Why is Wiltshire so affordable in comparison to other southern counties?

[Craya]

This may sound very stupid. Dh and I are wanting to move out of Home Counties house. We live in a very unremarkable 60s house which we thought we’d like once done up. But it’s just depressing even though we live in what is a very desirable area (safe, well kept front gardens etc). We are paying way too much each month so looking to make changes.

We need to be in the south and commute into London a couple of times a week (we both are hybrid workers). I can go weeks without going into the office thankfully.

We’ve considered pretty much every southern county (barring Cornwall due to distance). And the only one place it seems we can afford is Wiltshire. Even the towns/Villages which are decently connected via railway.

Does anyone know why this is? Or is just perception we are moving away from a very expensive part of an already expensive area.

It’s decent value for money. Not many places are imo!

perhaps it's struggling to shake of the bad reputation of the Malfoys

In Somerset, nowhere near the Wiltshire border?

Cities are always going to be more expensive than small towns and the countryside.

Well that would be because of the Army weapons testing range polluting the fuck out of the land and the fact Swindon is a dump. I grew up in Wiltshire and was glad to get out of there.

Salisbury is worth a look. Good schools. Nice housing within walking distance of centre. Shops are fine unless you're big into brands. Nice cafes.

You make it sound like Chernobyl!

Do people really have to refer to places where people live as dumps and ghastly?

People do seem to get confused about Somerset. Neither Bath nor Bristol are in Somerset. Bath is in Bath and North East Somerset and Bristol is the City and County of Bristol. They both used to be in Avon.

Wiltshire is literally in the middle of the South. Only Dorset and Hampshire are further South

It’s a SN postcode. That’s it. Have you ever entered the centre of Swindon?

There are many pollutants other than nuclear waste that can be devastating to an ecosystem and its inhabitants. Do a search on Porton Down.

I was born and grew up there so I think I have the right to characterise it how I want to.

There are nice bits but just not really nice enough to make up for a) the not so nice bits and b) if you are prepared to go that far, then why not be in Dorset or Hampshire or up closer to Bath. The answer being that Hampshire and Bath, at least, are more expensive - which is, in a nutshell, a reverse way of answering your question.

I think the problem is the nice bits like Marlborough, maybe Frome, are nice for a visit every so often, but Marlborough also feels a bit "Mummy and Daddy are down for the day from London to see DC at school and popping in to the shops" and in that sense has a slightly itinerant/touristy feel to me. There are lots of bits of Wiltshire that feel quite dusty, tired and a bit down at heel. Warminster feels that way to me.

I grew up in Salisbury so feel qualified to answer. Yes you can commute to London if you don’t mind a 2 hour door to desk commute each way. The reason it’s cheaper is because there are almost no well paid jobs in Salisbury itself outside of the Army. There’s a pensions company. That’s pretty much it. A few years back Salisbury had the highest house price to income ratio in the country.

Just have to watch out for wild tanks and sudden gunfire whilst living in Wiltshire.

Ooh I wouldn’t say that - one of my lovely but definitely a bit more pretentious friends lives there - I do love BOA , but do think it’s around the same level of pretension - it’s just on a smaller scale. In all honesty though I think the pretension thing is a bit of a misnomer round here in Bath , we’ve got some up their arse people, yes, but still got plenty of rough estates and our share of Greggs , KFC and Superdrug !! And on the whole I’ve found shop owners and locals really friendly - been here 10 years

I’m on the Surrey border with a 20 minute train into Waterloo and my commute still takes 75 minutes (you have to factor in house-station and station-tube-office). The absolute fastest train Wiltshire-London is from Swindon in an average of 1hr 23. Add on inner London commute and house-Swindon and what would the commute be… 2-3 hours each way? That’s not commutable more than once a week or so unless you’re willing to leave home at 6am and arrive home gone 9pm. Who would want to live like that?

The problem with Bradford is the very high house prices for all that through traffic. I recently moved my son from Bradford for swimming lessons because a 3 mile drive after school was taking 40 minutes.

really affordable? How much is a 2 bed flat and 2 bed house ??

I love Wiltshire and would move there if I didn't have children settled in West Sussex, beautiful and affordable, not far from my favourite place (Wells in Somerset) and can get to London fairly quickly. I think it's underrated!

Wiltshire has quite low wages unless you have a professional job with national pay - e.g. doctor, teacher, judge, etc.

The day-to-day cost of living is also quite high compared to northern England.

I think you'd want to be near the fast train lines into Paddington - e.g. Swindon or Pewsey. Salisbury is just that bit too far. Commuters tend to settle in Andover instead, which is just over the Hampshire border.

If you definitely don't need to commute, there are loads of beautiful villages, but most have zero public transport or none that's compatible with standard working hours. If you want to go out in the evenings, you're driving or using expensive taxis.

The army has a big presence and some of the towns and army catchment schools are a bit rough. The officers' kids often attend (subsidised) boarding schools to avoid the turmoil of constant moves, but the lower ranks just get moved around a lot and their kids will have attended five or six schools by the time they're 16 - which causes problems.

Places, such as Salisbury, have really suffered due to internet shopping. They used to be thriving market towns with dozens of specialist shops. Now they're dying on their feet.

I'd suggest waiting until spring and spending a few days driving around the villages near the commuter stations. It's really beautiful at that time of year and I'm sure you'll find somewhere you like - just avoid falling in love with a thatched cottage.

Swindon to Paddington is about 50 minutes, Pewsey to Paddington is around 60-70 minutes.

Oh, blah. Devon and Cornwall had lead and arsenic mines and high levels of radon, Cornwall is practically radioactive. I’m not aware of anyone walking round Salisbury with 2 heads or 5 legs.

I see you’re right, not sure where my search went wrong. Still a 90min-2hour commute is too many for many. Especially when it costs a bomb too.

To be fair they did once accidentally spray something from a plane that was caught by the wind and stripped the paint off loads of cars in Amesbury. I think they were doing a chemical warfare training exercise and it was something to teach soldiers the importance of wearing their kit at all times...

Generally, though, the army makes a point of being good neighbours. They don't want angry locals complaining to their MPs or the press.