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Is Liphook for us - Ascot (13th Apr 2015 - 08:20:32) Never thought I'd ask this but realise that its the last niggle before we begin to embark on our new journey as a family. We're a family of 4, myself of obvious carribean heritage, my partner is white, my kids are mixed. We are moving from the biggest melting pot, London Tower Hamlets and having never lived outside of that, I'm wondering if we fit, sounds daft but...

Re: Is Liphook for us - Chris (13th Apr 2015 - 09:01:27) Hi, I'm from the east end / Essex area I moved here nearly 20 years ago and this is my experience of Liphook, slower pace of life, more relaxed, safer, pleasant surroundings, less congestion, in general the people are very friendly (although there is a 'I've lived here all my life' attitude from a small minority which counts for nothing really. The community are a very friendly and once you and your family are here you will be a part of it. I don't feel that your Caribbean/ white mixed family will make any difference, so I hope you and your family are happy here and welcome to Liphook.

Re: Is Liphook for us - Newbie (13th Apr 2015 - 09:57:19) As a fellow newbie I can only reassure you that my experience of moving to the village is an extremely warm and welcoming one. If you are looking for a community, a slower pace of life, knowing your neighbours and the extra freedom your children will gain from village life then you will have no regrets. The village does provide all essentials but compared to Tower Hamlets you will have to adapt to everything being a little less available travel, taxi's, restaurants, shops all exist but obviously not with the frequency and opening hours you will be used to! But I'm assuming if you are looking at Liphook then you are probably after the 'village life'. Ethnicity wise you will very much be in a minority, but I can't see this being relevant, but then I'm white so perhaps not the best person to comment on this! There are 'prettier' villages about and sadly the traffic through the centre does hinder the idyllic village centre developing fully but that said you would be hard pushed to find a village with a better community feel as long as you are willing to get out there and get involved. Whether it's the right move for your family really depends what it is you are looking for. Hope the above is helpful. Should you make the move I'm sure I'll bump into you soon.

Re: Is Liphook for us - Ascot (13th Apr 2015 - 10:28:12) Thanks for your response. I feel that an exit from the murderous bustle of London will improve our quality of life immensely and embrace it wholeheartedly. I do however worry about the kids and wonder if I'm setting them up for a fall. I'm obviously an ignorant Londoner though who really knows nothing of village/country life and so, the fear sets in. I appreciate any and all insight into what lays ahead.

Re: Is Liphook for us - Newbie (13th Apr 2015 - 10:48:11) How old are your children? I would prehaps head down and spend a day here. Head to the rec for the playground and space for a kick about/picnic. A walk at radford park, you'll find ducks to feed, rope swings to play on and trees to climb. The links and deers hut are nice pubs to have lunch at, not overly cheap but nice and children are welcome, or the Anchor (Hungry Horse chain) in the centre offers a cheaper alternative with play stuff in the garden. A day here should give you a good feel for the place especially this week as the kids are still on their Easter hols or at any weekend. Good luck

Re: Is Liphook for us - A. Ryan (13th Apr 2015 - 11:13:46) Although Liphook is still classed as a village and retains elements of one do not be fooled. It is not like one of the small hamlets around here that you need to travel to by car. We have a main line station, Waterloo to Portsmouth, both easy to access and the best of both worlds. There are buses, (not like London one every 7 minutes) but with more preparation in going places, copable. Haslemere, Petersfield and Guildford are very close for shopping, cinemas, swimming pools, even skating. We have a secondary school so plenty of youngsters about. It is also safe for the youngsters to walk around here and play in the recreation ground etc, so I am sure your children would enjoy it round here. We have lovely walks round here to enjoy. There are plenty of families with different ethnic backgrounds here so do not be worried about that. I am painting a rosy picture, and obviously we have our faults like anywhere else, but we are not that bad here. Good luck.

Re: Is Liphook for us - Dawn Hoskins (13th Apr 2015 - 11:32:17) I would recommend printing off and reading the Bramshott and Liphook Parish Plan. It is very near completion with years of work gone into it. (by teams of volunteers). You will find it most interesting and informative. It highlights everything good about the parish as well as those few things that local residents would like to improve if they could. All the best www.liphookplan.co.uk/...

Re: Is Liphook for us - Paul E (13th Apr 2015 - 11:34:56) My wife and I plus one small child came to Liphook from Vauxhall/Lambeth nearly 51 years back when it was much, much smaller, but we soon were making new friends and discovered to our surprise that there were more events going on than back in Vauxhall. The only minor problem was not knowing who was related to whom so we learnt very quickly to be very cautious when speaking to anybody. I don't think that that's a problem these days. Took us 25 years to be 'real' locals - don't know the present qualification, probably a bit longer!

Re: Is Liphook for us - tony (13th Apr 2015 - 12:49:52) Hi Ascot, in my opinion if you're moving from Tower Hamlets to Liphook in order to give your kids a better start in life, you are doing EXACTLY the right thing! Unless of course you lived in one of those new multimillion pound luxury gated and guarded developments by the Thames and chauffeur your kids to and from private school, avoiding ever exposing them to the East End, like many do! Welcome to Liphook, best countryside and places to visit, sea close by (15 minutes by car, but I'll deny I said that!), decent to good transport connections to anywhere, good community spirit, low crime, great local schools (both free and paying), one of the best moves I ever made (even though I've already lost about half a million quid between my old house price and new!), the most we ever moan about here is a bit of traffic or a stereo playing, the whole village talks about that for days! Well done for discovering the place, just don't tell anybody else about it, we want to keep it our best kept secret!

Re: Is Liphook for us - A. Ryan (13th Apr 2015 - 13:15:34) Tony.... 15 minutes by car !!!!!! Surely you mean Frensham Ponds ;) or your breaking the sound barrier to get there.

Re: Is Liphook for us - tony (13th Apr 2015 - 14:12:14) A. Ryan, either it was the Stig driving or I got my times wrong!

Re: Is Liphook for us - Newbie (13th Apr 2015 - 14:15:27) Ha ha!!! Prehaps we should add 'locals with a great sense of humour' to the many fabulous attractions that Liphook offers! As for 'the beach being 15 mins away' and 'plenty of families from different ethnic backgrounds' you could say these statements are a little far fetched! The beach is indeed not too far and there are a number of families from from different social, ecomomic and ethnic backgrounds but when comparing it to Tower Hamlets - 'plenty' is probably the wrong word! Having said that, it's a great place to live and I have no doubt you will be very warmly welcomed by all.

Re: Is Liphook for us - g renouf (13th Apr 2015 - 14:51:28) great place to live loads of clubs and organisations to join many village community based 40 mins to south coast 1 hour to gatwick heathrow or london by train (if transport behaves) loads to see and do good schools nice people

Re: Is Liphook for us - Chris (13th Apr 2015 - 19:09:09) Hi, I forgot to say your kids may find life a little quieter but depending on their ages we have Liphook united football club for all ages and the girls are allowed to play up to the age of 13 with the boys, Cricket club just outside the village, brownies and guides in the village, so I assume there must be a scouts( sorry but it's my daughter who attends here!) Swimming clubs plus I'm sure you can find much more. We always feel as parents that we are ferrying the kids to one social event or club so there must be enough to keep them occupied! If you play football yourself either seriously or just for fun there are plenty of opportunities, just ask through here.

Re: Is Liphook for us - Ascot (13th Apr 2015 - 19:42:05) Wow, what a response, thanks a bunch for taking the time to reply to my post.

Re: Is Liphook for us - newby (13th Apr 2015 - 20:39:45) Hi Katie, We moved here a year ago from south london for our two kids. It's the best thing we've done. Loads of positives: People are really friendly, the Mum's and Dad's at the school gate are all lovely, the countryside is lovely, it's very strategic with the A3, 20 minutes from Guildford, 45 mins from Kingston etc. I could go on and on. Very few downsides: One too many 4x4s, Liphook is quite polarised. It's young families and the elderly and not a lot inbetween, rabidly Tory bit UKIP. The race issues I come across are pretty Daily Mail. It's depressing that the Daily Mail/Hate is the most popular paper but any prejudice i've heard is directed towards Islamaphobia. Liphook is very, very middle class. As a mixed race family I don't think you'll have any issues. You're making a smart move. Go for it.

Re: Is Liphook for us - MH (14th Apr 2015 - 11:58:17) Ascot, we left Tower Hamlets (Wapping) 6 years ago and moved to Godalming, two months ago we moved to Liphook. If you are looking for a village that offers outstanding schooling, a main line link to Waterloo, a place where people still say hello to each other in the street, beautiful countryside and is not horrendously overpriced, then you could do far worse than move to Liphook.

Re: Is Liphook for us - Natalie (29th Apr 2015 - 18:19:27) We're currently looking to move out of London with our 3 year old (like most people with young families) and as a person who hates change, I am worried that I will feel isolated as we'll be leaving friends and family behind. I just wondered how the new people to Liphook have found it making new friends and settling into the community? Is there a lot to do with toddlers (soft play etc) and are there many clubs (karate/sporting activities) available? I am hoping to make new friends once my son starts school (in Haslemere) and throw myself into community life. Any thoughts or suggestions would be gratefully received.

Re: Is Liphook for us - TW (1st May 2015 - 12:48:18) To both Ascot and Natalie We moved here recently and after a few weeks of being a bit of a loner we have made some good friends. I have an 18m old girl and a 3 year old boy who will start school in Liphook in September. We moved from Wapping a few years ago to Godalming and then came to Liphook in February. I can see us settling here now until the kids are grown up. It's so lovely. I actually made my first Liphook friend on here when she kindly offered to meet me and the children for a play date when I asked about playgroups. There are now a few of us that meet up regularly and funnily enough most of us have come from London. If you would like to meet up once you arrive here please do send me a message on Facebook. My name is Tessa Marie Wright. All the best with your moves! Tessa

Re: Is Liphook for us - Natalie (1st May 2015 - 18:12:57) Hi Ascot, Not sure if this helps or not but we're currently in the process of relocating to Liphook. I had no prior knowledge of the area but it was recommended to me by a colleague of mine, who just happens to be an indian Muslim. As a locum pharmacist he works all over Surrey and Hampshire and says he can tell what an area is like based on the reaction he gets from people. Anyway he thinks Liphook is a great area and the community is very friendly and welcoming. Hope everything works out for you and your family. Take care Natalie

Re: Is Liphook for us - Ascot (5th May 2015 - 18:33:11) HIYA I've got to say that just based on the response here I'm all ready to pack. Thanks alot for taking the time to respond.

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