Are these nice areas in Guildford?

Are these nice areas in Guildford?

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Discussion

RichB

51,433 posts

283 months

Thursday 4th March 2021
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The River Wey runs right through the centre of Guildford but it's in a valley i.e. there are hills all around. You can easily figure out if a place will flood according to how close, and how high above, the river it is. There's maps and all sorts on the internet.

edc

9,231 posts

250 months

Thursday 4th March 2021
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What matters for flood risk is the searches and the insurance not anecdotal stories of a flood. If you look at the local online newspaper you might see all the past instances of flooding. Guildford Park Road is a main road. I wouldn't choose to live there myself as you will get all the traffic and people walking by your front door from the Uni, hospital workers walking to work etc. It will be noisier during the day and the night. There's also precious little parking around there. I'd buy a place there as a buy to let. It's good to do your due diligence on a potential purchase and place to live but some of the answers you need should be from elsewhere not a car forum!

philv

Original Poster:

3,912 posts

213 months

Thursday 4th March 2021
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edc said:
What matters for flood risk is the searches and the insurance not anecdotal stories of a flood. If you look at the local online newspaper you might see all the past instances of flooding. Guildford Park Road is a main road. I wouldn't choose to live there myself as you will get all the traffic and people walking by your front door from the Uni, hospital workers walking to work etc. It will be noisier during the day and the night. There's also precious little parking around there. I'd buy a place there as a buy to let. It's good to do your due diligence on a potential purchase and place to live but some of the answers you need should be from elsewhere not a car forum!
I don't drive.
Therefore being very close to the town center and the train station are important.
Budget wise, it's about all we can afford meeting those requirements.

Though we will have a car so the parking limitations noted.

Thanks


parakitaMol.

11,876 posts

250 months

Thursday 4th March 2021
quotequote all
philv said:
I don't drive.
Therefore being very close to the town center and the train station are important.
Budget wise, it's about all we can afford meeting those requirements.

Though we will have a car so the parking limitations noted.

Thanks
Then budget wise you're probably looking around Farnham Rd, Portsmouth Rd and Woodbridge Rd areas. Merrow/Burpham are much more expensive.

Walnut Tree close is a complete building site at present with numerous new flat developments under construction. If you'd consider a flat then maybe worth looking at



edc

9,231 posts

250 months

Thursday 4th March 2021
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If you don't drive and need to be close to a town centre and station I'd suggest you get more for your money in Woking. A lot of the houses you will want to see in Guildford will already be rentals. Walton and Maybury road areas and the roads on the way down to the park. These are mostly older townhouses and rows of terraces. Pretty much all street parking. You seem to add some context and detail to your requirements every so often so I'm not surprised many of the responses don't fit.

philv

Original Poster:

3,912 posts

213 months

Thursday 4th March 2021
quotequote all
parakitaMol. said:
philv said:
I don't drive.
Therefore being very close to the town center and the train station are important.
Budget wise, it's about all we can afford meeting those requirements.

Though we will have a car so the parking limitations noted.

Thanks
Then budget wise you're probably looking around Farnham Rd, Portsmouth Rd and Woodbridge Rd areas. Merrow/Burpham are much more expensive.

Walnut Tree close is a complete building site at present with numerous new flat developments under construction. If you'd consider a flat then maybe worth looking at
We viewed some properties yesterday.
Requirement change depending on new info and what we learn is or is not possible.





2gins

2,839 posts

161 months

Thursday 4th March 2021
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Been looking at Guildford a lot myself lately. Went for a long walk with the Mrs a few weeks back, did a few viewings (blew them all off actually) and learned a hell of a lot. You'll learn more walking around for a few hours than a few weeks browsing Rightmove. I made this map. Might rile a few people up but it's just one man's opinion.



Also looked at Godalming loads 4 years ago and had a refresh again recently. Really nice town, very quiet. You'll get aircraft but nothing like here (directly under final approach into LHR Southern runaway, 5 miles out). Nice pubs, bit of social scene, but probably very cliquey I'd guess. Not a lot for kids to do once they get beyond playgroups. £380k will probably only get you into Farncombe though which is the more council end of the town.

Guildford's nice enough, reminds me of Chichester where I grew up. Lots to do at all ages, but definitely a town of two halves. North of the A3 is mostly council and ex-council estates and old military billets, except for the QE Park area which is nice but feels a bit like Legoland and gives the impression of one of those UAE expat enclaves where all the westerners live in wealthy comfort while the locals slum it out beyond the fence. Living there may be different but that's the walk-through impression. If kids are a thing you'll need to be in Onslow or Burpham/Merrow for a decent (on paper) state school. North of the A3 it's special schools for special children and that's about it. Again, reality may be different.

Traffic is hell. Don't go anywhere near the A3 between 0700-0800 or 1600-1900. If most of your journeys are north out, south in, then you need Jacobs Well, Merrow, Burpham. If you're heading the other way, then its Onslow. Beware the area around Slyfield, there's an abbatoir there which - I've heard - stinks if the wind is wrong.

parakitaMol.

11,876 posts

250 months

Thursday 4th March 2021
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2 gins that really made me laugh - I lived there for 15 years and that pretty much nails it lol

You are absolutely correct about the north bound/south bound it's a frikkin nightmare and was designed by a cyclist.

Mr Tidy

22,065 posts

126 months

Thursday 4th March 2021
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2gins that is just brilliant! thumbup

I never lived in Guildford but worked in the centre of it at Wey House back in the late 80s, and it doesn't look like the make up of Guildford has changed much!

I lived in Ash at the time which was OK, and the commute was easy on the A31 or just 2 stops on the train from Ash station.

philv

Original Poster:

3,912 posts

213 months

Friday 5th March 2021
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All ready to set off for another viewing at 7am this morning.

Except, Toyota Auris Hybrid sounds like a tractor.

Some ********** has stolen the cat converter in the night.

Armchair_Expert

18,168 posts

205 months

Sunday 7th March 2021
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Guildfords rail links are rubbish, slow train stopping everywhere. The better line is the Basingstoke / Farnborough Line which stops at Woking and Brookwood too.

We are in Frimley. We doubled the size of our house by moving to an identically priced house 3 miles away from where we were in Pirbright. I use Woking, Brookwood, Farnborough and Ash Vale stations to get to work depending on my mood, as I cycle and train for my commute, so plenty of choice and very easy.

Lot's of low aircraft noise here though from Farnborough airport, the jets come in low over the ranges when we walk the dog. I am not a fan of Guildford, its quite a large area with a lot of scummy parts, more so than Farnborough which in reality isn't too bad. Farnborough is just boring, there's nothing really there other than a mixture of industrial sites, main roads, car garages and woodland / army land. It has no character or history either. Our house is an average house on an average street in an average location, but it is supremely practical, fantastic for schools and rail links, and will sell very easily as a result. It is just a stop gap for us whilst our kids are young, we will sell in 5 years and move somewhere further away, more rural and with the character and charm me have had previously.

Mytchett I like, next to Frimley. Deepcut I also have no issues with. Ash Vale is starting to encroach into Aldershot, which isn't so pleasant. Ash itself is also a bit hit and miss and is basically Aldershot anyway. Tongham may be a choice for you but no close railway and equally not much going on other than the A331 and A31.

parakitaMol.

11,876 posts

250 months

Sunday 7th March 2021
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anonymous said:
[redacted]
Guildford trains depend on which ones you get! yeah highly annoying if you get on a stopping train - so don't! Get on the direct one that takes just over half an hour!

Absolutely correct about Tongham - add Worplesdon



McGee_22

6,654 posts

178 months

Friday 19th March 2021
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Loving 2Gins map of Guildford - it's pretty much what we'd figured out when we moved here nearly 6 years ago - we ended up just outside Guildford for reasons of space, price and a great location.

As for the OP, moving to around Guildford from East Finchley isn't really on the cards if your partner is hyper-sensitive to aircraft noise - There are flight paths close enough all around to affect hyper-sensitivity to the noise including the jets that fly to Farnborough and Woking - if you go a long way south-east again your partner might escape it but in all honesty, she won't escape it for ever.

Of course, further out than Woking/Guildford and you're more than your half an hour limit from London and also with you not driving small villages will be off the cards.

Unfortunately your choices of not driving, no aircraft noise, sub £350k and 30 mins from London may ultimately mean you are better off staying where you are.

Sporky

6,087 posts

63 months

Tuesday 30th March 2021
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I lived in Bellfields for 16 years - it and Park Barn are arguably a bit rough, but we're talking Guildford rough, not Salford. The houses are solid (steel metal door frames!), you get a decent sized garden in most, Whitmoor Common is a 10 minute walk away, you're close to the A3 and M25 for getting to other places, and the train service isn't bad (though I usually drove to Woking to go to London - twice as many trains).

HTP99

22,443 posts

139 months

Tuesday 30th March 2021
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Sporky said:
I lived in Bellfields for 16 years - it and Park Barn are arguably a bit rough, but we're talking Guildford rough, not Salford. The houses are solid (steel metal door frames!), you get a decent sized garden in most, Whitmoor Common is a 10 minute walk away, you're close to the A3 and M25 for getting to other places, and the train service isn't bad (though I usually drove to Woking to go to London - twice as many trains).
Problem is, that side of Guildford is the "wrong side" if you want to go North on the A3 in the morning.

edc

9,231 posts

250 months

Tuesday 30th March 2021
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HTP99 said:
Sporky said:
I lived in Bellfields for 16 years - it and Park Barn are arguably a bit rough, but we're talking Guildford rough, not Salford. The houses are solid (steel metal door frames!), you get a decent sized garden in most, Whitmoor Common is a 10 minute walk away, you're close to the A3 and M25 for getting to other places, and the train service isn't bad (though I usually drove to Woking to go to London - twice as many trains).
Problem is, that side of Guildford is the "wrong side" if you want to go North on the A3 in the morning.
It's all moot anyway as the OP doesn't drive and needs to be seemingly within walking distance of the train station.

Sporky

6,087 posts

63 months

Tuesday 30th March 2021
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HTP99 said:
Problem is, that side of Guildford is the "wrong side" if you want to go North on the A3 in the morning.
No it isn't. Head towards Woking, turn off right after Salt Box Road and Jacobs Well, up Clay Lane and you go straight onto the A3.

If you head towards Guildford it'll often get sticky, but no-one with any sense would head that way from Bellfields if they wanted to go North on the A3.

Sporky

6,087 posts

63 months

Tuesday 30th March 2021
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edc said:
It's all moot anyway as the OP doesn't drive and needs to be seemingly within walking distance of the train station.
Ah, missed that bit. 35 minute walk to the station. I did it for a year or so.

edc

9,231 posts

250 months

Tuesday 30th March 2021
quotequote all
Sporky said:
edc said:
It's all moot anyway as the OP doesn't drive and needs to be seemingly within walking distance of the train station.
Ah, missed that bit. 35 minute walk to the station. I did it for a year or so.
I did a 25 ish min walk to the station which quickly became boring. Got a moped within a couple of months. For Guildford I'd at least expand the search and ride a bike.

Sporky

6,087 posts

63 months

Wednesday 31st March 2021
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edc said:
I did a 25 ish min walk to the station which quickly became boring. Got a moped within a couple of months. For Guildford I'd at least expand the search and ride a bike.
That seems sensible.

Maybe an e-bike if you're doing the particularly hilly bits.