Moving to around Frome

[hlo1990]

Hello
we are looking at moving to near Frome from Manchester and have seen a property in Leigh on Mendip. Any thoughts (good and bad) on the area? We have no links to the area so would love any views.
we have a 3 year old and a baby due in August.

It's not that close to Frome is my first reaction. And it's a small village (albeit one which used to be home to Kevin McCloud).

I think you need to work out if you want to live in the town or in a village first, and then think about schooling/nursery. Leigh is closer to Shepton than Frome, so you'd be looking that way or to Midsomer Norton once you were at secondary stage.

More generally, it's a very mixed bag of places round here. Frome is itself but doesn't really spread outside the town. North of Frome you are getting close to Bath and it's posher, over to the west, it's a bit different...

First off - what is your reason for the move? Work? Lifestyle?
Second - have you spent any significant time in the area?

@TiredCatLady we’ve spent time in Frome and the surrounds but not much in Leigh although it looks very small. The reason is lifestyle - wanting to be out of a city.

@twocatsinthedark by ‘a bit different in the west of Frome’ what do you mean by this? We are quite clueless as to the villages around so any steer would be helpful before we take a leap

Well there are a few things to consider. None of the villages around Frome are much like Frome, they each have their own character, but it is mostly small village and considerably more conservative than radical lefty, even when you are just a mile or so outside Frome.

But Leigh is further. I don't know enough to give you its exact vibe but I can say that I would not be particularly keen to send my child to school in either Shepton or Midsomer Norton. Both of which are nothing like Frome, for a variety of reasons including a large cider brewery and ex-mining areas.

Are you renting? Because I think that's the best way to find out where works - it's what we did, and we ended up living in Frome, not where we started out...

What would your commutes look like? I wouldn't live in Frome, it's not my cup of tea but I would live in

Bath (very expensive, for good reasons though)
Keynsham
Bradford on Avon
Paulton
Possibly Chippenham (as get a lot of house for your money, don't know that much about it though)

PP raise very good points. The villages around Frome are nothing like Frome itself wrt character.

Public transport is next to (or with recent cuts completely) non existent in many of them and it can feel very isolated in winter. With two small children you will end up driving everywhere until they’re teens and have their own cars - implications of this for schools runs, activities, friends, doctors etc.

It sounds daft to say it but no takeaways, no Uber (I think Frome has about 5 taxis), some of the pubs in smaller villages have really limited opening hours. You also have some massive quarries in the area so probably want to consider proximity to those for blasting.

OTOH it can be idyllic when the weather is good and as much as I enjoy outdoors activities, I value not having to drive absolutely everywhere.

Some bigger places I’d aim for:

Bath (sheds of shite and tourist hoardes aside)
Chew Magna
Wells
BOA
Frome itself
Langford

Definitely try renting first and see how you get on.

I don't know anything about Leigh on Mendip specifically - we are between Frome and Bath, with a 3 year old and a baby. It's a lovely area in general, but you do need to decide which vibe you're looking for, as other posters are right to say that the villages are different to Frome itself. When we last moved we decided we wanted to be more anchored to Bath, and we tend to gravitate there for kids stuff (Little Gym, theatre, probably school when the time comes). But being outside means we still get the benefit of easy access to Frome and the nice pubs/restaurants around Bruton. If you need to go to London regularly you should look at proximity to either Bath or Westbury stations. I love BOA, but traffic through it is appalling! Good luck, and agree with others on ideally renting first