# choosing a London suburb



## Tricksy (Aug 25, 2010)

Hello all!

My husband, I and our 1 year old are planning a move to UK. We actually lived before in London, but now we'd like to move to an area just outside London. This way it should be easy enough for my husband to commute to work to London (he's still looking for a job, so not yet sure in which area exactly it would be) but we would also like our baby to grow up in a less hectic environment. 

So, could anybody recommend which areas we could consider in our search? So far our requirements are not more than 20-30 min by train to a station in central London, preferably somewhere West of London, cozy, child friendly area with schools nearby. 

thanks in advance!


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## voltron (Aug 19, 2010)

Guildford and Horsham are ok also tunbridge is ok.. many of the commuter towns are real ghettos.. Peterborough etc..


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## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

voltron said:


> Guildford and Horsham are ok also tunbridge is ok.. many of the commuter towns are real ghettos.. Peterborough etc..


You can't call Guildford or Horsham London suburbs. The train journey from Horsham is an hour to Victoria and I think Guildford is not much shorter.

If you want SW London, look around Wimbledon, Raynes Park, Worcester Park, Kingston, Surbiton. All have good mainline train services to Waterloo station, which itself has good tube connections to all central areas.

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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Elphaba said:


> You can't call Guildford or Horsham London suburbs. The train journey from Horsham is an hour to Victoria and I think Guildford is not much shorter.
> 
> If you want SW London, look around Wimbledon, Raynes Park, Worcester Park, Kingston, Surbiton. All have good mainline train services to Waterloo station, which itself has good tube connections to all central areas.
> 
> -


I used to live in Ealing - loved it then, but have no idea what it's like now


the central line service to the city was really good though


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## voltron (Aug 19, 2010)

sorry i grew up in london so when somone says nice suburb i automatically think outside... London is surrounded by hideous estates and horrible areas... Personally i wouldnt live there.. 

Ok i might live in seven oaks but even then its a long way and not too nice... 

If you want to live in the dump then try barking or becontree in dagenham.. im sure you will at least find cheap housing.. or there is stoke newington.. stratford.. dalston.. bromley-by-bow... hey you could live in the limehouse and be surrounded by famous Wren and Hawksmoors...


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## voltron (Aug 19, 2010)

Oh and before the hundreds of replies.. 

1 - I like the UK and there are lots of great places
2 - I still spend lots of time there and am not a typical cheesed off expat with personal issues with the country
3 - I love London and the history...

I dont like the sprawling ghettos thats all!! so please save your fingers and dont bother with the "oh your just bad temepered because you left and you have a problem with UK" I dont!! 

Seriously if your moving form a third world country then ofcourse poplar will seem like paradise but i guess we all measure a place based on what we are used to... I was used to London then left and saw how much better Other places are (other places in the UK!)


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## Tricksy (Aug 25, 2010)

Elphaba said:


> You can't call Guildford or Horsham London suburbs. The train journey from Horsham is an hour to Victoria and I think Guildford is not much shorter.
> 
> If you want SW London, look around Wimbledon, Raynes Park, Worcester Park, Kingston, Surbiton. All have good mainline train services to Waterloo station, which itself has good tube connections to all central areas.
> 
> -


Thanks for that! Will have a look!

Xabiachica, thanks as well!

Voltron - no, thank you, not looking for a dump. Actually, as I stated before - looking for a nice, family area, safe and clean. Do you want to say that anything outside W1 is not worth looking into?


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## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

voltron said:


> Oh and before the hundreds of replies..
> 
> 1 - I like the UK and there are lots of great places
> 2 - I still spend lots of time there and am not a typical cheesed off expat with personal issues with the country
> ...


Woooh! Calm down. No one is getting heated here. Apart from you! 

I think it's unfair to say that all London suburbs are 'hideous estates and horrible areas'. There are certainly some areas like that, but others are really very nice. You get hideous estates all over the UK.
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## crc (Jul 4, 2010)

I've lived in various parts of London and they are all different. There are tons that don't have estates and I would look at Havering and going out into Essex as if you go past the awful steriotypes it is a nice area to live in.


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## voltron (Aug 19, 2010)

Havering? are you serious?... The only place in Essex that is good is ingatestone.. lovely village and 25mins to liverpool St... BUT it is an Uber-rich place to live.


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## Tricksy (Aug 25, 2010)

We're looking at Kingston now, so it should be a nice place for a kid to grow up in? Prices seem ok there..


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## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

Tricksy said:


> We're looking at Kingston now, so it should be a nice place for a kid to grow up in? Prices seem ok there..


Kingston is a decent town, as are many of the areas around it. There are also some very good state schools there.
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## pixiegir1 (Aug 26, 2010)

voltron said:


> Havering? are you serious?... The only place in Essex that is good is ingatestone.. lovely village and 25mins to liverpool St... BUT it is an Uber-rich place to live.


Shenfield or Brentwood is just 24 mins into London (not far from Ingatestone) and they are soon to build a super fast cross rail from Shenfield right across London. Schools are fab - in fact Chelmsford County Grammar is one of the best in the country. The private schools are excellent (I'd personally recommend Brentwood Preparatory Schhol) and there is so much for the kids to do - South Weild Park, Thorndon Country Park, king George's park, Hylands Park.... I could go on! Hutton Mount in Shenfield is beautiful as are the residential areas around Preists Lane. I would only live in this area (which I personally think is best for kids), Sevenoaks in Surrey (although close to Croydon) or Cobham in Surrey. Stay clear of suburbs on the back of "rough mostly council home areas". An area can seem great until you see what's right next to it! 
We lived in Essex for years (north of the m25 side) and cannot recommend it more. City and country all in one and so close to two of the uk's biggest shopping centres. Let me know if you need anymore help


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## pixiegir1 (Aug 26, 2010)

Elphaba said:


> Kingston is a decent town, as are many of the areas around it. There are also some very good state schools there.
> -


Kingston is nice but personally I wouldn't want my kids to grow up there or go out at night with confidence. As I understand it, crime rates are high there. Have u looked at Richmond? Nearby but better.


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## Tricksy (Aug 25, 2010)

NikkiW said:


> Kingston is nice but personally I wouldn't want my kids to grow up there or go out at night with confidence. As I understand it, crime rates are high there. Have u looked at Richmond? Nearby but better.


Thanks a lot for such a detailed answer  Will keep that in mind about Kingston! 

Will have a look at Shenfield and Brentwood as well now.

We've just seen some nice property in Woking, GU22, 0.8 miles to train station. Is this area ok as well? Using Google Street View, looks nice, but we don't know what it really is like, of course. (we lived earlier in central London, but we were students then and didn't need to research kids-friendly neighborhoods  )


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## pixiegir1 (Aug 26, 2010)

Tricksy said:


> Thanks a lot for such a detailed answer  Will keep that in mind about Kingston!
> 
> Will have a look at Shenfield and Brentwood as well now.
> 
> We've just seen some nice property in Woking, GU22, 0.8 miles to train station. Is this area ok as well? Using Google Street View, looks nice, but we don't know what it really is like, of course. (we lived earlier in central London, but we were students then and didn't need to research kids-friendly neighborhoods  )


I'm not familiar with Woking I'm afraid but my husband says it's not bad. It seems to have a Guildford postcode and I know that Guildford is well thought of with good schools as are the surrounding areas like Banstead and Kingswood etc. Sorry I'm not able to help with that more. Keep clear of Sutton which is near by. Nice parts but on the doorstep of "the St Helier" estate. Good luck and I'm happy to help more if you need me!


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## Tricksy (Aug 25, 2010)

We decided to widen our search and have a look all the way around London. We found that there's a big development going on in Greenhithe, Kent, DA9, so called Thames Gateway. There're a lot of new properties for a decent price. There's an area called Ingress Park, which is supposed to be very nice. Did anyone hear anything about this place?


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## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

pixiegir1 said:


> I'm not familiar with Woking I'm afraid but my husband says it's not bad. It seems to have a Guildford postcode and I know that Guildford is well thought of with good schools as are the surrounding areas like Banstead and Kingswood etc. Sorry I'm not able to help with that more. Keep clear of Sutton which is near by. Nice parts but on the doorstep of "the St Helier" estate. Good luck and I'm happy to help more if you need me!


Banstead & Kingswood are not near Guildford. 

Woking is OK, but dull and not as nice as Guildford.

Kingston has no more crime than other towns in the commuter belt.
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