Nice places to live in South East England with kids.

[PhenomeNOM]

I currently live in Islington (London) with my hubby and two daughters aged 3 and 7.
We live in a small 2 bed. flat without garden/balcony and want to extend our family. So, we want to move to a bigger house e.g. 3 bed.+ garden, unfortunately house prices in London are too expensive for our taste. My husband works in Fitzrovia (central London) and I work in Shepperton (outside London). We would like to live in a nice villages with a train station and good schools. Also, hubby and I don't mind commuting everyday. Our budget is £370,000 for a 3 bed and good sized garden. So, where would be best to live? Kent? Surrey? Berkshire? Sussex? Stay in London? Thanks for helping!

Brighton will be too expensive for that budget but Eastbourne is nice and affordable. A bit of a long commute to London but I know plenty of people who do it. Some say it's dull here but I think it's lovely for families, you've got the sea, nice parks, and plenty of scenic spots locally. And Brighton is only a quick jaunt up the A27 if you want to go somewhere a bit more "cool" for the day...

We bought a brand new build 4 bed detached house with garden and garage here for £300k in January, it's good value.

I realise you said villages though. There are some nice villages around in East Sussex though which may be a little cheaper than West Sussex or neighbouring Kent. However you will find s lot of them no longer have train stations so maybe not so good for the commute...

Harpenden!

We just bought a 3-bed semi in Brighton with a big garden that backs onto the downs... £280k

How long would you be willing to spend commuting?

Have you thought about Hersham or Walton on Thames? I don't live there myself but not far from Sheppeton and I think you'd find something there. Good train links too.

Taplow (for Crossrail). In catchment for Bucks grammar schools.

Horsham is nice. A medium town, quite child friendly I think and the surrounding countryside is lovely.

We currently live in small 2 bed flat in Chiswick, Chiswick is lovely but need to buy a house for about 550k in south/south east England in a town with good commute to London. Any recommendations please, place with amenities and activities so prefer a nice town. Is Haywards Heath boring?

Wye.... lovely rural village