To ask if you'd choose Oxford, Cambridge or Reading to live in?

[Luffer]

It's more likely we will live in a village outside one of the three. Choosing between the three and finding it tricky.

I live west of Oxford which is the wrong side for commuting just about anywhere. Brilliant area though. If I had your housing budget I’d look at Wantage (stones throw from Didcot station fast train to London), villages outside of Didcot but not the town itself, Wallingford, maybe Thame also.

I'd go for Henley.

playing devil's advocate...

Ditch them all, come to Milton Keynes, half way between Oxford, Cambridge and London.

Some great schools, loads of parks and green space, lots of history (yes, I know, MK the new town is 51 years old - but it's built around existing villages and little towns that go back beyond the Norman Invasion, so there's old bits as well as the new bits - and there certainly seem to be lots of new bits in most cities like oxford and reading these days - sorry don't know about cambridge). Plenty going on, good links to London and Birmingham and beyond by train, and generally a nice place to live...

And whilst it doesn't have quite the same academic stature as Oxford or Cambridge, it does have the OU, Cranfield and the University of Buckingham's medical school (and the UofB just down the road in Buckingham) so it's not bereft.

Plus you'll get more for your money here

Might be worth thinking about as you're thinking about 3 different places...

Lived in Reading for 16 years but have lived in Cambridge for the last 16! Prefer Cambridge. Oxford is like a bigger less personal Cambridge.

50 mins into King's Cross from Cambridge but shorter tube journey to most places then the 25 min journey from Reading to Paddington so it evens out.

Only an hour to drive to O2 for events and 45 mins to Westfield. Cambridge has all the major stores/chains as well as lovely independents.

Very well set up educationwise especially if you are looking at independent schools.

1.3 to 1.5 what, million? You could buy a house in pretty much any neighborhood in Oxford for that.

Depends. Can you be more specific?
Villages on the outskirts of Oxford (wantage, Abingdon, Didcot) and Cambridge (shelford, saffron Walden) are very very quiet. You might as well be living anywhere.

I'd go for Oxford. Cambridge is pretty but it's the coldest place I've ever been - the wind off those fens are worse than winter in Iceland. And also, Cambridge is much more dominated by the university whereas Oxford feels like a city in its own right.

I don't know Reading at all, except for constantly changing trains there for work.

All this hate for Reading makes me sad. I love it here. But I'm poor and can't afford to move. Plus I've always lived here so it's 'home'. Admittedly I'd probably move elsewhere if I could afford it (and didn't have to consider the dcs relationship with their dad)

I'd buy a cheaper place somewhere lovely like London (where you already live !) and spend the cash on private schooling.

There's lovely places for well under a million as long as you're not needing to live in Kensington

No way Reading although pleased to see all the Newbury love here

Loads of villages around Cambridge, but driving in at peak time a nightmare, hopefully will be better after road upgrades. With your budget you could be something amazing even close to Cambridge and still v village feel.

Love the university vibe and all the associated stuff that goes with it - music, theatre etc. Easy to meet people, even in our v small village the £1mill house owners mix happily with the tiny house owners me as we all have love of the village in common, and most incomers are Cambridge commuters with a lot in common.

Oxford traffic is a pig. There are some really nice villages outside it though. Reading traffic is better, there are no crowds of tourists in summer, and there are also some nice villages outside it (one of which I live in!). Cambridge I don't know but out of the 3 I'd seriously say Reading.

Also agree that Newbury's a nice option.

Oxford, but they're all blardy expensive and a traffic nightmare.

What about Marlow?

Oh god, yes to Fitzbillies chelsea buns.

Have moved away from Cambridge now, and wouldn't move back. The pressure to provide more and more homes means that everywhere is being built on, and the city sprawl is spreading further and further out. Traffic is a bloody nightmare and has to be factored into any journey. A trip out of rush hour of perhaps 15 minutes, might take 45 minutes or more in rush hour. And in the city, the rush hour starts about 3.15 pm as parents travel to pick children up. Parking in town is awful too. The days of parking in side streets are long gone, you can queue for ages and pay a fortune just to nip into town.

Cambridge is pretty but its connections to the rest of the country are something I would really struggle with.

I have a soft spot for Reading as visit relatives near Newbury from time to time. There are some lovely villages with gorgeous houses there. My relative does spend a ridiculous amount of time ferrying children about the various villages though and that wouldn't be for me, because their schools are a decent drive and they socialise with kids from other villages. I love how well connected it is to London.

Don't know oxford well but know that when my friend lived there, she found it very expensive to rent but sounds like that's not such an issue for you.

Think I would personally go for a village between Oxford and Reading from what you're after.

I once lived in Slough and Reading was the nice town I would go to

Slough is not as bad as people make out (it's worse). Nearly all the neighbouring villages are delightful.
With your budget, I'd be looking at Henley, Marlow, Beaconsfield, Gerrards X, Maidenhead and surrounding villages.

Reading is not in the same league as Oxford at all. It's a big sprawling town.

We are in one of the lovely villages between Reading and Newbury. It is a fabulous place to live. If you are looking for a London commute with good prep schools and private secondaries, this area would tick your boxes.

Can't really compare them.

We moved to from London to Reading 12 years ago and it was, without doubt, the best move we've ever made. I've travelled into London for work on average a couple days a week over that period. The commute is far, far better than from Oxford or Cambridge.
We absolutely love Reading. Initially we rented thinking we'd buy in a surrounding village, but ended up buying in a lovely part of town.

All our children grew up here - state schooling is fantastic (ours are not at the grammar schools). Sports clubs and facilities are . Shopping is top notch and whilst we're limited for independent stores, there are a few bizarrely unknown gems.

One of the biggest differences (and positives) with Reading is how understated and diverse it is. I totally understand that this, in itself, doesn't do it for lots of people, but it does for us. In fact it's pretty much perfect for us.

We totally get why people would live in Oxford or Cambridge, both beautiful places, and why most wouldn't compare with a Reading - I agree entirely. I love visiting both.

The longer Reading stays understated, the more we'll love it.

You've all put me right off Cambridge with talk of a cold wind! Goring looks lovely. Maybe between Reading and Oxford would be the best spot. But the traffic sounds awful. Would it be feasible to live in between oxford and reading in a place like Goring and still get a child to some of the preps like Abingdon/The Manor or would the traffic make it not worth it? Marlow/Maidenhead look lovely but not much choice for preps? And those I find seem more geared toward grammar school entry which isn't what we are aiming for at least not currently. DC are still quite small so who knows really.

FWIW, DP and I spent the last three days at a conference in Oxford, and it was fucking freezing compared to Cambridge.

I grant that this isn't the usual state of affairs, but still.

Maybe come up with a short list of schools and then start to look at villages. If you’re not going to actually live in either of these 3 towns/cities then its more useful to know what your needs are eg schools but do you want to be rural, semi rural, or a big village (town) with plenty going on eg shops, cinema or just pub and church, do you need trains, buses, planes etc.
Reading is right on the border with Oxfordshire so a lot of small villages in south Oxfordshire will be close to Reading and Oxford.

Personally I would choose Oxford of the three, just because I like the city centre and with the Cotswolds nearby.

I don't know why your bothering with reading.

I agree maidenhead, henley, Marlow all far superintendent with the your budget... Esp maidenhead... Amersham, Beaconsfield. All heaving with preps and private schools.

What private secondary are you looking at