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:)

I've lived in Bristol and due to my life I've lived in Easton, st Anne's, Brislington, Whitehall, st George, kingswood, and currently bedminster.

I love Bristol but I think you need to consider these points.
-) a man overdosed on drugs on my doorstep 2 days ago. Bristol and drugs go hand in hand and nearly every pub and club is full of people on ketamine.

-) Bristol is amazing for nightlife if you love dnb and raves as that's what the vibe mainly is which again means large amounts of drugs.

-) the best part of Bristol I have lived in st Anne's, there was a goat we could feed daily, a woods to walk through, a doctors and schools local. (Unfortunately You won't get a house for your budget in that area)

-)the worst is probably any of the others.

Now I love Bristol I grew up here did the raves and pubs know loads of people and know the best parks and the environment for my children. But I think the version of Bristol which is often sold is not the real life version of Bristol and even I'm considering taking my children away before secondary school as I first did drugs in my school bathroom. Which should tell you how large the drugs issue is here and I know no one my age 26 who hasn't at least been offered drugs.

Bristol is beautiful vibrant with loads of opportunities but I don't know if it's where I would choose to raise small children x

If your dad is in Swansea but you want a city how about Cardiff? You could get a 3 bed house for your budget. Close enough to bristol (45 mins by train) that you could come in for shows/days out etc.

I know a lot of people who live in Brislington and other parts of east Bristol send their kids to school in Keynsham at secondary school age because the ones local to them aren't up to much.
Keynsham is in Bath and North East Somerset (BANES)not City of Bristol local authority .
something else you'll find useful to know- that Bristol is a county in it's own right and places that have Bristol postcodes and Bristol land-line numbers , but are in either BANES, South Gloucestershire, or North Somerset. In some cases the county boundary divides a street.

@Mydogbog there are generally drug problems in most big cities unfortunately.. Brighton is particularly bad, and a much smaller place so I see this on a regular even in our little middle-class bubble of Montpelier. Saw someone off their nut S#@t up the wall of the girls private school opposite ours the other day. Delightful!
Can't shelter her from this and tbh I wouldn't want her growing up sheltered from it either because that's not real life.
Lots of good points you make so thank you. It's all really worth considering 😊

@Helpmethinkofasolution
Thank you for you input.. that's really helpful!
Defo think it's worth holding back isn't it.. everything gone crazy so maybe a crash in process, obviously not great for you looking to sell. How much you thinking?! Maybe we could have a look 😜
idefo wouldn't seek out an all white school thinking it's better that's just stupid isn't it.. if it's a good school that's all that matters.
sooo much to consider

If you can find one st Anne's Brislington area I fully recommend amazing cheap playgroups £1 a week, nature walks whilst being in a very busy part of the city. My parents live there and it's beautiful. Everyone on their street knows everyone and has a community feel without the gossip.I'd recommend it to anyone with children and if I could afford the area I'd move back in a heartbeat 😂 I currently live in bedminster which is great with everything on the doorstep awful for parking and cars and extremely loud however have spent my morning at a free community farm which is a 4 minute walk from my front door.

I actually live in Fishponds and love it! Nice parks, my DC go to an Ofstead outstanding primary school, nice high Street, everything easily accessible on foot and also on a main bus root

@Mydogbog we went there yesterday , can't grumble for a free half day out! Also frequent Grimsby farm (,sorry slightly off topic!)

I am outside Bris in South Glos. We are very much semi rural so can drive into city centre and/or Cribbs causeway for shopping in 30 mins (unless at peak rush hour). Regular bus and train but farms/fields/small market town/big village vibe too.

I love it. It's a bit less rural than where I grew up (further up towards Gloucester) but still feels fairly small town. Primaries are fine, secondaries okish - big standard rural comp really. You need to drive and there is a lot of building in n some of the farm land which is a bit of a shame.

Yate is very functional. Leisure centre/cinema/huge Tesco and some other not great shops and other supermarkets. There is a station and a couple of parks. Yate academy is good for secondary. It doesn't have much character though. Less naice than thornbury.

They are drugs EVERYWHERE. My friends who grew up in Cornwall / Scarborough did LOADS and started much younger than those of us from cities. F all else to do…

@Terribletwosinfullswing snap. It really is (in my opinion) the best place in Bristol to raise kids. Just walked to my high street for all the ingredients to make a banging mezze spread, then onto The Crafty egg for a half pint, kids in the park on the way home, passing happy people sat out the front of the local Italian. Yes there's drugs, halfway houses, homelessness, littering and fly tipping but that's part of living in
a city.

Does it have to be bristol city? If not planning to work in city then south Gloucestershire a good bet.
We are near yate/chipping sodbury
Good links, schools, facilities
Prices are high even there though

300 will not get you a house in Bristol and even less chance is areas like Backwell - you need to think of schools. A flat just brought a flat for £230K but it’s two small beds no parking and she’s had to gut it and redo everything.

@Helpmethinkofasolution agreed!! Love the crafty egg also, awaiting a child free evening so I can venture there on an evening soon !

I had brunch in the Crafty Egg yesterday, it was lovely! I think Fishponds is improving, lots more decent cafes than there used to be. Also like Staple Hill and Downend.

Come to Longwell Green! :D

Waves to @Helpmethinkofasolution @Terribletwosinfullswing and @NooNakedJacuzziness - another Fishponder here! (I wonder if I know any of you...)

Was coming on anyway to suggest Fishponds as somewhere that ticks all the OP's boxes and is a great place to live. Budget might be a bit pushed, but shouldn't be completely impossible.

Definitely think about where you’re going to be working in conjunction with where to live. Bristol traffic is horrendous and there are days you could end up with a 2 hour commute from north of the city to south of it. I’ve sat on many a bus in rush hour from the central bus station to Temple Meads (1.7 miles) for 30 minutes or more.

@BootCampSucker waves! it's definitely do-able especially if OP heads for more of the staple hill end/ Hillfields rather than the Thingwall Park end.

I don’t know what you want (bedrooms etc) but I think you may be overly optimistic. We left Bristol 2 years ago because our budget was only £350k and everything was going for £20-40k over. We sold our one bed flat in Bedminster for £250k. My friend bought a 3 bed doer upper (needed gutting and rewiring) in Fishponds for £300k around the same time, they paid £25k over.

I grew up in Yate/Fishponds and slightly amazed to hear they’re now desirable areas?! Yate is mainly a huge Tescos now, isn’t it?!

I’d wanna go to Horgield/Glos Rd if I was going back but appreciate budget might not stretch

@ReluctantCourier Yate... not so much!

@Helpmethinkofasolution ’nuff said 😂

The OPs criteria was - not too MC but not rough. Yate fits those criteria, there is a plentiful supply of family housing and facilities. There's even a big Waitrose in case they miss their current MC bubble 😊

Does it have to be Bristol op? I’d go for Cardiff. Your budget will go much further!