Moving to Surrey for family home

[Fishhhandaricecake]

Hey All, hope everyone is doing well.

Me and my partner are looking at selling our flat in London to move to Surrey to buy a family home.

We seem to have narrowed our search down to Weybridge for a number of reasons that suit what we want but there aren’t many 4 bed houses on which we like in our budget and the ones that are tend to be a little small.

We absolutely love Weybridge but we’re now a bit torn as to if it’s more important to like the area we move to with our next home or to sacrifice a bit on the niceness of the area to get a slightly bigger home.

Right now we have no kids but we are getting married later this year and are 31&30 so we’d like to start trying as soon as we’ve moved to a family home.

Our budget is anything listed up to £750k.

In Weybridge we could get something like this:
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/98512559

In Byfleet we could get something much nicer like this:
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/102796268

In Horsell we could get something nicer than the Weybridge place like this:
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/77860584

But our issue is that whilst the houses we could get in Byfleet or Horsell are bigger and ‘nicer’ , Byfleet doesn’t have much in its small town whereas Weybridge has a really nice selection of shops, cafes etc and has good gyms and schools and it’s quieter and it has nicer walks, Horsell didn’t seem to have that younger family nice upbeat vibe that Weybridge has, it seems sleepier with less to do and more older people so we feel we would be a bit bored.

But we also know that moving house is so stressful and due to stamp duty and other costs etc it costs a lot of money each time you move and right now with our 2 bed flat we will get a first time buyer so the chain is easier for us but if we moved to a 3 bed or smaller 4 bed that we’d want to upsize in 5 years or so then we’d need to spend yet more time and money moving again. We both work in London but moving forwards will only need to commute twice a week.

List of what’s important to us:
-4 bed 2 bathroom house
-Garden
-Within 1 mile walk or a decent train station commute to London
-Good selection of schools
-Good local shops and gyms, tennis clubs. Leisure centres and things to do
-mix of Green quiet feel but with reasonable selection of shops and vibrant feel (Weybridge seems to tick this box the best)

Any thoughts or advice from those who have made a similar move and started a family etc, is it better for us to mabye even get a 3 bed we can really afford in Weybridge if that’s the area we like most and then move again to a bigger 4 bed in 5 years or so if we can afford more then, or move to a smaller 4 bed in Weybridge now, or would it be better to buy one of the places in Byfleet or Horsell so we have a nicer house which could live in for 20 years and build a long term family in, but in areas were not quite as enthusiastic about?

Really torn on this one as to if location and amenities etc is more important than being able to get a 4 bed house that could be a forever home but not in our 1st preferred area.

Any advice would be much appreciated on this decision :)

From experience, my advice would be to move to a ‘nicer’ 3 bed in the area you prefer in a good primary school catchment with a view to move again in 5-6 years to a larger house with a good secondary school catchment...I wouldn’t go for house one, even though that’s the area you want - the layout (in my opinion) isn’t great for a family. You will underestimate how many toys your first child will have, it’s surprising and the toys will take over! Start with a 3 bed in your preferred area and move again, that’s what we’ve done & moved as our family have gotten bigger. It does cost more as you end up moving more - but it’s hard to choose a ‘forever home’ before you have a family. I have my family and thought we’d found our forever home, which we have moved to & love, but myself and my husband have already decided we want to move again in a few years to an even larger property when our children become teenagers. Although that being said, even though it’s stressful I do enjoy moving house! Good luck in whatever you choose.

Horsell is great - has a village-y feel but is moments from Woking, which has a large shopping centre with regular farmers’ markets (pre-Covid) and loads of activities for children. Woking has fast and frequent rail links into London and down to the south-west. It also has a far wider choice of schools for all ages (unless you’re looking for fee-paying, in which case Weybridge may have the edge). Woking is also much more diverse than Weybridge so has lots of Asian shops if you like cooking, it also has an art gallery with lots of workshops for children and adults, a cinema and theatre, a very big library and Horsell Common is fantastic for dog-walking and nature trails.

Weybridge is quite a conservative area - the locals objected strongly to the new Morrison’s being built there (it went ahead anyway) because they already had a Waitrose! There is really only one street of shops - some upmarket ones like Space NK and posh furniture shops but they do have a couple of independent cafes that are nice. Good rail links to London but the station is out of town unlike in Woking, where it’s in the town centre.

We looked at Weybridge when we moved back from Germany with two small children but there just didn’t seem enough for them there in terms of activities and places to go.

@fairydust11

From experience, my advice would be to move to a ‘nicer’ 3 bed in the area you prefer in a good primary school catchment with a view to move again in 5-6 years to a larger house with a good secondary school catchment...I wouldn’t go for house one, even though that’s the area you want - the layout (in my opinion) isn’t great for a family. You will underestimate how many toys your first child will have, it’s surprising and the toys will take over! Start with a 3 bed in your preferred area and move again, that’s what we’ve done & moved as our family have gotten bigger. It does cost more as you end up moving more - but it’s hard to choose a ‘forever home’ before you have a family. I have my family and thought we’d found our forever home, which we have moved to & love, but myself and my husband have already decided we want to move again in a few years to an even larger property when our children become teenagers. Although that being said, even though it’s stressful I do enjoy moving house! Good luck in whatever you choose.

Really good advice thanks for taking the time fairydust.

@FamilyOfAliens

Horsell is great - has a village-y feel but is moments from Woking, which has a large shopping centre with regular farmers’ markets (pre-Covid) and loads of activities for children. Woking has fast and frequent rail links into London and down to the south-west. It also has a far wider choice of schools for all ages (unless you’re looking for fee-paying, in which case Weybridge may have the edge). Woking is also much more diverse than Weybridge so has lots of Asian shops if you like cooking, it also has an art gallery with lots of workshops for children and adults, a cinema and theatre, a very big library and Horsell Common is fantastic for dog-walking and nature trails.

Weybridge is quite a conservative area - the locals objected strongly to the new Morrison’s being built there (it went ahead anyway) because they already had a Waitrose! There is really only one street of shops - some upmarket ones like Space NK and posh furniture shops but they do have a couple of independent cafes that are nice. Good rail links to London but the station is out of town unlike in Woking, where it’s in the town centre.

We looked at Weybridge when we moved back from Germany with two small children but there just didn’t seem enough for them there in terms of activities and places to go.

That’s interesting thanks family of aliens so did you move to horsell in the end?

Have sent you a pm

Try Godalming. More for your money, good train service, good facilities & lots of ex-London escapees

Moving is expensive, maybe find something you can live with for now and extend in a few years, we suddenly have cash now one is in school and the other is on 30 hours funding, until now it's been a bit tight and a few years with smaller mortgage payments might be very helpful. Not all houses lend themselves to extensions, so look at the plot and the floorplan.

I know Horsell well and that’s not a great location OP. School catchments are really tight and make a huge difference to the house prices.

This is listed just over budget in Weybridge (so could come in on budget) and is in Oatlands which is a nice part of Weybridge.

Would you consider Walton? Some good local schools, lovely theatre, cinema, shops, cafes, loads of restaurants, riverside walks. I think Walton is underrated.

This is in Walton, 5-bed and well under budget. Nice too, (imo.)

It sounds like you really like Weybridge. It's a great area but it's expensive so you'll get less for your money. Walton on Thames is nice so you could try there as some parts are practically Weybridge.

Byfleet isn't as affluent as Weybridge. You'll also hear the motorway from the house that you've linked. That stretch of the motorway is very noisy. Local councillors have been trying to have it resurfaced due to the noise. The other side of the motorway is West Byfleet which is 'nicer' than Byfleet but not as 'nice' as Weybridge. The schools in West Byfleet are all 'outstanding or good'. I live in West Byfleet and quite a few people I know there use the David Lloyd in Weybridge as it's a short drive. The village centre is in the middle of a regeneration so looks a bit run down at the moment.

Horsell is one of the nicest parts of Woking and is walkable to Woking town centre. However, you need to be careful with school catchments. A friend of mine moved from London to a large house on Horsell then had to sell and buy a smaller one as they were in a blackspot for schools.

Look at Cobham, Godalming and Haslemere

No we moved to Addlestone which might be a bit downmarket for you, OP

We’re on the move again now though, up to Yorkshire, as less business travel means we don’t need be near to a big airport any more.

Have you thought of Molesey further along the river? It has great walks by the river Thames in Hurst Park, the Pavilion Sports Club or Xcel leisure Centre just a short drive through the reservoirs. Great community with lots of families moving here from London. So many toddler, baby groups and children's activities, very family friendly. Great schools... St Alban's RC Primary was the 6th best primary school in the country recently and gets excellent results. The Orchard Infant School, St Lawrence Junior, Cranmere and Hurst Park Primary are great. Esher High Secondary is well thought of and Esher College Sixth Form is excellent. Great cafe culture vibe down on Bridge Rd, near Hampton Court Station. Hampton Court Palace and Bushy Park are on your doorstep. Great independent shops on Molesey High Street and growing cafe culture with Miss Polly's cafe on the high street and at the excellent Easy Molesey Cricket Club by the river. Lots of parks and feels safe whilst not being too removed from London. Nearby Kingston for shops. You can get a 4 bed for around £700k, especially if you look at the Molesey borders area (where East Molesey meets West Molesey). The problem is houses don't often come on the market...people don't like to move away from Molesey, but it's definitely worth a look.

Did you move OP? Funny I'm in Byfleet and have been thinking about moving out. Great schools here though...

Hi there - is there a big divide between West and East Molesey? And which would be better if we were bringing up a young family? Access to good schools and a safe environment for our children to play outside is very important to us.

TIA x