Where to move in Bristol /suburbs

[Pollyg2112]

Hi there looking for some advice.
Me, my partner and our little 8 month old are looking to buy in Bristol, we living in Brighton for few years now but its sooo expensive and bit over rated thb! Before that we lived in London.

What are some of the suburbs in Bristol that have fairly decent shops with easy access to nature/parks. Good for families, Just a normal area with a mix of all people, not looking for middle class bubble where we live now , equally not a rough area. Somewhere in middle with down to earth friendly community mentality.

Thanks in advance!
Any help much appreciated:)

It will be helpful to know your budget as prices vary wildly!
Suburbs like Henleaze, St Andrews, Southville and Totterdown are very popular but premium price and some have challenges parking etc.
There isn't anywhere really rough but areas like Lawrence Weston, Hartcliffe are isolated with fewer amenities, although lots of green space.
East Bristol has traditionally been cheaper but that's changing as families priced out of other areas move in. St George, Fishponds are now also great places to live.
A lot of the areas have their own thriving high streets with cafes and bars. In contrast the city centre is a bit rubbish and mad in the evenings. Harbour is lovely to wander round though.

Bristol is also expensive. What's your budget and what are you looking for? Do you need state schools or will you be going private? Where are you headed for work?

Ahh yes! Our budget max 315! Thanks

@worriedniece true! State school.. around £300k mark .. so probably more suburbs bit asking as those suburbs have high street and a bit of life .. thanks :)

@ingenvillvetavardukoptdintroja the suburbs with ,like you say a thriving high street are good.. are those you've all ready mentioned? I know allot of suburbs can be pretty quiet. Not too worried about being close to city of you've got stuff you can walk too
Thanks :):)

I think in Bristol a lot of suburbs are way better than city centre for eating out, bars and nicer shops. City centre is a bit pants unless you like a hen do vibe! Also quite high crime apparently.
I would say places with enough going on on the doorstep are:
Fishponds, St George, Easton, Gloucester Road, Montpellier, Southville, Bedminster, Totterdown, Knowle, Henleaze, Westbury Park, Bishopston, St Werburghs.
Further out there's also Westbury on Trym, Staple Hill, Downend, Hanham
Some of these areas will be too much on your budget.
There's probably other places I don't know well enough. I've been in East Bristol for 10 years and people tend to stay in their bit!!
I live 4 miles out of town but can walk to 2 different high streets in 15 mins and can cycle into town in 20 mins. I basically just go into town for work now.

@ingenvillvetavardukoptdintroja thank you, that's really helpful info! Some of those have come up before so doonto know on right track. I'll check out the others too.
Thanks!:)

I’ve been keeping a close eye on Bristol as moving there next year. 315 won’t get you a house. Everything is going for over asking and two bed terraces are around the 400k mark.

We lived in Yatton for many years, good school but now has got very big. But easy access to Bristol and Clevedon is close which is lovely. We enjoyed our time there

Do you have jobs lined up? Your employers location may also impact on where you base your search.
As an example, I live in Keynsham. It's a small town on the eastern side of the city. My DM lives in Brentry (North West side of the city). Sometimes it takes me 40 minutes around the ring road and sometimes it's taken me 2 hours.

Bradley Stoke - lots of new housing springing up all around that area, big Tesco, gym, leisure centre, soft play swimming pool, schools.

Yate.

I love Gloucester Road but with your budget that will be a flat not a house.

Your budget isn't big for Bristol or surrounding towns, but just about doable. Having a quick scan of Rightmove the areas in your budget that fit the bill are St George (only a few in the very east in your budget), Hanham, Keynsham, Yatton, Portishead, Fishponds (again, only a few), Downend, Staple Hill. My favourite of those would be St George, Fishponds, Staple Hill, Downend and Yatton. Pretty much anything along the Bristol-Bath cycle path would work for you I think - you're mostly going to need to look in the east.

Bradley Stoke and Patchway in the north is pretty soulless, but lots of houses and good facilities. Same for Yate. I'm in Thornbury which is a pretty ordinary town but likes to think of itself as naice. It's not :D

@BackOnTheBandWagon thanks so much that's really helpful..
Yeah webwill not going through get allot for our money it seems but it's woonmuvh more affordable than Brighton rigut now.
If it's on a cycle path that's even better ,that's a good guide .
Thanks :):)

Are you set on bristol? You’d get a lot more for 315 in other parts of the country, bristol market is very overheated right now.

Hi. I agree that you won't get much for your money in the nicer areas. But also you do need to be very careful - Bristol is a very divided city and some areas really aren't that nice. Schools are really hit and miss (...some really are awful). If you think Brighton is over rated and over priced I really think you should perhaps rent in Bristol and get to know it a bit before you buy.

Overrated and overpriced is how I'd describe Bristol tbh.

I know a couple of friends who tried to buy in Bristol for about 2 years and gave up in the end. Every property went to final bids and way over asking price, and many views were open houses with lots of other potential buyers. It's a really really stressful place to move to

Yeah took us a year to buy in bristol - every property would go straightaway for over asking. And schools are a big issue, the areas with popular state schools are very expensive now.

@GoldenGorilla at thos stage its to get an idea of areas, nothing is set in stone. Going to take our time I think and see what the house prices are like towards the end of the year. Definitely going to consider areas further afield I think we have to.

@TopKnotch I suspect that will happen. That must be so frustrating and stressful for your friends. Still, compared to Brighton it's allot more affordable.
It's also allot closer to my dad which is a major pull.. he lives in Swansea but not quite ready to move there yet! Haha

@allthebikes definitely would need to check all this out for sure. Thanks for your honest opinion that's what we need!

I am Bristolian born and bred. You need to live here for a bit before committing to a purchase. As an example, if you buy in Hanham but work in town, you're going to have to think about how you're going to get to work and back as the traffic is horrendous (bus) and it's pretty hilly on a bike. Neighbours moved next door from London and were talking about sending their kid to nursery which is close on the map but an utter arse to get to in "real life.". They are moving her now.
Prices are through the roof and I'm not sure what you'd get for that budget at the moment.

Have you thought about other areas of south Wales? I'm Bristolian and love it but I can't afford to live anywhere in Bristol that I would like to.

House prices are stalling now. Friend recently put her house on the market and was told by agent it would sell 'in days' but it took her three months and I think she took a bit under asking. We're looking to go on the market in September and there's a house on our road on for £375,00 (ex local authority, not in the nicest area) which is massively overpriced. We are most likely to be putting ours on the market for just under what we paid for it three years ago. £300k will get you a do-er upper in a bustling area (Redfield, Fishponds, Brislington) or a nice house in Warmley, Hartcliffe, Withywood, Stockwood, Cadbury Heath which are further out. In Bristol the higher the house price does not indicate that it's a nicer area, for example St Pauls, Easton, Knowle, Bemmie, it's just that they're closer to town and there's a bit more going on. If you want the suburban life (driving everywhere, going to a local commercial centre with a Nando's, Frankie and Benny's, not very diverse) then there's lots of parts of Bristol which will offer that. We live in one of the bits closer to town but it's not to everyone's tastes. Drugs are everywhere, schools are ok at primary but I don't know about secondaries yet. There's a huge exodus of families just before secondary school age, I feel some of this is fuelled by bias that secondary schools full of white kids are 'better' schools. I went to one and they're definitely not, all the problems are there, if anything they're exacerbated by the boredom of the suburbs!

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/126231665#/?channel=RES_BUY

I'd be looking for something like this, right on the cycle track, close to Fishponds high street with loads of pubs, a few nice cafes, shops, Lidl, Morrisons etc