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Hi all - as per the title really. My mate is thinking of moving there - works for a family point of view and the house prices aren't too painfall....
He is struggling to find any first hand accounts tho - so I figured I'd ask on here for him. Got two kids young kids - looked nice when he did a drive by and it has a skatepark and gymnastics club for the little ones.
What do people think? Is it noisy from the M25 being next door? Is traffic terrible? Much crime? Commute into London horrific? Air quality awful? Are the schools alright? That kind of thing....
Thanks in advance 🙂
I used to live there . The valley is a lot colder than the hill.
Not Caterham, but Redhill, which pretty much next door. I’d say it’s a pretty good place to live - M25 is handily close but rarely affects life. Traffic is mixed - it’s a town just inside the m25! Riding is pretty good if that’s a thing for your mate?
Schools are good as far as I know, it’s right on the north downs so easy access to the countryside. It’d be a yes from me…
Not Caterham, but Redhill, which pretty much next door.
That’s what Redhill likes to think but thankfully there’s Chaldon and Merstham to act as a buffer…. 😉
Local digs aside (i jumped the m25 a few years back) I grew up there so probably can’t speak entirely without bias but it’s a perfectly nice place to live without being markedly outstanding on any counts. The community stuff has been really good the last few years with things like the caterham festival.
You can be ducking into fields or hedgerows in 5-10 minutes from most of caterham so walks/runs/rides are catered for. I’ve never noticed the M25 from town but you can from the ridge.
Traffic I imagine will depend entirely on your frame of reference! It’s busy at busy times but not all day if that helps. Commute into london (although i only do it occasionally from Caterham) has the perk that you’re the first stop on the line. There’s also the Oxted and Redhill lines as a degree of backup if the trains break.
I can try and answer other questions but like I say, might have a bias..
Godstone is nicer, but I presume house prices would be more.
Greew up there. 80's so things move on.
End of train line so always a seat if commuting north by train. Twin lines to whyteleaf so you can always get nearly home .
No amenities , cinema , sports centre , swimming pool . Small theatre though.
Waitrose , Morrisons and now a Lidl.
You can hear the M25 earlier in the day, from the valley at least.
De Stafford big local comprehensive school on the hill , no idea if it's any good.
Lots of oldies in and around, the valley being very popular , up on the hill is newer houses, less shops slightly younger people
Pubs aren't great from memory.
Look at Chaldon for posher , merstam and earlswood wee bit cheaper.
Caterham has Waller Lane, venue for the Waller Pain Hill Climb!
I have to confess although I've walked it a few times I have never tried cycling up it, not sure why, perhaps I should give a go sometime.
Anyway Caterham is basically on the North Downs, so that's nice, if you like the Downs. And as mentioned its easy access by train. Being the end of the line means that there is often a train waiting for long periods which is nice rather than a cold platform.
I used to cycle up Waller Lane everyday on my way to school.
Cheers all. Will pass on...
I used to cycle up Waller Lane everyday on my way to school.
I'm impressed! The only time I have seen anyone cycle up it has been on the hill climb day.
Caterham is fine, just a bit 'meh' for me. I say that as someone who grew up in upper caterham/Chaldon and also lived there as an adult.
Singletrackmind covers the main points well so I'll say, if your friend has two young kids, focus research on the schools aspect. Does depend how long they plan to stay there but ultimately (secondary) schools was one of the main reasons to move across to Dorking for us. This was over 15 years ago but we weren't overly impressed with de Stafford but we wouldn't have definitely got our kids into St Bedes down in Reigate/merstham. There's some other school options like Riddlesdown to explore too.
I went to Warlingham as it had a slightly better reputation than de Stafford.
Involved a train commute or bus
Then a 15 minute walk up the hill .
Mums still there , aged 91 and it suits her but she's lost her marbles in the last few months so could live in Slough and I don't think she would know
Warlingham also here but i think de stafford has a much better reputation these days.
1983 - 1987 were the years of my internment.
Didn't fit in as someone from Caterham going to school in Warlingham didn't sit well with some people.
Caterham does have a big private school still
.Eothan girls has gone and I think Caterham is now mixed.
Another plus for Caterham is , if you time it right , easy access to Gatwick , Heathrow , London Brighton and the channel ports or tunnel.