what's it actually like commuting from Guildford / other bits of Surrey

[Justalondongirl]

I currently live in London (hence the user name) but looking to relocate somewhere in Surrey, possibly Guildford. I need to commute to London (Bank / Cannon Street area) around 3 days a week. I've looked at train routes and times etc but want to get a sense of what the commute is actually like. In particular in Guildford, if you're not walking distance to the station, is the commute feasible - do people park at the station or is that just too congested to get to / expensive? Would also consider places like Dorking but it looks like trains are very slow. I find commuting exhausting now even 3x a week so don't want to move anywhere it's worse! Or any other towns or areas to consider?

Budget around 900k max for a 4 bed ideally detached so that rules some areas out eg I think SW London too pricey.

I commute from the Hersham/Walton-on-Thames area. It’s about 25/30 min to Waterloo. There’s parking at both stations but it’s £££. Hersham is tattier and there’s no step free access. It’s a pain when the trains are down because there’s no proper alternative but luckily my work are flexible about start times. If yours aren’t it could be tricky. But overall it’s manageable.

Esher? It’s the station before Surbiton (so you get fast trains but also a seat usually) and the High street has character. Not sure if in budget though?

The biggest issue you will have is not the train time which can be quick but the journey either side of it so people posting 30mins is nothing like the reality.

Have you looked in outer zones eg New Malden, Worcester Park, Surbiton etc? Often faster & crucially cheaper commutes plus access to other options if one line is down.

Trains from Waterloo or Clapham junction, but most are every 30 mins apart from trains to surbition

You would get z3 for 900k eg Tooting

I would test out journeys before committing to a move. They will be longer than what you are doing now.

the journey isn't just the time the train should take from one station to another. it is also the time either side of the station. and it's the time between trains when you inevitably miss a train.

It's worth signing up to Tube Alerter for free for areas you're interested in - pick a section of a line and days, and it'll send notifications when there are delays/closures. So it'll give you an insight into how often you'd be delayed. It doesn't cover NR, there are probably other apps or you could check SM of the rail companies.

tubenotifications.co.uk/

Also suggest Walton on Thames as a good compromise and a great commute. Many properties are within a 15:20 min walk of the station too

I did Woking to Bank for years. It’s easy enough and parking at the station is much easier now after Covid. Guildford is just a bit longer journey and less frequent. You get used to it, but I wouldn’t do it now if you paid me!

Woking is the first stop on services to Portsmouth (I think) and have multiple trains an hour which takes something like 22 minutes, even late in the evening.

Just home from my current commute and the thought of a much longer and less predictable journey isn’t feeling good - will check out Woking options maybe driving up and Walton on Thames. Will def thoroughly test out before making any commitments!

I choose Redhill over Guildford when had placements at both hospitals and London. 35min to London Bridge, 50m to Victoria trains every 30min so much countryside. 10m train to Gatwick yet can't really hear the planes. Easy drive to Guildford on m25 I did it daily for 2yrs. Bit traffic-y on way back so journey time 55 not 40min.

I utterly love it here really really sad to be moving back to Kent as Earlswood is such a nice quiet friendly place surrounded by nature walks and national trust places etc

I walk to the station as I'm only 3 roads away but Redhill station has lots of parking places, Earlswood has free road parking

I choose Redhill over Guildford as the trains were much more frequent and reliable (Guildford has improved post covid though) and house prices were about 200k cheaper for the same equivalent. Guildford Town centres a bit more posh but I wouldn’t shop in most posh shops so doesn't bother me. Redhill town centre is losing a fair few shops but has a lot of choice and 10min to reigate if you want the fancy shops n posh restaurants

Just trying to think what posh restaurants are in Reigate?!