Moving to Bournemouth

[Joanne101030]

Hi,
Hubby and I are seriously considering moving from Hertfordshire to Bournemouth. Although it would be great to live near to the beach we just can’t afford a house in the areas near to them. We have had a look around Northbourne and it looks like a place we’re we might get to know people as it looks residential, it’s very near to the airport though.

My main concern is making friends and not feeling isolated. I moved to Eastleigh years ago and lasted only a year as I didn’t find it very friendly.

Can anyone give me any advice about Northbourne or other areas where’s it nice to live please?

Thank you.

@KaSia270 Did you move to Bournemouth?

Hi all, not sure if it’s worth flogging this dead horse of a thread but just wondering whether any of you guys actually moved to the Bournemouth area as we’re looking into it for ourselves right now.

Honestly, the thought of trying to find somewhere that everybody likes, quiet but not dead, nice but not ridiculously expensive, and is in the catchment area of a good primary and secondary school (DS 7) is giving me anxiety!

Hello,
thanks for the post.
No, after much deliberation we’re moving to Dunmow in Essex (Oddly enough the people were buying from are moving to Highcliffe!).
We actually bought a static caravan in the New Forest which we use as often as possible, and it’s 5 mins drive from the beach.

One day we will retire to Bournemouth, but having visitored it at different times I wouldn’t want to be in the main area, ie, Alum Chime, Meryck Park etc. it just gets so busy in Spring and Summer and the beaches are packed. Neither would I go to Northbourne or Redhill as the traffic into Bournemouth is a nightmare.
The area I would aim for is Southbourne and parts of Christchurch.

We had always wanted to be in Bournemouth and many years ago ended up in Eastleigh as the schools in Bournemouth were not good at all. I must have shifted through dozens of OFSTED reports etc. So, my son went to a school in Eastleight that seemed to be performing well. However, after a year we moved back to Hertfordshire only to find he was significantly behind the rest of the class and had to have extra lessons.(and that was after only a year in a supposedly good school).

Fortunately the remainder of his education was in Hertfordshire.

If you’re concerned about schooling I would seriously research the schools. You might be better off in Christ Church, but I’m not familiar with the schools there.

The weather in the area is warmer than in Hertfordshire, they often have rain when we’re basking in the sun! And it’s great to be near the coast. We’re in New Milton, have you considered this area,
? iIts much cheaper and the beaches are just as nice but not as crowded.

Hey, thanks for responding! And thanks for the heads up about New Milton, we'll look at that too! Basically we're looking for anything within 30mins journey (car or public transport) of the Littledown area, so I think that might actually work.

The Ofsted thing is such a minefield isn't it?! It's just a snapshot over a 48hr period, and might not give an accurate impression of what it's really like. Some schools haven't been assessed for a while so the report might not be accurate.

For example, our current house is very close to a primary school which was assessed, just after a new head teacher joined, as "requires improvement." I actually worked there for a couple of years and saw the changes the new head made and the most recent report, a few months ago, reassessed as "good" (However, when the estate agent came to do our valuation, their report still showed the previous assessment... I wonder how many potential buyers might be put off by that?)

And if I'd relied on the previous assessment when choosing a school for my son, rather than seeing how well neighbour's children were getting on and then being a bit of a cheeky helicopter mum and taking a job so I could see it from the inside, I'd never have sent him there...

So yeah, like I said, it's a minefield!

Anyway, I digress... can you tell me anything about the Canford Heath area by any chance? Just seen something nice there that seems to fit all of our requirements to the point where it seems to be to good to be true...

Hi,
Canford Heath is Poole which is quite a bit cheaper. You get a lot for your money. It’s a large housing estate but quite nicely laid out. We almost bought a house there many years ago. Just check out the schools if that’s important, I don’t think they were too good then, but may have improved.

Yes,, it’s quite a minefield and sadly dictates house prices. The best school in the area was The Kings School in Winchester where I taught , but Winchester is very expensive, and not coastal. (A bit snooty too),

Do check-out New Milton and the Christchurch area, it’s really very nice and close to beaches. Mudeford is wonderful ! Christchurch is quite a nice size town with a railway station, a really nice place to live - and of course the river runs through it!

Good luck!

Eek! Housing estate? That makes me nervous! I know there are housing estates and then there are housing estates though. Maybe it’s worth a look anyway. I’ll have a good look at the schools too because it will be a dealbreaker if they’re still not good enough.

Winchester is lovely, but too far away from the new job, unfortunately! And horribly expensive!

BCP region is ideal, not just for work, but also because it’s the one part of the UK that EU national DH will even consider buying a house. We both like Mudeford and were initially focussed on Christchurch so we’ll keep looking there too, but Poole is noticeably cheaper. And now New Milton and Southbourne are in the mix too.

Decisions, decisions!

Thanks again for all the info, much appreciated!