Weston, Gloucester, Telford, Swindon

[Sittingonasale]

Ok, so my house has sold. In fact, I'm 6 weeks in and I'm looking to move to an area where I know people or where I'm not too far from family.
I have 3 children who are mixed race and have experienced racism in different forms since they were young, some areas more than others. (sadly this has to still be factored in in 2023).

I've lived in Somerset near to Weston so know the area fairly well but never actually lived in the town. I really miss living near the sea.

I do not know Gloucester but it would be within an hour's driving distance from family.

I grew up in Shrewsbury but don't know Telford very well. It's more affordable for me and I still have friends and family in Shrewsbury. Shrewsbury is still a possibility.

I have some family in Swindon but do not know it.

These are some of the areas I could afford to move to. I'm currently in South Wales in an affordable area but for the scheme I want to use (Heylo), I need to buy in England. The schools here also have been pretty dire where we live so I'm looking for better schools (primary and secondary).

I work as a TA and tutor currently but am looking into doing my TT next year.

I'm about a 20 minute walk from Gloucester city centre and it's really not as bad as pp have suggested. Yes there are some ares that are nicer than others and the city centre, especially Eastgate Street, is a bit run down but the OP wouldn't be looking to live in the city centre. It's a very multicultural city, great transport links, lots to do and beautiful countryside within a short drive.

Telford is a massive shit hole and has serious problems with racism.

Ha! This is where I live. We were up there this morning!

Sorry, see you mentioned budget earlier. I posted earlier today but my post doesn’t seem to be there so think I failed to post properly.
Gloucester has a serious drug problem and anti social behaviour issues. Parts of it are very deprived. Some outlying areas are better but generally it is an inward looking place. Not at all cultured in my view and not very diverse either.

Cheltenham is lacking in character and a bit soulless. It is also expensive to buy there. There are some lovely outlying villages though.

Worcester is quite a nice town. I wouldn’t say it is particularly diverse but it’s nice enough and has good transport links. It does flood badly though. You would have a good chance of getting something within budget.

Malvern is lovely and has a train station. Not particularly diverse either but lots going on there and great walking . It feels pretty safe too.

Pershore is a lovely small town about 8 miles out of Worcester. It has trains to London and a lovely independent cinema , nice shops and buses to Worcester. It does flood too though.

I would look at the towns and villages within the area and see what you like the look of and what you can afford. I wouldn’t live in or near Gloucester or Swindon myself.

Yes, I did mean tadpole and not frogpool, sorry.

Wow, thanks for this.

It's fascinating reading different peoples' opinions. I've lived all over the place - Gloucester, Cheltenham, Cambridge, Chelmsford, London, Chichester - the only place I've hated and couldn't wait to move away from is Cheltenham, which some people on here recommend over Gloucester. Horses for courses!

I think it goes to show that everybody is different, with differing biases and needs, and it would probably be worth visiting your shortlisted cities as much as you can.

My friend lives in Uphill in Weston. It's lovely and scenic. Another friend lives quite near the town but in a nice area near the park with Jill's Garden. The town itself doesn't have a huge amount going for it though but they have some good shows at The Playhouse

It doesn't have to be super diverse. We lived in BOS in Somerset before and whilst we experienced some racism, not really much more than here in the city in SW.
I work in school here and the stuff I've heard on the playground is just awful. Bear in mind, I work in primary but quite a deprived area.

Telford is an absolute dump.

Someone mentioned Worcester and I have to say it is the last place I'd move to. A pharmacist once told me the only place with more people on antidepressants was Oxford. No idea if it is true but not sure why she'd lie.

How would a pharmacist know this information outside the particular pharmacy she works in?

Worcester is lovely.

Brilliant.

Sorry, OP. Please don't take your family to Gloucester. You can avoid living in the city centre, but I really wouldn't have wanted my DD as a teenager and now 21 year old going into the city centre at night. Just feels really rough and grotty there. If you can stretch to Cheltenham, even on a council estate I think it'd be a better option for your family. The annual cheese rolling is no nearer Gloucester than Cheltenham.

I don't know much about Telford, but I'd look at Swindon and Weston over Telford. Someone mentioned Worcester, that could be worth looking into.

Another vote for worcester, lovely place to live with some good schools and also transport links. Around 30 mins to gloucester, just over an hour to weston and swindon (if avoiding peak times at air balloon) and also not too far from South Wales, Telford or Shrewsbury.

To be honest for nights out Cheltenham and Gloucester are pretty interchangeable whichever one you live in, especially with the busses that run late between the two.

By the way thanks for mentioning the scheme - I'm going to find out as we fit it - big deposit but too old for mortgages - that aspect I'm checking

You are right though you wouldn't end up in a great area here but I will have a look

It does sound good and they've sent me all the info. Just be careful though as they do a hard credit check once you submit the form.
Tbh I'd rather pay a bit if rent atm than gave to go through a mortgage application again.

Does anyone know St George's in Weston and West Wick.? They look like new housing estates.

Quite a lot in Worle too.

So maybe one thing to focus on is the school system. Gloucester has a grammar school system. Does that appeal to you or not?

The centre can be rough but live on the north side and you can go to Cheltenham. The suburbs are fine as long as you avoid the really tough ones. My family who have been in Gloucester have much preferred it to those who have lived in Swindon. But different people have different priorities.

Sorry, I'm just going to have to wade in and defend Gloucester against those saying its a shit hole. It has its interesting bits, but it's a nice enough place to live. I'd say the city centre is pretty comparable to pretty any city centre to be honest, and the suburbs are a good combination of housing, and I'd say they are pretty safe. I'd also say the schools seem reasonable (although it is a grammar school area). Good amount of green spaces, lots of cycle paths. Lots of clubs and amenities for kids in the surrounding areas. Just check flood maps when buying a house though.

I'd probably go for Worle out of the 3 areas you've mentioned near Weston.

I live about a mile from Weston at the moment (probably near to a pp's friend in Uphill). I'm no expert but my husband is quite local so I can ask him about areas if you like?

I don't mind it being a grammar school area at all after the dire state of what we have here.
I am very worried about their schooling here tbh. They are all very capable and the younger two do very well academically. The standards here, I have found, are very low compared to England and I am concerned about that.
I lead literacy interventions and the number of children in year 3,4 & 5 who still can't read is shocking.

Yes please Poppy. I'm leaning more towards Weston as I lived close (Burnham) before and know the area. It would be quite difficult to buy in a totally new area (though I did that here) where I didn't know anyone.