Nice areas to live in home counties

Weybridge and surrounding areas are lovely. IS Kingston too big?

Why is Guildford too big? I used to live there, and it is IMHO the bestest town EVER. Gorgeous shops, restaurants, bars, and surrounded by bags of beautiful countryside and lovely villages. I used to live near the station so it was a 3 minute walk in the morning, a 5 min walk into town. 35 min commute to Waterloo. Perfect.

I live in Reading now [weeps uncontrollably] ?

Which London station is most convenient for you to get in to? That will make a huge difference to travel times (so if you'd like to come into Kings X, don't go to Surrey, if Victoria don't go to Herts etc.

Godalming might fit your bill although compared to Guildford it's a bit dull and it's further out from London.

Reading's not that bad btw, I was mostly joking! Very handy for central London - you could look at Caversham (posh area with a villagey feel) for detached houses and a manageable journey to the station. 25 mins to Paddington which is v good.

Just move to Guildford, you won't regret it! I should work for their tourist board ?

Kingston doesn't have the same vibe at all (it is lovely in a different way, I live there!) Some of Weybridge is nice but not all of it. Esher / Thames Ditton are lovely and you're very close to Kingston for the shops and good traffic links. Cobham is nice.

I love Kew, which is where I'd live if I had the money.

Godalming is lovely and Guildford is only a few miles up the road

Thanks for the suggestions. Funnily enough - Kew is one of my top choices too! But a detached house there is serious money! Plus it's on the flight path I think which puts me off a bit.

I will investigate the options you suggested. I do like the idea of Guildford very much.

Waterloo is probably the station I need to get into so that would work.

Thanks again!

Guildford v nice. the compliment I always pay it is it's like St Albans, but in Surrey (actually it's probs nicer than St Albans, but I lived in St As for years and loved it)

Twickenham is nice and sometimes cheaper than Richmond.

Other areas in the same vacinity that I love are:

Kew, Hampton, Barnes, outer edges of Hanworth, Ham, Strawberry Hill, Teddington, St Margarets and parts of Kingston. Whitton is not too bad and Isleworth is alright if you stay away from the sewage place.

We live in Twickenham - cheaper than Richmond, but you can still walk there if need be. There is also the added bonus of having the fab shops of Kingston near by. We love living here.

Try the Twickenham suburbs of Whitton (as long as it's the Twickenham stadium side), Hampton Hill, Strawberry Hill and St. Margarets.

I grew up in Chesham and that might fit the bill. I haven't lived there for 20 years though so info might be a bit out of date, and I can't really comment on restaurants/bars etc but there is a lovely big park with a duck pond and a train station. It's the last station on one of the underground lines and less than an hour into central London. Amersham is nice too but I think property is a bit pricier there, my parents couldn't afford to live there ?

Weybridge Cobham or Windsor would be my choices but it definitely depends on the most convenient terminus. (first two are Surrey, windsor is Berkshire)

I'm with Tillybean and Mrs Winkle- we live in Whitton, close to Twickenham stadium and we love it here. But yes, definitely avoid the area around Mogden Lane sewage works. Waterloo is 30 mins away, and the river is a 10 mins cycle ride. I go into Richmond or Twickenham for shopping and to meet friends but Kingston is also very close and the shopping there is fab. I think we have a good balance between the city and the countryside.

A bit further out but still on a train line, are the Chalfonts - Little Chalfont, Chalfont St. Peter and Chalfont St Giles. They are all very pretty but I don't really know about restaurants.

How about Teddington? I really like it there; decent shops, v close to Kingston, good restaurants etc.

Cobham is lovely, a reall village feel, with some lovely pubs (the cricketers is one!) - or Stoke D'Abernon which is near.

Surbiton has some good restaurants, great mainline into Waterloo (about 25 mins on fast train) and about 10mins from Kingston.

Esher is nice, but a bit pricey.

Claygate has a village feel, some nice pubs and restaurants and station going into waterloo (The Greek Vine restaurant is great fun!)