Surrey & Middlesex People - Your Suggestions Please (also in SB)

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lh1975

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I'm finally going to be moving out of London in a few months' time and was wondering if any of you could give me your suggestions as to where the best place to move would be.

I've narrowed it down to a few places:

Chobham,
Walton on Thames/Hersham/West Molesey
Shepperton/Sunbury on Thames
or a bit further out like Chertsey or somewhere.

I'm looking for somewhere that is quite rural with decent stables and hacking, around 30 or so mins on train from London and within decent driving distance to London W11. Places with chavs and hoodies are a no no ;)

I went to Cobham a while ago and didn't get good vibes from there for some reason! There also quite a few places that seem to be made entirely of golf courses... oh, and I'd be renting a flat, not buying.

Anyway, any suggestions would be gratefully recieved:)

Thanks!
 
I am moving out of Hayes, Middlesex and in with my parents in Chertsey. I live there most nights at the moment and I can say I really like it.
I'm sussing the area out for stables at the moment and Chobham seems to have the best hacking but finding a yard within my price range is proving to be a real task.
Chertsey is completely out of my price range for stables, you are looking at £45 per week min for a yard with facilitys.
 
Thanks for that and I hope you find a yard soon. Are the yards you've looked at quite big outfits with lots of facilities? I'm wondering if there are any smaller and cheaper ones around..? Sorry for all the questions, but what's Chertsey like - is it quite villagey, are there many facilities/places to go and are the people nice??!

Thanks :)
 
I would say Chobham or Chertsey are your best bet. Molesey, Hersham, Walton, Shepperton etc don't have access to much hacking at all - not unless you are ok with some pretty serious road work or have transport.

Chobham and Chertsey have more commons and woods for riding and there is probably better choice in the way of stables too. You could try areas such as Horsell, Rowtown or even around Bookham, no idea on prices though.
 
A little further afield (more North West) you have Rickmansworth, and Chorleywood. Not sure if you would consider this area. My yard is near Rickmansworth and the hacking is fab. I live a little further in and have about a 20min drive to the yard. Longer than I would like, but its worth it!!
 
Hi Emmaandandy - I've always thought about moving Southwards as I live in SW London so never really considered going North..! What's the area like to live in and is it an ok commute to London, both by car and train? Thanks :)
 
I live in harrow middlesex and keep my pony up in chorleywood and work in central london.

Don't presume that if you move out of london property is cheaper to rent as some of the nice areas are very popular and command high rents - i could not afford to rent in chorleywood for example - and it would be a long journey to work too.

my pony is on assisted grass livery so it is not so bad being a bit further from the yard as i don't have to turn out/bring in etc - although the train journey is under an hour from chorleywood you then have to consider getting to your office and walking/driving from home to the station plus the extra costs of commuting further. my tube pass is just over £200 a month.
 
I'm currently paying just under £1,000pcm for a 1 bed flat in SW London and just over £100 for a tube pass so am hoping that I can off set a lower rent to my travel if I move out of London. I've been looking on Rightmove and there are lower rents but I just don't know where to start...! Looks like I'll be investigsting a few areas over the next few weekends :)
 
Actually - have a look at Guildford. Lovely picturesque town, lots of yards around it and a fast train to Waterloo which I "think" is only 30 minutes. Nice thing about Guildford is that the town doesn't sprawl - I used to be at DIY/part livery yard that was literally 10 minutes drive from the town centre and the hacking is great. Social life is good too
 
West Byfleet is a nice place and only 1/2 an hour from London.
There are plenty of stables around, Byfleet, Chobham, Pyrford, Wisley etc.
The best place to look is in the window of Chobham Rider in Chobham and Buttons in West End.
 
Noooooo! Don't move away from the Pubble! I have't even met you yet!

Stay where you are, get a car and then the yards of the A3 are your oyster (Surrey is crazy expensive because it's pretty but commutable., you might as well stay in London)
 
arizonahoney said:
Noooooo! Don't move away from the Pubble! I have't even met you yet!

Stay where you are, get a car and then the yards of the A3 are your oyster (Surrey is crazy expensive because it's pretty but commutable., you might as well stay in London)
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Ha ha :D We will definitely have to meet sometime before January - it could be a mini forum meet up at the Dukes Head :D There are times that I like Putney but recently I've been having a huge feeling of dread that I'll be living in London forever!!! And I've been doing the maths and can't seem to afford the cash or the time to live and work in London and keep a horse...

What I really want to do is run away and live in the middle of Dartmoor but my OH is a wuss and will only move to somewhere within driving distance of London :(
 
lh1975 said:
I've been doing the maths and can't seem to afford the cash or the time to live and work in London and keep a horse...
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I think time's the killer, especially when the days are shorter. If you leave work at 6pm, what time do you get to see your horse? In winter, I tend to get up at the crack of dawn and go before work...

So you work in W11 or did I misread that? Perhaps it makes more sense to look at places that are commutable by train from Paddington?
 
If you live in Putney, then you can be in Ripley/Ockham in 20 minutes if driving - legally and not in a traffic jam (used to live in Fulham) - and there is a variety of yards there, but think you were hoping to save on rent? no idea what rent versus train fare is though.

When looking around (and obviously considering the train fares/times) worth looking at a slightly less popular station (such as the next one down the line) - check what time it is open but parking will be considerably easier!

I moved back down to Dorking (trains to Waterloo, Victoria and London Bridge - but 47 - 55 mins to Waterloo). I still go out in the city a lot and while I whinge about having to stay focused to get my train home - the reality was that living in Fulham and no where near the tube meant a very long ride back round on the horrible district and circle - same as you..l So realistically its not much longer door to door than when I did live in London. Just not so great if you go out very late (or get organised and pre book taxis!)
 
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I work in SW1, my OH in W11 but my contract will be coming to an end in the new year anyway so ideally I'd love to get a job close to wherever we live... then again, I'll be grateful for anything!

I don't have a horse yet but when I did own mine a good few years ago, I was commuting and doing them myself twice a day and it was a bit of a killer - worth it though :)

I've worked it out I'd have to get up and gone really really early and then it's working till 5.30-6pm at the moment so not good.

Don't know about you, but am finding our neck of the woods so noisy at the moment and just claustrophobic. I will miss the river whenI move though:)

How was your show - or is it not yet?
 
Luci07 said:
If you live in Putney, then you can be in Ripely/Ockham in 20 minutes if driving - legally and not in a traffic jam (used to live in Fulham) - and there is a variety there, but think you were hoping to save on rent? no idea what rent versus train fare is in though.

When looking around (and obviously considering the train fares/times) worth looking at a slightly less popular station (such as the next one down the line) - check what time it is open but parking will be considerably easier!
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I'm hoping to save on rent and get a bit more for my money as well. I can also factor in my tube fare, which is ridiculous for the level of service (zero) and put that towards train fares. Will definitely try the less popular station thing you mentioned - I'd never have thought of that!
 
I live in Guildford and keep the horse 20 min drive away in Chobham. If you have any questions about either area ask away :)

Hacking in Chobham is amazing, lots of horsey stuff going on.
 
lh1975 said:
Thanks for that and I hope you find a yard soon. Are the yards you've looked at quite big outfits with lots of facilities? I'm wondering if there are any smaller and cheaper ones around..? Sorry for all the questions, but what's Chertsey like - is it quite villagey, are there many facilities/places to go and are the people nice??!

Thanks :)
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The yards I've looked at are on the smaller scale with basic facilities if any and they are still expensive.
Chertsey as a town ios lovely, people are really nice and the gang of kids you see in the park are not like the ones in London, they were all over my puppy in the park last night.
Lots of restaurants and a few pubs in Chertsey or you have Staines up the road which has it all.
 
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