Market town vs village

[IggityZiggityZoom]

We are moving out of London and debating whether to live in a village or a market town. DH more inclined to live more rurally. I'm wondering if it will be too big of a jump and we'd be better off with a town. I've only ever lived in cities and am not a Brit. Any opinions?

Am I the only one that OP got a class list that tells her where families live? Would you give that info out so easily.

Village teens often go to stay with their friends in town at weekends, meaning they may be less well supervised. This happen a lot from Y9 or so in the school I taught at for many years.

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I suppose it depends on the teens and the village too. I was a teen in the local town in the 80s so know what goes on in town on a night. My besty lived in the village we live in now and I always thought it a lovely place to live. Our children aren't lacking in independence, our DS -16 has been going up and down to town on his own for a few years and can also take himself into the city, change trains and go visit friends he knows from Summer Camp 80 miles away. Our DD 14 on the other hand has ASD and has little or no fear, no idea about consequences of her going anywhere and speaking to anyone. So we take her everywhere and she goes to a different school in a different town.

I live on the outskirts of a village and too many of the cottages and houses have been either bought as holiday cottages or second home or for London commuters who contribute nothing but complain about everything. Few facilities and lousy transport links - I wish we lived in a small town but we can't afford to move sadly.

I would go for a large village. I myself live in a large village, population roughly 5000. We have lots of amenities- doctor, dentist, church, 3 village halls, 2 cafes, 2 pubs, restaurants, petrol station, 2 co-ops 1 with post office, 3 hairdressers, pharmacy & more, so you can get everything you need here, even if it's dear. We also have lots of youth groups e.g. football, cubs/brownies etc, dancing. There is a library but due to be shut down next year.

There are no banks, vets or anywhere much to buy gifts, but there is a bus every 20 mins including Sundays to a small city, which in turn has 3/4 trains an hour to London (30 mins).

People who live here tend to have been here forever, but are welcoming of newcomers, so it's really friendly & people look out for each other. There is not a lot for older kids but lots in city which is 10 minute drive. The schools are great too.

I love it & would never move bigger or smaller.

@lljkk At our old school in london we had the same class list. Names of both parents, address, mobiles of both and even all the kids birthdays so you can plan when there will be lots of parties. You can opt out but no one ever did. It makes life easier. And why not really?

I do wonder if the market towns are perceived as rougher as no one seems to live there from the list?

Which side of Oxford are the places on Iggity ? Name some of the places and I could probably tell you roughly what they're like.

Depends where.( village vs town)
Also..people keep saying they live in a village and the city is 30 mins away..so is that really so different to a suburb??
When I think village I'm thinking up in the proper countryside, miles of windy country lanes, snowed in 4 weeks a year..or is that just North Yorkshire?!

I would opt for a small nice market town. It will be easier for you with th getting to shops etc. It will give children more freedom as the get older. Why not visit Oundle? It is a beautiful historic market town with a very nice pub restaurant, all of the usual gp etc, a Waitrose and it is gone to Oundle School which is a coeducational public school taking boarders and day pupils. Laxton Junior school is the prep belonging to Oundle and feeds directly into it. I’m pretty sure there is at least one state primary and a good golf course. Commute is a drive to a nearby town plus an hourish train ride.

@lljk it’s the norm as far as I am aware. The school I went to published an annual directory with every single family in the whole school.

Market town. You are then close to amenities, can live on the edge which is villagey.

We had a cottage in Hingham (west of Norwich), it was and is a gorgeous village but once you'd walked round the village, you'd seen it all. Very cut off, only a few little shops.

Now have a flat in Wymondham, not very far away but lots of shops and it's an interesting place.

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Was that before or after GDPR and the DAta protection act.
Like lljkk I am pretty gobsmacked that schools feel they have the right to hand out parents home addresses and numbers

We live in a Market Town and it’s nice to have all the basic needs locally. It’s only 40 mins ish to the nearest city and we have loads of lovely countryside around and lots of walks and good running routes. Best of both worlds for me.

@ToastedSandwichObsession The ones we've considered are Abingdon, Witney, Wallingford, Faringdon and Wantage. Any opinions appreciated. Any additions to the list for villages or towns greatly received.

It's not a data protection issue when you give consent for them to share your details with the other parents. You can opt out - no one does but you can.

Of course the parent's address list may list a village in their address but it doesn't mean they live in the village, they could live a few miles away in the countryside but the postage address is that village.

I live in a village and whilst it was lovely when the children were small I would like to live in a bigger town. If your children aren't going to go to the local school then there's a strong chance you won't be as involved in the village. Be aware that some villages can be very parochial. I assume you are looking at sending your children as day pupils so are looking closely as schools and journey times?

Evidently Abingdon is locally known as Stabbingdon and to be honest I don't think it's a very nice town. Good schools but I wouldn't live there. I believe that Faringdon also has a bit of a reputation as being a bit rough. Wantage is nicer. Sorry don't know the others.

Other options might be Salisbury, Bath, Cheltenham - all have good private day schools nearby.

Abingdon- nice town, has some good independents either in town or close by. Good bus links to Oxford and Witney.

Witney- nice town to visit or go shopping (free parking), has good amenities but wouldn't live there personally. Excellent buslinks in to Oxford though.

Wallingford is lovely, small with not a lot really in town but has good bus links to Oxford and Reading. I'd live there though.

Faringdon - I find a strange town, not really a lot there at all but it is growing. Busses in to Swindon and Oxford. Definitely wouldn't live there.

Wantage - don't really know it that well to comment but I think the town has a variety of shops from memory, not been there in a while.

Villages in the area that are pretty, have a local shop, pubs and reasonable bus services are Bampton, Clanfield, Aston, Brize Norton, Standlake, Burford is larger than a village but heaves with tourists,all these places are growing too. Lots of these villages have busses for private schools (13+) that run.

The key factor would be where you are working though, get on the wrong side of the A40 if you work in Oxford and it can be hellish and you'd be better at looking Abingdon Way, Sutton Courtenay, Appleton, Kingston Bagpuize.

Stabbingdon doesn't sound great! Wallingford or Wantage seem to be the short list. Faringdon appealed because house prices on really beautiful period properties is quite low - but perhaps there's good reason! We've been to Sutton Courtenay and really liked it as a village. Somewhere with a train station would be even better.

What about Pangbourne? Lovely town with a rail station.

We lived in a village for ten years, it was lovely in many ways but absolutely no facilities, having to drive to get a loaf of bread or pint of milk did get tiring eventually and once DS became a teenager it would have been very difficult. Some villages can become very insular.

You need to look at the area you are considering and what you call a ‘village’ many of us would consider a town.

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Wantage is definitely very villagey - in that everyone knows everyone! Decent shops, no idea on public transport. I second the suggestion of Pangbourne, proper lovely place that!

I don't think you can generalise really. I would much prefer some villages to some market towns. And vice Versa. We live in a largish village. About 2.500. Lots of facilities, station, lots going on. Beautiful setting. Perfect for us. But I'm glad we didn't go for somewhere much smaller.

We didn't look at market towns really but only because round here none of them have train links to the city we work in.

I hadn't read the other replies but have now read the few above. We are in Goring. Next to Pangbourne. I prefer it personally and know people who have moved from Whitchurch/Pangbourne and found Goring friendlier.

Pangbourne has more shops. But when we were looking the state primary was not great and was a long difficult walk from the nicest houses. Whitchurch primary is lovely but walking from Whitchurch into Pangbourne with a double buggy would have been a nightmare. Goring ticked all our boxes.