Unless you come up from Hastings you'll need to change at London Bridge (or Victoria and get the tube to Embankment) for Charing Cross. Yes I know Deptford, believe me you'll have a drag of a journey by comparison, what about moving to Kent ? Easy commute.
A nice place but slightly further away is Pulborough, it's on a river and does have a train service but there again Arundel is nice too. It would largely depend on where you commute too. I used to Live in Hassocks and wouldn't recommend it personally as it's quite large for a village but has...