Possible move to Rothwell, Northants.

[STICKYFINGERS72]

Hi all,

I've currently had an offer accepted on a house in Rothwell, Northants.
The house is just what I'm looking for, and I totally love the house, and if it goes through, I'll be moving there from Milton Keynes on my own, but with two kids who'll be staying with me every other weekend. I'm concerned that going on my own might be a regret in the future as
I really don't know much about the area........ I've visited a couple of times, had dinner in one of the restaurants, drove around the surrounding area and around the streets and I felt it had quite a nice feel to it, but it's difficult to judge what the place is actually like, especially now that we have these restrictions in place. Would like to know more about the area, the people, places to go for a meal and a drink, and also the places to avoid, if any. I know East Northants gets a bit of bad press sometimes but is it that bad ? Honest answers appreciated. Thanks.

Oh, and just read that it's actually North Northants not East Northants. I'll go with Northeast Northants.

I was born in the town, now live in the town next door (the two are virtually joined now) and I'm a Police Officer in the local area.

In short: Rothwell is fine. The restuarants are nice for a town of its size. There are no really 'bad areas' per say....Northants is classed as a 'rural' county and has no big cities and the funding given to policing and social setvices etc. is therefore less than other areas. However, there are higher than national average rates of poverty and the associated issues across the whole county. Whether you will feel the impact of this depends of your personal circumstances. But on the whole , Rothwell is generally a nice safe town and you have to remember that not even the poshest village in the Cotswolds is free from drugs and crime - it's just better hidden.

Rothwell has good transport links to London and close to the trunk roads - A14, M1, M6. The house prices are also likely to rise as people move out of London into the surrounding counties due to Covid 19.

I personally find the place dull as dishwater and cannot wait to move to a city up North, but thats because I don't have children and I'm nowhere near ready to settle down.

The church has one of the few publically accessible bone crypts in the UK. It is definitely worth a visit (you have to book). Take the kids if they are not scared of skeletons, it's very educational.

(Sorry about the typos!)

@Henners7
appreciate your honesty.
It doesn't sound too bad and to be honest, I'm not sure I'd feel totally comfortable in some buttoned-up Cotswolds village, but at the same time, wouldn't feel comfortable with the other end of the spectrum as well, if you know what I mean.

I've dropped you a message, I hope it helps!

Rothwell does have a lovely feel to it, with some nice restaurants/pubs and really attractive stone buildings. I don't think it's the most exciting place in the world but it has a nice community sort of feel. Milton Keynes and Leicester are not too far away for shopping trips in bigger towns, and of course Kettering and Northampton are nearby.

I'm nearby. It's a nice enough place but very few facilities or shops. The doctors surgery doesn't have a good reputation. The surrounding towns aren't great either.
There's a Spotted in Desborough and Rothwell page on Facebook that might give you a bit more insight into crime and what's going on locally.
It depends what kind of place you're wanting really. You won't get shopping like Milton Keynes round here for example.

OK , I'm not getting much in the way of bad info, which is a good thing. :)
My clubbing days are almost over (I'm 47 but still go to the odd festival or all-dayer when i can be bothered) so not that fussed about nightlife, but I do appreciate a nice country pub and a decent restaurant. Do any of you venture into Market Harborough/Kettering/Corby or any of the surrounding villages for an evening and are they easy to get to regarding taxi's etc ?
I have family in Milton Keynes and Lincoln so I think i'm pretty well placed for both and my work is in Northampton, although I mostly work from home anyway and the way it's looking, doubt i'll ever be in the office again.

thanks for the info by the way, it's very helpful in giving me an idea of what to expect.

Kettering and Corby have more chain pubs and not much in the way of nightlife. Kettering has a 'cultural quarter' which is basically a few bars and restaurants around the market square. Kino Lounge is very popular. Both have a cinema if that's your thing.
Rushton is a couple of minutes from Rothwell and whilst it's only a hamlet it has Rushton Hall which does afternoon teas, and there's a country pub there (Thornhill Arms I think.)
There's loads of country pubs if you look in the surrounding villages. Rothwell has a few pubs and restaurants but I don't know them well enough to comment, although I had a nice meal in the Bakehouse in Rothwell a few years ago.

Op, i moved here myself from the south , 10yrs ago, aged 41 and with DC's one primary, one secondary aged. I came for the generous house prices and better way of life, new start and happy adventures.

Rothwell is in itself nice. One of the better areas. However...

Kettering and Northampton are awful and my now late teenage DC's don't set foot in either! In fact my eldest has moved back down south at aged 19 , as they could not wait to get out of here. Second DC is to follow shortly, having spent their primary and secondary sch yrs here.

This county is largely populated by people who have lived here for generations , 1000's of years and as such have all the friends and family they need. You may find it impossible to make genuine connections, as i and others have done in your age group. You will always be the "Milton Keynes one" who bought a house that generations of residents could not afford , so you have priced them out by just being here.

Also, your fancy southern ways will not not be welcome here and as a single mum, with her own home and good job, ( like me) you will be even more excluded!

My over 60's neighbours, who lived up here for 7 yrs,having moved into the county for a better life, left and moved back south on Monday, having had their house on the market for 20mths. They slashed the price of their beautiful home massively just to leave and get out of here.

My youngest DC and I are now planning our escape from here now and looking at their 6th form colleges for A levels. I appreciate that sounds dramatic but that is how we both ( myself and now my youngest ) feel. My youngest DC will attend 6th form somewhere else, we are leaving here.

Op, in all honesty, as a middle-aged mum of 2 children myself who moved here, looking to build a new life for yourself, this is not the county for you.

Please search prev MN posts about Northamptonshire from various posters over the Years.

This is not a county to move to, win friends and influence people.

Northamptonshire will take you to the edge, and require you to summon every ounce of self determination you have to survive as will it your DC.

Public transport is poor here, council is bankrupt. Your children will have friends who live in local villages but they have no transport. Your DC's friends parents will not be arsed to drive their kids to spend time with yours, as they have all the network they need locally . Unless you volunteer to ferry everyone's kids around your children will have no after sch socials.

This county of Northamptonshire is a shite place to live. Unless you are born here, in which case it's great.

I would personally find somewhere else to live and not worry about hse prices. A smaller house in a friendly environment where you and your children will see and i interact with people is worth more than a big house.

Public transport is poor here, council is bankrupt. Your children will have friends who live in local villages but they have no transport. Your DC's friends parents will not be arsed to drive their kids to spend time with yours, as they have all the network they need locally . Unless you volunteer to ferry everyone's kids around your children will have no after sch socials.

What i mean by this is other parents, with life long
support networks will not care jot if your child spends days/weeks alone with no social interaction as their kids are ok . They do not care that you have moved here and need to make friends?

They do not care that you have moved here from afar and your kids are left largely alone outside sch.

Stay where you are OP, or move somewhere ( south) where people are more welcoming for you and your children.

You are looking for something OP. You will not find it here.

@STICKYFINGERS72 pls don't move here.

Find a better and happier place for you and your DC's to move to and build a new life. XX

If you do move here OP, i hope you will share your experience.

It is very important that others share your experience to enable others to make informed decisions.

@GaiaLady

Oh, I'm really sorry to hear that it hasn't worked out for you. It's a tough decision to make as so much is dependent on that decision.
Thank you for your honest reply. This is the kind of informed info I'm looking for to help me come to the right conclusion.
I really hope it works out for you and yours and that whatever happens is better for all.
Just to be a bit clearer, I'm a 47 yr old father of two teenagers. Trying to start again after separating. The kids won't be going to school in Rothwell or any of the surrounding areas as they live mostly with their mother in Milton Keynes and go to school there.
I chose this area as it's not too far from MK, but yes, is more affordable, and offers the kind of house I like (period houses are a preference over new builds), but I am also aware that choosing an area in Northamptonshire does come with certain risks due to the Council being skint and that the locals might be a bit insular. I am quite outgoing and forget that my genial nature might sometimes be misconstrued as being flash to others. Hence why I ask the questions I'm asking here. I really do try to find the best in people and will talk to anyone friendly enough to want to talk back, but would struggle mentally if it really was as tough as you say to meet other like-minded people.

I live in East Northants and am a relative newcomer having moved to Northampton in my 30s and out to East Northamptonshire only in the last year.
I have two young children and find people very friendly. We have had plenty of play dates since they moved to their new school and I find the school mums chatty (I’m not looking for best friends) and our new neighbours are lovely people.
The road surfaces are a bit rubbish but refuse collections, libraries and other council services are good - better than Northampton!
Kettering and Northampton town centres are unpleasant but I never really have any reason to go there.

I was born here and do agree with most of GaiaLady's reply. I actually think Rothwell is one of the friendlier places but the county as a whole is not. You might be just fine though.

@STICKYFINGERS72 oh sorry, i did not realise you were a dad in this situation. I was speaking from a purely female, mum point of view.

I personally have found it very challenging, as have others i have met who have moved to this county. It is a very beautiful looking county, with wide open spaces and natural beauty. But, i and others i have known who moved here ( Northamptonshire) have found it lonely. It could of course just be me and them.

One of your comments really struck a chord with me in your post. I had never experienced depression in all my 41 yrs when i moved here. 6 yrs ago, having lived here for 3 yrs i was diagnosed with " reactive depression" meaning i am depressed in response to my surroundings. I was very afraid at the time as i did not understand what was happening to me. I am a very in control extrovert, lots of friends person. I was basically lonely OP, despite throwing everything into living here. I was lonely and it made me depressed.

If you are a similar outgoing personality to me, and others i know who have moved here from outside, i think you will struggle. If you have an existing partner and do not need to make connections here, someone who can support you and this is basically just an address / space for you to return to each day after work you will be fine.

Mens relationships with other men are very different. You may make friends thru football clubs, bowls clubs, cricket clubs, gym etc. Men are different in their relationships. Now that i see you are male your experience may be different.

I am female and very " southern" and i really not fitted in here. I am a product of where i am from.

If you can be self sufficient here, have your own friends network, outside of here and not looking to start again, i think living here could suit you.

My experience has been , if you arrive with an expectation what you had before, it may not be the case.

Continue to nurture your existing friendships and be prepared to travel to maintain them.

Good luck OP whatever you decide.

I moved to Northampton from Milton Keynes 5 years ago, have 1 dc. I have had no issues making friends with neighbours and other mums. Loads of nice country parks ect.

I haven't experienced anything like the PP.

@mrsed1987 I am pleased to read that your experience has been positive. I know this kind of move can be successful for some.

I felt and sensed a great amount of resentment when i bought my village home and i was subsequently right. Many villagers and sch mums and neighbours took it upon themselves and told me about the opposition they posed to it ( my house) in the 1960's when it was built. I have experienced a great amount of resentment here for simply just buying a desirable property, that was built 12 yrs before i was even born.

I just bought a house that is all. I bought a home for me and my DC's. It is very strange.

I am happy to see that your neighbours and sch mums have been more welcoming to you than mine have me in the same situation.

I used to live in Rothwell and still visit my nan. Its an ok place, known worse

I'm in Northants, not Rothwell. I was not born here and have found it very welcoming. The council is skint so public services are poor, but I like it here

I recently moved to an area close to there in Northamptonshire and had written some of my experiences. Not sure why on earth it’s being reviewed by mumsnet?
Essentially I’ve had a positive experience.

@JustBumblingAlong i wonder if Mumsnet algorithms red flagged your post as it had unusually quoted a positive Northants experience?

They probably thought and based on other threads of this ilk, that your "essentially positive" comment was dodgy! 😉

@bethankfulforwhatyouhave "Its an ok place, known worse"

Northants tourist board should use this as their slogan.

@GaiaLady

Absolutely, think its spot on description

I moved to east Northants from Bedford a few years ago. Much happier here, there’s loads for families and I find the people really friendly. The schools are a bit shit, but you don’t need to worry about that!