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.

Yes, a bit soulless, but how much soul do you need for busy working parents

mega hi-5 to that @howrudeforme

Yup ladyfatboobs - in fact I was there yesterday for a visit.

They have a very good life there. Great family place.

We lived in Surbiton pre children haha and moved to MK.

Well initially we moved to a village in Bedfordshire (about 40 min drive to MK) then moved to a village north of MK off the A5 - only a ten min drive to MK station.

Personally I would always choose to live in one of the surrounding villages rather than actual MK. Although the areas you have mentioned are all lovely ones MK like anywhere has it's not so nice areas and we personally prefer village living.

MK does have a great range of activities and things for families - never found a John Lewis with huge Country Park near it anywhere else lol There's loads of parkland.

The cycle paths are overstated - the red ways are away from roads so you can easily feel quite isolated and vulnerable.. great for weekend cycle rides in day light but not so ideal for lone commutes to station in winter in the dark.

We have no regrets - although have never lived in MK grid system itself we have had a number of MK postcode addresses over the last few years where it's our nearest town.

As I'm sure your ware it's on the West Coast Mainline to with fast trains to Euston although station parking is expansive long gone are the days of free parking in MK.

The public transport after a night out is non existent and you'd have to get a cab back. As is everyone else on a friday/Saturday night so you'll be waiting ages.
When i say soulless it's because it's been fully planned and not evolved naturally. It means that each estate has a convenience store, maybe a takeaway, a pub and possibly a place of worship or a community centre. So it's convenient and handy but just so intentional.
Everyone is driving around and around the roundabouts. As it's so low density everything is miles away from everything else. So you have to plan what area you are going out in or have a looong walk.
As the roads are separate from the redways (paths with lots of underpasses and bordered by large trees and hedges) they have had their fair share of nasty crimes which has been increasing more recently.
It's good you've spent a lot of time there recently so you obviously have a good idea of the place op but I would definitely only want to live near but not in MK myself

Hi OP. We moved from West London to MK 5 years back. At first, it took a little bit of getting used to. Quiet, very suburban and city-like at the same time. We rented in Central Milton Keynes and we looked around for a place in Bletchley. We chose Bletchley because the trains were less crowded into London/Birmingham and we heard that the varsity line (connecting oxford and cambridge) will be via Bletchley. This is important to us because we are both IT contractros.

Like the rest of the posters have mentioned, most areas of MK are really good.The only place I won't live in is Broughton as well-simply because it is too industrial/warehousy.

About Public transport: Buses are quite good but nothing like London. I take taxis which are very cheap. I spend between 5 to 6 pounds to get home from the town centre. But driving is easy and I have 1 traffic light between my house and the town. Don't diss the roundabouts. They keep us traffic free and most roads are between 50 to 70 mph.

The town itself is very very child-friendly and there are loads of green spaces and parks to keep the little ones busy. I struggle to think of reasons why families won't like this town. Like others have said, 2 parkruns. Gyms, eateries, great pubs, bakeries etc are all nearby. The GP situation is MUCH better than in London and the hospital is amazing.

Ask away if you need more specific info.

I agree it's soulless, but it has got loads of great amenities and there are some beautiful green spaces. Fast trains take half an hour into London.
For what you can get for your money, it does sound like a no brainer and as you say, if you rent for a year, you can change your mind.

Used to live in MK (for 27 years) still have a house there (rented out). Parents and brother are happy there. Loads of friends there with small kids.

There is lots to like for a town, I’d definitely do it. I went to school in Shenley.

We moved there from Bristol though, not London.

As someone who was born in and grew up in London, who couldn't wait to leave, I'd say do it. I've never ever looked back, best thing I ever did.

There are plenty of estates that have evolved around the original villages. They have old pubs and old churches .

I have close family living in a village about 15 min outside of MK centre (Newport Pagnel way) and it seems a great place to live. The shopping is great, easy to get about, Willen Lake is fab, loads of lovely villages in the surrounding areas and lots going on. I personally wouldn't want to live in MK but I would happily move to a village nearby.

Done it recently for many of the same reasons and very happy we did.

Whenever I go back to London my heart twinges a bit, but the day to day living here is so much easier.

Husband commutes to Euston and then 20mins further on, so commute can be long, but much nicer than the crush of the local commuter trains in London.

Everyone loves to hate MK and I hope they continue to do so! That way we can continue to enjoy our lovely big home, safe streets, great shopping and gorgeous greenery, and driving everywhere in 15 mins ;)

Echo that Sar.
I am a Londoner and MK is an excellent place to live.
All the chat about public transport being non existent is absolute nonsense.
I love reading these threads and counting the number of ‘soul less’ comments.

All these people saying it's a shithole or soulless, do you/have you actually live there? I'm just interested as it's quite a strong viewpoint if you actually no nowt about the place other than driving through it.

I don't live there (am about 30 miles away) but sometimes go to the theatre/shopping there. Seems to have a lot going for a young family.

MK is great, traffic flows well, lots to do for families. I get the “soulless” feel but it’s what you make it- make friends and join in and it won’t be.
For your budget I’d look at Loughton as it’s lovely and close to MK station. Shenley Church End is also very nice.
If you avoid the estates near the city centre most are ok tbh.
Get into catchment for Shenley Brook End , Hazeley, Walton or Denbigh secondaries and you can’t go far wrong as they have a long history of being good which keeps the estates sellable.
All the grid squares have a mix of private and social housing btw.

MK is fab for families. Red routes to cycle around safely. Roundabout make travelling easy. M1 to drive back to London and good train links. The lakes and woods amazing for the children. Good schools and Dr where I am.
I love that I can either go into the city for shopping or the many retail parks. Theatre district, Hub and City for drinks and dinner.
No idea why it has such a bad reputation, but soon as we moved here we loved it, as do most people who live here.

Having read this I now want to move to MK.
When I was a child my Aunt lived in Bedfordshire and at Christmas we used to drive there from Oxfordshire. We used to see the lights of MK in the distance and the straight lines used to facinate me. I always imagine if a colony ever gets built on the moon it will be like MK with a dome over it. And I mean that in a good way. I remember when Eminem played at MK and he said "Hello London" - he got such a booing! Ha ha. I saw Green Day there in 2005. Best gig ever.

It's a grammar school area OP, which is avoid like the plague.

We live in Oxfordshire, it's beautiful and DH gets train from Bicester Village to Marylebone most mornings (45 mins).

It’s not a Grammar School area.

Buckinghamshire?

Apologies - it's not - seems rest of Bucks is, which would have a knock-on effect on MK schools as bright kids would apply to surrounding grammars

My mother moved there when I was 18 (30 years ago ) and she loves it.

My brother lives in Shelley Brook End and also loves it.

We do go over quite a lot for family visits and I have to admit, there is loads to do, really lots.

I live in MK and it actually isn't a Grammar School area! It has some excellent Comprehensive schools but you can still apply to grammars in Buckingham or Aylesbury and get the bus there early in the morning.

Maybe that is what is confusing you.

Bright kids might or might not apply to grammar schools outside the region. Or kids / parents will choose an excellent state secondary usually within walking distance of their house.

I used to live in MK; it's very functional and I would think ideal for families. Bletchley is actually fine, there are some vary nice parts and of course it has the station, plus the IKEA etc. I moved away for other reasons but it's not my cup of tea at all; definitely soulless and weird plus ever growing population -but it is practical, green, spacious and pretty safe.

Generally people who live here love it, other people just listen to negative opinions and form their own opinions.

You don't see people walking around around because it's designed in such a way that people
don't have to walk adjacent to the NSL grid roads - you're always set backs and the underpasses mean you can walk for miles without having to cross a road. Public transport is fine - I mean, obviously compared to London it's not great, but it's not the capital city, with millions of people that need transport.

Also, there's a Tiger, a John Lewis, and a Paperchase arranged in a neat triangle. What more could you want? ;)