Need help on possible move to South-East London area...

[Tsippy]

Hey folks,

My partner might be offered a job in the Croydon area and so I was hoping to pick your brains as to what might be a nice place to live near to there, while not too expensive (difficult I know in the South!And i have it on good authority that living in Croydon is more dangerous than doing a tour of Afghanistan )

As she'll be working Croydon, we'd rather be not too far (ie 30 miles maximum) And are happy to move as far East as Gillingham and as far West as Woking / Guildford. Ideally, we'd like to be close to an ice rink as we both play ice hockey (so Woking is close to Basingrad, Bracknell and Guildford rinks / teams, and Gillingham has its own rink and teams) so again, as long as the rinks are within a 30 mile range we're happy

I think our maximum budget is £800, but unfortunately it's difficult to get an idea for an area from Rightmove and the various estate agents!

Thanks for any help


The Tsippy

[PintOfKittens]

Some parts of Woking are about the same as Afghanistan on fri/sat nights too.

[okgo]

Always helpful to know whether you need a studio or a 5 bed.

[anonymous-user]

You have 2 options

Move to the Surrey area, e.g Epsom, Sutton, Cheam etc

You'll get a nice 1 bed or a stty 2 bed for the money they are a little chavtastic but not as bad as Croydon itself and good rail links to Croydon

Or Crystal Palace, Sydenham etc

I havent lived in these areas but mates do and they say they are ok, again same kind of property size

I live in Blackheath/Greenwich which IMO is actual SE London, you wouldn't want to live there, don't get me wrong it's a lovely area but your journey to Croydon would be grim

Places to avoid, Streatham, Tooting and Mitcham

[davemac250]

I'd suggest £800pm will not go far in nice areas around there.

30 miles doesn't sound far, but you would be better served by specifying travel time and travel method.

Guildford to Croydon for a 8-9am start by car is a good 90 min trip.

However, Brighton to Croydon by train is much quicker.

[Jaykaybi]

I commute to Croydon, by car, from Chatham Maritime. I reccommend Chatham Maritime / St Mary's Island. I do not reccommend Gillingham. Eww.

[Tsippy]

Cheers

Luckily she will be doing shift work and so will start work at 0700 and finish at 1900, so would this miss most of the works traffic or am I trying to be a bit too optomistic?

Sorry, I forgot to mention it, but we're ideally looking for a property with 2 bedrooms and offroad parking, so whether it's a flat, bungalow or house does not really bother us

Thanks again!

[cslgirl]

I used to commute to Croydon from Beckenham and then Bromley. Car from Beckenham and bus from Bromley. If you don't need to get a train, then I would suggest:

West Wickham
Hayes
Beckenham
Elmers End

There is also Shirley but I don't really know much about it.

ETA, I forgot about the tram link to Croydon. Starts at Beckenham Junction station.

Edited by cslgirl on Friday 30th July 14:27

[frosted]

Guildford to croydon is a bh of a drive . South croydon , purley , kenley are very nice areas . Personally I wouldn't live anywhere but croydon if I worked there . Actually if you live somewhere by the tram / train it will save you hours of driving each year

[davemac250]

frosted said:

Guildford to croydon is a bh of a drive . Parts of South croydon , most of purley , nearly all of kenley are very nice areas and bloody expensive, especially if you want off street parking . Personally I wouldn't live in croydon. Actually if you live somewhere by the tram / train it will save you hours of driving each year

EFA

Oh, look at Redhill.

With that start time the drive won't be too bad, still a shocker by standards o/s the South East though.

[cslgirl]

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/proper...

Walking distance to Beckenham Junction for the tram and near the high street for the pubs/restaurants.

[Neil1300R]

Croydon - Woking as a commute? Distance isn't the problem its the time.

[PintOfKittens]

Neil1300R said:

Croydon - Woking as a commute? Distance isn't the problem its the time.

Fastest you can do Wimbledon -> Woking on train is just about 30mins, used to do it every day.

Just have to factor in Tram from Croy -> Wimbledon, which I think is 30min or so?

[Jaykaybi]

Jaykaybi said:

I commute to Croydon, by car, from Chatham Maritime. I recommend Chatham Maritime / St Mary's Island. I do not recommend Gillingham. Eww.

Should add, it's 37 miles and door to door in 55 minutes.. usually..

[frosted]

Well I rather fight for a parking space then have fits of road rage.

I lived in croydon (south ish ) and kenley and parking wasn't a big problem . 2 years ago the permits were 40 quid a year 60 for the second car and 120 for the third .

[Tsippy]

Luckily she'll only be working 4 days a week with the job, so a longer commute is not so bad Will have a look at some of the places you've all suggested though, it helps to know from people who live in the area so thanks for taking the time to respond

[NiceCupOfTea]

cslgirl said:

I used to commute to Croydon from Beckenham and then Bromley. Car from Beckenham and bus from Bromley. If you don't need to get a train, then I would suggest:

West Wickham
Hayes
Beckenham
Elmers End

There is also Shirley but I don't really know much about it.

ETA, I forgot about the tram link to Croydon. Starts at Beckenham Junction station.

Edited by cslgirl on Friday 30th July 14:27

Agreed, I live in Bromley and work in Croydon. Driving it's not too bad at all. Tram is very good from Beckenham.

Shirley is good too, not bad area and easy bus or drive in to Croydon. No stations though. Avoid New Addington at all costs! Also, north Croydon not great (South Norwood, Thornton Heath, Streatham).

Generally, I would look South and East of Croydon. The further West you go the worse the traffic is and the more expensive stuff is. Have a look outside the M25 - Edenbridge or Westherham for a fab drive to work! (no trains though).

[58warren]

Tsippy - I have sent you mail...

[chrimbb]

For some unknown reason I lived in Croydon for 10 years (not any more). The only help I can offer is tell your other half to turn the job down and don't go anywhere near there. The whole area is a toilet.

[fido]

If it's a house you're after, Epsom & surrounding is good. Easy enough drive to Guildford (Spectrum Ice Rink). And trains to London/Guildford. Cheam-bit of Sutton is nice-ish as well.