Does anyone know anything about esher or Guildford?

[magicalmollie]

Hi,
This is the first time I have posted on here so I'm not sure where to post but here goes.
I have just sold my house in london and am thinking of maybe moving to Esher or Guildford . Can anyone give me advice on whether these are good places to live?
I have heard that all the state primary schools in Guildford are good, but esher seems to only have one and that's very oversubsribed so does that mean she won't get in?
I'm edging more towards guildford as it seems to have more there?
Are they friendly places? I'll be moving and I won't know anyone, so am worried that it will be heard to meet people?
any advice would be much appreciated.
love mollie

Hi Mollie! Mumsnet is definitely the place to come for great advice though afraid i can't offer very specific info in this case but didn't want your message to go unanswered. I was brought up just outside Esher and still go there a lot as my parents are still there. Esher is very smart with beautiful houses, nice restaurants (Carluccio's etc), very handy for commuting up to Waterloo if you need that (20 mins on mainline I think), lots of nice places to go with the children nearby (Claremont Landscape Garden - National Trust - in Esher is a must at the weekend and I think a lot of people tkae the children there very regularly for a run, to see the water birds etc). On the negative side it feels to me (and I could be wrong) that while it has a nice main street lined with lovely restaurants, very smart shops etc it doesn't have a very friendly local feel (the main road through Esher is the old A3 and is very busy). It used to be the main place people referred to when they talked about "The Stockbroker Belt" and does have that feel. I don't know Guildford too well but I'd have thought that might be a better bet in that it is a "proper" town with all that has to offer, but still is smart and stylish with all the nice things Esher has to offer. So perhaps Esher more convenient for London but Guildford a better home town? Hope this helps.

Oh and well done for selling your house in London!

There isn;t just one primary school in Esher! KT10 covers Claygate (very family oriented) and Hinchley Wood as well. Both have decent primary schools, secondaries OK too. Thames Ditton also just about Esher too with decent primaries, but check out distance to nearest secondaries.

Guildford has one or two good secondaries and quite a lot of good primaries, though I doubt all will be good. Town Centre can be quite rough in the evenings, although cctv has improved it a lot.

I'd say both were good places to live if you get the right area, both half an hour or so to London, with a fair amount of stuff to do with kids and decent schools again as long as you choose where you live a bit carefully.

The Boden brigade fairly strong in both areas too 0 this may or may not be a good thing

Thanks for all the advice, unfortunately there is nothing on the market at the moment, which is slightly worrying as I have to be out by September, but hopefully it will pick up. love mollie

Claygate abuts Esher but has a more villagey feel with a proper butcher and fishmonger. House prices a bit lower, too.

The Esher faith primary is the best on paper but you would have to live next door now to get in without the requisite knee-time. But the Claygate, Hinchley Wood and Thames Ditton ones are v good, just not as good.