Thinking of moving to Petersfield

[PossPetersfield]

Hello,
My husband and I, along with our two children (1 and 4) are thinking of relocating from London to Petersfield for more space, bigger garden, and to be close to an outstanding state secondary school, as well as slightly closer to family. However, we’re slightly concerned about the length of the commute (husband needs to be in Canary Wharf 2-3 days a week, and I need to be in London (various locations) once a week. Does anyone have any experience of the commute that they could share? Also how easy is it to make new friends in Petersfield, is there a good family community feel?
Many thanks in advance 🙂

My former line manager lives in Petersfield.

She's awful

A former (wonderful) colleague lives in Petersfield and I remember her talking about community activities (vaguely remember a panto and a lot of Elvis impersonators). Just to balance the PP.

Petersfield is lovely but for me I think that would get a bit much commute wise, especially with the kids being so young.

Petersfield is lovely but not sure the commute would be great (long).

Thank you all. One of the draws of Petersfield for us is the proximity to the coast, can anyone tell me the nearest/best beaches/spots by the sea?

I moved to Petersfield from SW London seven years ago. It's very, very different from London and has quite an older profile. I'm 60 and sometimes feel quite "young" here!

It's a lovely market town that's in the middle of a national park. It's very Conservative, gentile, calm and attractive. A host of useful shops together with independents - though the High Street does have empty units that normally get snapped up again. I've seen a fair few come and go even in these short years.

A range of housing stock and most properties are easy walking into town, the train station etc unless on the outer fringes. Two fast trains an hour and two slow. You would want the fast trains and it's circa 1 hour 6 minutes or so into Waterloo. A reliable service and my partner does it once/twice a week post covid. I work from home. It would do my head in the commute, but I'm used to circa 12 minutes into Waterloo from where I used to live in SW London!

Don't underestimate the cost of commuting from this distance. I think a daily return during working hours is £60 ish. Season ticket pre covid was over £5k.

Other public transport is dire. I can't tell you how much I miss TFL. Buses run perhaps once an hour and stop during large portions of the day and end early at 6pm/7pm. Taxis cost a fortune and Uber or similar doesn't exist. But there is a train station.

Where do your parents live?

It's easy to get to a range of beaches. The closest being Hayling Island and Southsea. Lee on Solent is also lovely. Circa 50 minutes to West Wittering and options that way as well. Not far to the New Forest either with all that has to offer.

Bigger shopping at Guildford (or Chichester) or even Southampton for Ikea and West Quay. Having said that Petersfield is blessed with excellent day to day shopping and it's both practical and useful with Waitrose, M&S Food, Tesco and Tesco Express, Lidl and Aldi together with Boots, Superdrug, Poundland, Waterstones, Smiths, Robert Dyas, Mountain Warehouse, Mint Velvet, Grape Tree, Holland & Barratt, Chemists, Butcher, Gails, and many others with some good independents. Twice weekly market on Wednesday and Saturday.
A range of restaurants and pubs - all easily walkable. Taro Leisure centre and various other sports facilities.

But London it is not. It's quiet and sedate and a World away from the metropolis of the capital - though just a train ride away. It is considered one of the jewels of East Hampshire and the housing market and council tax reflects that. It has the highest council tax in East Hampshire.

It's whether the commute, and the cost of the commute, is worth it for you.
I hope this helps. It's surrounded by beautiful countryside, easy access to the coast, A3 back to London, circa 1.hr15 to Gatwick etc.

We moved to Petersfield 9 years ago. People are great. Our road is a nice little community.

The high street is declining, like most high streets are. There is a mix, but there are more and more charity shops and cafes.

Coming from where you are, you will notice the lack of decent restaurants. There are some high average ones, and a couple of really expensive average ones hoping to appear high end, but you will need to go out of town for anything beyond a nice curry (fortunately, there are several of those).

I used to commute. It was dire. Getting in to London was usually OK, but getting home was random. I worked in Canary Wharf for a while, and then Victoria. I ended up driving in as it was faster and cheaper even with parking. And I got a seat, and the air con worked. Swapped to motorbike after a while which was better still. When the train works, it is great, but it doesn't too often, and coming from SW London, you will miss the multiple options you probably enjoy now. There is one line to Petersfield and when it is blocked, there are no other choices.

Reliable trades people are hard to find, but I think that's the same everywhere.

Where it scores for me is that we are 20 minutes from the coast, and also surrounded by beautiful countryside (South Downs etc). West Wittering is your best bet for a decent beach if you can cope with the summer crowds.

Property isn't different value though as it is still commuters belt. I was in zone 5 previously, in North Kent (Bexley), and I could get more for my money there.

ETA - I moved due to work.