Moving to Hinckley area

[Zalz91]

Hi,

My husband has got a new job starting in September. He will be based in Hinckley but will be commuting to various cities in the Midlands. Ideally, he would like to live within an hours commute to Hinckley.

We are from Glasgow and have children, one who will be starting year 3 in a few months.

I have looked at Coventry, Hinckley, Birmingham, Sutton Coldfield and Leamington Spa but it is very hard to narrow down a city never mind the area.

We are hoping to stay long term and hence schooling is very important, ideally stay away from the city centre and in a quiet family friendly location. Near parks would be a bonus and not near high crime areas.

We are looking to rent for the first two years and then use the Help to Buy scheme to get us onto the property ladder. Maximum budget would be around £210k for a 3 bedroom. We would not like to move our children again from their school once they have settled so I guess it is important to be able to rent and buy within the same school location (give or take).

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

[Wishfulmakeupping]

What about Leicestershire op are you looking at the villages at all? Some lovely villages within 30 mins drive. Best advice would be look on right move specially the school checker section we recently moved from one village to another a couple miles away to ensure outstanding primary and secondary school options but looked at a few lovely villages.

[Zalz91]

Thanks for your reply. I have thought about it but I've heard it's not really an ideal place to raise a family. What villages would you recommend nearby ? I know Burbage is very good.

[Stoneyblue]

I'm in Stoney Stanton which I'd recommend. Good for getting to lots of places, good school, good amenities and friendly village all round. Sapcote is also nice.

[imthelastsplash]

I'm in Hinckley - it's like any other small market town really. Transport links are good to pretty much anywhere really. How old are your children? There's a big school places crisis at the moment locally. For your budget you should get a pretty nice property locally.

I do like it here - it's friendly, schools are good - happily give more info if you need it

[YeOldeTrip]

Hinckley is well connected but there are notorious traffic jams on the A5 near it, can queue for 30 minutes easily. I'd look at Hinckley itself, the surrounding villages north of the A5, or the Hinckley Road side of Leicester - someone local will probably advise on areas. There's no need for a long commute as you're rarely more than 10 minutes from a motorway in this area. I'd say there is more going on in Hinckley than Nuneaton, and Coventry is not a great journey unless you are close to the bottom of the M69.

Check the proposed HS2 route as construction will be starting west of Birmingham soon and the traffic in that area near the NEC will be pretty disrupted. Leamington and Sutton too far away IMO. Tortuous commute!

It's a lovely area, we are reluctantly moving for special school needs but the primary school in our village (west of Hinckley) was excellent and it's a friendly area with lots going on.

[Wishfulmakeupping]

Not villages around Hinckley itself was thinking more- stoney Stanton, Broughton Astley, possible Whetstone if your budget could stretch.

[Zalz91]

Thank you everyone for the information.

Seems like the best thing to do is look into Hinckley itself and surround areas, the commute for DH would just be too long.

Would people say Hinckley is a better place to stay than Nuneaton?

@imthelastsplash My children are 7 and 3, so one will be going into year 3 and the other is just starting nursery.

@Wishfulmakeupping Stoney Stanton sounds nice, I'll look into it.

@YeOldeTrip Where about in the west of Hinckley did you stay?

Are the school placements really that bad?

[NotMeNoNo]

OK I was posting under YeOldeTrip but can't seem to get the local username back! I'll PM you re where I lived. (is tiny place will out me).

It's hard to comment on particular places as of course lots of people live there happily, bring up children etc. I think I'd go for Hinckley over Nuneaton as a community to live in, seems to be more going on somehow, Concordia theatre, new leisure centre etc.

[PastysPrincess]

Hinckley has had a lot of money spent on it recently and has excellent road links so I'd say it's better now than when I was a child.

[EmmMac]

As with every location, each town and villages has his pros and cons.

I'm near Ashby de-la-zouch and really enjoying it. I've previously lived in some lovely places and am quite hard to please if that helps!

Market Bosworth is worth looking at as is Hinckley and Nuneaton. Avoid the M42 at all costs, it used to take me almost 2 hours some days to get into Birmingham.

I've also lived in Leamington and it's lovely with some great parks etc.

[Fuckalella]

Hi, I'd recommend Ashby de la Zouch too - easily commutable to Hinckley (half an hour or so) and great transport links to the rest of the Midlands. Good schools and nurseries (Smisby is great) and a nice place to live

[littlesos]

I live in Burbage, my kids are 14 and 10, we've not had a problem with school places, but maybe it's different for is the school. I love it here, feels like a villa be, but not cut off. Coventry and Leicester both about 30 minutes away. Hinckley has a brand new leisure centre and cinema. There's a thriving theatre and quite a few nice restaurants. I'd choose Hinckley over Nuneaton, and be aware they are in different counties and have different school holidays.

[misshannah]

I moved from London to Hinckley last year for similar reasons. Whilst i didn't love it to begin with, i do now. I do a similar commute to your DH daily and have no problems providing i leave early and got to know back roads very quickly!
I would avoid Coventry and Nuneaton. Hinckley has a village feel about it and i love the little craft scene it has and all the lovely restaurants. I take my two dogs to a different park each day, so we are spoilt for choice.