Leaving London for....Tonbridge?

king100

ttandlg wrote: »

no and unfortunately they dont offer them at all anymore. They were given out when i first started but as with most perks these days they have been withdrawn and only those who had them to begin with are reissued every year so worth keeping hold of!

Get it from the company then sell it on ebay.

With that money buy the pass you need on another line.

Running_Horse

Tonbridge is fine. Don't rule out Staplehurst or Headcorn, as they are only a short hop from several towns, as is Higham.

hazyjo

Check you'd get a seat into London on the train - not sure how far near the end of the line Tonbridge is. I looked at Tunbridge Wells for a while and was told to avoid using High Brooms as I might not get a seat going in... Is that on the same line? Know TW and HB would be further out than Tonbridge, just not sure of the train route.

Of course, you might not mind standing, but I couldn't bear the thought of it on a long(er) commute. Much nicer to sit and read in your own space.

Jx

ttandlg

Ive read that there is usually a seat at Tonbridge as lots of school kids get off there. However, im at my desk for 7.30 so i dont think it will make much difference to me at that time of the morning

hazyjo

ttandlg wrote: »

However, im at my desk for 7.30 so i dont think it will make much difference to me at that time of the morning

OMG rather you than me lol!

No worries there then!

Nice part of the world. If I'd managed to sell my house, I'd be living in TW now. As it happened, I only got a buyer when I found a house in East London I liked.

Strongly believe things happen for a reason... was definitely meant to be north of the river - found that out very soon after moving in.

Keep us informed!

Jx

jackie_d

I live just outside Tonbridge in Hildenborough and I say hello to all my neighbours and have been invited to parties etc. Generally wherever you go in Tonbridge your child can travel without fear of being robbed but buses in Tonbridge are practically non existent at weekends and infrequent during the week so don't move to Tonbridge if you need to rely on public transport. Fares to London are also hideously expensive as we have had major price rises the last 2 years in order to pay for the high speed rail link which does not go through this area.
Plus points - good schools, safe area, low crime, nice neighbours, good restaurants (not in Tonbridge but in surrounding villages), lots of cycle paths, lots of green spaces and good parks & walks
Bad points - lack of public transport, expensive commute to London, high taxi fares, lack of decent shops (need to go to Bluewater or Tunbridge Wells)

jackie_d

In regards to your concerns about getting a seat, I always manage to get one at Hildenborough which is after Tonbridge en route to London. I've found seats tend to run out at Sevenoaks.

jenhug

have you considered Bearstead, Newington, Upchurch, lower halstow, leybourne, boxley, bredhurst, to name just a few, closer to london, still nice and rural but close to town too

arthurdick

yep, agree with bearstead and boxley, i dont really know the others....i moved down here in maidstone about 15 yrs ago, from loampit vale in lewisham, first of all it was really nice, but now its getting , er, how can i say, very multicultural, and just like any other large ish town, it has a lot of chavvies, but it still aint too bad compared to around lewisham...but even though it seems a lot cleaner and safer than lewisham and deptford, which by the way, i loved it around those areas, i always had tonbridge down as the same step up as from lewisham - maidstone as maidstone - tonbridge...so being a bit cheaper than tonbridge, it might be a good idea to really think about boxley and bearstead or even maidstone town center, it would still be a nice move, but if you want that little better step up, tonbridge is fine....but if you are like me at all, coming from s.e london council estates, you may not find these areas as bad as the decent people down here do...

Running_Horse

jenhug wrote: »

have you considered Bearstead, Newington, Upchurch, lower halstow, leybourne, boxley, bredhurst, to name just a few, closer to london, still nice and rural but close to town too

Bearsted is the wrong side of Maidstone, and really just a suburb these days. Boxley has no railway station (see the OP), and is on the main alternative road rat-run between Maidstone and Medway. Leybourne is New Hythe dressed up as a horrible modern estate, where visitors have to pay to park. Newington is divided by the busy A2, with a nicer hinterland of Upchurch, Lower Halstow, and Bredhurst, none of which are an hour from London (door to door).