London > Milton Keynes: to move or not to move

[LadyFatboobs]

A massively outing post so HAI GUYZ if you are reading

We live in Surbiton, small cottage, no garden, 2 DC under three, plans for another in summer ‘19, both contractors in the public sector, both working 4 days a week, both a bit fed up of the crush and busy of London.

We like the look of Milton Keynes; it’s a new town, it’s spacious, it seems to have lots of ambitious plans for the future, cycle ways, nice parks, lots of greenery, a snow dome (yeahhhhhhh), seemingly decent and efficient public transport links and it goes without saying we could get a barreload more space for the £400k we currently afford 68sq.m with.

We like the look of Shenley Brook End, Shenley Church End and the other Shenley, Great Linford beside Gifford Park and Furzton.

I have concerns we may end up mugging ourselves off commute wise (if we stay working in London) and as we will know nobody there, how easy is it to make new (mum) friends?

Also I love a Parkrun, looks like MK only has one?!

Please tell me if you’ve moved from London to MK, do you like it/love it/regret it and what would you change and why?

I don’t care if it’s “suburbia/concrete cows/roundabouts”. It seems nice and that’s just fine by me.

I lived in MK about 10 years ago. It's ok but a bit soulless IMHO.

Did you move from London and where did you move to?

All I want is a place that’s green, safe enough, plenty playparks, and lots of baby/toddler stuff to do but also nice folk and basically a slower place of life.

think I picked the wrong evening for this

It has an Ikea, which is my benchmark of desirable places to live.
I once got lost in the soft furnishings and had to phone my dh to come and rescue me.

There is also a branch of Buddies, who do the biggest meals I have ever seen.

Not answering any of your questions, but I felt the need to share!

I moved from Birmingham to Milton Keynes... lived here 9 years then moved back to Birmingham... then came back to Milton Keynes! I absolutely love it here. Takes 10 minutes driving to get pretty much anywhere, traffic is bearable, green everywhere. I'm never moving from here again. The areas you mentioned are nice places, I used to live just near there. Made loads of mum friends at the schools. 100% recommend

Also, everyone takes the piss out of our roundabouts... but their the ones sitting in traffic, not us

“the crush and busy of London” - in SURBITON?! (sorry OP I’m being no help to you. But is Surbiton really that much grittier and more crowded than MK?!)

Also I love a Parkrun, looks like MK only has one?!

MK has 2 parkruns - one at Willen Lake and one at Linford Wood. There's also plenty nearby like Buckingham, Rushmere and I believe Towcester maybe starting one.

MK has its good and bad points like most places but if you're a keen runner then it's fab. As well the miles of paths and lakes to run around, there's numerous clubs and plenty of races held in the city throughout the year including the marathon.

I dunno @JennyHolzersGhost

The train from Vauxhall to Surbiton is a squash fest at times even if SWR run a decentish Service

Plus I did get a bit of a fright the other week when I realised a terrorist incident happened so fucking close to my office we had to get shut in.

Nobody gave a shit. The acceptance level of that kind of thing prodded my brain a bit (even tho I’d still have to work in London for a little while after moving)

MK is a shit hole. Move somewhere better!

I don’t live in MK but work there a fair bit. Everyone I know who lives there loves it and that’s fairly unusual. The service into London is fine and it’s a nice place. There are good and bad parts but I work with people who I know must live in extremely nice areas so they exist!

A good friend is from MK and loved living there. I've visited a few times over a weekend and like it! She has always said it was a great place to grow up

You live there @SlimmingMumof1 ?

The MK trains are the mainline ones aren’t they? So probably also very busy at rush hour.

Anyway I was only kidding slightly based on the reputation of Surbiton as a quiet/suburban area. For what it’s worth I reckon the traditional prejudice against MK is petering out; it’s a green, low density, pretty well designed area. People are coming to appreciate post-war planning a bit more I think, particularly for young families. It’s practical.

My children have grown up in MK and would highly recommend it. You might also like to investigate Stony Stratford or Olney, which are both small market towns within MK.

Do avoid Bletchley though!

If you continue working in London I woldn't. MK isn't much cheaper and any savings will be spent on the commute (which I imagine will be much longer than Surbiton)

@LadyFatboobs I used to

I lived there for 26 years until we brought just up the road in northampton. As soon as we can afford it we will move back. You get all the excitement of a city life without the feel of it being a big city. Everything is on your doorstep and brilliant for young families particularly. If your looking at the Shenleys then the schools are pretty good, same for Emerson valley. Can’t remember what schools are catchment for furzton or great linford though. Think about the other side of MK to, Kent’s hill, monkston, Middleton, walnut tree etc. Maybe avoid broughton though or some of the brand new estates that end, they are quite packed in. It’s Really close to the motorway but you wouldn’t know and Bletchley train station is 5 mins down the road, lots of green too and good schools. (Bit biased as thats where I grew up and wouldnt personally want to be too close to the centre). If you like the convenience of city life, but not the busyness then MK is great. Although over the years it has got noticeably busier so rush hour can be pretty bad and parking around the centre can be a nightmare!

I live in a village between MK and Leighton Buzzard. Peak hour trains to and from London you likely won't get a seat but otherwise transport to London is fine. It is very green - feels rural but great amenities close by. We moved from London and found it easy to make new friends - parkrun, baby groups, and school gates and kids activities. Good theatre, good cinema and shopping, annual arts festival, food festivals, excellent transport links, lovely parks and lakes, good schools and in a grammar catchment - I really enjoy living here

If the planets align in such a way then I’d retain my very flexible present job, WFH 2 days a week, work up to week 39 of my next pregnancy (assuming it goes like the last two) then as I’m a contractor be basically jobless after leaving the role to have a very much hoped for third baby.

In a previous life I worked on a paper about Milton Keynes and Bedford hospital services and how they are used and MK hospital also seems to have a good rep too, seems decent for maternity services.

I gave birth to DC1 at Kingston; a breeze with excellent care. Big difference with DC2. Left me a bit mentally blown out.

I used to live in MK (although I moved from Leicester rather than London)

I liked it a lot. The Shenleys are really nice, I seem to remember Loughton was nice too and Furzton is okay. I'd avoid living closer to the City though, some of the central bit is a bit grim (like most cities I guess!)

I'd live there again happily 😊

We moved out of London two years ago. We looked and looked at various areas of Milton Keynes and we saw some lovely houses which were much bigger than our London property for the same value. But we never found an area that gripped us and had the right feel about it. As it happens we moved from London to an area about 45 mins drive from MK, so we still have easy access to all of the amenities there, but has more of a community feel.

I have lived near MK for 30 years and can see it's attractions but it's really not somewhere I would want to live.
Everything has it's own designated zone and it seems very sterile and soul less. Driving through you rarely see a person! Everyone lives on a housing estate and gets in their car to drive to a designated economic zone!! For such a modern city they did a dreadful job of planning public transport and the bus service is meant to be terrible.
The estates you mention are decent and feed into the better secondary schools.
Personally I think MK is a good place to live near but not actually in. Though if you need a train line that will limit you.

We moved from London to Aylesbury which is about half an hour from MK. We have considered moving from here to MK but the commute into London is extortionate! Also MK is soul-less! My DH commutes into London from Aylesbury everyday and has done for about 5 years. It's very easy and not too expensive. There are also lovely villages around Aylesbury and it's a really family friendly area. I would recommend it over MK for sure!

I live in MK (in one of the "avoid" areas but our bit is actually nice! ). We moved out from SE London, with a year of renting in Oxford in between, and I love it here. Yes, it's a bit soulless compared with somewhere with all the history and architecture like Oxford, or the hustle and bustle of London, but I can drive my car pretty much everywhere and park it with minimal stress, which was bliss after a year of Headington gridlock! It has all the amenities you could want and is only a short hop from London on the train. Housing is cheapish for the south-east but relatively expensive compared with the rest of the country.

All the areas you've described are nice and popular with commuters to London. I don't know about specific schools yet as DS is not quite 2 yet, but there are definitely good schools around and lots of nurseries/childminders. Loads of baby/kids activities and groups on offer, so there should be plenty of opportunities for you to make mum friends.

MK Hospital has had a rocky reputation - had some bad happenings a few years ago in maternity but has pulled its socks up since then and having both worked there and given birth there, I'd be happy to do the same again. It doesn't have a midwife-led birth centre, if that would be of interest to you - the neighbouring ones are Bedford, Northampton and Aylesbury (Stoke Mandeville).