Recommendations for Hampshire

[BridesmaidHelp]

Hello everyone!
Inspired by other threads I am faced with work in Hampshire. I wondering which places you would recommend for a mixed family in Hampshire.
We need to commute to South Coast for 2-3 days every other week for work and daily to Basingstoke hospital. Family on South Coast and Birmingham.
Whilst diversity is important we don’t have children yet so it could be a 10 year house if things changed.

In Hampshire? Nowhere! Have you looked at Reading (southern edge nearer Basingstoke)? It will eventually be on Crossrail so you could get into london easily. Oh, and don't go anywhere near Portsmouth.

Southampton is the most diverse area and has fast rail links into London, but you may have to put up with being followed around by Hampshire police.

Otherwise like the PP said Reading in Berkshire is close to Basingstoke. If you live in the right part you can get on one of the dual carriageways - A33, A329 - that takes you on to the M3 towards London or South Coast.

Wow that doesn’t sound promising at all! As said an area being diverse is not a must as I’m used to similar places having lived in Sussex. But I guess the further you are from London the worse it gets.
@RedMarauder and @JackGrealishsHair are you talking from personal experience?

Yep.

And while not being in a diverse area may be OK for you as an adult, it is not OK for any black or mixed ethnicity children you have even when they are little.

So if you are planning to have children at all don't buy a property in an area with very little/no diversity otherwise it will screw their self-esteem up. There are a few threads on this part of MN that bring this up.

Yes I agree with the PP above. My DC and I live in London but I trained and worked for a bit in Hampshire pre DC and would not want to have my DC grow up there.

Thanks very helpful, have had think and will definitely take a look at Reading and maybe even consider London as I e heard some people commute from there.

Farnborough and aldershot both have a very large Nepali community . Schools are well mixed and communities integrate happily in the main

@Racingadmin

Farnborough and aldershot both have a very large Nepali community . Schools are well mixed and communities integrate happily in the main

Nepali people aren't black or black-mixed ethnicity. So while they will have issues with racism the racial stereotypes used to discriminate against them, especially if they are children, are completely different.

I have/had two friends of different Asian ethnicities live in Aldershot. One moved to Reading and the other moved to London as soon as they could.

Basingstoke also has a large Nepalese community

Pre-Covid people from Basingstoke, Reading and the rest of the Thames valley commuted go London daily and vice versa.

I have also met people who have commuted further than that from Southampton.

Problem is that it costs a lot and takes up a lot of time.

Yes Red I agree re commuting, I think Reading is looking like the best option this far.