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Best areas to live in MK 2017

39 replies

EagleEye1933 · 14/05/2017 20:37

Hi everyone

I hope that some of you will be able to offer me some good advice. My wife and I are looking to move to Milton Keynes soon and I wanted to get some opinions on the best parts to live in. We're looking to start a family so school catchment is important to us. Of course local amenities would be a bonus.

I've looked around on forums for best area to live in but can't find anything post 2014. We recently viewed a few houses, one was in Oxley Park and while the area looked nice I noticed loads of for sale and to let signs around. We decided to have a chat with a local who told us the area used to be nice but now there's lots of housing association being moved into that area and so people are starting to move out. I don't mean for that to sound mean/snobby but she told us that because of that the area has started to go down hill.

Area's that I've been looking at are, Two Mile Ash, Great Holm, Westcroft, The Shenley's, Stony Stratford, Medbourne, Middleton, Willen, Giffard Park, Walnut Tree, Newport Pagnell.

Are we on the right track? Are there others that you would suggest considering?

Thanks for any advice you can offer. :)

OP posts:
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speakyourmindkindagirl · 14/05/2017 20:56

I'm not personally a fan of Milton Keynes but used to live in Newport Pagnell which was nice. I would stay away from any estates near the centre of MK, and outskirts and go to a village or town, like Newport or Stony Stratford. It's easy to feel very lonely living in in MK as not many people walk to places and everyone drives so if you want to walk to shops, a pub and feel like you are part of a community then stay off the estates. As someone not from Milton Keynes with no friend network I have first hand experience. Oakridge Park is a new estate just past Newport Pagnell with a lovely park and canal
running alongside, Newport has good schools also and Ousedale is considered one of the best in the area. Lots of baby groups, cafes, library, good health centre and things to do whilst you are pottering around with baby. If you go into Milton Keynes on an estate you won't have this, you'll have to get into your car everyday in order to get out to anything. Stony Stratford also can offer you the same as Newport, community feel and lots going on, Woburn Sands is nice but pricey. Where are you moving from?

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speakyourmindkindagirl · 14/05/2017 20:57

Lots and houses on estates look nice but that's it, there's no community feel and you'll feel quite isolated. I know as I've friends living there or have moved to a town/village because of this.

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ZahraKhan · 12/06/2017 00:34

I'm also considering moving to MK with hubby and baby into our 1st home. We are considering Stantonbury but I can't find any recent online posts about whether or not it's a good area. can anybody advise please? Smile

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Jojoanna · 06/07/2017 18:33

Loughton and shenley church end are lovely , avoid the estates nearest city centre speak to estate agents , that's what I did , they were very honest

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chocolatespiders · 07/07/2017 06:56

I can't understand why people would move out because H/A people move in!
Most estates have a percent age of social housing I think it's the law.
I live in Emerson Valley which is lovely. Shenley brook end and Loughton are nice. Stony stratford is nice with lots of new house going up near there.

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MKEastSide · 07/07/2017 20:06

I live on an estate in MK. I am walking distance to four primaries, one secondary, a library, large supermarket and shops, local shops, restaurants x 5 or 6, coffee shops x 3, three pubs, two churches. There is a very strong community group - activities all through holidays, festivals, choirs, Book Group etc. Fantastic bus service and transport links. Know loads of people who don't drive at all. Not all estates are equal and MK isn't all bad!
OP - pm me if you need more details.

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Lloyd45 · 13/07/2017 21:48

I live in Loughton and I love it. Great schools, village feel, great community, 10 minute walk to the train station, you can be in London in 30 mins. Near the city centre. I love MK it's a great place to live

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namitababe · 20/08/2017 16:34

MK is great. i work and live there, and it gets a weird/odd rap, but the positives (imho):

  • great shopping
  • great entertainment, good restaurants, theatre, cinemas (two big ones in the city), skiing
  • has many old parts like Bradwell, Loughton, Stony Stratford, Bletchley, etc. as much as the newer parts
  • has good amusement parks for kids
  • MK Dons for people who like football or want to see good level Championship football. spurs/england thank us for Alli.lol.
  • good transport links, not far from Luton Airport, and direct trains to Wales, Birmingham, Northampton, London, Manchester, etc.
  • nice parks/lakes, good for fishing, boating, even waterskiing
  • national bowl still has some good events on
  • decent transportation system, with regular buses to all parts of the town
  • has a reasonable ethnic mix though maybe not as much as Luton or Bedford
  • no strict need to go to CMK shops (intu and the old shopping centre) because Westcroft and Kingston have a large array of shops.


negatives:

  • the train station is a long (not for me necessarily, i walk fast and enjoy walking) walk from the intu/old shopping centre. for me it's about 10 minutes, but could be an issue for others.
  • for people who want old buildings and/or ambience, then MK is not for you
  • the Queen has never made it a city, so please no Council signs saying "City of Milton Keynes". and no buses saying "City centre" as the destination. it's a bit embarrassing, as it is inaccurate.
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namitababe · 20/08/2017 16:47

as for the best places to live, i find Netherfiel d is pretty run-down. most parts immediately surrounding the town (note TOWN not CITY!!!) centre are not crime-ridden, but the housing isn't very smart or pretty in appearance.

Bletchley is more reminiscent of a suburban area, with a mix of 1960s, 1970s, Edwardian, and 1980s housing.

imho at the least, I find Loughton and Bradwell good for those who want a more village-esque feel. they did well to retain the old houses and design the newer ones around them.

For single people, the Hub (in Central Milton Keynes) has reasonable apartments, though there are affordable places in most parts of the town (yes, TOWN not City).

for families, i'd recommend the far-western areas, like Westcroft, Two Mile Ash, Shenley Lodge, Loughton, Kingsmead, or Bradwell. The east is builiding up rapidly, though Monkston, Walnut Tree, and Kingston are nice. These all have good and affordable housing for families, and good apartments for single people too.

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Slnye · 23/08/2017 23:07

Thank you for this thread! We're also planning on moving to MK in the near future. Are there any particular areas anyone would recommend to avoid? xx

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Jojoanna · 24/08/2017 16:49

I think the areas around the town centre as a previous poster stated are best avoided.

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Costaa · 11/09/2017 21:28

I'm moving to MK, and I see that a lot of people do not recommend the more central neighborhoods like Fishermead. Can anyone tell me why? I'm worried because I was looking for houses in this vicinity

Thx

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namitababe · 11/09/2017 21:55

these areas tend to have the worst housing, most deprivation, and highest crime. areas like netherfield have a bad reputation. even going to the shopping centre is bad, not for crime per se, but then it's pretty run down and badly-maintained.

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Costaa · 11/09/2017 22:06

what do you consider "dangerous" that can happen in the neighborhood?

thx

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thebestmumeverintheworld · 04/10/2017 21:47

WALNUT TREE IS THE PERFECT PLACE TO BRING UP A KID. Great schools, great houses, great, well maintained commmunity, Perfect. Other than Tory MP.

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Unillama · 08/10/2017 12:32

We live in Wolverton, which still occasionally gets a bad press but is actually a lovely place. If you want an older house for a fair price, then I highly recommend.

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fluffiphlox · 08/10/2017 14:30

What about Olney? Not MK proper but I think it's got a nice feel.
Also Buckingham or Winslow.
In MK I think it gets a bit rougher the nearer to the centre. Only my opinion though.

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frankyejis · 09/11/2017 04:53

Can any one tell me if heeland is a good place to live with children? And what other nice and afordable place in mk to move to with children,Age 10,8,6,1

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Johnson44444444 · 14/11/2017 22:12

Hi I would seriously avoid conniburrow I have had 6 and a half years of pure hell since living here it hasn't been great and I couldn't of wished to move to such an arful area like this its just full of trouble and its made me become a person which I'm not ii just could not tell you how bad this area is for me I've lived in Milton Keynes for 35 years now and conniburrow is the worst area I have lived in lots of drugs and alcoholics not a nice area to live in so if I was you and if you are still thinking of moving to Milton Keynes I carnt tell you where to live but I wouldn't choose conniburrow because I wouldn't won't you to experience what I've been through in the 6 and a half year's that I have lived here I had no choice but to live in conniburrow and its the worst thing I have ever done

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Lloyd45 · 15/11/2017 15:51

I feel for you, that side of the shopping centre near conniburrow doesn't look good, it wasn't to bad 10 years ago but recently has really gone down hill, it's a shame you can't move

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eyebrowsonfleek · 15/11/2017 18:02

Probably too late to this discussion (and possibly biased as I don’t live centrally) but a lot of violent crime that hits the local news seems to occur in Fishermead, Conniburrow, Bradwell Common etc. If you drive through the estates, there is definitely a run down feel.

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afrikat · 15/11/2017 20:52

The general rule in MK is to avoid the estates around the centre if at all possible. It's a shame but there are lots of lovely areas outside of the centre

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bunbunny · 15/11/2017 23:35

I'm another one who lives in Loughton - great area to live in MK. Having said that, I've sent the DC to schools in Shenley Church End and Two Mile Ash as I preferred them to the Loughton ones - they're another two areas that are nice family areas.

Agree the grid squares closest to the centre can be rough and best avoided - the town planners had the bright idea of putting plenty of affordable housing near the centre so people could walk to work but over the years they've become rough and places you'd want to avoid.

One thing to note - if you use the schools thing on rightmove (and others, can't remember which) to see which the best schools are, it has been coded in a really silly way for real life... So, particularly for primary schools, of which there are over 60 and counting at the moment, if you use the defaults to search for best schools in MK, it will give you a list of the top 10. Great you think and proceed to check out their local areas. BUT - the way they have coded it (lazily!) they just use a point for MK (in the same way that if you use google maps for a route between MK and Oxford, it uses a central point of each town to give the route - you have to put in a more precise postcode or destination for a more accurate route). So, the site looks at the point it has down as 'MK' looks up the closest 10 schools and ranks them as the top 10 schools in MK. However, 50+ schools get ignored. If you then do a search on the top 60 schools in MK, the top school on the 1-10 list comes in at number 10 Confused as the better schools are all further out. What it doesn't do when you do a search for the top 10 schools in MK is look at all the schools within the boundaries of MK and then rank them.

This approach works fine (most of the time) if you put in an exact postcode as you are then interested in the best local schools, although it's probably worth checking out the top 20 or 30 local ones to check you're not just missing some good ones that aren't too far away. It also is just about OK for senior schools as there are many fewer of them so it just about lists all of them including the best ones.

If you want local info, there's a great blog called miltonkeyneskids.com/ that shows lots of the local free/cheap stuff available to do.

There's also a mum to mum MK that 's worth looking up on facebook. Can have too many posts on sometimes but people are usually very helpful if you have a question!

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twoisntacrowd · 21/11/2017 12:16

Most areas in MK are fine avoid older estates close to city centre, everywhere else is OK and can be very nice, its better than most of London these days and 30 mins on the fast train to Euston

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Kaykay1234 · 26/11/2017 22:38

Used to live in Mk but moved to Northampton to be closer to work. The south of Mk is quite good. Walnut tree, Kent’s hill and monkston are where my family are and I love the areas. Not too keen on north Mk (Stacey bushes, conniburrow etc)...

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