Whats Dorset/New Forest like to live in

[CatsWhiskers2020]

Specifically Corfe Mullen/Wimbourne/Milford on Sea

We live rurally and are moving so our 2 young DC can have access to better schools and more friends

Can anyone help? Or any areas similar to look at?
Wanting Village or Town, ideally a shop or two. Nice areas to be active as we love being out on the bikes and walking. Budget around £900k

Can only comment on Milford on sea but I know it well there. It’s pretty lovely in a lot of ways, great views across the Solent, lovely village green with quite a few places to eat and drink these days. Older demographic but there’s a new estate going up right now and it seems that over the last few years it’s got livelier. My folks used to call it costa geriatrica

Downsides are it can be a bit red trouser brigade- the older locals are about as Tory as you get. Getting pretty popular also now as a holiday destination so can get pretty busy. Plus the beach is shingle.

Corfe Mullen qnd Wimborne are lovely, you will get a fab house for that budget. Schools are good, there are private and state schools. Wimborne has quite a lot of shops and lots of pubs and cafes. You are in between Poole and Bournemoth so there are plenty of bigger shops and nightlife there, also 2 main hospitals and wimborne has a small local hospital. Theres not much in Corfe Mullen.
There is a lot of housing development going on in wimborne atm so its getting much busier without the infrastructure to support it, buses are not that great especially on sundays and evenings.
Teens can find it quite a bit boring, there are local sports centres and a small theatre which is also the cinema. What about Ringwood which is a nice little village in the New Forest .

@Lonelycrab that sounds ideal

@DogsSausages thats good to know thank you! Are schools good in both? Ringwood is worth a look is it? We are so very rural right now so i dont even think about things like buses

How old are dc. There is a brand new junior school just opened in wimborne plus another very sweet little school St John's. Nearby Ferndown has primary, middle and senior schools all next to each other and a large modern sports centre, house prices in wimborne have really shot up recently so a lot of local people just cannot afford to live there, it has a weekend market atm but that is due to be demolished in way for a retirement village. There has been local flooding recently in the area so I would research that a bit more, also some unsocial behaviour but kids can get bored especially in these covid times. I would look at the local papers, The Bournemoruh Echo and local groups to give you an idea of what's on. . Maybe do a streetview Google walkabout.
I like Ringwood, it's got nice shops and the buses go everywhere including a national Express stop. Neither wimborne or ringwood have train stations. You have to think about what the dc might enjoy doing and how they will get around when they are a bit older.

DC are almost 3 and a teeny. One of the reasons for the move is DP was reliant on lifts as a child so keen they can at least walk to friends

Thank you for all the information

Wimborne is very walkable, not quite so easy with a pram though, very narrow and some cobbles😁 there is a waitrose, co op, Mark's woodhall. Good luck with your search. Christchurch is nice too and has a train station.

Dorset is great. Wimborne has a lovely feel, lots of small shops and cafes etc and cycle routes.
Would also recommend to look at Wareham & Lytchett Matravers or villages within the Purbecks/around Dorchester.
Consider how close you would want to be to the beach. Personally I would avoid centre of Poole/Bournemouth. Definitely consider traffic for during peak holiday times. You will get an awful lot of house for 900k.

OK so Wimbourne sounds one to look around! Pram is a very good offroad one so cobbles will be no match

Thank you for the extra areas to look around @NamelessNinja. Are schools good in those areas? I know i can look at Ofsted but i think it isnt the be all and end all

I believe Queen Elizabeth secondary in Wimborne is now well thought of. When I was a kid you could also choose to take the 11+, and go to Parkstone/Poole Grammars (though higher pass mark was needed for out of area). I enjoyed the grammar but friends who went to QE did just as well, and benefit from local friends. That was all a while ago though! Wimborne is lovely, much more upmarket in the centre than it used to be.
(Please get the spelling right though ).

5 years ago QE wasnt great in Wimborne (if you wanted your kids to do well academically) fingers crossed its improved since. Ringwood sixth form was much better, though they changed heads a few years ago so not sure what its like now. there are grammar schools in bournemouth and poole which are hard to get into.

doing outsides things here is the norm.

Avoid living in Ferndown (near Wimborne) such a 'small town' type place.

Also outside of Bournemouth itself is not very multicultural at all.

Oops sorry for the spelling error thank you all. Already getting excited about the move, i love rural living so somewhere which is a good midground is ideal

Could anyone advise about Broadstone/Corfe Mullen?

OP as your kids are really young I think Milford is perfect. It’s a friendly village and there are things like the pleasure gardens river walk, and Keyhaven is great for nature too.

Broadstone/Corfe Mullen are outskirts of Poole. Is that what you had in mind?

hengestbury head or southbourne might also be worth considering - they are as built up as cofe mullen and broadstone but you have the advantage of the beach and also christchurch.

to be honest, sounds like you need to spend some time down here in season and also off season as that can make a massive difference to an area

@Lonelycrab yes it does seem idilic.

@Dreamingofsun Southbourne I have visited many times and it felt more built up than Corfe Mullen/Broadstone/Wimborne. We have spent a lot of time in the area but I think nothing prepares you for living somewhere . Where we live now I wouldn't have considered if DH hadn't lived locally but its lovely when you know it.

Working remotely means we can live anywhere which often makes it a harder decision to pinpoint the right place.

Lovely areas to live.

I moved to Dorset just before christmas (albeit Bournemouth). The areas you're looking at are lovely. Agree with someone saying avoid Ferndown, if anything the traffic running through it is awful. Dorset as a county is fab I think. Theres so much to do. Beaches, rural life, town life. I have a 1 year old and as lockdown eases im finding more and more to do with him. We went to Farmer Palmers a while ago - I can recommend that alone as a parent on young ones!

Ferndown isn't that bad! The schools are very good and the traffic is mostly because of all the roadworks and the building works going on around Wimborne. It's extremely quiet and safe. If you're wfh then maybe try a visit.

Glad to hear you are enjoying it @Letsallscreamatthesistene, we love having plenty to do and being outdoors as much as possible

I am somewhat of the opinion traffic is pants everywhere some of the day

Broadstone is very family friendly although for older kids it will be a bus into Poole or Bournemouth.

If you searc older threads there is more info on the areas.

With that budget I'd consider being closer to the sea. Lilliput/lower parkstone.

Im not sure 900k would get you much in lilliput tbh....

First google has this...

Maybe not this exact house but I'd personally look between liliput/lower parkstone/whitecliff. Look at schools catchment area ...
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