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?

A double in value in ten years is huge - but it completely depends on how much the house was initially worth. A double at the lower end of the market is worth far less than 30% at the top end.

For example, a house going from £250K to £500K really isn't that much over ten years. Yet, if you look in Sevenoaks and other 'nicer' areas, houses that sold for £900K in 2012 are up for £1.5m+ now.

So lets go back to Oxted Bromley, Beckenham stabbings - are the areas bad? Or these areas are "allowed" to have stabbings and still good, but if Sanderstead or Warllingham had stabbings (not even recent like Oxted) - it makes them rough areas? Just checked Sevenoaks crime rate - the same level as Sanderstead/Selsdon/Warlingham etc.

You're missing the point of what I said:

"Honestly, Oxted isn’t that bad! There’s some lovely roads there. Sevenoaks is nice (although conscious you said no to that and value for money is just awful - but then I don’t know of anyone ever being stabbed on Sevenoaks High Street…). Reigate is good as well (avoid Redhill). You just have to find the ‘good parts.’ Bromley (again in parts) is nice. Orpington likewise. Banstead also used to be nice (not sure if it still is!)

I said parts of them are nice. Not they are all nice. Finding areas that are 100% crime free is impossible - you just have to pick the best areas within 'decent' areas.

I never mentioned Beckenham...tbh I wouldn't live there.

Sevenoaks is a lot bigger than Sanderstead, so the fact the crime rate is the same is actually quite a bonus in it's favour 😊

It all depends on the size of the property, isn't it? Just checked rightmove: bog-standard 3 bed semis are more or less on the same level (550-650)

If you take average crime rate for Sanderstead, Selsdon, Warlingham (ok, lets add kenley as well to match the size of the Sevenoaks) the average crime rate would be even less than Sevenoaks :))) Not bad, for "rough" areas:)

I didn't miss the point, I just try to understand your logic. Lets do it simple. Stabbings happens everywhere now, and according to you Oxted is not that bad (1 recent stabbing), Bromley is good in parts (1recent stabbing), but Warlingham and Sanderstead are very rough ( each one stabbing few years back). 🤔 Unfortunately, South parts of Croydon are in the same borough as West/Central Croydon, but it doesn't mean they are rough areas at all.

By the way, Banstead is mainly nice:))) (not sure about the train sarvice though, as I remember it was not very frequent). Beckenham is good in part as well:)

When was there a stabbing in Oxted? I’ve never heard of that…

July this year.
https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/man-stabbed-oxted-train-station-29605762

Wow he was probably not from Oxted though I presume

Hello! Just wondering if you made the move and what you think now? We are looking to move out of London and seriously considering Oxted

In Oxted for 10 years. And that stabbing is literally the worst crime (and only stabbing) in the whole time I've been here.
It really is quite a quiet little town. The usual juvenile antisocial behaviour but there are a lot of young people here (good Comp school).
Agree it's a bit expensive though - but you're paying for the transport links and schools.
Hurst Green is ok - not much there though and not as nice as Oxted. House prices are a bit crazy there too since lockdown.