Where to move to in Kent / Surrey Hills?

[Katerina085]

Hi! New to MN and looking for advice from those who have gone before me and are therefore much wiser 🤪

Our situation:

• Looking to move to somewhere near but out of London and looking for advice on where you would choose in our situation
• We have a son who will be 4 at the point at which we move, and we’d like to have a second baby at somepoint if we can.
• My husband will need to be in London for work 4 days a week most weeks, but can stay up there for a night or two each week as needed (we have family he can stay with). Our base case will be that he stays up every Monday night and commutes up and back on Wednesdays and Thursdays. I also need access to London for work, but should only need to go up once a week.
• We have family in Kent and Sussex who should be able to help with childcare once a week (e.g do school pick up the day I’m in London) so long as we’re close enough (1 hour drive)

Our priorities:

• Good trains for commuting to Oxford Circus / Tottenham Court Road (reliable and frequent trains, not more than 40 mins, ideally multiple options in case issues with one line, able to get a seat)
• Able to walk to train station
• Good private primaries and secondaries that aren’t a pain in the arse to get to. Ideally walking distance or with a school bus, though a non painful short drive also fine
• Good activities for kids nearby (sports clubs etc). Ideally that also aren’t too difficult to get to
• A few good cafes, restaurants, and ideally a yoga / pilates class or two within walking distance. Don’t need much in terms of shopping on the doorstep as mainly do online. Also don’t need lots of “buzz” but do want a few nice places nearby that are walkable
• Access to good green space direct from the town / house
• Good community vibe
• Good housing stock for a 5 bed period property with a budget of up to £2m. We want to buy our forever house, so want to have a good range of options for our budget and not have to compromise too much
• Not in a flood zone
• Near family who are based in Kent and Sussex (so not interested in Berkhamsted etc)

We’re currently thinking of Oxted, Sevenoaks, or Reigate and would love people’s feedback on which you’d choose in our situation and why. I’m currently leaning towards Oxted because I think we would get more house for our money than in Sevenoaks, but know the commute is worse which worries me. Experience of people who have done regular commutes from these locations and your view on how manageable it is would be very helpful in particular.

We have also considered the leafy parts of SW London (Richmond, Teddington etc) but are struggling to find the type of house we’d want with our budget with a commute that would be any better than further out, and all things being equal we’d rather be out of London in the long term (we both grew up in the countryside).

Thank you very much for any input 🙏. This will be a big move and commitment for us so we really want to learn from others and make the right decision for our family

Reigate is my favourite of the three but the train is very slow - 50 minutes to Victoria.

Oxted and Sevenoaks are both quicker and Oxted has the benefit of Thameslink during rush hour.

All have good restaurants. Much less shopping in Oxted but it sounds like that’s not a problem for you. Oxted has a great leisure centre. For some reason I don’t like Sevenoaks town centre - it feels a bit claustrophobic.

Have you visited them all? They feel very different to London

I would choose Sevenoaks out of the three, 4 days a week is a lot to be commuting and has by far the best travel connections. Lovely countryside right there with Knole(my mum was most aggrieved to discover that Richmond Park doesn't have the monopoly on deer!

Reigate is a lovely and maybe bit more lively town but the transport is poor and slow. And Oxted is much smaller in terms of shops/facilities than the other two.

Do you want to move out that far, 5 days a week commuting between you is a lot. You have the budget to limit your commute.

Reigate is my favourite, find Oxted boring but slow commute.

Surrey hills is Peaselake, Gomshall, possibly Dorking and Cranleigh but none of the places you mention.

I have close friends in Oxted, they like it but aren’t particularly impressed by the secondary school.

Thank you very much for all the inputs 🙏. Interesting (and good!) to hear such a positive write up of Reigate. Will look into it in more detail and see if the commute seems like it could be manageable or not.

@spoodlesee We have been debating this question a lot, and the commute is the key things that worries me. Ultimately we want to move move to the area that we want to be long-term though and set down our roots, as we´ve moved a few times in the last few years already, and long-term we don´t want to be in London. Given we have access to a place in London to stay once / twice a week and the fact my husband´s job is fairly flexible (they would ideally want him to be 4 days a week, but it´s not client facing or anything so he can do it remotely if there were train issues and he had to work from home more some weeks) we think it is the right call on balance. My main concern is that I don´t want him to never see our son. Maybe I´m being naive on the impact of the commute / him being away one night or so a week....input and thoughts on this topic very welcome!

@LonelyCrab Ha, you can tell I´m not local yet! Thanks for clarifying and good to know on the school. We´d likely be aiming for grammar or private though, and good to hear your friends like the area

Would love any more thoughts on the topic if anyone has them. Thanks so much for the inputs

Reigate grammar is a fantastic school but it's prudent to have other options. I'm not sure of any state grammars that way, they are Kent or sutton & Kingston but the competition for the London ones is pretty intense.

Oxted. I grew up there. Most of the kids went to Riddlesdown for secondary. I don't know about primaries. We are in Kent now and still drive over to Tandridge Leisure Centre.

Reigate is a traffic nightmare and Sevenoaks is just a bit souless imo.

I dont see why your husband would need to stay in London one night a week living in any of the towns though, it is a standard commute.

Most people who live in Reigate commute from Redhill, trains a bit quicker but you have to add the time to get to Redhill and park (station car park is generally full by 7:30).
There’s a lovely park, lots of cafes, restaurants, independent cinema in Reigate, Pilates and yoga classes coming out of your ears.
As far as schools - there are no grammars but a number of private schools in Reigate and just outside at prep and senior levels which cater for all academic levels.
Oxted is also a lovely little town but smaller and not so much going on.
Sevenoaks again is lovely and you have the option of grammars schools.

Personally with that budget I would live in Wimbledon , wouldn't Surbiton fit the bill? I think you will struggle to get all you want anywhere in Kent and Surrey

If I was going that way personally I would pick Guildford or Godalming

We live in Sevenoaks and love it!! It would meet all your requirements in terms of area. Only caveat is that I am not sure there would be loads of period 5 bed options walking distance to station though for under 2 million…but not impossible if you compromised on something. Private/state schools/access to london/green space/community are all amazing.
Good luck!!

I would suggest Dorking. The traffic can be an issue though. It does have 2 stations both going into London.

Maybe I´m being naive on the impact of the commute / him being away one night or so a week....input and thoughts on this topic very welcome!

I think it depends on different things. I work p/t so am always home by the time dc finish school even though they often have a club. DH commutes 2-3 days a week and his commute is no more than an hr door to door. Personally I just find it less stress to have 2 parents there, just to do other clubs, cook from scratch, homework. it's full on.

Wherever you go prioritise living close to a station/high street/ supermarket. Makes life so much easier & don't have to spend life in the car.

Yep, no (state) grammars in Surrey at all. Would have to head back into London (Croydon etc) or to Kent if OP wanted grammars.

I personally think that Tunbridge Wells ticks many of your boxes.Great prep schools; primary schools,grammar schools and private secondary schools.
On the border of east Sussex,commute just under an hour to Charing Cross.Lots of decent property walking distance to TW train station,TW common, AshDown forest close by with numerous other pleasant parks close to town with excellent children's areas.
As your Children get older there is more to entertain them and safe town for teenagers .
Pantiles and High Street great for foodies and decent shops .
Many commuters commute daily into London.

It depends where in Kent or (East or West) Sussex your childcare options live - they are both big counties. Have you considered East Grinstead? No idea about schools but the train is an hour into London Bridge/ Victoria and it's a terminus so you will always get a seat. Lots of housing stock (and hundreds more being built if that doesn't put you off). Reasonable high street although like most places now an overabundance of coffee shops, charity shops and nail bars. Library, leisure centre, theatre and Ashdown Forest on your doorstep.

‘Kent and Sussex’ covers a huge area. If you are relying on family for school / nursery pick ups don’t you need to be really close? Where do they live?

Honestly in your budget I would live somewhere like Herne Hill. Recently declared poshest place in S London or something . Trains to London Bridge and Thameslink, walkable or quick bus to tube, loads of green space, lovely cafes and artisan shops.

Rather than deal with all that commuting. Commute to wilder green space at the weekend: Farthing Down, Box Hill, any number of places in quick and easy reach.

A Grammar area is all very well.., unless your child is amongst the 75% who don’t get in. You need a very good high school as a back up. Unless you can afford private.

It would be Reigate for me.

@cheseandme that would be my 1st pick - but it's not 40 minute commute- so I left it off

I didn’t say 40 mins I said just under an hour. Approximately 56 mins .

Disagree. Those places are on or near the North Downs.

Visit Surrey agreed with me.

www.visitsurrey.com/listing/the-surrey-hills-national-landscape/19653101/#:~:text=The%20hills%20stretch%20across%20a,to%20Oxted%20in%20the%20east.

The Surrey Hills AONB (now called 'national landscape') includes the Downs (Hogsback, Newlands, Box etc). But locals tend to just call that the Downs, and when they say Surrey Hills, they mean the Greensand hills: Blackdown, Gibbet in the west, and Winterfold, Leith, Holmbury etc in the east. They are very different environments as the Downs are chalk and the Greensand hills are, well, sand.

Exactly ^