Moving to Southampton

[WaitingInTheBushesOfLove]

DH and i are looking to move around Southampton.

We don't know much about the areas and what is like living there. We have an almost one year old and a dog, so schools is something to consider and dog friendly places to walk the dog.

Houses have been coming up in our list in:

Chandler's ford
Eastleigh
Totton
Bitterne
Bitterne Park
Woolston
Hedge end
Shirley
Dibden Purlieu
Sholing
Nettley
Marchwood

Any advice of what areas to avoid and what areas to look into? Areas that might get affected by air traffic because of SH airport?Any more areas to suggest that aren't in the list?

BonnesVacances
Chandlers Ford isn't posh. It's just full of middle class people who can afford to not live in Eastleigh or Southampton but wish they could afford to live in Winchester

Love this! I lived in CF 3 years ago and it was my childhood home and yes, exactly that! But deff avoid Beastly Eastleigh - 'Old' CF is ridiculously expensive - anywhere around the Lake and Hursley Road up to Ampfield is £600k plus plus - always good schools though

I'd suggest hedge end too. It's not in the city and backs straight into fields. Great for dog walking and had good schools for all ages. Easy access to shops too.

Eastleigh is a shit hole. I’d go with a previous posters recommendation of upper Shirley. I’d also recommend Bitterne park but it’s under the flight path and with the airport expansion there will be larger planes going, and more frequently

If you can go a bit further out the villages around the New Forest are lovely, do you need to commute anywhere? what sort of budget do you have.

Chandlers Ford is actually part of Eastleigh! Eastleigh is big and includes quite a few of the areas you mention.

I live in Chandlers Ford, I moved here to get my DC into Thornden.

I don't regret it at all. We're 8 miles from central Southampton and 8 miles from Winchester; 5 miles from the New Forest, 3 miles from Southampton Airport (for us, Alicante and Malaga); 25 miles from Bournemouth. Crime rates are low, the local schools appear to have few trouble makers in them.

Works for us!

Our budget is around £300,000-£310,000, so a few places will be out of our reach like the areas around Winchester. Same with upper Shirley i think. Work wise i am looking for a job at the moment around Southampton area.

Quite a few places we could afford were in Eastleigh, but now i am a bit scared!!

waiting

Like i said, different areas can have a quite different feel

So Eastleigh would definitely be worth looking at

And as another posters said the travel links are very good there

And my friend lives in bitterne, has a lovely house and loves the area...and bitterne was criticised as well

What are you looking for with your budget OP? Agree Eastleigh is well located for public transport, which will be a consideration if you're looking to work in Southampton.

Parts of Bitterne are nice and riverside park is great but traffic from there into Southampton can be an absolute nightmare. It used to take me 45mins to do 1.5miles some mornings. It’s still quite urban though riverside park is lovely. I now live waterside (near Dibden) and it’s much more rural, very near the forest. Commute to central Southampton is about 40mins as long as I leave by about 7.50am. Same coming home after 6pm. Worth it to have Lepe, calshot and the forest on our doorstep for the kids. Primary schools waterside are fine but secondary are MB other areas. Aircraft wise it’s def less round Dibden but everywhere around the city has planes coming over.

Chandler's ford - big area, depends what you mean. Knightwood - new estate, amazing local sports centre etc which would be great with kids but houses are very expensive and very small. Valley Park - slightly bigger houses and gardens as houses are mostly late 1980s/early 1990s however there is a very visible difference in price between the two secondary school catchments - one is perceived to be much better than the other so attracts a premium. Hiltingbury - mix of huge houses and what appear to be ex-council, again good local play areas for kids. All have good transport links but long local queues at peak times. All these areas have good primaries. Better value for money in the older housing Eastleigh side but not so sure about the schools.
Eastleigh - lots of older housing, much better value, however for me secondary schools would be an issue. Parking also a problem in some areas where you have the Victorian terraced housing. Not sure about primaries.
Totton - not so accessible, main road in and out from Southampton is known for constant Qs, I would avoid if you are working in Southampton unless you are going to get the train.
Bitterne - no, don't go anywhere near Thornhill.
Bitterne Park - mostly nice near the park however the park does attract crime as well as being a lovely area for kids.
Woolston - too inaccessible
Hedge end - pretty souless and too near massive new towns they are planning to built to the East of Southampton, don't know what the impact will be.

Shirley - nice actually but the lovely huge Edwardian houses are £££. Common is nice though (just not at night)
Sholing - inaccessible
Netley - lovely but there is only one road in and out - horrendous traffic
Marchwood - a bit far if you work in Southampton - unless you can work outside of peak times in which case not too far at all!

You really need to know where you will be working to know where you want to live - like in all cities traffic at peak times is a problem and only going to get worse.

What is your budget and where do you need to get to for work.
I grew up in C’Ford ( ex Thornden) schools are good it’s a safe family area but a bit sprawling and some very expensive areas. But be aware of smoke and mirrors with those results everyone Tutors so it’s not actually any better than other schools. Also it’s a very tight middle class catchment!
Eastleigh is know as beastly Eastleigh and seen as a bit rough.

North ie Winchester and surrounding villages are the posh areas btw.

Looked at Fair Oak a long time ago

How is that doing?

I live in Totton and would absolutely recommend it. The town centre is a bit grim but it's got plenty of shops you may want locally (hairdressers, florists, a post office etc.). There's two supermarkets. There are plenty of schools to chose from, all perfectly adequate I'd say. There are three main roads in and out, and it's a stand alone town so no one really has to drive through it to get to anything else (so no real traffic issues). It's a really quick journey into the centre of Southampton, or a good bus route / cheap uber ride. Train station goes through to Waterloo (not sure where you are in Surrey but you can get to Woking on the same line). Plenty of takeaways. I'd say large 3 bed detached family houses are going for about 350k at the moment. If you find any in Totton online that you like I'd happily vet the vicinity for you if you wanted to DM me.

What about up to a Romsey? People in romsey don’t like to think they live near Southampton but they do :) it’s cheaper than Winchester though more expensive than easy of the city. Good schools.

Depending on how long you settle for - and of course over 10 years things change - some of the schools in Eastleigh and Southampton have not so great reputations. Conversely, you’ll be paying ££££ to move into Thornden catchment area.

I agree that Chandlers Ford is very naice but much of it requires a car to get somewhere as it’s all so spread out at toddler walking speed. Eastleigh much more convenient.

Some great local parenting groups on fb to look out for.

And to add with regards to Totton... I have a baby and there are lots of baby groups. I also have a dog and there are a few great off lead walks in Totton but we also drive just into the forest (Ashurst area) for walks and it's a quick drive.

I'd recommend Rushington if that comes up on Rightmove? The houses have lots of potential for extending and are probably in your price range.

I live in bitterne park with 2 young dc and we love it. Schools we great and lots going on.

Eastleigh is quite nice too I think. Rest of my family live there and again lots going on and decently priced properties.

I work in Southampton and DZh works at thorden in CF so bitterne park perfect location for this.

I second Romsey. Lovely town, close to the New Forest. Was brought up in North Baddesley, which is a village between CF and Romsey. Close to the M3 & M27. NB is a lovely place to raise a family but there's not much to do. Romsey has lovely parks, a fun pool (rapids and flumes) a small theatre, the Abbey, train station, good schools. It's also close to Winchester and Salisbury, as well as Southampton.

Yes i know a few people who live in Romsey

They love it

If you are thinking Chandler's Ford don't rule out Boyatt Wood - it's a little more affordable and has access to all the same amenities.
Eastleigh is more affordable and has more older style properties but it's ok. All the areas you are looking about are ok. You just need to spend some time in them to see what fits with you.

Oh just seen you are looking at Marchwood /Dibden. Ugh that road must drive you mad but if you don't actually have to come into Southampton every day, it might not be so bad.

I lived in Eastleigh for about 25 years and had my older children there - it's definitely changed over the years and in my opinion it's too built up. Overcrowded housing estates. Yes they have good travel links and shops but it's just too many people in a small town for me!

We moved to Netley 7 years ago and I'm so glad! Lovely village, community feel, great schools and country park. The commute to work can be shite as traffic is bad but I personally think it's worth it!

Just avoid the university areas, you don't want to run into my dd and her friends on a night out

I find it rather busy myself, terrible traffic but the new forest is nice

The road to matchwood and dibden is awful. So congested with refinery traffic. North baddest and Romney are both great, Chandlers ford too.

not all Bitterne area is near thornhill. I live in Bitterne and I’m not near thornhill. If you say Sholing yes it’s next to thornhill