To wonder what it's really like to live in Milton Keynes .

[Dowser]

Not an aibu.

I travel to MK 4 times a year in each season and stay 3 nights at a time I love the shopping centre. I love the buzz. It strikes me as quite an upbeat place. There seems to be a fair bit of money around and plenty of jobs. People in general come across as happy

I love the theatre, the entertainment on offer. The cinemas. The markets . It appears to be quite a youngish persons place. It seems very multi cultural.

Is it as good as it looks. In the winter it does come across as looking a bit bleak and a bit soul-less. Is there a good sense of community.

If you don't mind outing yourself I would like to know.

Luffs MK. I was there on Friday for a job interview and it's just easy to get around.. very little traffic apart from the motorway junction. Great shopping centre. I live in northampton so let's face it anywhere is better than that!

I live in MK and I really like it, it's a good mix of new and old. There is plenty of greenery and a Stones throw from Buckinghamshire countryside. I live in an area where there is plenty of greenery, parks and local amenities, it is clean and safe. Certainly cheaper than London, though house prices are rising.

It's great if you drive, but buses can be a bit hit and miss. As long as you have a car it's great as there are all the shops you could want scattered about.

I'm surprised by people saying the restaurants are good, the total lack of good restaurants is the main downside I find from living in MK. It's great for chains to go to with the kids but severely lacking anywhere doing anything upscale or interesting (apart from Cameron's in Stony).

The parks are good, and it feels nice and leafy. There's really low unemployment and a really good green/environmental sector to the jobs market. House prices can be an absolute bargain too (we moved from Oxfordshire and couldn't believe how much more house we got for our money).

I live about 3/4 an hour from MK. I would say it is a Marmite place. Just depends on what you want.
In its early days it had a bad reputation for houses like boxes, but it is quite different now. Would rather live in MK than Peterborough, which is a similar distance from us in the other direction.

I was brought up in a small village on the outskirts of what is now Milton Keynes (it was all fields when we arrived and was a thriving town by the time we left). I still love visiting. I would be very happy to have a reason to move back to the area.

I live in MK and grew up here. Contrary to belief it isn't a city (though it's desperate to be one) but even though I've not always liked it here as a younger man (the lure of London, Leeds and other cities was always great), as a family man it ticks lots of boxes. It's had a growth economy for the last 5yrs, it has lots of green areas and for drivers it's very friendly indeed. It's got all the shops that you'd expect, it has a nice mix of new concrete & glass and trendy bars & cafés and villages with countryside never too far away. Although house prices are expensive compared to the surrounding counties there's opportunity here too.

On the other hand I felt for a long time, and still do to some extent that it's somewhat slightly synthetic - independent shops, bars....virtually non-existent. I've always felt it could do with a proper university and all the cultural vibe that goes with it myself, and public transportation is absolutely wank! Great for cyclists though with the redways!

One thing I do like about MK is that it's quite ambitious as a town, it aspires to be more than just a town and in a way it succeeds. Some of the developments over the years have made the place an impressive urban environment and yet it doesn't compromise on lush green areas. It's big enough that you don't feel in an insular community (though the estates can be a wee bubble if you wish them to be) and yet it's small enough that it's not total anonymity like London, there is a community feel and the chance to bump into folks you know.

Overall it gets good marks from me.

My parents live quite near mk, and I've always found it a great place for shopping, cinema etc. Don't know what it's like to live there, but can't see that it would be bad.

At one stage (about ten years ago) I did quite alot of work there, and people I met complained that there weren't enough resources (swimming pools, leisure resources etc) for the growing population, but I expect that has now changed.

I have lived in or nearby nearly all my life. I thinks it's great.
Good shopping, theatre, restaurants, cinemas, activities. Lots of parks and countryside very close by.
Very rare traffic jams. Good transport links to London and the North.
It's not perfect, some of the new estates are being very over built with not much space. It has its problem areas like any city.
It's mush misunderstood in my opinion.

I hate buses here. Hate them with passion. They never come on time.
I also don't like that all the pubs in the city centre are noisy at night. So if you want to have a pint and chat with a friend after work you either have to scream over music or go outside the city centre and prepare to go home after 22:00-23:00(quiet pubs are closing early).
But it does have lots of jobs and all the needed shops/facilities.
Just searched fb for Aeroflot Milton Keynes with no results

Oh yes, I did have to learn to drive when we got here, the buses are rubbish. Luckily I can walk to the station and the centre. And I think, Darth Vader, you mean it needs a campus University rather than a proper one, the OU is most definitely proper!

I think it totally depends on what you like. If 'suburbia' living, decent amount of jobs, ok access to london and a well designed layout and decent town and entertainment facilities appeals, then MK is perfect.

If you you are currently living somewhere like Shireditch and loving that, then MK probably isn't for you.

TBH I would rather live in Mk and work in Mk if possible than live in zone 5 london and commute in.

MsRinky that's exactly what I mean. Not taking away from the OU or anything but a proper campus and student culture injected into MK might have made a huge difference in this towns identity. It's one thing that's lacking in comparison to other cities in the UK that MK aspires to match.

Cuntington if only The Black Horse had a later licence!!! That'd be my idea of a heavenly evening

I lived about 10 miles from MK when I was a kid and always loved it.