West Sussex and its borders are also excellent

Hi I live on the outskirts of Guildford and its ok personally most of my clients who have asked for opinion on Surrey and its borders and where to consider I suggest Claygate,Esher,Cobham Weybride,Liphook and those sorts of areas,Guildford has improved a lot and depending on where you go makes a huge difference. I have been in the Surrey area for over 25 yrs so happy to give my opinion if ever needed

We're in Petworth. Unfortunately, have never been in the Hurstpierpoint area.

Where is west Sussex are you? Does anyone know what Hurstpierpoint is like to live?

Moved nearly a year ago to Surrey (for 2 months) then West Sussex and not missing London AT ALL! I didn't enjoy Surrey (Esher) so much but so far so good in West Sussex. Fantastic for our 1 yr old and I have been sooo busy. Although I LOVE London and was very happy there, I actually dread going there now. So much to do here and lots going on for little ones. Most families are like us - husband working in town and we've all moved from SW London so lots in common. That said, it's been wonderful meeting locals and the one thing I have loved the most is how helpful everyone has been. Neighbours have been super welcoming, everyone knows each other and says hi on the street. If you're out of cash at the butchers, "well not to worry, darling, you'll just pay me next time". If you're unloading the weekly shop, someone always offers to hold/watch the baby while you do it. The nursery is small and feels like a home away from home (about a third of the price of London's equivalent). I'm taking up upholstery classes at the local adult education centre (didn't ever occur to me this would exist in London). Our local swimming pool is actually a beautiful luxury spa and membership is a lot less than that of our local Virgin Active in London. We haven't looked back once so far so can really recommend it.

Tinkerbellmummy - so lovely to read your post as we are in your position with same age children a year behind....I am going to miss London so much but great to hear all the positives of moving to Marlow and settling that you have mentioned. Are you able to recommend any preschools / schools? Would be interested to hear your views. Thanks :+)

Don't forget to pop by the new site www.lifeafterlondon.com to connect with others talking about a move and also to ask questions from the locals. It really can help to aid your decision making process!

I'm so glad to see I'm not the only one with this dilemma!! Some really good advice on here x

We had the same dilemma - but we made the leap (well my husband dragged me) and i'm SO glad we did. We have a 3 and 1 year old. However, it did take us ages to find something that replicated the Battersea life I loved, because I knew I didn't want to be reliant on the car for everything. So we found a town in Bucks called Marlow, where I could walk into the town, it has a park, coffee shops and a lovely high street with a JoJo Maman on - so for me, it was a mini replica of Northcote road. I've made loads of friends easily - and mainly ones that have also made the same move from London. But the plus side is that is has great state schools, and you can get out to the countryside in 2 mins without any traffic jams.
So if you can find something that replicate the best parts of London - and don't make too bigger leap into the middle of nowhere then I recommend the move.
And we are still in reach of London, so if I feel the need to visit a museum with 2 under 3's, then I could in theory pop in.
So we weren't too brave, but it is a small leap in comparison to friends who have moved to small villages and done the whole country thing properly. I loved London though and it was great fun having a baby there too, but in reality we couldn't afford a big enough house for our growing family. Good luck with the decision - I know how hard it is! x

Hello, we all think we're unique having these dilemmas!

I was a Londoner born and bred, from really Central London - I grew up just off Sloane Square. My husband and I bought our first home in Rotherhithe, great as a young couple, not so great with a small child. But it was quiet and green and easy to get around London. But we wanted a bigger house with a garden, and didn't want to pay what was being asked in Greenwich, Blackheath, Clapham etc. So we made the move to Epsom. We looked for a long time in Kingston (a bit more like being in London), but ultimately made the move to Surrey. There is no correct answer, you make your own decision, and I'm glad we did. There are plenty of direct trains to Waterloo, Victoria, SW/SE London, and into Surrey. Epsom is a small town with London next to it on one side, and the country/M25 and beyond the other. Many of the families in Epsom have moved from SW and SE London, and others have moved back to be nearer family where they were originally from in this area.

My husband and I both still commute to London, I'd like not to eventually, but it's a pleasant journey. There are plenty of coffee shops in town! And there are more facilities for children than I was used to in SE London. We knew we didn't want to live in the country, but my husband was more keen to move into the suburbs - it was a compromise for me, but as I said, I'm glad we moved.

Wherever you move, schools may still be an issue. Criteria change, populations change, and it is the same wherever you are.

If you're serious and you fancy a visit to Epsom, contact me and I'll give you a walk around x

STAY IN LONDON

I moved from Clapham to the Epsom area very recently and intended to unsubscribe but still enjoy reading about Clapham so did not. I am in a different position in that my daughter has now finished school and university. She went to school in London and it had its good and bad points. As I no longer need to commute I took the decision to move from my terraced house to have the luxury of parking in my drive, living in a cul de sac, larger garden etc. I have only been here 6 months and have no regrets. I do play a sport that has allowed me to start making new friends here and you do have to put in effort to get a new network. I am lucky in that the village I live in has everything a few minutes walk from my home.

I do think though that with young children you would miss your network and friends in London. However, I doubt it is any more difficult to build a network here than in London?

I still go to London (with ease) to meet friends, shop, do the culture etc. I don't think you miss out on any of that by moving a few miles away.

I think if I had my time over again, I might have moved sooner. I did not have to fight hard for a school place although I did go down the private route for secondary school.

What puts me off nappy valley now is the circus that has become the school choice. I saw with dismay what happened at Belleville viz a viz freezing out those next door and see with even more dismay the arguments over those renting to cheat the system. I don't see any desire by the council to improve anything. My sympathy to those fretting about schools, it is truly awful. I just don't think I could go through it!

I have met some mothers at my new sports club who met each other at their childrens' schools so the world goes round the same way outside of the smoke. I have also spoken to many of them who made the move from places like nappy valley and have not heard any regrets. It is a big move and I know I did it later but I love it outside of London. It is safer and there is less aggression about.

Good luck in your decision.

Hi I can answer your school move question having just done it..It's essentially like the initial reception application in nappy valley (in terms of over subscription, catchments etc) only a different form - an in year application and you can apply at any time.

The bottom line regardless of if it is a state or private school is that if the class is full, you go on the wait list, they cannot legally take more than places allocated for each year group apart from with twins / triplets I think. There seems to be a big shift of people moving out of London and certainly where we are in Hampshire, there is a shortage of school places. One of the headlines on the front of the Hampshire Chronicle today was that the county needs 9000 extra primary school places.

So it becomes a chicken and egg situation - do you choose your house and then hope the local school has a place or do you find a school that has a place and then find a house nearby bearing in mind that you cannot go on the wait list until you have an address in catchment. In Hampshire, all the schools seem to work on catchment and a lot of the primary schools are church schools. We leapfrogged 14 people on the wait list to being the next family in because we had a church reference (Just like to add that I have always attended church not for reasons of school references but in this case it was helpful!) However, although we are now first on this list, we will only be offered a place when a child in my daughter's year group leaves. There is of course always movement but it could take months / years if no one needs to move and the class sizes do not generally increase so again unless someone leaves the school, September and the start of the school year does not automatically bring a new school place.

The school in the next village had a place and we have taken it and my daughter started this week. They didn't have a wait list for this year group so offered us the place even though we are out of catchment. Downside is I drive but it seems just as good as our local and nearest school and whilst I was happy to have her at home until September, I felt any longer was too long for her to be out of the school system. My next hurdle will be that my younger daughter will be classed as an out of catchment sibling so may not be offered a place if it is a busy year group....although the schools have different siblings problems. Our nearest school order siblings (address not considered) above new non sibling applications. So I have heard that this year, some people living very close (within 300 metres) to the school with a church reference have not been offered a place because there were so many siblings but most of those families now live out of catchment. Very tricky as of course makes sense for siblings to be at same school but a hard pill to swallow if you literally live round the corner from the school. So I would suggest checking the sibling policy because the in catchment / out of catchment sibling policy will make a big difference. As will having a church reference.

So in short, it can be like out of the frying pan and into the fire and if you call schools to enquire about a place, you really need to say you are about to buy or rent otherwise they will put you off as they would have hundreds of people on their wait lists and it would be too tricky to manage. It was only when I had an address that I was offered the opportunity to view the schools and go on the list.
Don't be completely put off - people do move and if a school you like has a place, grab it whilst it's there!

I'm curious like Balhamama how the logistics of a school move work. The only experience I have is of a class mate of my son who moved to Epsom in the summer and is still waiting for a place at the excellent local school....so is commuting everyday up to SW19... That haas really, really put us off looking to move, though I suspect our long term plan will be a move into Surrey for our forever house

Wow, I am overwhelmed by the amazing response to my post. Well, we have decided to stay in London and have found a little house that we love and are currently negotiating with the estate agents and keeping everything crossed. It is a tiny house and the price will shock our non London friends and family if they were to know how much we are offering, but it is just gorgeous and in a great area, perfect for us to settle in our first house before we start a little family

Thank you to everyone who has taken their time to write their views and experiences and for all the great advice. Your honesty has been so helpful. We are very excited about our future and can finally (well nearly) relax about the whole issue. xx