Advice on areas to buy our first home (South London/surrey)

Shelldean

New Malden, is a good shout.

No idea about the cost of housing,but what about Norbiton?

Edited to add, Feltham, whitton or housnlow???
Wouldn't be my choice, but have relatives living in Whitton and Isleworth and they're happy enough.

ReadingTim

Don't get too fixated on commutes to specific locations, as depending on what you do for work, you're likely to change jobs more often than you change houses.

So I'd widen 'Holborn' into broader areas like West End, City and Canary Wharf for you, plus West, North, East, South East and South West London for your OH - there's little point finding an area which gives the perfect commute to East Sheen, then getting a new job in somewhere other than East Sheen less than 2 years later...!

earley15

So far these areas seem to meet our requirements and we can afford what we want:
* Chessington north
*Chessington south
*Hackbridge
*Sutton
*carshalton
*Worcester park

If you are getting a train to work then Epsom goes into Waterloo, London Bridge and London Victoria (over six trains an hour). Its a couple of stops from Sutton (another good commuter spot) and Worcester Park. Chessington North and Chessington South only have one train every half hour I think. Epsom is going to be included in an oyster zone by the end of spring.

zagubov

earley15 wrote: »

So far these areas seem to meet our requirements and we can afford what we want:
* Chessington north
*Chessington south
*Hackbridge
*Sutton
*carshalton
*Worcester park

If you are getting a train to work then Epsom goes into Waterloo, London Bridge and London Victoria (over six trains an hour). Its a couple of stops from Sutton (another good commuter spot) and Worcester Park. Chessington North and Chessington South only have one train every half hour I think. Epsom is going to be included in an oyster zone by the end of spring.

Epsom's lovely but but won't even be in zone 6 when it gets the Oyster service in March, and it won't get you to East Sheen. From New Malden you might get to work via a lovely drive through Richmond park. Also New Malden gets six trains per hour to Waterloo but it's cheaper as it's only zone 4.
Last train for Chessington leaves Waterloo about 11PM.

Incidentally you might want to ask around about the relative reliability of Southern and Southwestern trains.

If you miss the nightlife of Wimbledon you can get the last train back from there around 1AM, takes 6 minutes. If you want Kingston, buses run every 10 minutes or less but the night buses are every 30 minutes after 2AM.

New Malden's not got the nightlife to set the world alight, but it's a kind of overlooked quiet oasis between some very lively centres like Wimbledon and Kingston and it's surprisingly well-connected.

Shelldean

https://www.totallymoney.com/commuter-hotspots/tool/

This might be worth a look.
Cheshunt is the best place to commute from
However Staines 18. Maidenhead 19. And Slough 21

Are all quite low and possibly the areas of London to consider given your partner drives to east sheen.
You should be able to commute easy enough too.

Epsom is 22 I'd have not suggested there personally as I'd have thought it would be expensive. But this map compares fares, journey time, house prices and life satisfaction

Further out are High Wycombe 3 and Basingstoke 8

hazyjo

Shelldean wrote: »

https://www.totallymoney.com/commuter-hotspots/tool/

Wonder how they work those positions out. They have Leigh-on-Sea at 78(!), and nearby Rayleigh at 14! Around £500 cheaper to commute from Leigh on what is considered (although some of us might disagree lol) a better line. Apparently 3 mins quicker from Rayleigh (47 mins compared to 44), although I do have some trains to Leigh taking 43 mins, so they must be working on an average rather than quickest.

zagubov

For over a decade I commuted from Outer London to Surrey, a very easy commute. The endless traffic jams of frustrated drivers I'd see on their way into London made me hope I'd never have to face such a commute as they have.

Seriously you could have a more villagey environment with a shorter commute and not break the bank. I'd recommend you explore places further in before you waste your life sitting in cars waiting and watching traffic lights changing.

PhilE

Cheam is the best in the area, but not North Cheam. Sutton a close second.

Not the northern most part of Cheam though. Avoid anything close to St Helier.

zagubov

Cheam is on Southern Railways so would need a change at Clapham Junction for a Waterloo train then on to Holborn by bus. Or change at Balham for the northern line then central or Piccadilly. For East Sheen you'd try to avoid Worcester Park to get on the A3 and reach East Sheen via Roehampton.

As there's no East Cheam outside the Hancock show, you could try its real-life equivalent West Sutton with links to Wimbledon and Waterloo trains and East Sheen via maybe Lower Morden and Raynes Park/ Motspur Park (where you could catch a train to Waterloo, etc.)

Great schools in the borough of Sutton. Might be some flats or even houses within the OP's price range. Sutton's in zone 5. Cheam is villagey and has small shops. Sutton is more of a big town with big stores. Some areas might not be so nice- do some exploring.

PhilE

There's a regular Southern rail express from Cheam and Sutton to London Vic as far as I can remember, about 30-35mins.