Talk to me about Northamptonshire

[Moving2Northants]

DH has been offered a job in Northampton (with 1 or 2 days per week in Kettering). It's the chance he's been waiting for and we would be mad not to take it. But we live in South Yorkshire at the moment and know nothing about the area. I get the impression that the towns aren't particularly nice (sorry just saying what I've heard). We would definitely want to live in a village. Live in suburbia at the moment and have wanted to move somewhere more rural for a long time anyway. Budget is about 325k and we have two children under 5. Thoughts welcome!

I know nothing about the area but I’m very bored so based on very little information I think this house is worth looking at:

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-92491898.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-78487624.html

Or this is completely different but at least in a village!

The first house is in Wellingborough which definitely isn’t a village or somewhere I’d want to live. There are plenty of lovely little villages around Northamptonshire and also places to definitely avoid such as Wellingborough!

Northamptonshire is an awful location.. sorry. I would t move there

@whattodo2019

Northamptonshire is an awful location.. sorry. I would t move there

You can't write a whole county off in one fell swoop.

Might be worth considering Market Harborough or surrounding villages, half an hour to Northampton, a bit less to Kettering.

Villages are beautiful, towns awful. State schools poor generally with decent pockets around but good private schools.

Check out chapel Brampton or actually the villages closer to Bedfordshire might be better for you; Harrold, little o'dell, Sharnbrook all lovely

Have a look at Olney/Yardley Hastings/Sherington/Emberton. It’s do-able to Northampton.
Would not live there.
Wellingborough is an absolute dump.

Northampton itself isn't great, but some of the villages are lovely and have great transport links. Crick is nice and has a range of housing; thatched listed cottages to new build estates. Pubs, school, shop and v close to Rugby with a much wider choice for shopping.

I live near Wellingborough (in a village outside it). I must say, although I agree with PP it's not that awful for a suburban Midlands town. I have had nothing but nice experiences since living here. We chose it due to it's closeness to London (DH is a Londonner) and we don't earn loads and the area is affordable. It is not posh by any means but there are some nice areas around. As I am waiting for a small child to fall asleep I will do my pros and cons for you:

Pros
-proximity to London (50 minutes on train), the coast (1.5 hours) Birmingham(1 hour)
-the village we live in is nice and people are lovely
-good private schools around

• lots of small and high quality businesses: Yellow Bourbon Coffee, the Good Loaf, nene Court shopping, Irvins Tea Shop

Cons

• very little culture or history to enjoy. Most stately homes are privately owned. No national trust places really or museums and there's no city either.
• very mixed social/economic demographic in the state system. There is a fair amount of poverty in Northamptonshire and places like Wellingborough are flagged for having high numbers of children living in poverty.
• County lines is a problem here too. This point and the one above are based on my experience working with teens removed from mainstream school settings due to gang affiliation amongst other things

Hope this helps. DM me if u want more help.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-90198203.html

I have family who live in Mawsley. Bit too 'Truman Show' for my liking, but they've raised their family there and love it.

Kettering isnt great, Market Harborough is close by and it's a great place to live, there are nice places around the area though to suit a variety of budgets

Northampton school for boys is a great non private school, lots of people who would otherwise go private sit the entrance exam just in case they can get in.

It only takes girls for six form though

Northamptonshire has gorgeous countryside OP, loads of woodland with superb nature trails,quaint little villages with houses made from the local stone and lots of lovely places like garden centres.
A day out at 'heart of the shires' where you can shop and have some lunch is popular.
Loads of canal walks and parts of the county are very hilly (i'm west of Northampton) so it really is a mixture.
I went to college in Northampton years ago and sadly the town has really gone down hill.

There are some absolutely beautiful villages in Northamptonshire. But the towns, Northampton, Wellingborough, Kettering, Corby etc. wouldn't be on my list of places to live.

Market Harborough is great. Doesn't tick the "village" box though. It's definitely a town. And the villages around it are pricey. Harborough, Wellingborough and Kettering all on the same train line to London (and Nottingham/Sheffield/Derby in the other direction) but the train is much more expensive than the train from Northampton though. But probably not a massive consideration if you don't need to commute to London.

Villages are beautiful, towns awful

This. It's a very rural county. Compared to neighbouring counties, the roads are generally awful too.

Agree, there are loads of lovely villages but very few nice towns. It’s a gently pretty county on the whole, and within easy distance of places like Cambridge and MK. Oundle is a very beautiful little town and near the A1/Peterborough for good links to London and the north.

YY to villages lovely, towns not so.

The further north you go the cheaper it is.

Give us your criteria and we can suggest nice villages.

Here are a few to start:

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-79851394.html

Brixworth is a big village with lots of amenities, part way between Northampton and Kettering.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-85528208.html
Moulton is closer to Northampton, good pubs, decent enough schools

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-80010907.html
Smaller village but in catchment for good schools and ten minutes from Wellingborough station

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-90528365.html
Gorgeous house in nice village but you will forever have people laughing at your address

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-80269132.html
Pretty (small) market town on the river

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-92483204.html
Further away from Northampton but close to Kettering.

Ooo thanks everyone. Glad to hear that the countryside is nice, despite the towns. Some really lovely houses too, I'm not even sure where to start with those. Mawsley sounds intriguing @MockneyReject, I had a Google after your Truman show comment. A new build village! I like the sound of it actually but difficult to imagine without visiting. I do love that house. All of this is an excellent starting point so thank you.

Market Harborough isn't in Northamptonshire!

My husband and I both commute to London, and recently moved back to Kettering from Oxfordshire to be near our family.

I've lived in London, Suffolk, Essex Leicestershire (including Market Harborough) Wiltshire and Oxfordshire in the past 15 years, and whilst I'd love to live back on Market H again, the move back to Kettering has been a brilliant one for us.

YES, it's a run-down East Midlands market town, but Wicksteed park, excellent links to lots of places, affordable property (we're almost finished renovating a large Victorian house), lovely countryside to explore, it's really not a bad place to live. Admittedly the villages are nicer though.

Northamptonshire is a great place to live especially if you like rural life.
The large towns aren't great (Northampton, Wellingborough, Kettering, Corby) but there are lots of beautiful villages and smaller towns; Oundle is lovely but pricey, Thrapston is great and only 15 mins from Kettering.

I live in Kettering and although it is not the best I don't find it too bad. There are good points and bad points as there are anywhere. Wollaston is a good choice as is Moulton. Orlingbury is lovely although maybe too pricey.

All of this is so helpful, thank you. It sounds like we would be making a wise choice by going for one of the villages. It would help narrow it down further if we could focus on an area around one of the towns - which of them would you prefer to have as your "local" town? And which do you think is the worst??

Culturally it's an exceptionally dull county. Agree with the comments re towns vs villages. Oundle is pretty but expensive.