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!

Hah! I take your Wiltshire and raise you Northamptonshire for relative cheapness.

The reason Northamptonshire is so cheap is because it is a health, education and public transport black hole. And then there's Northampton about which least said.

So really look at places. What are the schools like, what are GP services like. Is there public transport.

I live in Swindon and we love it. The town centre is dire but there are alright shopping areas on the outskirts and I’m not a big shopper anyway. I have miles of safe, well-lit footpaths around me. Living north of the town means I can be on the Ridgeway in half an hour, I can walk around the lakes at South Cerney less than 20 mins away and we’re close the the Thames Path. We have the main line trains to Paddington which also get to Bath and Bristol quickly. Easy access to the M4 and M5.

My part of Swindon is quiet and peaceful with green spaces and decent schools. It’s been a great place to bring up our family, although DS is a city boy these days!

“Devon and Cornwall are just second home/retirement counties for London so prices are high there in the nice bits due to that.”

WTAF????? Devon certainly isn’t just a London second home owners lair..lots of young people live here in Devon all year round, increasingly so. It’s got good train connections up country, increasingly good entertainment and job opportunities, is nice, welcoming.

Wiltshire is a beautiful place to live. However public transport is awful, roads are awful, and it’s full of very wealthy landowners, so a very Tory place. when you look at train stations, check how often they actually go. They are usually irregular. You can’t get a direct bus between Marlborough and Devizes, which are 10 miles apart. The Tory led councils are appalling on green policies and housing.
It’s also full of people who have moved from London / south west and don’t get it. If you want to live in a small town, you have to put up with things like no Deliveroo, things close on Sundays. If you want more of a city vibe, Salisbury and Swindon are still ok in places, but much rougher.
It’s nothing like the south east. IMO that’s a good thing, but it’s not for everyone.

Yep. The price tag is for the location usually. Personally I would enjoy having shops, galleries and restaurants. Each to their own though!

whilst it’s longer than say ‘some’ bits of Kent or Herts, if you live in Chippenham or areas around Swindon ( and there are some nice places and areas not far out of Swindon) or even Westbury , then it’s actually quicker than places like Hastings, Lewes, Bexhill etc which on paper might seem more commuter friendly - the only biggie I would say is that it’s not on ‘network south east’ so just ‘popping into London’ is expensive, unless you are over 60 or got a young persons railcard - and commuting is really pricey - but then it was too when we lived in St Albans!!n

It’s expensive. As is Pewsey Vale. Trains to London from Pewsey, at outrageous cost. Homes far more expensive due to rail link, very little for sale except those that have lingered too long on market so probably have some kind of issue. Roads shite.
I regret to say that there are far too many ‘incomers’ that just fail to make an effort to understand rural life, but that applies to everywhere outside of town living.

The Cathedral is excellent if you worship there. If you want to visit it outside of services they charge a high fee. So realistically how many times a year might one visit?
The B&Q on Southampton Road used to be good.

I’d forgotten about that! Living alongside very necessary army training means night firing, days spent hearing rat tag rat from the ranges, low flying helicopters, the crump of artillery and tanks and armoured vehicles about. Those of us living here just don’t take any notice but find and again, the johnny come lately’s always try to change things. They can’t, it’s all enshrined in law.

I also live in Swindon, and as said above the town centre isn't great (most town centres are the same).
But I live in a lovely friendly area, have green spaces a walk away.
Have the canal which is something else being invested into!
Have brilliant links to most big city's, I feel safe as do my children.
Primary schools are great secondary schools are ok but on par with most English towns.
There is parts that need working on like most places but overall it really isn't the dump some people on here are referring it to!

I mean I have too much time on my hands today so here is a list of Salisbury shops (not at all exhaustive, just the ‘main ones’):
Accessorize
Deichmann
Fatface
H&M
M&S
Lakeland
Primark
Schuh
Fragrance Shop
New Look
Bradbeers

Plus all the usual stuff like Boots, Superdrug, phone shops, stuff like that.

It’s not incredible but I don’t think it’s as bad as is being made out here. Maybe I’m just a basic bitch when it comes to retail?!

It’s just a lovely place to have a picnic or sit outside with a coffee on a sunny day.

Obviously someone who has not lived there.

I lived in central Bath for a year. Would not recommend.

I am local and know the history but I'm more referring to people saying house prices are higher in Somerset because it has Bath and Bristol in it. I'm in Wiltshire and closer to both Bath and Bristol than say Frome or Shepton Mallet.

True. Thoigh those of us in the real,south west (Devon and Cornwall) tend to see Wiltshire as nearly midlands 😂

Look up flood risk. Plenty of flood warnings covering large parts of the county currently.

I've lived in Bristol and would not recommend it. Sure it has nice bits but they're £££. Most of it is not that good.

Bath is lovely but I've not lived there. I found it a bit eerie in midwinter but don't know why.

It's got a beautiful cathedral that Russians travel to see 😂😂

It is in Somerset.

"With the abolition of Avon in 1996, the non-metropolitan district and borough were abolished too, and Bath has since been part of the unitary authority district of Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES).[78] The unitary district included also the Wansdyke district and therefore includes a wider area than the city (the 'North East Somerset' element) including Keynsham which is home to many of the council's offices, though the council meets at the Guildhall in Bath.

Bath was returned to the ceremonial county of Somerset in 1996, though as B&NES is a unitary authority, it is not part of the area covered by Somerset County Council."

(from wiki)

Don’t forget the famous clock ~that I had no idea existed until I looked at the Wikipedia page~

Bath isn’t Wiltshire. It’s North East Somerset which is different to both Somerset and North Somerset

And it has the most UFO activity and crop circles of any county.

And a crop circle museum in Honeystreet!.

I think it’s just a bit remote and not very cosmopolitan. I like it though (I don’t live there personally at the moment but have a spent a lot of time there). If you are happy with the remoteness, there are some lovely good value places to live imo.

I don't think it is that remote, but other than Salisbury, Stonehenge, Longleat, Avebury and white horses, it doesn't seem to have any notable places that people have heard of.

Maybe it's one of those counties that people don't really think much about unless they live there. I'd put Shropshire in that bracket - lovely part of the world but I suspect that many would struggle to say much about it.