly large intake area but definitely something to investigate more.

What about Merstham or Redhill? Great train connections and 30 mins into London. Redhill a bit rough around the edges but not all of it. And there are buses too and from Reigate which is lovely and is essentially the posh bit of Redhill.

Have you thought about looking Banstead / Epsom way?

This for example is very close to the station but a fair walk from Banstead village - although there are a few local shops very close.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/151000655

As has been said it’s a fair old schlep from the nice bit of warlingham by the green to the station (and a big old hill too) so that has to be factored into commute times, I wouldn’t fancy that walk on a horrible winters day. I also don’t like the area around the bottom of the valley much.

There isn’t actually much in Hurst Green is there? I think you will want a car living there even though it’s a short hop on the train to Oxted. Have a friend who lives in Oxted who doesn’t rate HG very highly but that may be snobbery. You should be able to find something in budget around the north end of Oxted ie silkhams rd area, but motorway noise can start to creep up.

Have you considered around Kenley up in the hill or the adjoining part where it merges into Purley, again up on the hill? Hayes lane/Cullesdon road? Very quiet and peaceful up there and walking distance to Riddlesdown secondary, just. Short train hop to caterham for shops, although its borough of Croydon you really don’t need to go anywhere near it. I didn’t in the 3+ years I lived in that area.

the catchment extends towards Croydon, I believe, so pretty massive.

Or you could look tadworth area.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/150845594

Tadworth is lovely. Redhill and Merstham are grim, Reigate’s nice but too close to the M25. You’ll struggle to find walking distance accommodation though. It’s so difficult!

Op didnt want anywhere rough so I’m surprised you’ve suggested Merstham. 😮

Yeah in terms of priorities, we would much rather have a smaller/beaten up house in a nicer area.

The trains to Tadworth, Banstead etc. are a bit rubbish (we thought), so that put us off, don't know anything about either area.

From the comments, although we don't know the areas it sounds like Redhill and Merstham are not really ideal.

3 bedrooms in Oxted for £680K

so well within your budget

The problem with Kenley is mainly the trains, although I don't know the area as such, the trains are infrequent, plus as you say it technically is in Croydon, that is a bit off-putting (we could probably look past the Croydon part, but 2 direct trains an hour at peak times isn't ideal).

Note house buy it is on the main A25

Yeah, the odd one does come up in our budget in Oxted and the one you've shown is a very good location, but we can get more for our money on a quieter road in Hurst Green, so we thought perhaps that was better.

Not knowing the area well enough, was hoping to get guidance here as to whether that is a compromise worth making, or whether a worse house in Oxted would be better.

(sorry I quoted the wrong poster, this was in relation to the house on the A25).

Clearly my idea of rough is not the same 😂

They are not THAT bad - and there are houses available for the budget towards the Reigate end of Redhill - so a bus ride from Redhill station. Redhill and Reigate blend into each other so it’s not that crazy a suggestion.

The OP is living in London where you can be in a “nice” area and across the road it is as rough as old boots. Same with Redhill/Reigate. You just need to pick your area that is a bit cheaper because it has a Redhill postcode rather than a Reigate postcode

Agree there are "better" areas in Redhill and Merstham which woukd match budget and schools good. If parts of Oxted were deemed "rough", Hurst Green should be ruled out too.

Looked rough, which may be unfair, but that is why I was hoping for a bit of local knowledge as looks can be deceiving!

Are you against parts of Croydon because of West Croydon?

Have you thought about Surbiton direction?

Although the trains are every half hour, it’s a shorter journey to, say, London Bridge, not to mention cheaper too, so all these things come into play.

Hurst Green is predominantly modern, not particularly attractive housing imo. This is the sort of thing I’m talking about in Kenley, you won’t find a house like this there. That may not be important to you I know, it is to me though.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/146088023

And just to add, Kenley common is a true hidden gem, a slice of tranquil countryside up on the downs. Foxley woods are pleasant too.

The whole town in all honesty, whilst I know West Croydon has a very bad reputation, the centre doesn't have a great reputation these days either.

Also, there's no particular reason for us to move from where we are to Croydon, we may as well stay in London if that was the only option.

We were hoping for more greenery and less anti-social behaviour, whereas Croydon would be worse!

Surbiton is on a very good train line and is (as far as I know) a nice enough area, but we get less for our money there than the areas mentioned above.

Croydon is a borough though so it’s very different in Crystal Palace vs Thornton Heath or West Croydon vs Kenley. South Croydon is very green.

Yes your money won’t go as far in Surbiton.

If you've ruled out Croydon, have you looked around Sutton and thereabouts?

Sutton seems marginally nicer than Croydon tbh, but with worse train connections.

Carshalton Beeches is leafy, Epsom is leafy with good schools. Worcester Park similar.

Where do you live now & what do you dislike about it?