Nice villages around m25 junctions 6 to 9

tortoiseshellcat

Hi we are looking to move within the above area really within the Dorking, Coulsdon, Warlingham, Westerham, East Grinstead, Horley, kind of circle. We've been driving round trying to find pretty villages but wondered if anyone knows of a website where we can research areas a little more or if anyone has any ideas of their own. we are looking for a three bedroomed house, budget up to about £280000. Any comments would be very much appreciated. Thanks for reading my post.

yoyoegg

Rightmove, Google streetview, zoopla, police crime maps, chav towns uk

browneyedbazzi

I'm very sad to say that you won't get a lot for £280k in a nice village in that search area (and almost nothing if you also want decent public transport links). How far off the motorway are you willing to go?

Bletchingley always struck me as being a lovely village and it isn't far off the motorway.

yoyoegg

Yep, a village 3-bed is more like £500k. £280k gets you an terrace house.

VICSH

I know this area really well bletchingley is lovely but might be a bit too pricey nutfield, warnham, lingfield, dormansland are all lovely but they are a bit further away from motorway

JodyBPM

Agree with the others, there's a massive premium for houses in pretty villages in this area, and frankly £280k is waaaay off being enough for a three bedder in a picturesque village.

You'd be able to get a three bedder in a town for that money. Not necessarily one of the more sought after towns, such as Reigate or Dorking, but you should be able to get something in Redhill or Horley. It's still bottom end of the budget for a family sized 3 bedder in those areas, though. You'd also be able to get something in Merstham, but don't be mislead by the pretty high street, its an area with a lot of social problems, and most of the cheaper properties are on the large council estate which I personally wouldn't touch with a bargepole.

If its village living you want, then you will probably find something in Smallfield. It has no train station, suffers from airport noise and isn't pretty, but it is a village, and you should be able to get a 3 bedder within budget. You definitely get more for your money there, but its a pleasant enough place to live.

abankerbutnotafatcat

What is it specifically about a village that appeals? If you say that then there might be some compromise town areas that fit some of your criteria.

I live in your target area and you could buy a 3 bed there (they range from £250k - £500k) and you'd have the benefit of train station and amenities on your doorstep and the countryside a 5 minute drive away. But it would be more densly populated etc. than a village although where I live has a bit of a nice community feel and isn't too urban.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-36092602.html?backListLink=%2Fproperty-for-sale%2Fmap.html%3FlocationIdentifier%3DUSERDEFINEDAREA%5E%7B%22id%22%3A329995%7D%23_includeSSTC%3Don%26auction%3Dfalse%26includeSSTC%3Dtrue%26lastPersistLocId%3DUSERDEFINEDAREA%255E%257B%2522id%2522%253A329995%257D%26locationIdentifier%3DUSERDEFINEDAREA%255E%257B%2522id%2522%253A329995%257D%26maxPrice%3D300000%26minBedrooms%3D3%26minPrice%3D250000%26previousSearchLocation%3DIncluding%2520East%2520Reigate%2520(Drawn%2520Area)%26radius%3D0.0%26searchLocation%3DIncluding%2520East%2520Reigate%2520(Drawn%2520Area)%26searchType%3DSALE%26useLocationIdentifier%3Dfalse%26box%3D-0.21665%2C-0.15554%2C51.22064%2C51.24981%26popupPropertyId%3D36092602&fromMap=true

tortoiseshellcat

Thank you for your replies, sorry my original post may have been a bit misleading, we don't need to be specifically close to the m25 I just used that as a description for the vague area where we are looking. I guess it doesn't really have to be a village but we are trying to look at a location that is not too much of an estate. While driving round, particularly at new developments, a lot of the houses are built very close to each other with hardly any breathing space in between, we just wanted more of an open feel if possible - if that makes sense.

We need to commute by train or bus to Croydon and also be able to get to Warlingham on a daily basis (by car).

We have looked at Smallfield, but would really prefer somewhere within walking distance to a train station.

Bletchingley is a lovely place, also Nutfield, but they aren't within our budget. Lingfield would be lovely but nothing for sale at the moment with enough space for our budget.

Will keep looking online but if anyone has any recommendations it would be brilliant. Thanks.

JodyBPM

Ok, now you've given a bit more info, I would say that if you want to be walking distance of a station, then villages for your budget are definitely, I'm afraid, going to be out of the question really, as most of the villages with a station carry quite a premium in this area. I would suggest that you take a look in Earlswood as suggested earlier (but avoid the Whitebushes estate). It's quieter and has more community feel than Redhill proper, has a decent school, really easy commute to Croydon and you should be able to get what you want within budget. You could also consider Horley.

tortoiseshellcat

Thank you,yes Horley does seem a bit cheaper, I think there may be some areas not as nice as others there though, I don't know it that well. Some parts of East Grinstead seem nice too but also don't know much about it.

We drove around Earlwood but it felt quite crowded without much greenery. Is Whitebushes one to avoid?

JodyBPM

I'd say Horley is OK, although there's the Court Lodge estate to avoid. Yes, definitely avoid Whitebushes.

I'm surprised that you didn't like Earlswood due to lack of greenery! It has Earlswood common which provides a fair bit of green, plus in general the gardens in Earlswood will be much larger than in the North of Redhill! Its a very family orientated area, with an outstanding primary school, and a couple of play parks.

Ulimately, your budget is small for a 3 bed family home in the area you'd like, so you are going to have to be realistic about your expectations. To put things in perspective, we have a budget of £400-450K and are looking for a 3 bed in a village setting in the same area that's easy to get to a station serving Croydon/London, and we've had to resign ourselves to our budget simply not being enough for us to get what we want without some major compromises... Rural areas/green spaces cost a lot in commutable distance to London...

Incidentally, even the less pleasant parts of your search area are affluent, pleasant enough places to live, as long as you avoid the few dodgy council estates (and even those don't compare to inner city deprivation) . So whilst Horley or Redhill aren't as upmarket as Reigate/Dorking they are still on the whole safe areas with low levels of deprivation.