Hampshire advice

[Xanadu124]

Hello, looking to relocate to Hampshire. We'd like a nice town an a train link to London not too far away but to be rurally based. Schools not a concern. Any suggestions of nice areas or villages would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

No offense but my once lovely Hampshire town is on the point of collapse after an influx of Londoners wanting "nice but close to a rail link to London"
The crime rates up, the traffic is worse every year and there's now a tangible divide between rich and poor. ( It was always wealthy but it wasn't divisive).

Move to Surrey. That's nice if you have money.

Sadly, completely agree, as do friends dotted around Hampshire. So much green space being built on. Do research carefully op. Agree Surrey would give you more.

I agree about the green space, fortunately the crime doesn't seem too bad yet in my nearby nice little town (with a crap rail link). Lots of new housing being built near me because the other half of my area is the SDNP and must not be built on. Of course no new GP surgeries are being built, not that there would be GPs to staff them unless we steal some more from abroad somewhere. I really don't understand what's driving the demand.

Oh dear, quite a negative response so far. I'm not from London btw, or looking for a regular commute to London. Surrey always seems focused on schools and commuters to me, which I'm not after. Not sure why an influx of wealthy Londoners would increase the crime rate? Or is something else going on? I'm after open spaces and good walks mostly - the Downs would be ideal.

Goodness, I’d pick Hampshire over Surrey. Have a look at Twyford. Close to Winchester for commuting, lovely countryside, vibrant community.

Well of course. The South Downs is appealing to most people. It's why you can't move on a sunny weekend. And being close to the sea.

All the villages are getting built up. The urbanisation contributes to the crime levels.

Everyone wants rural ( although you'll only be 20 minutes tops from big town in n Hampshire) but few add anything useful to the countryside. Most seem to move there and drive somewhere else all the time..or get in the way of tractors with their bikes or morning run.

The best bet if you actually want walks and rural is somewhere with no train line. Hambledon and Wickham are lovely villages with good walking and community facilities.

Not a village, but has surrounding villages. I’d recommend Winchester - an hour from London Waterloo

Sorry it was the building on green spaces that set me off.

How far do you want to be from a station? And what is your budget? And how rural - edge of town, in a village, hamlet? Mains gas and sewage or don't mind? And can you drive?

Petersfield and Alton are both lovely, both surrounded by beautiful Hampshire countryside. Alton is 1 hour 10 minutes into Waterloo.

Bentley is also lovely. Between Alton & Farnham but still Hampshire.

Is anyone allowed to move to Hampshire?

I would place bets on the rich/poor devided town being Winchester??? The crime is to do with drugs then.
If you look along the rail lines you will see several lovely towns/villages with stations and about 1 hour or less from Waterloo. Most will be nicer with lower crime rates than Winchester! if you want on the edge of the downs look alone the Salisbury route -overton, Whitchurch, Andover.

Wow, Hampshire is a large county (which I moved to 2.5 years ago) and I don't recognise the negative comments! I do accept there is house building outside of the National Parks. Alton and surrounding villages tick all your boxes.

I lived in Winchester for 3 years and agree with this, it always was between the wealthy houses, the middle class areas, the students, council estates and when I was there, the squaddies, it's a city that is definitely economically diverse.

I live elsewhere in Hampshire now and agree with other posters, there is a lot of building going on and many places that were once lovely are going downhill. You will need a car because public transport is the pits outside the cities and Basingstoke, Winchester has the best train station and timings for London IMO

Southampton has the cheapest housing the the SE on average.

Shawford is lovely, and Winchester itself is beautiful. If you can cope with a bit further away Lymington, Brockenhurst and Lyndhurst are lovely. If you fancy a beach Southsea near Portsmouth is quaint with some lovely interesting homes.

Many thanks for all your helpful suggestions. I'm currently up north, so things not as busy here, but I do miss the weather in the south. However all UK cities and towns seem to increasingly have issues, and plenty of London flight to Northern cities too. We're a small, crowded country, but still without adequately housing. Villages within the Downs appeal to me, as there's a limit to what they can build there, but getting to a town or city could be an issue if traffic is terrible, but would probably avoid it as much as possible. Hospitals and healthare are another important factor, hence why I don't want to be completely in the middle of nowhere - 25-30 mins drive max preferably. And yes, I drive.

Chandlers Ford?

Chilworth for preference. Right next to the M3 near to Southampton, near to Winchester, Romsey not far, not more than a handful of miles from Southampton airport and Southampton parkway train station and not horrendously far from South downs. Lovely houses too.

OP what budget do you have?

PLEASE avoid ALTON at all costs. It’s the opposite of what website and brochures say. I can’t wait to sell and move after only a few years.

Bentley?

Stockbridge would fit your requirements. Lovely and rural great community, incredible walks and open spaces. Superb pubs. Twenty mins to central winchester, ten mins to Andover and the A303. Trains from Andover or Winchester or Micheldever. Actually all the villages near Micheldever are lovely too.

I would disagree with this. Huge houses, but no sense of community, and two motorways (and their slip roads) run through it. It always seems noisy!

Do you want walking distance to a station or driving? How close to London? What’s your budget? The Salisbury line via Grately (for which you could be in the Wallops) might work, or Winchester outskirts. Various small towns and villages close to Southampton Airport Parkway.

Wickham is unrecognisable now , they are also building 6000 houses now rising to 30,000 in the coming years , essentially a new town between Wickham and Fareham . The roads are already gridlocked , you can’t get parked in the square anymore unless you’re very lucky or prepared to wait . The historic village with its chocolate box houses and lovely walks is being turned into an urban metropolis, very sad .

I am really surprised to read this. One of my brothers and his family have lived in Alton for 25 years.

They love it. I love visiting them and 'rural market town' is exactly what it is. We usually go for a lovely walk with the dogs, the town is surrounded by gorgeous countryside.

What do you dislike about it?

This is absolute nonsense! I live near Wickham and this is not the case at all!