Where to live in the South?

Megalomaniac

MrsE wrote: »

Surrey will suit you better for Waterloo.

Have you thought about Guildford & surrounds, are there fast trains into London from there anyone?

Yeah... it's really either/or - it's just a jump across the river so that's why I am considering both really.

Guildford looks ok, but seems expensive - probably because there's a lot of people wanting to live there, either to commute to London from or work there. It's certainly an idea though! Cheers

ukcarper

Guildford is very nice as mentioned. Ash Vale is about 8 miles west of Guildford there is a bit of urban sprawl between Farnham Aldershot Farnborough and Camberley Ash Vale is on the edge of this but it does have a station with good trains to Waterloo same line as Farnham. Also good for M3

daveb975

zaphod_beeblebrox wrote: »

Surbiton, Surrey

I'd normally agree with this, but not sure it is 100% right for the OP. I have lived in Surbiton for years, and love it. There are 12 trains an hour taking not much more than 15 minutes to Waterloo, and tickets are reasonably cheap because it is in zone 6. There are 1000's of acres of parkland on the doorstep, and the better parts of the area generally have nice, tree-lined roads. Considering this is a London suburb and Kingston is within 1 mile, I find it a very quiet and relaxed place.

BUT, £800 won't get a decent 2 bed flat in a nice part of the area and you will have to travel down to Esher (3-4 miles) for 'proper' countryside if you don't like the parkland. Surbiton has a 'leafy London' feel about it, but definitely not a country feel.

Move a bit further out and things get a bit greener. Places like Weybridge, Cobham and Sevenoaks are lovely, but are more family-orientated areas, so a couple in their 20's may find them a bit boring. These are very expensive areas, but flats and small houses tend to be quite reasonable as most people living here are looking for larger homes.

I'd avoid Woking personally, but I think Guildford is a good option. The commute is quite long and expensive compared to somewhere like Surbiton, but it is still quite reasonable. There is a lot going on in the town, but ignore the awful nightclub stretch as you come out of the station - it is NOT all like that! There is a lot of nice countryside directly surrounding the town as well.

Some of the other areas further out could be worth a look too (Farnham especially is very nice), but do bear in mind the length of the commute. 45 minutes each way might not sound a long time, but can become very wearing when doing it every day. I'd also be looking for somewhere with frequest trains, as there is nothing worse than arriving a Waterloo to find you have just missed train and there is not another one for half an hour.

For me, the commute is a very high priority (hence living in Surbiton), but a lot of other people I know are quite happy travelling for a bit longer to get a cheaper/bigger house in a greener area. Everyone's priorities are different.

Gingernutmeg

daveb975 wrote: »

I'd normally agree with this, but not sure it is 100% right for the OP. I have lived in Surbiton for years, and love it. There are 12 trains an hour taking not much more than 15 minutes to Waterloo, and tickets are reasonably cheap because it is in zone 6. There are 1000's of acres of parkland on the doorstep, and the better parts of the area generally have nice, tree-lined roads. Considering this is a London suburb and Kingston is within 1 mile, I find it a very quiet and relaxed place.

BUT, £800 won't get a decent 2 bed flat in a nice part of the area and you will have to travel down to Esher (3-4 miles) for 'proper' countryside if you don't like the parkland. Surbiton has a 'leafy London' feel about it, but definitely not a country feel.

I agree. I lived in Surbiton and I'd love to move back there, but even three years ago we were paying £850 pcm for a 2-bed flat and it was just too expensive. It is a very nice area though, lots to do and very 'leafy'. Living so near to Richmond park is a bonus too.

I wouldn't recommend SE London though, not if you're looking for easy access to 'green' and a nicer area. We moved from SW to SE London (Zone 4) and didn't like it at all, and again, I think you'd struggle to get somewhere nice in terms of area for £800 pcm - I personally wouldn't recommend Lewisham, Shooter's Hill, most of Bexley borough, that kind of area. There's Blackheath which is nice, but it's dear - for the price, we'd rather pay the same to live in SW London, but it's a matter of choice and preference. I would say though that there are a lot more 'not nice' areas in SE London, and they're definitely not places that you'd even consider living in, if you had the choice. I've lived on the Alton Estate in Roehampton (has a bit of a reputation for being rough, but it's not that bad at all) and in some not-very-nice places in Kingston, and to my mind they're nowhere near as 'scary' as similar places in SE London. But again, that's just my opinion. If 'green' is important to you think I personally wouldn't go for SE London just because it feels a lot more urban overall than SW - I missed trees terribly when we moved there!

In terms of quality of housing and quality of life, I'd definitely look at living outside of London and commuting in, and for preference, I'd go for the Hampshire/Surrey side rather than Kent.

Megalomaniac

Interesting views and all very helpful. It is a concern that we could move somewhere nice but be too quiet. Like Dave says, I could be moving too early into a 'family' type area and forsaking the benefits of being near a larger urban base. We do like to go out and have a drink, go to the cinema, eat out and sometimes even dance . I live in Durham at the moment which is great as you have the countryside on the doorstep and all the benefits of a town including a high street aswell as the typical shops you would expect. I do like the idea of Hampshire/Surrey because of the good road and air connections, whereas from Kent you have to spend up to an hour to get somewhere to the west or north.

Maybe I will have to increase how much I am looking to spend on rent each month but within reason. It's a balance between rent, train travel, time, access to the countryside but at the same time being able to go to a town centre relatively easily to do some shopping and enjoy the night life - we're not massive city people, but I would like to live in a town that's small and friendly.

Keep going round in circles! hehe

getmore4less

THe further you comute the less time you have to enjoy the place you live during the week. becomes counter productive. in the winter you are only at home when it is dark.

You also get knackered so the weekends become less enjoyable as well.

The alternative is live close to work, short commute and just go out more at the weekends.

The other thing is that untill you know where the OH will be working you don't know which area will work for both of you.

I would look for jobs for the OH close to the options you are looking at so only one of you comutes. untill then consider a 6 month let very close to where you will be working as a stepping stone..

poorandindenial

I agree with getmore4less, I commuted from Woking to Old Street for a while and although the train is only 25 mins the fannying around either end makes it more like 1.5 hours door to door. Also agree that a short lease could be the way forward while you discover a bit more.

One thing you may want to consider to keep costs down is living more into london and then getting the bus to work (£1 a journey with an oyster card so £2 a day) this could give you more flexibility for the first few months while you work out what you really want.

The other thing is that in my experience London is different to working other places (I have worked a few) and more people tend to be social at work (with no planning) than in other parts of the country because basically no-one drives into the office so if you have a long haul you may find that you get frustrated because it can feel like it limits your ability to build friendships with your colleagues.

It might not be something that bothers you but I thought I would mention it.

hethmar

If you havent commuted before - it can be hellish. Trains late, cancelled, packed like cattle - I dont envy anyone having to do that every day. I had it for 12 years (to Orpington) and I look back and wonder how I did it!

Get somewhere nearer - Greenwich is a nice Borough and close to the city - lots of green open spaces, by the Thames. West London always seems a bit souless to me, but thats my personal opinion. Whilst places like Tonbridge/Sevenoaks are beautiful, they are really more suited for families or older people. You wont have any cafe life or clubs in the area.

daveb975

poorandindenial wrote: »

I agree with getmore4less, I commuted from Woking to Old Street for a while and although the train is only 25 mins the fannying around either end makes it more like 1.5 hours door to door. Also agree that a short lease could be the way forward while you discover a bit more.

Yes, a short lease is the way to go. You are in a very good position where you are not tied to one particular area so it is worth seeing which one works for you.

The main advantage of the Kent line is that it is easier to get direct to the City as these trains stop at Cannon Street and London Bridge as well as Waterloo. The Surrey trains don't say you need to use the Waterloo and City line to get to the City. Should not be an issue for you as you are working near Waterloo anyway.

ukcarper

Out of Fleet Farnham and Guildford Guilford is the liveliest and you would be able to do all of the things you mentioned there. Not that much in Fleet or Farnham apart from a few pubs and restaurants.