Surbiton is a smallish town south-west of central london, in the home county Surrey. The town really started to prosper with the introduction of a fast railway connection to Waterloo. This, in conjunction with the distance from London and the pleasant surroundings, made Surbiton an instant hit with the crowds of commuters working in the City.
Surbiton's other claim to fame is being the base for the popular television programme 'The Good Life' (Richard Briers and Felicity Kendal) as well as the series Stella Street. Of course the town has more to offer for the modern person, boasting green areas galore, the lovely river Thames and shopping heaven Kingston down the road.
The itchy-footed amongst us will enjoy the position of Surbiton as it offers the best of both worlds. on the one side London is very close via the trains, as well as being equidistant from Gatwick and Heathrow airports by car. The M25 is on the doorstep via the A3, allowing a speedy exit into the deeper countryside and even the coastlines of Sussex and Kent for a weekend break.
Families also get the best of both worlds. All the generations of the family are looked after, as the kids have great schools to attend in the area and some lovely parks for the weekends. The teenagers and students have a great university in Kingston as well as the social life that goes along with it. Parents have the shopping box that is Kingston to spend their weekends and evenings at, with the cafes, cinema, restaurants and theatre that go along with it.
The town boasts a good mixture of nineteenth century townhouses blending into more modern housing estates but over time the demand for space near the train station has meant more and more flat conversions in the area. This has been the natural progression of young professional couples wanting the fast commute to London and being willing to pay for it.
However this points leads to the fact that the many plus points to being in such a desirable area must be counterbalanced by the cost of living there. While not being as glitzy as nearby Richmond or Wimbledon, the town attracts a premium for buyers which the price slump of the credit crunch did not really hit. It seems that people who move to Surbiton are not willing to give up on it and there are more waves of people willing to match that premium to try and force their way in!
[Adam Smithy]
0 comments:
Post a Comment