To ask for help finding an area in North Somerset

[Beaconofpope]

Hello everyone,
I would really like some help locating an area to move to.
My work is likely to be in Weston/Worle/ Clevedon and the surrounding areas. DH is based in the centre of and will need to get public transport to Bristol.
We have two DC's in primary, one starting secondary in the next few years. A smaller secondary would be better for her as she doesn't like big groups or loud places.
Tiny budget of 300k for two bed/ three bed with garden. Not bothered about rougher areas after living in the inner city for 10 years, pretty sure we've seen it all. I don't like very new housing developments with multiple identical houses with lawns and drives but apart from that not fussy.
Clevedon or Portishead would be ideal but feel we may be punching.
Thanks in advance!

I grew up in that sort of area and I'd say Yatton is quite good for amenities and train station.

I bused into Backwell school for secondary, which I think is quite large but I'm not sure what the average is for a secondary school. It was considered a good school in my day, anyway.

Worle in Weston supermare is nice.
There's also a train station.
Really good schools and plenty of shops etc. you get a lot for your money here too.

Stockwood? Brislington?

Would either be area be ok for non drivers? So used to being able to walk and bike everywhere!

Brislington is further away isn't it?

We lived in Yatton for many years and it has the train to Bristol and DH commuted. It has a good school and a variety of houses including a number of new builds that you say you do not want. It is a busy place but has a good school that feeds into Backwell secondary which is meant to be good. We enjoyed our time there .

Agree with Yatton. Maybe Nailsea?

Yatton is great for public transport, train rather than buses. Worle is really good too with WSM have lots of schools and good house prices.
@VitaminX i went to Backwell too. A very long time ago!

Yatton is still an hour on the train, including one change to get to Clifton

You can easily walk and cycle round Yatton in my experience and they have most of the shops and facilities you would need day-to-day. I come from a smaller, worse village and Yatton has always seemed very well served for its size to me!

Buses are pretty shit in the area but when you have the train station right there it is very easy to get into Bristol.

If you like cycling it is also a gorgeous area for it!

Yatton or Congresbury which is on the A road and the Bristol/Weston bus route. Bus is very expensive now though.

Can anyone tell me what the traffic is like going away from Bristol (so from Bristol) towards Weston is like in rush hour?

You don’t need a second train from Temple Meads to get to Clifton - there are frequent buses on the number 8 route.

How fit is your dh? Cycling to Clifton probably makes more sense than waiting for a train connection?

(Especially if he's the uni side ie not right up the hill)

I wouldn't have said Clifton was central Bristol though. The train goes direct to Temple Meads which is central Bristol. Clifton is really on the edge of Bristol, surely?

If you need to get into Clifton with no changes you've not got many options I don't think.

I commute into Weston from Bristol and the traffic is much better than going into Bristol at that time.

@Moonlightsonatas thanks, how long does it take you?

I think we might stay put in Bristol and I'll commute (as I'm the one who drives)

Do you already live in Bristol then? Probably little point moving in order to work in Weston/Worle/Clevedon if you are willing to drive, I agree.

@VitaminX yes but I dislike driving! If it isn't too bad a commute I would rather stay out but if it was going to be hours stuck in traffic then I would consider moving. Where we are isn't great for commuting to town either.

clevedon is lovely and has nice schools.

£300k could get you a (small ) 4 bed house in Worle. Great for commuting- bus and train, good shops near Sainsburys now. I commute into Bristol - about 45 mins to TM, 20-25 mins on a train.

I don't think it would be hours, but I sympathise because I hate driving as well.

By moving to an in-between village location you'd probably be taking a bit off your commute and adding a bit onto your husband's commute, so I suppose it's questionable whether you'd benefit as a family. It's probably a matter of no more than 25 minutes or so either way so on balance would it be worth the stress and expense of moving? You'd have to weigh up the specifics since you know the precise locations of your workplaces and how long his current commute is.

Does a village or small town location appeal to you and your family in other ways? It sounds like you appreciate the ease and convenience of an urban lifestyle (which I very much understand - you couldn't pay me to live in my old village) so would it be worth giving some of that up? You do get the trade off of more space, more quiet, beautiful countryside, but are those things that you value? Inevitably as a family you would end up driving more, even if you went all the way to Weston I think.

There is also a train station at Nailsea/Backwell (at the border between the two) but it's like 5 minutes max from Yatton to N&B so it's not much better. Nailsea is also much bigger whereas Yatton is more compact so getting to the train station is always an easy walk or cycle.

I live in South Glos/East Bristol and on the motorway it’s about 45/50 minutes to central Weston. Public transport is terrible around Bristol at the moment.