Horley what's it like ?? (or E.Grinstead)

[trevorw]

Anybody live in the Horley area? (i'm sure some one does ) I'm thinking of the area as a place for me and my little family to move too.

What's the good points/bad points, Are the schools any good?

Basically any info on the area would be helpfull

Also East Grinstead is on our list..

Cheers for any info

[towman]

Holbayhead and Chelsea tractor are East Grinstead Boys. Diddyman is over that way as well.

Horley wouldn`t be my first choice - it`s a bit too industrial for my liking.

I take it you are moving for work - where`s the company?

[trevorw]

No not moving for Work purposes, currently live in South Norwood (have done all my life). Basically want to move out of the area, far enough to be away from the filth and closer to open fields, but close enough to get to work in Croydon.

I know what you mean regarding it to be industrial, but it does not seem to be as bad as Crawley.

Plus house prices are more in reach for me (ie more for your money)

>> Edited by trevorw on Thursday 31st March 02:45

[dilbert]

Horley;

Biggest advantage/disadvantage is proximity to the airport.

Like towman says, it's pretty indistrial.

East Grinstead is nice...... But expensive.

It won't be long before the Bluebell railway gets there.

[dilbert]

trevorw said:

No not moving for Work purposes, currently live in South Norwood (have done all my life). Basically want to move out of the area, far enough to be away from the filth and closer to open fields, but close enough to get to work in Croydon. I know what you mean regarding it to be industrial, but it does not seem to be as bad as Crawley. Plus house prices are more in reach for me (ie more for your money) >> Edited by trevorw on Thursday 31st March 02:45

I don't know about the finances, but Maidenbower and the like are pretty nice. Not too far from Three Bridges for Croydon.

I've seen some TVR types talking about Maidenbower, best get the verdict from them.

[towman]

Maidenbower is toytown. Lots of "little boxes made out of ticky tacky and they all stand in a row" (really showing my age now!) You would need a map for at least 3 months just to get out of the place.

My neighbour has just moved here (twixt Gatwick/Brighton) from S London and he loves it. Easy drive to the station in the morning, guaranteed seat on the train (not necessarily so from 3 Bridges/Gatwick), lots of space, but most of all - fresh air!

Steve

[trevorw]

What are the Noise levels from Gatwick like and do you get the smell of aviation fuel?

[dilbert]

towman said:

Maidenbower is toytown. Lots of "little boxes made out of ticky tacky and they all stand in a row" (really showing my age now!) You would need a map for at least 3 months just to get out of the place. My neighbour has just moved here (twixt Gatwick/Brighton) from S London and he loves it. Easy drive to the station in the morning, guaranteed seat on the train (not necessarily so from 3 Bridges/Gatwick), lots of space, but most of all - fresh air! Steve

I know what you mean. Given the choice I'd be happy with the gatehouse of some exclusive 50 bedroom residence. I guess I'm just thankful I have somewhere to call home.

If I had the money and desire to move though, I'd choose Maidenbower over anywhere in Horley.

[trevorw]

dilbert said:

If I had the money and desire to move though, I'd choose Maidenbower over anywhere in Horley.

Apart from the Industrial angle, what other reason do you not like Horley?

[dilbert]

trevorw said:

dilbert said: If I had the money and desire to move though, I'd choose Maidenbower over anywhere in Horley. Apart from the Industrial angle, what other reason do you not like Horley?

I hate to say it, it's just the feeling I get when I drive through. You'd probably get the same feeling when you drive through my town, if you live in Horley.

If I'm brutally honest, to me it feels a bit like South London. That said Brighton feels more and more like that these days (South London that is).

>> Edited by dilbert on Thursday 31st March 03:24

>> Edited by dilbert on Thursday 31st March 03:25

[trevorw]

dilbert said:

trevorw said: dilbert said: If I had the money and desire to move though, I'd choose Maidenbower over anywhere in Horley. Apart from the Industrial angle, what other reason do you not like Horley? I hate to say it, it's just the feeling I get when I drive through. You'd probably get the same feeling when you drive through my town, if you live in Horley. If I'm brutally honest, to me it feels a bit like South London. That said Brighton feels more and more like that these days (South London that is). >> Edited by dilbert on Thursday 31st March 03:24 >> Edited by dilbert on Thursday 31st March 03:25

I'm guessing your talking about saftey issues on the street?
I have to say i did not get that feeling driving through Horley, seemed more like Epsom.
But then I'm used to living in South London, where even my Rottweiler gets scared

[scared but happy]

I used to live in Caterham (nice place - quiet with train station) and found it was easier to go out onto the M25 and come back in on the A23 than crawl down the A22 into Purley.

Bizzare...

Hello to anyone living there.

[towman]

scared but happy said:

I used to live in Caterham and found it was easier to go out onto the M25 and come back in on the A23 than crawl down the A22 into Purley.

Not any more! - major roadworks at Coulsdon for the next billion years.

[ledger]

towman said:

scared but happy said: I used to live in Caterham and found it was easier to go out onto the M25 and come back in on the A23 than crawl down the A22 into Purley. Not any more! - major roadworks at Coulsdon for the next billion years.

well untill March 2006 anyway, I live in Coulsdon :-)

[Incorrigible]

I moved into the area for work 8 years ago and had a really good look round

I chose Horsham

I think it would be well worth considering as you've got a family, the school etc are meant to be very good. I hear Dorking is very nice, but pricy

[lotuslad]

Have you considered Reigate? Nice place. Or there's Redhill, which isn't that nice but it's easy to get to London, Brighton or Croydon from there and it's not too expensive.

[JagLover]

lotuslad said:

Have you considered Reigate? Nice place. Or there's Redhill, which isn't that nice but it's easy to get to London, Brighton or Croydon from there and it's not too expensive.

Thats the whole problem isn't it-I am looking to buy on the outskirts of London but a few miles further east and finding an area that is both OK to live in, resonably priced and not to far to drive into South East London is a real problem.

[diddyman]

Hi Trevor!

I live near E Grimstead. About 10 minutes east of it in fact.

It's got pretty much everything you need on a day to day basis. A Sainsburys, Safeway/Morrisons, Homebase, Woolies, WH Smith, Boots, some nice restaurants, the usual stuff. A couple of chavvy nightclubs if you fancy picking up a minger.

Tunbridge Wells is about 20/25 minutes east, Crawley 15 west.

As towman says, it IS expensive; it's commutable so that jacks the price up.

I would avoid Horley unless you like the sound of planes skimming overhead at all times of the night & day! And it's just a satellite of Crawley now, slowly being engulfed by its larger neighbour.

There are some nice villages around E Grinstead, and you will probably find it better value for money a little bit further south. Hastings, for instance!

If you need some more detailed advice me, Holbayhead and Chelsea Pensioner can assist I am sure!

Cheers
Jim

[cosmoschick]

dilbert said:

East Grinstead is nice...... But expensive.

Especially the rates! But the cost of housing is no different to Haywards Heath.

My parents have lived in East Grinstead since their late 20s although it's obviously changed a lot in that time. The town centre has the usual shops including a Woolworths, Boots, Iceland, Argos and WH Smith. There's a Library, two supermarkets (Morrisons and Sainsburys), a couple of DIY stores (Homebase and Focus 'Do It All'), and a Leisure Centre. Parking is a nightmare, but it is everywhere these days. There's a train service to London but that's also a nightmare or, at least, it was years ago when I last used it (stop start, stop start, stop start for an hour and 10 minutes). There are two Secondary Schools - Imberhorne and Sackville Community College, and the Queen Victoria Hospital (no A&E).

Congestion is a real problem. During peak times, the queue of traffic into East Grinstead can stretch back to Felbridge and beyond. If you choose to live on the Imberhorne Estate, bear in mind that this has been a rat run for years. They do have a short stretch of Relief Road leading on to a one-way system but this gets snarled up very quickly (and in non-peak times). There's been talk of a bypass for years but it's come to nothing (as usual).

Now...and I'm not joking here (!)...it is a relatively damp place to live, compared to Haywards Heath. It tends to be 2 degrees colder than here which can mean the difference, say, between having a frost or not, or whether snow stays settled for a few days longer than elsewhere.

The town is on the edge of Ashdown Forest (and Weirwood Reservoir) which is simply stunning and there are lots of nice country pubs.

The above is just an outline.

[holbayhead]

Hi tervorw, like Steve said, I live in East Grinstead.

In my opinion

Some Good points are...

A variety of house types/styles

The Ashdown Forest is 10 mins away (good for hiking/dog walking)

Weirwood Reservoir is nearby (good for sailing)

A couple of disused railway lines now the "forest way" (good for moutain biking also there is a dedicated mountain bike centre just out of town)

The "Mud Factory" (an off road 4x4 course)

Lingfield Park Race course 10 mins away (by train or road)

It's only a 20 min drive to Tunbridge Wells (better for shopping)

Brighton/Eastbourne are 40 mins away

Train service to London is pretty good really and you always get a seat on the way up...takes approx 30mins to get to East Croydon Station (and is direct)

Plenty of bars, restaurants and a couple of nightclubs in town (has been known to get a bit roudy after closing time)

Some nice old buildings (12 Century Hall Houses in the old High Street)

Queen Victoria Hospital (well known for it's pioneering burns unit)

Some good primary and secondary schools in the area

Swimming pool and a couple of health clubs

Couple of well known Supermarkets (JS/ Morrisons/ Homebase)

A variety of car accessory places (motor factors/ tyre/exhaust suppliers)

Some Bad points (in my opinion) are...

Too many speed humps.

Local parking charges are too high (but I guess that's the same in most places)

Seems to be attracting too many Chavs (again probably the same as other places)

Despite rumours of a crash the house prices seem to be going up

Looking a bit tired in some areas (road surfaces, pavements and verges plus some buildings)

Traffic volume through the area is quite high and can take time to disperse during "rush" hour

In general it's not a bad place to live as it is well located and it would definately improve IF a by-pass is ever built.

There are probably other people on here who have other opinions on the town and surrounding areas so I'll let them have a go