Hello! Currently living in Clapham but looking to move outside of London soon, due to prices here!
Would love any recs on areas w/ cute, villagey vibes, good community feel, nice shops/high street!
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Well I am biased but West Sussex/Brighton/Haywards Heath and surrounding towns is a good place to start looking. Prices are a little lower and you still have the mainline train into London as and when you need. x
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Not sure how far out you are looking but I am originally from between Southampton and Winchester. The train from Winchester is an hour to Clapham Junction, failing that Southampton Airport Parkway is only 1hr 25 and there are lots of nice surrounding areas between them all. Winchester prices are fairly expensive but worth having a look - you’re then not far from the New Forest & by the water in the summer x
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Same as Becky… I moved to Brighton 10 years ago, commute into London and I’ve never looked back! Kemp Town where I am is a bit of a walk from the train station, but has a lovely village feel, is right next to the beach/sea and you can get out onto the South Downs in minutes. And Hove is just as lovely.
I also really love Lewes, which is very commutable, and have friends who live towards Tunbridge Wells and that part of Kent who also work in London.
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Thank you all - some great ideas/inspiration!
Dorking / Reigate is quick to London & lots of life - train to Clapham Junction but equally you can easily get an Uber back there. Worcester Park is more and more popular but if you want green space I’d say Surrey Hills well worth a good look!
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Amazing, thanks Georgie!
Marlow is fab and has a fast train into London!
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Dorking is so lovely - very commutable area with a lovely village feel. There are lots of independent shops & pubs too.
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I live in Kent and can’t recommend it enough! It is a beautiful county, with lots of lovely towns and villages mostly located 40 minutes drive to the seaside which is a big plus. I’m commuting to London as well and there are lots of train options so it’s not bad at all x
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I live in Kent as well. Ebbsfleet.
16 mins to St Pancras/KC on the train, and 30 mins to the beach. I have the best of both worlds. Countryside & easy access to London.
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I’m from Hertfordshire and there are some lovely places around here. St Albans is a great city, lovely pubs and restaurants etc and 20 minutes on the train to St Pancras. Berkhamsted is also really nice.
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I live in a small village about 20 minutes drive from Edinburgh. I can park outside my own house and have a decent size garden. House prices in Edinburgh are ridiculous and a lot of people are moving to Midlothian.
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Leighton Buzzard, on the west coast main line, about 1 hour north of Euston and 10 minutes from the M1. A relatively small market town, near Woburn and Milton Keynes.
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Farnham in Surrey is great. 1 hour into London and then the trainline from Farnham, Bentley and Alton all v commutable and you’re on the Hampshire / Surrey border. So beautiful. Great schools, lots of lovely pubs and beautiful countryside.
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Hi, I moved from Clapham to Hove nearly 12 years ago and now live further out in the countryside in West Sussex about 20 mins from Hove. Absolutely love it, have no regrets at all. When I first moved here I commuted to London 4 days a week and that was tough as you know what trains are like in this country (!) but I now only commute to London twice a month or so. When I first moved all that time ago I missed good restaurants but Brighton and Hove now has a fantastic restaurant scene with great new places opening all the time. I love spending time at the beach or in the Downs and feel I have a much better quality of life. I have 2 children now and they are also very happy here. London is still on my doorstep but so are places like Hastings, the Witterings, Dorset and Gatwick airport so I feel it has the best of everything. Good luck! X
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We sold our old house in Welling and moved to suburban Rochester in January 2022 for a bigger house and better secondary schools for our 2 sons.
We have Rochester Castle, Cathedral and a high street full of quaint, traditional shops nearby with plenty of events and festivals to attend, so there is a great community feel.
We live in a quiet and nice neighbourhood where there are fast trains into London for when my husband has to occasionally commute to meet clients or for work events, so quite convenient.
We are so happy we moved here, even though we are further from family and would fully recommend it.
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