Please clue me up about Godalming
Discussion
A simpler solution to the OP's search would be to live on a narrowboat on the Wey canal. Get one for about 40k and sell off all your possessions. Home school the kids. Stash your car or bikes with a friend or family member nearby. Quit your jobs and live more relaxed and fulfilling lives!!!!
Just a suggestion...
Just a suggestion...
2021 update on this. Sunningdale fell through. Sellers lost their move and they decided to stay put, so we did too. Now giving Guildford a more serious look, found some info from years back here:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=51...
Can't believe it's been 5 years and we're still here. At least we're paying down a mortgage, not renting.
We're still looking at Guildford and surrounds, same reason: if we're going to pay £600-700k for a family home with a garage we want a damned sight more for the money than a tarted up 3 bed terrace at the wrong end of town. There's better value elsewhere but its too much of a compromise for Mrs 2gins to go much further. She still wants a busy town centre / social scene but now it's more about stuff for the kids to do when they hit the teens. Playgroups and swings are out, cinema and sports clubs are in it seems. I'd be happier with a village but that doesn't tick enough boxes. I just want a TVR-friendly man shed, a happy family and easy access to the A3 north.
A notable spanner in the works is my job which is moving partly up north. So half the time it'll be round the M25 to J15, but Newcastle for the other half (Tyne, not Lyme) - this would be train to Waterloo then KX, or flight from LHR, or if driving, early start and straight to the M40/Gaydon/M69. Guildford works especially Burpham (etc), and the drive is actually no longer than where we are now, it's just 10-15 minutes on the A3 to M25 J12 vs 10-15 minutes bumping through suburbia to the same point before the slog up the A1. Same story for the train/plane connections.
Other areas under consideration are M40 J5-6 which would make more sense, but Mrs needs central London at least a day a week and the train fares are insane - £50 per day return from Haddenham e.g., its almost not worth it. Can't really go further as the rest of our lives is south of London. Reading's a hole, Maidenhead has been vetoed (too much like Hounslow, apparently), Marlow/Henley are out of budget now and the trains to London are crap; plus no stuff for teenagers to do. Further round the clock face e.g. Dorking, Sussex, don't work for the Newcastle bit. Herts might work but that all looks out of budget as well.
So let's assume it's Guildford for the sake of discussion.
Guildford traffic - yep, I know, but I'd not need to cross town much and with the current trends commuting isn't such an issue. School run might be more of a problem.
Not aware of much else about actually living there though. From driving about it seems there's lots of stuff to do in the middle but nothing whatsoever in the suburbs, not even a local pub much of the time. Is that fair? So if you fancy a pint it's a 30 minute walk to the town from pretty much everywhere and an Uber back home? No popping to the local Indian for a takeaway, not much chance of bumping into someone you know while mooching about the local chops, because there aren't any (thinking mainly of Mrs here, fwiw). If 4 of you in the neighbourhood fancy a couple of beers and a match, are you all going to town?
Is Stoughton and surrounds as rough as its reported or has it mellowed, everything I can see online is years old. Is Burpham any good? QE Park? Is it all poncey Surrey cliques and 'look at my new Evoque, dahling!' and 'Serafina got AAAAAAA* for her ukelele class' or trapezoidal blokes who like rugger... Looked at a property in Merrow, also seemed very over-priced for what it is but better than where we are now. Merrow just looks like an empty 90s housing estate, with a big cahncil 70s bit on the side and a BP garage yet it seems to get rave reviews. Burpham much the same but at least has 2 supermarkets, a chippy and a chinese and I'm on the A3 within minutes. Wife likes Onslow for the central station and town but it will be a nightmare to get going North if I time it wrong, and death at the end of a 300 mile return journey.
I feel stuck to be honest. Where we are is probably the right answer but the costs are stupendous. North Yorks Moors is a better answer but completely off the cards. Long term we're going to be SE based, but that's a different conversation.
TL/DR. Might move to Guildford, please tell me what it's like to actually live there with 2 kids these days.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=51...
Can't believe it's been 5 years and we're still here. At least we're paying down a mortgage, not renting.
We're still looking at Guildford and surrounds, same reason: if we're going to pay £600-700k for a family home with a garage we want a damned sight more for the money than a tarted up 3 bed terrace at the wrong end of town. There's better value elsewhere but its too much of a compromise for Mrs 2gins to go much further. She still wants a busy town centre / social scene but now it's more about stuff for the kids to do when they hit the teens. Playgroups and swings are out, cinema and sports clubs are in it seems. I'd be happier with a village but that doesn't tick enough boxes. I just want a TVR-friendly man shed, a happy family and easy access to the A3 north.
A notable spanner in the works is my job which is moving partly up north. So half the time it'll be round the M25 to J15, but Newcastle for the other half (Tyne, not Lyme) - this would be train to Waterloo then KX, or flight from LHR, or if driving, early start and straight to the M40/Gaydon/M69. Guildford works especially Burpham (etc), and the drive is actually no longer than where we are now, it's just 10-15 minutes on the A3 to M25 J12 vs 10-15 minutes bumping through suburbia to the same point before the slog up the A1. Same story for the train/plane connections.
Other areas under consideration are M40 J5-6 which would make more sense, but Mrs needs central London at least a day a week and the train fares are insane - £50 per day return from Haddenham e.g., its almost not worth it. Can't really go further as the rest of our lives is south of London. Reading's a hole, Maidenhead has been vetoed (too much like Hounslow, apparently), Marlow/Henley are out of budget now and the trains to London are crap; plus no stuff for teenagers to do. Further round the clock face e.g. Dorking, Sussex, don't work for the Newcastle bit. Herts might work but that all looks out of budget as well.
So let's assume it's Guildford for the sake of discussion.
Guildford traffic - yep, I know, but I'd not need to cross town much and with the current trends commuting isn't such an issue. School run might be more of a problem.
Not aware of much else about actually living there though. From driving about it seems there's lots of stuff to do in the middle but nothing whatsoever in the suburbs, not even a local pub much of the time. Is that fair? So if you fancy a pint it's a 30 minute walk to the town from pretty much everywhere and an Uber back home? No popping to the local Indian for a takeaway, not much chance of bumping into someone you know while mooching about the local chops, because there aren't any (thinking mainly of Mrs here, fwiw). If 4 of you in the neighbourhood fancy a couple of beers and a match, are you all going to town?
Is Stoughton and surrounds as rough as its reported or has it mellowed, everything I can see online is years old. Is Burpham any good? QE Park? Is it all poncey Surrey cliques and 'look at my new Evoque, dahling!' and 'Serafina got AAAAAAA* for her ukelele class' or trapezoidal blokes who like rugger... Looked at a property in Merrow, also seemed very over-priced for what it is but better than where we are now. Merrow just looks like an empty 90s housing estate, with a big cahncil 70s bit on the side and a BP garage yet it seems to get rave reviews. Burpham much the same but at least has 2 supermarkets, a chippy and a chinese and I'm on the A3 within minutes. Wife likes Onslow for the central station and town but it will be a nightmare to get going North if I time it wrong, and death at the end of a 300 mile return journey.
I feel stuck to be honest. Where we are is probably the right answer but the costs are stupendous. North Yorks Moors is a better answer but completely off the cards. Long term we're going to be SE based, but that's a different conversation.
TL/DR. Might move to Guildford, please tell me what it's like to actually live there with 2 kids these days.
Edited by 2gins on Monday 15th February 22:48
Hi 2gins,
I saw your map of Guildford posted in another thread which did make me smile. Its pretty accurate! I live in the scary unknown places part on Rydes hill/stoughton. Which is a pocket of nice houses/people between the scummy bits. This area is pretty good and has plenty to do locally, but If I were buying in Guildford again I would look around burpham/merrow. Good schools and access to A3 is better although you would be further from the town centre. Again, there a couple of parts of merrow that are less desirable. I commute to London for work which I drive, but leave pretty early and it usually takes me (pre covid) around an hour to get to Central areas, Waterloo for example. Transport links are one of the plus sides of the area in my opinion. Much better than using the M3/M4.
As far a pubs go, alot has closed down in the last 10 years or so, which means either a bit of walk to one of the larger ones (horse and groom in merrow for example) or the town centre, which is about a 35 minute walk from where we are, much longer on the way back! Most areas around will have a little parade of shops/coffee shops but not enough to hold interest for long. The plus of merrow, also is that you are closer to the south downs if you like walking or biking.
Town centre is expensive, you would be able to get close for your budget, but it would usually mean foregoing the garage. Places with off street parking/garages are between 700-900k around Charlotteville/merrow. Alot of people rate onslow village but personally I dont think its that great, not much apart from houses so a trip to town for anything is usually required, and is pretty noisy due to the A3/hogs back. Again, there is a less desirable part pretty centrally within it. Although it is in the catchment for one of the better public schools.
I like Guildford and have lived here a long time. We now have a daughter approaching 2, and pre covid there was plenty we could do, we looked at moving last year (just to see what was out there) and did the same thing as you in narrowing down areas by visiting, but have decided to stay put. Hope that answers some of you questions. If you need more info ask away.
I saw your map of Guildford posted in another thread which did make me smile. Its pretty accurate! I live in the scary unknown places part on Rydes hill/stoughton. Which is a pocket of nice houses/people between the scummy bits. This area is pretty good and has plenty to do locally, but If I were buying in Guildford again I would look around burpham/merrow. Good schools and access to A3 is better although you would be further from the town centre. Again, there a couple of parts of merrow that are less desirable. I commute to London for work which I drive, but leave pretty early and it usually takes me (pre covid) around an hour to get to Central areas, Waterloo for example. Transport links are one of the plus sides of the area in my opinion. Much better than using the M3/M4.
As far a pubs go, alot has closed down in the last 10 years or so, which means either a bit of walk to one of the larger ones (horse and groom in merrow for example) or the town centre, which is about a 35 minute walk from where we are, much longer on the way back! Most areas around will have a little parade of shops/coffee shops but not enough to hold interest for long. The plus of merrow, also is that you are closer to the south downs if you like walking or biking.
Town centre is expensive, you would be able to get close for your budget, but it would usually mean foregoing the garage. Places with off street parking/garages are between 700-900k around Charlotteville/merrow. Alot of people rate onslow village but personally I dont think its that great, not much apart from houses so a trip to town for anything is usually required, and is pretty noisy due to the A3/hogs back. Again, there is a less desirable part pretty centrally within it. Although it is in the catchment for one of the better public schools.
I like Guildford and have lived here a long time. We now have a daughter approaching 2, and pre covid there was plenty we could do, we looked at moving last year (just to see what was out there) and did the same thing as you in narrowing down areas by visiting, but have decided to stay put. Hope that answers some of you questions. If you need more info ask away.
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